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The World's Commercial Products 



•4GP&M 



CHINESE PACKING TEA 



tea, or mate, and the kola 

 nut ; a closely allied alkaloid !. 

 is also present in cacao. Ex- \\ 

 periment has shown that an 

 infusion of the leaf for ten 

 minutes is sufficient to ex- 

 tract all the valuable theine, 

 and a longer period merely 

 results in an accumulation of 

 tannin which, 

 well known to 

 impede digestion. 

 — ■ We wh^^iow^JjtiFrr^our 

 attention to a consideration 

 of the principal facts in con- 

 nection with tea cultivation in 

 different parts of the world. 

 Priority must naturally be 

 given to an account of the 



CHINESE METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE 



As is the case in nearly all branches of Chinese agriculture, the tea farms are mostly small, 

 each consisting of from four to five acres. Practically every cottager has his own little tea 

 garden, the produce of which supplies the wants of his family, and the surplus brings him 

 in a few dollars with which he procures the other necessaries of life. 



In the green-tea districts of Chekiang picking commences about the middle of April. The 

 first crop of leaves consists of the leaf-buds just as they are about to open, and the tea manu- 

 factured from the first pickings is of extremely delicate flavour, being held in such high esteem 

 by the natives as to be used chiefly for making presents to friends. The plucking of the 

 young buds is liable, to cause considerable injury to the plants, but, under the influence of 

 the copious showers which generally fall about this time of the year, the plants, if young and 

 vigorous, rapidly put out fresh shoots and leaves. Two or three weeks later the shrubs are 

 ready for the second plucking, which is the most important of the season, and as soon as the 

 plants have again recovered, 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 construction. 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. 



Eer the leaves have been brought in from the plantations, they are placed in a shed 

 >r drying-house, which may indeed be the cottage itself. The fire is then kindled in the furnace 



