464 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



PERIYAK RUBBER CO.'S ESTATE 



at Thattakaad and I was able to follow, and 

 discuss with him, the whole process from 

 tapping to packing. 



On September 10th I attended a meetiDg of 

 what is now the Malabar Coast Planters' Asso- 

 ciation, and they are to be congratulated on 

 their change of name and all that it implies, and 

 on the enthusiastic way in which they have ini- 

 tiated their Association. If the future meetings 

 maintain the percentage of attendance of that at 

 which 1 had the pleasure of being present they 

 should do some good work. An Experiment 

 Committee was appointed, and a scheme of experi- 

 ments in Rubber cultivation sketched out, con- 

 sisting of manurial experiments, and an investi- 

 gation of the possibility of extracting the oil 

 from the yearly increasing quantities of Para 

 se< d and utilising the poonac as a manure, on 

 the lines I suggested at the annual meeting of 

 the D PAS 1 the preliminary investigation, 

 dealing withthe crushing of the seed and the 

 extraction of the oil will be carried out by Messrs 

 Pierce, Leslie & Co., Ld., at Cochin, and I hope 

 to be able to investigate the value ot the poonac 

 as a manure in my laboratory at Bangalore. 



My sincere thanks are due to the Honorary 

 Secretary of the Malabar Coast Planters' Asso- 

 ciation for the excellent arrangements which he 

 made for my tour, and to the planters of the 

 district for their hospitality and kindness. — 

 Rudolph D Anstead, Planting Expert. 



— Planters' Chronicle, Oct. 15. 



" POINT IN TEA." 



[Our thanks are due to Messrs Thomas and 

 Company for assistance rendered in the pre- 

 paration of the article.— Ed.] 



How many planters on receiving a valuation 

 on their tea samples look merely at the prices 

 and put but little weight on the description and 

 criticism of the teas referred to therein. We 

 have often seen the remark of the broker, lacking 

 point, call forth irrelevant criticism. 'Point? 

 Bless me! What will they expect me to give 

 them next? I am to make 10 maunds an acre 

 and throw in point as well when the garden only 

 yielded 4^ maunds an acre last year and point 

 was not even thought of.' Point is a term used 

 to denote any distinctive and attractive attri- 

 butes in tea, more especially as regards liquor 

 or infusion of the samples under consideration. 

 Prominent tip is, of course, a most attractive 

 point in tea, combining as it does both appear- 

 ance and desirable liquor, inherent attributes in 

 all tippy teas, relative to their class and flavour. 

 The most valuable point in tea is undoubtedly a 

 classy liquor that contains lasting qualities It 

 should always be borne in mind that liquors are 

 the Ultima Thule of all tea making. It is the 

 liquor and the liquor alone — that fixes the mar- 

 ket value of all teas produced for the world's 

 consumption. Failing all else, appearance alone 

 would mark a point in districts where liquors of 

 high quality are not attainable. Careful assort- 

 ment is an essential that should not ever be ne- 



glected, as it alone would attract attention to 

 teas that otherwise would not merit other than 

 casual notice, and would undoubtedly, if per- 

 sistent, create a demand for a mark, that failing 

 in this point would be delegated to the com- 

 mons, aruck, competed for only by large pur- 

 chasers of the very cheapest grades of tea. 



Let us then emphasize. The most valuable 

 point in tea is a desirable infusion, and the 

 most desirable point in a valuable infusion lies in 

 its lasting qualities. These attributes can 

 only be attained, in perfecton, from the very 

 best of leaf, emphatically coloured, and matured 

 at low temperatures, to the acme of briskness 

 ( which entaiLs freedom from hardness without 

 a hint of laxity) which alone ensures lasting 

 qualities. The outturn must be bright and 

 even the aroma unalloyed, and the flavour unim- 

 paired. Study then your calority, beware also 

 of a too emphatic emphasis on flavour 'B ' * even 

 though propagated at a temperature of 175° 

 Fahrenheit. We have said that liquor is the 

 strongest point that tea can acquire, and we 

 would wish to draw attention to the system that 

 devote all efforts to the production of strong 

 liquors alone, a system that discards appearance 

 entirely, and enforces the point of liquors in the 

 lower grades of Souchongs and broker teas 

 alone, these, bearing as they do, in a large 

 proportion o r estates, a high percentage in 

 comparison with other grades, mark a point of 

 considerable value with those demanding Sou- 

 chongs with good liquors, for specialised market. 



RUSSIA 



has of late years stepped in as a high bidder for 

 appearance, and hence concentrated liquors in 

 the lower grades are temporarily somewhat in 

 abeyance. It seems but yesterday when dark 

 and thick infusions were essential to command 

 the attention of the strongest and best buyers 

 on the London market The manufacturers will 

 we feel certain, eventnally master the intrica- 

 cies of combining the ne plus ultra Z of thick 

 strong infusions in the lowest grades. If the 

 whispers of the "airts" are to be trusted this 



REVOLUTION IS ALREADY KNOCKING AT THK 

 PORTALS OP THE TEA INDUSTRY. 



Rumour has it that experiments are maturing, 

 in which artificially manured plots are acquir- 

 ing the attibute of enhanced quality in liquor 

 in conjunction with reinforced yield. This, if 

 verified, should be worth the attention of re- 

 presentative syndicates, with a view of limiting 

 its prodigality to the Empire's products. It is 

 an open secret that great strides are being made 

 m the inducement of the so-called essential oils 

 in the ultimate product of the infusions, in 

 cream and cup, the value of which need scarcely 

 be emphasized. These teas are, as we write, 

 being introduced with marked puecess into a 

 keen market, and this, in combination with per- 

 fected mai urial efforts, should gr<v.tly benefit 

 the prime movers, in the event of a successful 

 issue of the new ventures. — Indian Planters' 

 Gazette, Oct. 22. 



* A new term used by scientists to denote 

 briskness. 



