136 Mr Bruce on the Manufacture of Tea, and on the 



basket of prepared leaves seizes a hanrlful and dashes it as 

 quick as thought, into the red-hot pan. The Chinaman tosses 

 and turns the crackUng leaves in the pan for half a minute, 

 then draws them all out by seizing a few leaves in each 

 hand, using them by way of a brush, not one being left be- 

 hind. They are all caught by the man with the doUah or 

 basket, who, mth his disengaged hand, continues lifting the 

 leaves and letting them fall again, that they may quickly cool. 

 Should a leaf be left behind in the pan by any accident, the 

 cloth that is held ready in the mouth is applied to brush it 

 out ; but all this is done as quick as lightning. The man that 

 holds the basket of leaves watches the process sharply ; for no 

 sooner is the last leaf out of the pan, than he dashes in ano- 

 ther handful, so that, to an observer at a little distance, it ap- 

 pears as if one man was dashing the leaves in, and the other 

 as fa.st dashing them out again — so quickly and dexterously is 

 this managed. As soon as one basket has received about four 

 handsful of the hot leaves from the pan, it is removed, and 

 another basket placed to receive the leaves ; and so on, until 

 all is finished. A roaring wood fire is kept up under the pan, 

 to keep the bottom red-hot, as the succession of fresh leaves 

 tends greatly to cool the pan, which ought always to be scrub- 

 bed and washed out after the process is over. In China these 

 pans are made of cast-iron, and if great care is not taken, 

 they will crack in the cooling ; to prevent which, one man 

 keeps tapping the inside of the edge of the pan briskly with a 

 wet broom, used in the cleaning of the vessel, while another 

 pours cold water in gently ; thus it cools in a few seconds, and 

 is ready for another batch of tea. The leaves are I'olled and 

 tatched the same as the other teas, and put into the drying 

 basket for about ten minutes. When a little dry, people are em- 

 ployed to work and press the leaves in the hands in small quan- 

 tities, of about one and a half to two rupees' weight at a time, 

 for about half a miimte ; they are then put into small square 

 pieces of paper and rolled up : after this they are put into the 

 drying basket, and permitted to dry slowly over a gentle fire 

 for some hours, until the whole is thoroughly dry. This tea 

 is not sold in the China market ; it is used principally as offer- 

 ings to the priests, or kept for high days and holidays. It is 



