100 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIr5T. [August i, 1893. 
LEAVES FROM A NILGIRI TEA GARDEN' 
II was Iftte on an April efiernoon, after a seven 
teen miles' ride from Mettapolliuna np a steep and 
ruirged path, th»t I fir*t saw aNPgiri tea estate, aud 
me I stood with my host on tie steps of bis pretty 
buiigftlow, lookiug down into ibe plains spread out 
b low in the glare of the burning afternoon eun, I 
felt it W'li good to be there, 5, COO feet above tbtm. 
Behind us were the pine-clad, silent bills, rifinv range 
after range into the olear sky, all clothed as with a ga'- 
ment with the overflowing snDshine, while on either side 
was a fair pastoral country of mountain, ravine aod 
fartile valleTS, hiUs, and open common, whfre rmall 
brown cattle and buffaloes grazed, and flocks of ebeep 
•nd goats roamed at nil], herded by li)tl<^ Badrga boys 
in quaint, dnet -coloured drapeiies bordered with red. 
The country seemed smiling with plenty hamlets of 
red-tiltd, roomy bouses, surrounded by fruitful orchards 
and waving cornfields were dotted here and there on 
the hillsidrs, or nestled in the valleys near brooks 
which rushed down tumultuously over their rooky beds 
from their mountain homes. 
Within the bonndary of the estate long trim rows 
of tea-bushee rose on either side of tbe stream tliat 
draws its clear water-i from the eagle-haunted hill 
behind the house. A jantile cock kept up bis curiouR, 
hannting cry in the woods, long-tailed ewallowH flew 
twittering across the gleaminj? wafer, the liquid song 
of the Xiidibn blackbird vied in sweetne'S «ith tbe 
half-brooding carol of the robin, flitting from bueh to 
bush. Away in the woods rose tbe call of the wild (irey 
pigeons, soft and musical as the notes of tbe ring- 
«!ove which was stolen by tbe lover of old for a love-gift 
when it brooded on the juniper-tree ; and everywhere 
tbe hum of a thonsand insectH might be heard, as 
they flitted among the orimsoa-bearied roses or took 
long draughts of honey from the pule crtam cups of 
tbe weeping f<nm-tree, whose long gracefal taaeels 
hung freiiitlinf;ly over beds of — 
" Carnations and streak'd gillyvors, 
Daffodils (bat come before the swallow dares and take, 
The winds of March with beauty; violets dim. 
But sweeter than the lid of Juno's eyes, 
Bold orchids acd.the Crown Imperial; lilies of all kinds. 
The flower de luce being one." 
Soon tbe hillsides were bathed in rcsy light, and the 
western tky wbs aflame with the crimson glories of 
tbe sunset. As tbe sun sank slowly and tbe wonder- 
ful afterglow painted the f>ky with molten gold and 
red, the quiet spot suddenly became slive. Up tbe 
winding paths of (be estate came lines of coolies, 
women and children these, the pickers, each with a 
white bafk(t on Lis or her heed, full of bright green 
leaves, the newly picked "flush" of the tea. Behind 
them came the prnners, men ani older boys, who 
gave up their pruning knives to the maestry who 
aco( mtaniea efoh gang, and departed to their homes 
in tbe bamleta around, while the pickers formed a 
line round the tin-tea-hou-e or factory door, end as 
their names were called from a list, by the writer, 
they entered one by one and had their " leaf" 
weighed and the amonut of each ba'^ket entered in a 
book. A picker will pluck from 5 lb. to 10 lb. of leaf 
a day, according to age aud speed. 10 lb. is oonri- 
dered an ezceptiona ly good day's work for an 
•dult picker. On the floor of the tfa-house a pio- 
turesqne group were squatted round a heap of 
newly " fired " tea, just out of the "Sirocco ;" 
children, moitly girls of 8 to 11 years, draped in 
yellowish-brown cloths, which they had drawn up 
tightly over their heads to keep out the tta-dnst, 
which waa flying in all directions, and a few boys 
in similar draper es, but wiih ted worsted caps on. 
These were busily entaged in ''sorting" and picking 
all tbe ttilk and refu-e .out of the tea. Tbn 
sorted lea waa then sifted by three boys, who placed 
it in a large rieve, which they proceeded to rub 
briekly up and down on a wooden henob, the finer 
tea falling into a sheet underneath, tbe coarser remaio 
log in Ibe sie'e. The sifted l<a was then taken 
posseesion of by aoother group, who funned it with 
fans of coconut mitttiug to rtmove all tbe tea-dust, 
which is Bold tepara'ely. Mbuy estates have sifting 
m'chinea, but in some tbe eld sys'em of land 
sifting i»k-pt up, and some planters prefer it to 
tbe machine'', as being more ti<orou^h. After tbe 
tea was i-orted, s ited arid weighed, it wsb locked 
op iu the big leail-lined cheats cQat l:ne<l tbe w>l s 
01 the tta-house. Work was then over for that day, 
but during my visit, I bad ample time to watch Ibe 
routine of tea-manufacture, which is most interesting. 
The tea-plaiit is a species of Camellia. Il grows 
into a sturi'y bush from 3 to 5 ft. high, and baa 
beautiful waxy-wbite flower*. Its leavi »<Hre dnrk green, 
and it wou'd make a beautiful thrub tor hud nee. Tbe 
soil (a rich sandy loam is best) must be w<lldraintd, 
and it is essential that water should not lodge round 
tbe roots of the plants. Many of tbe lea estates of 
Southern India are on hillsides, and ri«e in terraces 
up tbe mountains, remindir.g one of the vineyards 
along tbe Kbine. L/evel ground is however as good, 
providing it is wt-ll-draioed. • • 
The low coui try oooli< e begin work at 7 a m., and 
continue till sunset, with an interval in tbe mi<ldle 
of tbe day for eatioK their food, which tbey bring 
with them. Tbe Badefiap, or hill oo' lies, work from 
9 a.m. till suiiFet. aud have uo interval iu tbe middle 
of the day, as ibi^y only have two meals a day, in the 
morning and in tbeevtning. Roll-cal is helo by the 
planter at 9 a.m., after which the pickers with tbiir 
bat>kets, uEd the pruners armed with their carved 
knivti, disperre, each gang with its matstry, to 
different parts of the estate. * * 
A planter'n life is a healthy open air sc'ive life, 
especially when t in lot is cast iu as perfect a climate 
as that of tbe l^ilgiris. Here, as in most of the 
other patbs of life, I'oeil de maitre is everything, 
and the sooner people get rid of the idea that tbe 
plant' r'e life is an easy-going, sporting, bappy-gc- 
luchy on«, tbe better, ily host, whose eitate was 
one of about 75 acres, was bu«y all day long f om 
6 a.m. to 5 p.m,, in tea-house or on the estate, 
direotiog the pruners, superintending tbe weighiig 
firing, Jryipg and packing. He could seldom be absent 
from bis (S'ate for a day, and at the lime of my 
visit, the busiest time of the year, tea-making was 
goii g on nit;bt and day. He would g< t up two or 
three times in tbe night to see that ull was KOiog on 
right in the tea-bouse. It is therefore, obvious tbat 
only active, energetic and tboroogb men can make 
planting pay. A ffw t'aya' spent with a planter in 
bis estate will supply information which no reading of 
booke aud papers cau afford. 
" B ack care" and " smiling hope" in turns hover 
round tbe path of an Indian planter, and there is 
much excitement and no little fascination in a life 
which is as full of ups and downs as hif>, whethtr be be 
a grower of cinchona, a planter of tea or of coffee. 
The eincbona grower was a few years ago tbought to 
have a greot future before him, and visions of rapidly- 
to-be-made fortunes and success seemed to rise up 
belore him, but tbe uoit rbrank. hope vanished, and 
ruin looked many a cinchona grower in the face, and 
he was counted lucky who only had to maiti-r " the 
great art of cheerlul poverty." The coffee planter, 
too, had a bad time for years, when the price of hia 
produce sank lower and lower though the quality in- 
creastd. The crops too, became poorer each season, 
until the crisis was reached two years ago, and there 
wpre neither crops nor promise for tbe next year. 
Then suddenly the tide tnrned, prospects brightenei, 
and new life seemed to be infused into tbe crops, aud 
coffee, both with regard to crop and value, now stands 
bi^^her than ever it did before. As to taa at this 
moment, no fortunes are to be made in it, for pro- 
duction increases, while prices diminish. But who can 
tell what the future may have in store for tbe tea 
plsi ter. A turn may come to fickle Fortune's chang- 
ii g wheel, sn.i this great industry ol Southern ludia 
may yet thrive and flourish again, even more than it 
has done in the past. M. 
— Tines of India. 
