43 



two polished wheels, horizontally placed at some distance 

 the one from the other, each having an opposed rota- 

 tory movement and so rolling the tea between them. 

 After having been rolled for 10 or 12 minutes, the tea 

 is put on small tanks to get its colour, to oxidate and 

 to ferment by the influence of the air. These tanks are 

 a kind of cube made of interlaced bamboos ; they are pro- 

 vided with little feet so that a quantity of them may be 

 placed one upon the other without preventing the air 

 from penetrating. 



When the tea is of the required colour, it is con- 

 veyed to the drjdng-shed, where it is dried in warmed air 

 or roasted in stoves. 



§ 8. About fifteen years ago only China-tea was 

 planted in the isle of Java. Little by little this custom 

 altered and the China tea gave way for the Assam-tea 

 and the different hybrids between Assam- and China-tea. 

 Now-a-days these sorts predominate and will entirely replace 

 the China tea, as they are much stronger. 



In wild condition the Assam plant becomes a tree 

 with a trunk of from 15 to 20 feet thick, whilst the China- 

 tea shrub remains small and only reaches a height of from 

 6 to 7 feet. In cultivated condition the former plant reaches 

 a height of from 3 to 5 feet, but develops in table-form 

 with a diameter of 4 to 10 feet, the latter reaching no 

 more than 2 or 3 feet. The leaves of Assam-tea grow to 

 a length of 9 — 15 cM., those of China-tea at most to 4 cM. 



