MANUFACTURE. 121 



5. Great saving of labour. 



6. Saving of fuel for it takes much wood to make a 

 given weight of charcoal. 



In addition to all the above, the wholesale destruction of 

 forests that now takes place in all Tea Districts, in order to 

 supply the charcoal for Tea, would be much lessened.* 



I have seen a machine advertised for packing Tea, that 

 is to say, for so pressing it down that a large quantity shall 

 go into a chest. I have never seen the machine, and so 

 cannot say how it works, but I do not think such a machine 

 at all necessary. By the mode of packing, described at page 

 150, as much Tea as a chest will hold with safety can be put 

 into it. If more were forced in, the chest would probably 

 come to pieces in transit. 



I see a sifting machine is now being advertised " Jack- 

 son's sifting machine." I have seen drawings of it, but not 

 the machine itself. In the one respect, that it is much larger 

 than anything used hitherto, it is more likely to succeed. 



There is a machine for sifting and fanning Tea at one 

 and the same time. I know not who invented it. It is a 

 simple winnowing machine with sieves placed in front of the 

 fan. By means of a rod and crank attached to the axle of 

 the revolving fan the sieves are made to shake from side to 

 side when the fanners are turned. The Tea is put into the 

 upper sieve, a coarse one, and passing successively through 

 finer ones, is thus sorted into different Teas. The open leaf 

 at the same time is blown out by the fan. 



I purchased one, but I do not find it does the work well. 

 Sifting Tea is a nice process, and I did not find it sorted 

 the Teas with any nicety. I have taken out the sieves, and 

 use it now only for fanning, which it does very well, though 

 no better than an apparatus which could be constructed at 

 one-third the cost. 



* See this subject further discussed in the Addenda. 



