THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1887, 
determinatiou, however, by the persuasive eloquence 
of K. E. Piueo and J. -McCombie Murray, two lead- 
ing tea-growers of Ceylon, who have recently located 
themselves in this city with a view of educating young 
folks in the matter of tea, concerning which you 
are in a lamentable state of ignorance. They drew 
Buch an alluring picture of the delights of the bever- 
age made from the Oeylon shrub that I reluctantly 
consented to drink, and now I can truthfully say 
that never before had I known what tea tasted like and 
had never before, as you never have, touched the pure, 
unadulterated article. The story of the introduction 
of Ceylon tea which these gentlemen have told me 
is most interesting. * * * 
Did the people of America thoroughly understand 
the difference between the tea of Ceylon and that of 
China or Japan, it is certain that those who could get 
the pure, clean, machine-prepared leaf which is turned 
out from the planters' factory would never touch the 
far from pure articles prepared by the hands and feet 
of the unwashed Mongolian. In China and Japan tea 
is mostly cultivated in small patches by the peasantry, 
who gather the leaves and prepare the tea in their huts 
in a very unfastidious manner. The tea, either in a 
half manufactured or finished state, is sold to petty 
dealers, who in turn sell to larger dealers. The large 
dealer mixes and manipulates the teas, packs and sells 
them to the European merchants for shipment to 
England, Australia or America. The manipulation of 
tea is an art in which the Chinaman excels, and in many 
of the inferior kinds the quality is infinitely deterior- 
ated : thus, the dust of the tea is mixed with clay and 
manipulated into the form of the ordinary leaf. This 
is with appropriate philological coincidence termed 
" lie " tea. Tea leaves which have already been used 
are again manipulated and rolled into shape and sold 
as genuine tea. The teas of Japan, which are almost 
entirely consumed by Americans, are frequently and 
admittedly " faced " with a mixture of Prussian blue 
and soapstone. 
It occurred to me while in the office of the two 
Ceylon gentlemen at 9, North Thirteenth street, that 
I would obtain for my lady listeners a tea grower's 
method of making " the cups that cheer but not inebri- 
ate." This is what they said to me : 
Some people swear by their old opinions and customs ; 
the older, the more they swear. To such people we 
•would say, you have never before seen or tasted Kootee 
or Oeylon tea, and you are not acquainted with its pec- 
uliar properties. It is not the same as other teas, 
and there is only one proper way to make it. The 
method which ought to be used in making other 
tea is absolutely necessary in making Kootee tea. 
First. — Boil your water. Steaming water is not ne- 
cessarily boiling. When water boils, the kettle is 
alive, and you are made aware of the fact that it is 
boiling by the noise and commotion. Second. Warm 
the teapot just before measuring in the tea. Third. 
Calculate one teaspoon ful of tea for three to four strong 
cups of tea. The tea will turn out a rich amber colour, 
not black, as is the case with tea faced with black lead 
and indigo to make them appear strong. Fourth. 
Don't put your tea put on the stove at all, but on 
your dining table, where you can allow it to rest for 
seven minutes to infuse. Stir up the tea a little 
before pouring off, as the strength remains at the 
bottom. Use a cozy if you have one. 
It appears to me that if you have listened to me 
today you have learned something worth knowing. 
Bystander. 
Philadelphia Daily Nev)s, April 30th. 
♦ 
CINCHONA GROWING AND THE MADRAS 
GOVERNMENT. 
The following letters in connection with the Gov- 
ernment Cinchona Plantations have been published : — 
Letter from the Hon. S. R. Turnbull, Chairman, 
Chamber of Commerce, Madras, to the Secretary to 
Government, Revenue Department: — 
The report of the Director of Government Cinchona 
Plantations for 1885-86' and the order of Government 
thereon, 15th November 1880, No. 988, Revenue, are of 
particular interest to the Chamber in connection with 
the correspondence between the '.Chamber and the 
Government which was recorded on the 15th June 
1886 (No. 486, Reveuue). In the order of the latter 
date the Government was pleased to inform the 
Chamber that the increase in the number of trees in 
the Government Cinchona Plantations was more ap- 
parent than real, and that no new land had been 
planted in recent years. The Chamber had noticed, 
with regret, that in the year 1881-85 the number of 
trees had advanced from 1,122,766 to 1,620,744, and it 
now gathers from the report before it that at the end 
of 1885-86, the number was 1,950,345. It was re- 
marked by the Chamber in its letter of the 4th Feb. 
last that the surplus of revenue over expenditure up 
to 1884-85 was R5,51,743, and that the Government 
possessed an estate that would realize a large sum of 
money were it offered for sale. From the appendix 
to the report; of 1885-86 it now appears that the 
surplus is set down at R4,95,539 after allowance 
had been made for 4| per cent simple interest 
on outlay to the end of that period. The Chamber 
begs to be permitted to say once again that it 
is unable to see the necessity for further exten- 
sion. The investment has proved a conspicuous finan- 
cial success, and the Government, it seems to the Cham- 
ber, can now safely relieve itself of the trouble, expense 
and possible loss connected with extensions, and confine 
its attention to securing the bark already grown or 
in growth, and to the conduct of experiment and in- 
vestigations in the cultivations of cinchona. The Cham- 
ber is informed that in November of 1885 the Wynaad 
Planters' Association addressed the Director of the 
Government Cinchona Plantations requesting that the 
Government would allow the Association to have ana- 
lyses of cinchona bark made at cost price if they were 
likely to prove of practical utility. The Association 
pointed out that experiments might be made with 
different kinds of manure, and that Government might 
give the results of experience in matters connected 
with the harvesting of Ledgerina bark in which the 
Wynaad ii largely interested. The Director, in reply, 
declared his inability to help the Association in the 
matter. The Chamber agrees with the Association in 
thinking that the conduct of investigations is essentially 
what the Government declares to be its raison detre 
as a cinchona planter, and that its refusal to help 
the outside planting community in the matter is a 
contradiction of its apology for continuing its con- 
nection with the industry. 
This letter having been referred to the Di- 
rector of Government Cinchona Plantations for 
such remarks as he may have to offer, Mr. 
M. A. Lawson, Government Botanist and Director 
of Cinchona Plantations, Nilgiris, wrote to the Secret- 
ary to Government, Revenue Department : — 
With reference to letter (undated) from Mr. S. R. 
Turnbull, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce 
which has been forwarded to me for remarks under 
your endorsement No. 551, of the 26th January 1887, 
I have the honor to inform you that I have little 
new to add to what I wrote in my former letter No. 
1, dated the 2nd April 1886, upon the subject, as the 
comments of the present Chairman of the Chamber 
of Commerce on my report are precisely the same 
as those which were made by his predecessor Mr. 
MacFadyen on my report of the year before. The 
so-called extensions of the Government Cinchona 
Estates are restorations of portion of the plant- 
ations, which in past years had been allowed to go to 
decay, and if these restorations were not made, the 
Chairman's aspirations that Government whenever 
they sell the estates " would realise a large sum of 
money " would not be accomplished. Experiments 
upon the value of different kinds of manure are being 
carried on, and, when completed, the result will be 
communicated to you.'.Such experiments as these, how- 
ever, must be spread over a long period, if they are to 
be of any real value. The question of fees to be paid 
to Mr. Hooper for private work done by him was 
settled by Government in their G. O. No. 186, of 
12th March 1886, Revenue, and it seems to me that it 
would be unfair by this gentleman if the Chairman's 
