Proceedings of the Farmers' Club. 611 



ted to a heat of 150 degrees until perfectly soft and pliable, Leing 

 kept constantly stirred to prevent their adhering to the sides of the 

 pan, after which they are quickly rolled and made up into balls, in 

 the same manner as black tea, and exposed to the sun on mats to dry, 

 the juice being expressed from time to time by the hand. This takes 

 three hours and they are afterward transferred to the pans, where they 

 are again heated and constantly stirred until the leaves become per- 

 fectly crisp and dry •which will occupy several hours as it is necessary 

 to bring out the required color by ihh ]j7'ocess. The more juice that 

 is extracted from the leaves, the better will be the color and flavor of 

 the tea, and this might be more effectually done by machinery than 

 by the hand. The tea being now ready for the packing house,, is sub- 

 mitted to the same processes as before mentioned, in the case^of black 

 teas, and classified into Twankay, Hyson, Imperial and Gun-powder. 



Chinese Mode of Coloring Green Tea. — The apparently beautiful 

 bloom which purchasers of good green tea are so- persistent in hav- 

 ing, and tea dealers so loudly put forth as being proof of the fresh- 

 ness of the crop, and indicative of the pureness and high quality of 

 the article, would not be so much sought after, wei-e it fully under- 

 stood w^hat all that beautiful bloom means,, or ho-w it is produced ; 

 and for the satisfaction of our tea-drinking friends^ I wilL here des- 

 cribe the process of " raising the bloom." After the green tea 

 (which is more yellow than green), is manufactured, it is not, accord- 

 ing to present taste, fit for the market, so must be made so ; this is 

 efiected by the tea in question being damped by steaming it, and 

 when thoroughly saturated, a mixture of gypsum, turmeric and 

 indigo, is made up and added in the proportion 'of one pound to 

 forty pounds of tea ; and this composition, together with the tea, is 

 placed in a revolving cylinder which is driven at great speed for 

 some minutes, after which the colored tea is taken out and dried over 

 fierce charcoal fires. This is the mystery of the " beautiful bloom." 



The present mode of manufacturing tea is no doubt a very primi- 

 tive one, and one that is capable of vast and important improve- 

 ments; especially in the rolling, roasting and drying processes, w^hicli 

 might be advantageously performed by the application of steam or 

 heated air. 



Box-MAKixG, Packing, Leadixg, Stamping and Shipping. 

 Box-maldng. — For the purpose of box-making, light, seasoned 

 timber is requisite, and as the boxes should be made of equal weight, 



