ii8 AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY. 



and then subjected to another operation, of especial importance, 

 viz., 



b. Firing. A frame of wood or bamboo-cane is coated with 

 cement, and serves as an oven or hearth. This frame is shaped 

 Hke one of our country kneading-troughs, and is usually 120 cm. 

 long by 75 cm. broad. On the floor of this hearth, surrounded with 

 ashes, a gentle charcoal fire is kept up. A second frame — a hollow 

 cover — shuts down over this vessel, like the tray of a trunk. The 

 walls of this light tray are covered with heavy bast-paper ; likewise 

 its bottom, which only reaches to within 40-50 cm. of the glowing 

 coals below, and is therefore not singed, the heat being not more 

 than 50-60° C. Large producers have a number of these arrange- 

 ments (3 to 8) in an airy apartment ; for small producers a single one 

 is often sufficient. Each is served by a strong man, almost naked. 

 He pours into the tray about 800 me (nearly 3 kg.) of tea-leaves pre- 

 pared as described in paragraph a, spreads them out over its paper 

 bottom, and then stirs and works them continually with his hands. 

 Next he lifts up the soft, moist leaves, and lets them fall again, till 

 by-and-by they acquire a darker green colour. He now sets to 

 work to rub and roll them between his palms into balls, which he 

 again breaks up, and, by rolling up and down on the paper side- 

 walls of the inner trough, forms anew and rotates with heavy pres- 

 sure on the paper walls. Thus he keeps up the weary labour, with 

 more or less variation, busily for several hours, until the entire 

 mass has taken on a dark olive-green colour, and the separate 

 leaves are curled and twisted and rolled. They are called squills 

 by English tea-dealers. They are now spread out to dry on paper 

 frames similarly warmed. Here they remain some time (4 to 12 

 hours) until quite brittle. The tea is now ready for home con- 

 sumption, and only requires to be sorted and packed. In vessels 

 of clay or porcelain, with close-fitting covers, it will keep at least 

 a year. 



c. Sorti?ig the tea. Not a few young seed-capsules, besides leaves 

 that were neither equal nor healthy, were plucked in harvesting. 

 The capsules, on their short stems, look not unlike ordinary capers. 

 In sorting, these, as well as stems and injurious leaves, are cast 

 out. Further, the tea-dust which has been formed is separated 

 from the leaves, which in turn are divided, the smaller from the 

 larger, the object being to get a uniform, fine-looking article. To 

 this end the dry tea is next winnowed with a light hand-sieve of 

 bamboo, and the coarse stuff remaining, such as leaf-stems and 

 seed-capsules, taken away. Hereupon follows the sifting of the 

 tea. The sieve is suspended breast-high by a rope from the ceil- 

 ing, so that it can be moved with ease in every direction, as well as 

 in a circle. The finer stuff falls through on a pile, and there remain 

 the more equally rolled and twisted leaves. Lastly, this tea, de- 

 signed for exportation, is spread out on a table and carefully gone 

 over again by girls, who pick out all remaining impurities — fruit- 



