Edible Products. 



204 



[September, 1910« 



commercial scale until the cultivation 

 was commenced at The Ramble, in St. 

 Ann. At first this experiment pro- 

 ceeded very slowly ; the elevation of the 

 Ramble above sea-level is only 1,600 feet, 

 while that of the Gardens at Cin- 

 chona is 4,900 to 5,500 feet, and the 

 rainfall in St. Ann is considerably less. 

 It was therefore necessary to proceed 

 cautiously. 



The experiment was commenced with 

 250 plants and a packet of seed from 

 Cinchona. After a year's trial, it was 

 found that these grew freely; other 

 plants and seeds were then obtained 

 from the same source to extend the 

 cultivation, but the supply being neces- 

 sarily limited, the increase of acreage 

 was small. For some years no attempt 

 was made to manufacture tea from the 

 first few acres planted ; the trees were 

 left to grow on, to flower and bear seed 

 for further planting. This reserved 

 seed garden is now giving a steady 

 supply, so that planting can go on more 

 rapidly. It may be asked why seed was 

 not imported. No seed could be had 

 from Ceylon, as there was a prohibition 

 in this colony against auy importation 

 of seeds or plants from that island, so as 

 to safeguard the country from any intro- 

 duction of the coffee leaf disease. 



Prom Assam, seed might have been 

 obtained, but two reasons made it un- 

 desirable. Firstly there was danger 

 that some of the enemies of the tea 

 plant which are found there might be 

 introduced with the seed ; and, secondly, 

 any change of soil and climate affects 

 the character of the tea produced. The 

 Cinchona strain was commenced with 

 and it was thought better to keep to. 

 that alone. 



The next step was to find out whether 

 the leaf would make good tea. For this 

 purpose a small quantity of the leaf was 

 plucked, rolled by hand and dried in 

 the sunshine, This proved to be of very 

 good quality, and as all the initial diffi- 

 culties were disposed of the requisite 

 machinery was imported, and the tea 

 placed on the market in the latter part 

 of 1903. The manufactured tea has a 

 mild character similar to the old China 

 teas, and the absence of astringency is a 

 marked feature. At the beginning of 

 1906, about 100 acres were under culti- 

 vation (only a part being available for 

 crop), and since then 50 acres more have 

 been planted with seed. 



Conditions under which Culture 



has Taken Place, 

 The Ramble is on the north-side of the 

 island, 13 miles from St. Ann's Ray. It 



consists almost entirely of hills with a 

 basis of white limestone, which provides 

 complete natural drainage. The tops of 

 the hill where the rock crops out are 

 thickly covered with trees, while ou the 

 lower slopes lies a deep red soil. At the 

 edge of the rocky parts the limestone is 

 in many places decomposed into what is 

 locally called gravel, It is only in the 

 red soil that the tea plant looks healthy ; 

 seed planted on gravel will germinate, 

 but the leaves are yellow and sickly, and 

 the plant will die out. 



There are no streams and, for practical 

 purposes, no springs in the neighbour- 

 hood ; the rainfall therefore is of pri- 

 mary importance. From Table I, it will 

 be seen that during the nine years, 1898 

 to 1906, the highest rainfall in the twelve 

 months was 96'36 inches, the lowest 71*79 

 inches and the average 82'80 inches. 

 The greatest number of days in a year 

 on which no rain fell was 194, the least 

 number 145, and the average 163. The 

 number of days with raiufall of -CI to 

 '04 inch was, the greatest 70, the least 

 40, and the average 56. The number of 

 days with raiufall of '05 to '49 iuches 

 Avas, the greatest 111, the least 70, and 

 the average 94. The number of days 

 with rainfall of '50 to less than 1 inch 

 was, the greatest 33, the least 21, and 

 the average 28. The number of days 

 with rainfall 1 inch to under 2 iuches 

 was, the greatest 20, the least 13, and the 

 average 17. The number of days with 

 rainfall of 2 iuches or over was, the 

 greatest 10, the least 4, and the average 

 6. It is therefore seen that on the 

 average, about 200 days in each year 

 have some rain, and about 145 days have 

 more than 5 points. The longest period 

 in any year which had no rain of 5 points 

 or over was 26 days, the shortest 9 days, 

 and the average 16 days. The dry time 

 occurs in March and April. 



This even distribution of the rainfall 

 is of the utmost importance, for the crop 

 depends on a constant growth of young 

 leaves (called flushes) being thrown out, 

 and it is evident that frequent gentle 

 rains, with intervals of bright sunshiue, 

 will produce the best results. 



The average temperature of the year 

 varies between 80'06° and 77'25°, for the 

 maximum has been above 90° only five 

 times during the uine years (all these 

 being in the years 1903 aud 1904), and 

 eight times below 65°. The night mini- 

 mum has not gone above 73°, and once 

 fell to 50°. 



