The owner of the bushes and his family pick the tea them- 
selves, or rather strip the bushes of all green leaf. They have 
other business to attend to, such as rice cultivation and the 
rape seed crop to gather in; so the speedier they collect the leaf 
the better. There is no premium on careful picking, as every- 
one’s leaf is mixed up in the factories, where twigs and other 
rubbish have to be picked out by a number of children em- 
ployed by the factory for that purpose. 
The factories during the autumn, winter and early spring are 
deserted and closed, and on first arriving in the district, the 
SUN DRYING TEA ON RIVER BANK NEAR FOWLING 
question of where the necessary labor is to come from puzzles 
one. However, a few days before the leaf is ready for picking, 
the usual labor migration starts from the south, and all the main 
paths over the hills are alive with an endless procession of natives 
who sort themselves out among the Villages of the district ; 
some for work in the factories, others on the hillsides. 
The picking of the most forward bushes commences practically 
simultaneously ; the more backward bushes are left for a few 
days before picking, which explains the second and third packs. 
As soon as the sun is up in the morning, and the dew dried 
from the leaf, picking begins. When sufficient has been gath- 
ered, the leaf is spread out thinly on matting in the sun to wither: 
then, when sufficiently soft, so that the thickest stems are no 
