POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



427 



bodies or layers. The lower part, constitut- 

 ing the great bulk of the deposit, is a mass 

 of crystals of a faint greenish color, mixed 

 with a considerable amount of black, slimy 

 mud. It is known as the " solid soda," and 

 is said to have a depth of some twenty or 

 thirty feet. Above this solid soda occurs 

 the superficial layer of pure white crystal- 

 lized sulphate of soda. This is formed by 

 solution in water of the upper part of the 

 lower body, the crystals being deposited by 

 evaporation or by cooling, or by the two 

 combined. A little rain in the spring and 

 autumn furnishes this water, besides which 

 innumerable small sluggish-flowing springs 

 are present in all the lakes ; but on account 

 of the dry air of this region the surface is 

 generally dry, or nearly so, and in midsum- 

 mer the white clouds of efflorescent sulphate 

 that are whirled up by the ever-blowing 

 winds of Wyoming can be seen for miles. 

 The layer of white sulphate is from three to 

 twelve inches in thickness. When the crys- 

 tals are removed, the part laid bare is soon 

 replenished by a new crop. 



The Tea Gardens of Johore. Johore is 



an independent kingdom the only one now 

 in the Malay Peninsula on the Strait of 

 Malacca, and fourteen miles from the British 

 colony of Singapore. It is one of the richest 

 native states in Asia rich in its deposits of 

 tin and iron, and in its virgin forests of valu- 

 able tropical trees, and in the productive 

 capacity of its soil. The present sultan, Abu 

 Bakar, has experimented liberally in the de- 

 velopment of the native crops of tapioca, 

 cocoa, sago, gambier, spices, and gums, and 

 has introduced the cultivation of tea, coffee, 

 and pepper with such success that they now 

 form the chief products of the kingdom. 

 The Johore tea has been declared by experts 

 to be of a very superior quality. The moist 

 heat required by the tea plant is afforded in 

 such perfection by the climate of Johore that 

 the plants flush, or afford the fresh shoots from 

 which the young leaves are picked to make 

 our tea, all the year round. The bushes are 

 planted in rows about five feet apart, with a 

 space of about five feet between the stools. 

 Each bush flushes about three times a month ; 

 and once a year it flowers, and is then pruned. 

 The leaves are picked by Chinese or coolies, 

 who turn in their pickings twice a day, and 



are paid by the piece. An industrious picker 

 can pick, when the flush is good, as much as 

 sixty pounds of green leaf a day, which will 

 make a little more than fourteen pounds of 

 dried leaves. The green leaves are carefully 

 " withered " in bamboo trays by experienced 

 Chinese operators till they are sufficiently 

 dried a fact which is determined by the 

 touch ; they are then rolled, either by hand 

 rollers or rollers worked by steam, in such a 

 way that they are pressed and twisted with- 

 out losing juice. After this they are placed 

 in heaps upon a bench, where they are turned 

 over and over again by hand, to be "fer- 

 mented," till they lose their original green 

 and become blue ; thence they are removed 

 to a large drying chest called a sirocco, and 

 exposed to a heat of 260 F. Each sirocco 

 will hold four trays, which are placed at dif- 

 ferent levels. The first batch of leaf is 

 placed on the top tray, and after a few min- 

 utes is withdrawn, turned over by hand for a 

 while, and is then placed on the second tray, 

 while the first tray is filled with a new lot. 

 The operation is repeated until each lot has 

 had four treatments, when it is considered 

 " made." The tea is then sorted in revolv- 

 ing cylinders made of wire work of different 

 degrees of fineness. As the cylinders re- 

 volve, the tea in the top one works through the 

 meshes, according to size, into the cylinder 

 below it, and so on. The meshes determine 

 the grades, which are known as broken 

 orange pekoe, orange pekoe, broken pekoe, 

 pekoe, pekoe souchong, and souchong, in the 

 order of their value. More than half per- 

 haps sixty per cent of the making will be 

 souchong. Next come the weighing and pack- 

 ing. Four and a quarter pounds of green 

 leaf are supposed to make a pound of 

 " made " tea. 



Early Alpine Climbing. In prehistoric 

 times, says Mr. W. M. Carney, the Alps were 

 traversed by two or three trade roads, the 

 most important being that along which the 

 exchange in bronze and amber took place. 

 Italy was invaded over more than one pass in 

 early times. In the mediaeval period the 

 passes of the Alps were largely used by pil- 

 grims, the Great St. Bernard being their 

 favorite route. An interesting account is 

 extant of the passage of this route in winter 

 by Abbot Rudolf, of the Troad, in the year 



