1 14 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF TEA. 



vented a rolling table with the object of separating the said 

 leaves. It is constructed of battens, and while rolling the 

 leaf on it, many of the small leaves fall through. The said 

 table is now well known in Cachar, and is in use in several 

 gardens. I have tried it and find that it in a great measure 

 answers its object, but the objection to it is that the leaf 

 must be rolled lightly, and lightly rolled leaf, as observed, 

 does not make strong Tea. 



The Pekoe tips may be, in a great measure, preserved by 

 rolling all the leaf lightly on a common table. But then 

 the Tea is weak, and the plan will not give so many 

 [Pekoe tips as McMeekin's table. 



In short, in the present state of our knowledge, except by 

 I the hand process (a tedious and expensive one for separating 

 the leaf), strong Teas and Pekoe tips are incompatible. 



The difficulty is just where it was, and will so remain until 

 dealers give up asking for Pekoe tips (not a likely thing), or 

 till a machine is invented, to separate quickly and cheaply, 

 the two said small leaves from the others after they have been 

 all picked together. That such a machine is possible I am 

 certain, and the inventor would confer a boon on the Tea 

 interest far beyond the inventor of any other machine, for all 

 the other processes can be done by hand without much 

 expense, this cannot. 



I may here notice such machines and contrivances as exist 

 for cheapening the manufacture of Tea, or rather such as I 

 know of. 



Rolling-machines have for their object the doing away with 

 hand labour entirely for rolling the leaf. Kinmond's rolling- 

 machine is first on the list, for it is the best yet invented. 1 



1 It -was the best, but is superseded by a new rolling-machine, (Jackson's) I 

 have seen quite lately. 



Note to 3rd edition. Jackson's rolling-machine, by a late Calcutta legal 

 decision, is declared to be simply Kinmond's, with alterations. As Jackson is 

 now prohibited from selling his machines, I presume the two inventors will come 

 to some understanding as to the alterations, which are most certainly improvements. 



