THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Jam. i, 1894. 
498 
IcttPr received from MessrB. Joseph Tetley & Co., the 
well-kiown whoIeBile Tea deak re. I have heard from 
other suurtes nimilir cotnplaiLts and it msy be well 
that Moe^rs. J. Tetley'a letter should be piibliehed in 
Oeylou for (he inforiiietioD of all concerned. — I am, 
dear sir, yours faithfully, , 
(Signed) Wni. Mabtin Leake, Secretary. 
31, Fenchnrch Street, Lon4oD, Dec 5th 
W. Maetin Leake, Esq., Secretary to the Ce>lon 
AssocialioD in London, 4, Miucicg Line, E C. 
Deae 8iu, — We wish to ca'l your attention to 
tfce practice wliicli obtains iu Ceylon of putting loose 
pieces of kaU (often of consideriiblc size) io the 
I'ackages of tea to equulize the taree. 
This letd gels mixed up with the tea and when 
the Grocer tpsLS tlie packages and fiuds ii there, 
he immediately concludes that the tea has bem 
abstracted and this ])ut in to make up the weight, 
and it ia almost iii'possible to convince him tLat be 
has not been robbed. 
It would save considerable friction and often loss 
of money to the wbolesalo-dealer, if this could be 
avoided in future, and we trust that yon will bring 
♦he matter before your Association with a view to 
having the practice stopped. — We are, dear sir, yours 
very truly, (Signed) Joseph Tetley & Co. 
TEA CULTIVATION CEYLON : GOOD 
CROPS AND GOOD PEICES-No. XXXVI. 
Dear Sin, — There is no Rainfayiug what jour 
correspondent, "25 Years a Planter," fajs as to good 
jilt, good soil and high elevution being i.eccstary to 
ueeure stand-out prices and large returns combined, 
and not even Mr. llulherford can arrive at any 
other conclusion. At the same time I think the personal 
equation is one which must not be oroittid fromtlie 
calculation. Given all the s'lvantaurs named an 
estate may fail to obtain all the benefit of its posi- 
tion through the incapacity of the manager or his 
inability to grasp all the necessary factors which go 
to make the complete whole. In the first place the 
Tea is made in the field, that is to eay the quality of 
leaf is the first, and most important o«usideratioQ as 
upon this d'pends the eimplicity or complicaliou of 
the subsequent manufacturing operations. Wilhcnt 
good leaf you cannot obtain the most itnporiant con- 
diiiou neoessary to first-rate manufacture, viz. a 
good even wither and that is where eo many 
Factories fail ; with good leaf evenly withered all 
the subsequent operation fall into their natural place ; 
when the reverse obtains you have all the complica- 
tions of hard and unwithered leaf to deal with which 
gets broken and finds its way into the grades to 
which it does not properly belong. Everyone who 
had the privilege of feeing the late James Taylor 
make tea, will reniembi r with what care he picked 
his leaf over and how he iosii-ted upon regular pluck- 
ing at unvarying intervals. I speak of the daj s nhen 
Mr. Taylor was allowed to bo the first authority on. . 
Tea in the island, and before be received hia in- 
structions from the London Office of his later em- 
ployers. I think, therefore, that what I have called 
the personal equation is a material crnsiileration. To 
make stand-out teas you certainly require ample 
withering accommodation and good machinery and 
unwearying sunervisiou acd for large yield combined 
a high olass Hi and strong soil in a favorable 
climate. I do not myself o'ject to pure China Tea 
at high elevat'ons ; it is extremely hardy ai d yields 
fully as much le»f on the best ja' and it has first- 
rate fl'ivour, but a low-class hybrid is ruination what- 
ever soil it is in and only pays in the most forcing 
. climates. As the prices fall lower, and the margin 
for profit smaller, I believe the estates with low i.at will 
gradually go out of cultivation.— Yonra faithfully. 
W. D. B. 
No. XXXVII. 
Dear Sir, — I do not think anything like a hard- 
and-fast rule can be laid down for Tea growing or 
Tea making. Wh»fc suits ose district may not suit 
another generally epeaking. Flavour is not got from 
tea grown at a low elevation and it is better to go 
in for strength, bard rolling and rcore (eriDetit. 
Medium elevations 3,000 ft. to 4,5o0 ft. get au a rule 
both flavoor and s'rengtb, and th« planter ban to 
chooro which is beet with the boil at bii di^caal and 
the climate in which be wotke. At high elevalioria 
the matter is simple enough ; with ordinary eare, 
both flavour and etreiigth can be got, aod these are 
got to perfection iu dietricts like the Agras and 
Kandapola. 
Quality vs Qiienvity. — Tbie depends eclirely on the 
plucking. Fine plucking u'uet quality at the expfmse 
in extreme ca'es of 5C"u of quanlity. Wb>l*t the 
principal item of Estate Expcciditure " Plorking " 
costs very nearly (double when fine is resorted to. 
The relative advantages of Fine ti Coarte all dtpeiids 
00 the market. When India is aendic^; fine teas 
it bebovtb' Ceylon to lay low, and Mod quantity as 
she did last year. Kow lodiaus have fallen in quality, 
Ceylon is called upon for fite tea. 
I am very p«rtial to jat. I duu't think it oau be 
too good, up to 5,000 ft. It gees >»iiliout aayingthat 
yon get more leaf, aod a fiu>h from high taakea a 
far belter tea thanthe uime s'ze leaf from low ju*, both 
in strength and flavour. The few enemiee (Uetopeltis 
for one) are much worse, the lower the SUPDT. 
No. XXXVIIl. 
Deab Sir, — Referring to the letter* yon have re- 
ceived from cofreepondeuts about tfae flavour ai:d 
quality of Ceylon teas, no doubt yon will have been 
struck with the fact that hardly one of the wr!tera 
has arrived at any definite conc/tisiotis on tkenabject. 
One " tbinka " this, another is "of opinion" that, 
and there are those who " believe " and " a/wnme ' 
that certa'n conditions are necessary to briL'g ab?ut 
given rei-ullB ; but it is hardly creditable to us that 
our KNOWLEDGE ot tea cultivation and the maoufacture 
should not have advanced a little further by 
this time ! A series of carefully conducted experi- 
ments in the different tea di trictr, directed with a 
view to ascertaining what are the characteristics ne- 
cessary to produce flivcury and good quality teat 
would b^ very interesting and instructive, ard the 
reeul's, I am snre would be startling to those who 
assume that Havory teas rati only be made at ex- 
Iremc elevations. I have often felt that in a country 
like Ceylon, where people have exceptional meaoii 
of comparing and imparting to each other tbe results 
of observations acd experiments, we ebould not be 
so much in the dark as we are on many mutters re- 
laticg io the great industry to which we ace en- 
gBRcd. 
It is not only on subjects connected with manu- 
facture, d'c, that further BLd more reliable data is 
required, but the vexed question of Fine rrrsus 
Coarse and M> dium. Plucking has never yet been 
hand'ed in a manner calculated to carry conviction to 
the s)ul of a doubter. Jlanuring \u its varied phases 
aijd aspects is another matter presentir g features of 
special interest to the producer and it may be hoped 
that on this subject at all events we shall scon be 
benefiting by the accumulated experiences of many in 
oor midst,— Years faithfully 
"YOU KNOW WHO." 
No. XXXIX. 
Deab Sib,— Tea cultivation in Ceylon add China v. 
Afsara Tea. 
I think good soil, not exhausted by long coffee or 
other cropping, will, combined with a high elevation, 
give a finely flavoured and a strong tea, atjd conse- 
quently a high-priced OBe, even though the jat is 
not very good ; but to get at the sime time a large 
yield an indigenous or a high clacs hjbrid jat ia 
neoessary. China tea or a low class Hybrid will not 
run long without pruning, and will not, therefore, 
give large returns anywhere. The dark-leaved Manipuri 
indigenous or the hybrid once removed from it is a 
hardy, good flashing jat at any elevation, while the 
I'ght-leaved indigenous is more delioate and is only 
suitable for certain localities. 
