VARIOUS METHODS OF CULTIVATION, ETC. 23 



the third and last gathering commences, producing a 

 very inferior variety of tea. 



The methods and apparatus employed by the Chinese 

 in the manufacture of their teas are extremely simple, 

 yet, with the abundance of labour obtainable, they are 

 by no means ineffective. A large proportion of the tea 

 is prepared in the humble cottages of the peasants, 

 and barns, sheds, and outhouses are also frequently 

 used for the same purpose, particularly those belonging 

 to the monasteries and temples. The drying pans and 

 furnaces in these places are of very primitive construc- 

 tion. The shallow, circular pans, made of very thin 

 iron, closely resemble in shape and size the ordinary 

 cooking pans which the Chinese have in general use for 

 the preparation of their rice. They are built, several 

 together, in a brick-work furnace which is so constructed 

 that the sloping sides of the basin are continued upwards 

 for three parts of the circumference, resulting in what 

 is practically a broad, shallow brick and cement basin, 

 the actual bottom of which consists of the thin iron pan. 

 The object of this arrangement is to allow of the easy 

 and thorough mixture of the leaves during the roasting 

 process. Running beneath the whole row of pans is a 

 flue, the fireplace being at one end, and a rough chimney 

 at the other. 



After the leaves have been brought in from the planta- 

 tions, they are placed in a shed or drying-house, which 

 may, indeed, be the cottage itself. The fire is then 

 kindled in the furnace and a quantity of leaves thrown 

 into the heated pans and constantly turned over and 

 kept in motion by men and women stationed in front of 

 the pans. The heat immediately causes the leaves to 

 crack and become quite moist with the sap which is 

 given out under its influence, and in about five minutes 

 the process is complete, the leaves having become quite 



