Il8 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF TEA. 



invented (though it is fair to state I know no other except 

 by report), but I do not believe in any Tea rolling-machine 

 superseding entirely the necessity of hand-rolling.* A rolling- 

 machine may be, and is, very useful to roll the leaves partly, 

 that is, to break the cells, and bring the leaf into that soft 

 mashy state that very little hand labour will finish it. No 

 rolling-machine yet invented can, I think, do more than 

 this, and it is, I think, doubtful if any will ever be invented 

 that will do more. Machines do not give the nice final 

 twist which is obtained by the hand. I was told lately that 

 most of the gardens in Cachar that had machines had 

 dropped them and gone back to hand-rolling. I cannot 

 help thinking this is a mistake. They should use both, the 

 hand-rolling for the final part alone. Very few rolling-men 

 would then suffice, with the aid of the machine, to manu- 

 facture a large quantity of leaf. 



I only know of one other Tea rolling-machine, which 

 is Nelson's. It does not profess to do more than prepare 

 the green leaf for rolling, which, as stated above, is, I think, 

 all that any machine will ever do. I have never seen it 

 working, but it appears simple, being nothing more than a 

 mangle. The leaf is placed in bags, and then compressed 

 under rollers attached to a box, weighted with stones. The 

 prospectus states, it will prepare 80 Ibs. green leaf in fifteen 

 minutes, and that one man can then finish as much of such 

 prepared leaf in three minutes as would occupy him twelve 

 minutes if the same had not been prepared. I see nothing 

 unlikely in this. The machine, though inferior to Kinmond's 

 in its arrangement, ought to be cheap enough to bring it 

 within the reach of all. f 



* I had not seen Jackson's machine when I thought as above. 



f Unfortunately it is not. It is advertised at Rs. 300, with a yearly 

 royalty of Rs. 50 the first year and 20 after. The royalty should be dropped, 

 and the machine sold for Rs. 150, which would give the inventor a good 

 profit. 



