SIFTING. 133 



with how much motion it shall be shaken, &c., &c. But this 

 is simply impossible with any machine, though all necessary 

 to sift Tea well. 



The cost of Tea sifting by hand (see page 158) is not 

 eight annas per mound, including picking out red leaf, which 

 must be hand-work. Good and bad sifting will affect the 

 value three annas per Ib. or Rs. 15 per maund ! 



With all parts of Tea manufacture it is well to employ the 

 same men continually in each department, but above all, 

 perhaps, should this be done in Tea sifting. A good sifter is 

 a valuable man. He knows each kind of Tea by name ; he 

 knows what sieves to use, and the order in which to use 

 them for each Tea ; what the effect a larger or smaller mesh 

 will have on each kind, &c., &c. In fact, he knows much 

 more of the practical part of sifting than his master can, 

 though the latter is, probably, a better judge how far the 

 Teas are perfect when made. 



Tea sieves are of two kinds, both round. One made of 

 brass wire, with wooden sides, 3^ inches high, the other cane, 

 with bamboo sides, \\ inches high only. The latter are 

 called ' Chinese sieves,' and though the brass ones are used 

 in many places, there is no possible comparison between 

 them, for the labour required in the use of the brass ones is 

 much greater, and the results, as regards well sorted Tea, 

 much better with the Chinese. 



Both kinds are numbered according to the number of 

 orifices in one linear inch. Thus a No. 6 sieve has six 

 orifices to the inch in both ; but in the brass kind, a 

 No. 6 has six orifices including the wire ; in the Chinese 

 kind, the cane between each aperture is not included in the 

 measure. Thus the orifice in a No. 6 Chinese sieve is 

 exactly i-6th of an inch square, but somewhat less in a brass 

 sieve. 



As I well know brass sieves cannot remain in favour after 



