478 
THE TROPICAL AGRlGULTURlSf . 
[Jan. I, 1894. 
pUnteii who gtve their ideas %b to rolling, firioir, 
fermenting, &o. Now thiiif^s have greatly chaoged 
since then — we have new machinery entirely, far more 
rapid driera and roUera th%t work off leaf qaioker 
than formerly. I aoiigeat that the Planters' A^rociatioa 
bold an loqairy into Tea Manufacture and appoint 
a Committee who shall formulate a new series of 
qoeitions to be sabmittel to planters who get orack 
prices. Some may object to give their modus operandi, 
bat many haviog Ceylon's interest at heart, ought to 
be able to shed a flood of new light on the aubjeot. 
Their answers should be published and we ah would be 
the gainers I doubt not. If crack price men will 
step forward, some valuable hints will be the result 
ana the leas clever planters will very likely have 
the pleasuta of seeing their diminishing prices again 
rising to stay there and pour China teas will be 
still further oasted. 
I certainly think fine jat makes better and atroDger 
tea than poor jat. It has more strenxth and finer 
bigger tips ; though whether it has better flavor may 
be doubted, seeing the tiae prices some Darjeeling 
gardens get, where, I believe, tbey have a lot of 
inferior and China jat. — I am, yours truly, 
FINE TEA. 
No. XXI. 
Talawakele, Dec. 4tb, 1893. 
Dear Sir,— Yoa ask my opinion on the " South 
of India Observer " correspondent re China verms 
Assam variety of tea bush and the letter of " to 
Tears a Planter " in your paper. 
There can, I think, be no qaeation that equally good 
tea can be made from the one as the otber, but I 
can go no f oitber in agreeing with the correspondent 
of tne Indian paper. No doubt th« China variety 
could often give points so lar as appearance goes (it 
that is vrorth anything nowadays), but only when 
the yield of the fdrmer ia less than half that of the 
other. If, say, 250 lb. to 300 lb. per acre (I suppose 
the average China yield) is taken off both varieties, 
not only will Assam jd,t beat in cup, bat in appear- 
ance as well. It is when you take the normal 
yields of both, viz, in the case of China jat 360 lb. 
and that of AeaSm 600 lb, to 800 lb. that the 
appearance may sometimes be in favour of the 
former. But if the yielda are kept at about the ratio 
I name, so far as quality goes, good jat has no 
advantage over inferior. 
I do not think there ii anything very mysteiioua 
for our " shrewd " fnenda to nnearth regarding the 
reason for two estates at the eame elevation aud neigh- 
bourhood differing so mnch in quality as they some- 
times do: Given gardens at the same elevation and as- 
pect with the bufihes and the leaf receiving the eame 
ti^eatment, soil aloue can be the cause; neither jat nor 
anything elae can be responaibie. Were it not invidious 
in saoh a discaasion to name estates, I could point to 
several instances of the kind where too the ones 
prodncmg the poorest teas have the advantage in 
elevation and yet the prices far below the others. A 
mere glance at the soil in one or two instances in 
my mind at the moment, is enough to account for it. 
No doubt the eyes cannot always be relied upon 
to say which ia ihe most suitaole for tea, for we 
see places with apparently as good soil as that on 
the neighbouring one producing inferior tea. Where 
the treatment all through is the eame and the pro- 
duction kept to the same weight per acre, everything 
points to soil alone being responsible. ]S^or do I think 
that any series of chemical analyses would help us 
to supply what the soil might be deficient in, for the 
reason (hat on a 200-acre estate as many different 
Boila ^an be found.— Youra faithfully. J. S, 
No. XXII. 
Dec. 4. 
Dear Sir,—" Tea Cultivation in Ceylon and China 
versus Assam Tea" — With regard to the former, the 
principal oouditiona Becesiary to secure good yield* 
gwi prioes M« fail jat of tea, good poil, well 
ooltivated, and coreful manipnlAtion of the leaf. 
I have not th« »li2bt"»t 'loubi myself, bat that maBui- 
ing with good tillat(e ^i*'-'* i»creaaed qaantity and 
better qatliiy. As to China veretu Assam Tea I have 
had nj experience with tbe former. — Yours truly 
A BELIE VEK IN GOOD TILLAU'ji:. 
No XXIII. 
Wana Rajah, Dec. 4. 
Dear Sib, — As for the discussion on the diflerent 
qualities of China. Hybrid and Indigenous tea, I bate 
not much experience in the former; but I consider 
it is a nice, agreeable a:id flavouring liqaor, altboagh 
not very strong and pungent. As for Hybrid and 
Indigenoas the nearer you get to the latter tbe 
better in every way for quantity, quality and cheap 
plucking and I have never seen any reason to sup- 
pose this did not apply to all elevations. With fine 
jit and high elevation, no one would think of prauing 
ofteuer than once in two years and many would not 
do it so often as that, — Yours truly, W. T. 
No. XXIV. 
Deab Sir, — I am of opinion that a good Hybrid, 
good soil and high elevation with earefni plucking 
and manufacture w\ll give good returns and fine 
prices. I do not think Indigenous Assam will do well 
at this elevation, 5,500 to 6,200 feet. I have fairly 
good jat on this estate, some fields giving as much 
as 840 lb. to 870 lb. of made tea per acre — average 
for tbe year being 600 lb. per acre. I would recom- 
mend Indigenous at a lower elevation 3,000 to 4,f)(M) 
feet. China or any medium j&t seem to stand the 
frost better than high class j4( but we seldom have 
froat in this district, W. N. 
No. XXV. 
Dear Sir,— When I planted up the estate I pur- 
posely put in a very mixed jat in order to get 
what I thought would be a good natural blend .- 
but it is impossible to get an even wither from 
leaves of so many different testores, ail coming 
in together, and that materisLlly interferes with the 
result I had in view. — Yoora trnly, 
AN OLD PLANTER. 
No. XXVI, 
Dear Sir,— With regard to China 0, Aaaam Tea. 
my opioiOQ is that pure China is alnosi preferable to 
a low-class "Uybtids." The fortoer wilt give oatii- 
faotory results if pruned low and plucked iiard, but 
the low Hybrid is generally of aa obstinate naturs 
and yields very mised *ort of leaf whatever treat- 
ment it receives. But tor Ceylon nothing oomea 
up to a good Hybrid both iorquauiity and quality. 
We have muoh to learn yei as to why neighoour- 
ing estates vary so muoh in prices. Of ooorte, good 
leaf and careful manulaotare always teiis to a certain 
extent, and my own experience ia that so long aa 1 
had yooDg holds coming on and plucking leaf from 
high running shoots before tbe kniie nau been regu- 
larly applitd to ihem, my teas were occasiouaily 
" galieried," and although I stiU get steaoy prices it 
would appear that tbere is a aeinething about the 
quality of tea made from young bigu bashea which 
is iott after regular pruning has been carried out. 
With regard to the difference. in yield, other cir- 
cumstances being the same, the estates that have 
been successfully planted aJwaya do beat, and will 
be in full bearing about six years old ; whereas tne 
places that have a large percentage ot suppLes and 
seedy bushes will still be backward at tnat 
age, will be nine or ten years old before the 
maximum yield is attained, and even then wul prob- 
ably be disappointing compared to the other. Ajid of 
course a different system of prnning or caltivatioo 
geoerally would also show very different r«sali.ii. 
I have tried fine placking, but find the medium 
course pays best, and what 1 study mure ttiau the tons 
tbat are " galleiied " are my 
