MODERN METHODS OF CULTIVATION, ETC. 55 



In many factories the leaf is re-rolled previous 

 to firing. Besides the checking of the fermentation, 

 the object of the firing process is to remove all the mois- 

 ture without driving off the essential oil and other 

 constituents, upon which the value of the manufactured 

 article largely depends. The firing is effected by one 

 or more of many types of machines, all of which act by 

 passing a current of hot, dry air through the damp 

 fermented leaf until it is dry and brittle. A commonly 

 used type of machine is the " Sirocco," to the illustra-^ 

 tion of which the reader is referred. The tea is then j 

 taken to the sorting-room, where it is sifted into grades 

 by a machine consisting of a series of moving sieves of 

 different sizes of mesh. The resulting siftings are classed 

 as Flowery Orange Pekoe, Orange Pekoe, and Pekoe 

 No. 1, and are known as "unbroken teas." The first 

 mentioned is the least coarse and finest tea, but the 

 coarser tea which does not sift through the meshes is 

 transferred to " breaking machines," and broken up 

 and again sifted, the products being known as Broken 

 Orange Pekoe, Pekoe No. 2, etc. The tea dust which 

 accumulates during these processes is kept separate 

 from the better qualities, and is shipped as " dust " 

 and " fannings." 



The processes in the manufacture of green tea in India 

 and Ceylon are similar in most respects to those em- 

 ployed for black tea. The various grades resulting 

 from the sifting receive names different from those 

 applied to black teas, the principal varieties in descending 

 order of quality being Young Hyson, Hyson No. 1, 

 Hyson No. 2, Gunpowder, and Dust. The tea is thelT^ 

 packed into lead-lined chests, stamped with the name 

 of the garden or factory, and transported to the quay 

 at Colombo, Calcutta, or Chittagong, whence it is shipped i 

 to England. 



OF THE 



UNIVERSITY 



