57^ 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [February i, 188. 
made rapid strides iu make and strength, and con- 
sequently in favour. This improvement has been 
brought about by greater care in cultivation and pre- 
paration. The reduction of taxation to a minimum 
has proved a great stimulus to the energy of the 
planters.* Japan teas, being unsuited to the English 
taste, have nevtr taken any hold on the public, and 
are not likely to do so. India and Oeylon enjoy the 
advantages of absolute freedom from taxation, a large 
number of flushes of leaf in the year and consequent 
greater yield per acre than China tea, and the com- 
p irative nearness to the consuming markets. 
We have confidence in making the following sugges- 
tions for the improvement of China teas. 
We know that the tea we want was once procurable 
in China, but as it is no longer brought to market we 
conclude it is not made, and we are therefore strongly 
of opinion that the modes of cultivation or curing in 
vogue in Oeylon and India would be highly beneficial 
if adopted in this country. We should recommend that 
a number oE intelligent aud practical Chinamen should 
be sent to those oountries to learn the process them- 
selves so as to become teachers to their fellow country- 
men on their return. It would be an advantage if 
factories were established in one or two of the principal 
tea districts under official protection, using all the 
modern machinery. The introduction of machinery 
will require strong Government protection, or it may 
possibly cause disturbance amongst the workers that it 
will replace. We know for a fact that a tea-rolling 
machine was imported from Oeylon some two years 
ago, but it has not yot been used, as no men were 
found with courage enough to face a possible riot 
amongst the coolies. 
The Chinese method of preparation is so very primi- 
tive that tea can only be properly cured under the 
most favourable climatic conditions. Under the in- 
fluence of rain or any other untoward circumstance the 
process breaks down entirely, and hence the irregular 
quality of one season's produce compared with another. 
This irregularity might be obviated to a great extent 
by the better housing of the raw leaf. 
The points that want the greatest change are fer- 
mentation and firing. 
Ever since the opening of the Suez CaDal there has 
been a yearly deterioration in the way tea has been 
prepared for the Foreign markets, and teamen lay the 
blame on the buyers in Hankow. The fact is tlaat tea- 
men have studied first the cost of making, and second 
the palates of the Hankow buyers, and they have found 
that a tea half fermented and slightly fired arrives at 
the market in the most attractive form to buyers. The 
result is that we now get a pale-liquoring, brisk tea, 
which has lost half its strength and nearly all its keep- 
ing qualities, becoming vapid and flavourless in a few 
mouths. Fermentation should be allowed to go on 
until every leaf is red, and firing should be done slowly 
as in olden days. Without proper fermentation you 
cannot get a strong, rich liquor, and it is on strength 
and make alone that the Indian teas rely for their re- 
putation. No one ever heard of Indian or Ceylon teas 
being recommended as being of superior flavour to 
China tea. It is in the matter of flavour we look for 
the revival of the China Tea Trade. What we want 
is a strong tea, full of aroma, and so perfectly cured 
that it will retain the qualities for a long time. The 
Canton teas of this season have shown a great improve- 
ment on those of many previous seasons, and have met 
with a good reception in London. What oan be done 
in Canton can be done in other parts of the kingdom. 
The present system of attempting to make large 
chops of 1,000 -chests to 3,000 J-chests, purporting to 
be of even quality throughout, is one of the main 
causes of the deterioration of the article. To make this 
quantity in one chop necessitates the delay of many days 
in purchasing the requisite quantity of loaf, often ex- 
tending for a week to ton days after the leaf has been 
picked from the tree, during which time the leaf is 
rapidly deteriorating. In India, tea is always made in 
•Bit the Java planters still complain grievously 
.i J.'uivy taxation, Sec paragraph quoted the ohter 
(l«V -Ed, 
small chops rarely exceeding 100 to 150 chests, all being 
the pickings made in a single day ; aud by preparing 
aud packing the tea the day after it is picked,* the best 
qualities of the leaf are retained. 
Another source of deterioration is the mixture of 
leaf from inferior districts with that grown in the better 
districts. This mixture is often difficult to detect 
shortly afttr the tea is made, and as often deceives the 
foreign buyers in Hankow ; but the voyage to England 
brings out the coarse flavour of the inferior mixture, 
and is a great cause of disappointment and )o»s. 
Mr. Robert Fortune, in his " Two Journeys in the Tea 
Districts," written about 1818, describes the processes 
of making tea. We specially mention Mr. Fortune aa 
aa authority, as not only did he visit all the tea dis- 
tricts in China, but he was the first to introduce China 
tea into India, and engaged several Chinese experts to 
superintend the making of tea in India. 
We would also call attention to Mr. Fortune's re- 
marks on the replanting of tea shrubs every ten years, 
a necessity which we are given to understand has been 
lamentably neglected, and to which perhaps may be 
traced a good deal of the deterioration of which we 
now complain. 
Our previous remarks mostly refer to Black Tea, and 
we would now wish to add a few about Green Tea. 
Everyone is aware that this is an article depending for 
its value on the care displayed in its making and colour- 
ing. From the same basket of leaf a small portion 
may be found, which, if carefully selected and pre- 
pared, will be worth Tls. 70 a picul, duty paid, whilst 
the lowest grade may not be worth more than Tls. 
.7 or 8 duty paid. The bulk of it, however, consists 
of an ordinary twisted leaf, called Young Hyson, and 
on the value of this depends the proportion value 
of the chop. The enlightened policy of the Japanese 
Government in charging only J|l a picul on Ex- 
ported tea has enabled the Japanese to produce an 
article similar in most respects to Young Hyson, 
which has so successfully competed with it that it 
has reduced the values of China Green Tea below 
the cost of production. China tea is still saleable in 
the United States and Canada on about a par with 
Japan tea, but for several years China Green Tea has 
been a very unprofitable business both for the maker 
and the shipper. 
The following figures will show the decrease in the 
production of China Green Tea and the remakable 
advance made in the Export of Japan teas. 
Green Teas. 
1872-73 1886-87 
Export to the United States and 
Canada 2,934,510 15,967,764 
Export to Great Britain 10,623,600 7,405,797 
Export to Bombay 806,080 2,092,267 
34,364,190 25,465,828 
34,364,190 
Decrease ... 
Japan Teas. 
1872-73 
Export to the United States and 
Canada 12,003,026 
Export to Great Britain nil 
12,003,026 
8,898,362 
1886-87 
44,948,646 
37,318 
32,982,931 
Iuerease 
The make of Moyunes, Teeukais, aud Fychows has 
fallen off considerably of late years, but we still get 
sound, pure teas from these districts. There is one 
point, however, to which we would wish to draw the 
Government's attention, and that is, the stuff which 
is manufactured in the neighbourhood of Ningpo under 
the name of Pingsueys. Some of the dealers adhere 
honourably to making pure tea, but the majority are 
only too apt to mix spurious rubbish with their teas 
which is carefully coloured to look like the true article 
but which is slowly and surely undermining their busi- 
ness. The least harmful form is tea powder mixed 
* We do not suppose that tea was ever packed the day 
after it was picked. — Ed. 
