80 TEA 



they are passed on to another gang, whose duty it is 

 to enfold them in paper wrappers. The wrappers vary 

 in colour, and are very communicative, as well as decora- 

 tive, " contents bills/' Finally, the packets are 

 arranged in layers within wooden cases, which, when 

 they are full to the brim, are nailed down. The tinfoil 

 pa^ckets contain such weights of tea as are commonly 

 asked for by the customers for whom they are specially 

 put up ; America, for instance, requires tea to be put 

 up in packets of which six go to the pound. 



The electric weigher both interests and amuses us 

 very much. Two scales, on a pivot, are incessantly 

 turning somersaults. Tea falls down a chute into one 

 scale, and when the right weight to a leaf has been 

 received, the supply is automatically cut off. The one 

 scale shoots its contents into a packing-case, ducks 

 down, and up comes the other scale to go through a 

 similar performance. 



For some markets, such as South Africa, tea is packed 

 loose into wooden cases. These cases are very gaily 

 bedecked with stencilled pictures of scenes in Ceylon 

 tea-lands. 



From the packeting and packing department, we 

 go on to the box-making department. And thence 

 we are conducted by our kindly host to a pretty 

 bungalow, where we have a delightfully Enghsh four 

 o'clock tea on a veranda overlooking a beautiful 

 tropical garden. 



