PACKING. 151 



Thin iron hooping, put round both ends of the boxes, 

 much increases their strength, and is not expensive.* 



Stamp each box on its lid and on one end. I Use for 

 this zinc plates, with the necessary marks cut out in them. 

 A brush run over these with the colouring matter does the 

 work well and quickly. 



Let the stamp comprise the kind of Tea, the plantation 

 or owner's mark, the number of the box, and the year ; for 



instance 



Pekoe. 



A 



B 



No. 80 1871 



The invoice you send with the break must give for each 

 box the number, the gross weight, the tare, the net Tea, and 

 the kind of Tea, with a declaration at foot that the Teas of 

 each kind have been respectively well bulked and mixed 

 together before packing. 



Remember the larger the quantity of Tea, of any one 

 kind, to be sold at one auction, the higher the price it will 

 probably fetch. Sell, if possible, twenty or thirty chests of 

 one kind of Tea at the same time, for small quantities as a 

 rule sell below large, both in Calcutta and London. 



Equality of tares is the most important point to attend 

 to in packing Teas. It may be difficult, but with machine- 

 sawn boxes, nearly the same weight, any difference must be 

 made up with extra hooping, lead, solder, or nails. Anyhow 

 it must be done, so that no tares shall differ more than half- 

 a-pound (see foot-note page 149). 



* This should, except the lid part, be put on the boxes before the Tea is 

 packed. 



f The object of stamping the end, as well as the lid, is that when the 

 boxes are piled one above the other the mark can be read. 



