July  i,  1892.] 
THF  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
2 ? 
the  “ native  Chinee,”  accustomed  has  been  to  re- 
ceiving relatively  fancy  prices  for  his  produce. 
London  statistics  of  China  tea  are  favourable  only 
as  regards  the  quantity  on  hand,  which  is  exceedingly 
light,  and  of  Congou  only  14,934.050  ib.,  in  contrast 
with  25,404,400  1b.  last  year,  and  38,433,750  lb.  at  the 
end  of  April  in  1890.  Reckoning  that  eleven  months  of 
the  1891-92  season  have  elapsed,  the  landings  of  all 
kinds  of  China  tea  sinoe  the  beginning  of  June  last 
have  not  been  more  than  60,000,0001b.,  in  comparison 
with  69,497,550  ib.  in  1890-91,  and  89,771,100  lb.  in  the 
same  period  of  1889-90.  The  falling-off  in  the  supply 
within  two  years  is  thus  shown  to  have  been  no  less 
than  29,771,100  lb.,  which  no  amount  of  reasoning  can 
prove  to  be  otherwise  than  serious,  especially  as  a great 
part  of  this  deficiency  is  reflected  in  the  deliveries. 
These  in  the  past  eleven  months  have  shrunk  more 
alarmingly  than  in  the  previous  season,  having  been 
only  63,426,550  lb,  against  75,219,500  lb.,  whereas  the 
difference  between  that  total  and  the  corresponding 
one  in  1889-90 — when  the  delivery  was  76,078,150  lb. — 
was  not  more  than  858,650  lb.  It  is  therefore  to  be 
hoped  that  the  coming  season  will  witness  a recovery 
in  the  trade  for  China  tea. — Grocer. 
THE  MICA  MINES  OF  NELLOBE. 
Dr.  Warth,  Officiating  Superintendent  of  the  Cen- 
tral Museum,  has  just  written  a most  interestingReport 
upon  Mr.  E.  H.  Sargent's  mica  mine  near  Inikurti,  a 
place  19  miles  from  Nellore.  Mica  is  the  talc  of 
commeroe,  although  scientifically  speaking  the  latter 
is  quite  a distinct  mineral.  In  elastic  and  generally 
transparent  plates  mica  is  used  for  a variety  of  pur- 
poses, chiefly  as  a substitute  for  glass,  as  it  bears 
sudden  changes  of  temperature  better  and  is  not  so 
liable  to  be  broken.  Some  idea  of  its  value  may 
be  gathered  from  the  following  approximate  rule  for 
calculating  the  price  of  ready-cut  selected  rectangular 
pieces  in  London.  One  pound  weight  costs  as  many  times 
twopence  as  each  single  piece  has  square  iuehes  surface, 
This  equation  holds  good  between  10  and  100  square 
inohes.  Below  these  limits  the  prices  are  smaller  and 
become  finally  nil  1 above  these  limits  they  are  higher 
and  would  end  in  fanoy  prices.  Although  Mr. 
Sargent’s  mine  has  only  reached  a depth  of  60  feet, 
no  less  than  20  tons  of  pure  ready-cut  mica  have 
been  extracted  during  the  past  two  years.  In  fact, 
Mr.  Sargent’s  enterprise  has  been  highly  successful. 
It  appears  that  the  first  indication  for  this  deposit 
was  a ridge  of  quartz  whioh  stood  eight  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  plain.  Then  Mr.  Sargent  found 
old  excavations  on  the  west  side  of  the  ridge,  which 
he  followed  up.  It  is  very  likely,  Dr.  Warth  thinks, 
that  similar  deposits  exist  in  the  neighbourhood,  but 
such  facts  could  only  be  proved  by  trial  excavations, 
aided  by  the  existence  of  quartz  ridges  and  traces 
of  broken  mica.  At  a distance  of  about  10  miles  to 
the  south  Dr.  Warth  found  quite  a group  of  more  or 
less  successful  mica  mines  in  similar  rocks  near  the 
village  of  Utkur.  The  mica  was  associated  with  the 
same  white  quartz  and  whitish  felspar.  There  were 
also  the  same  accessory  minerals,  garnet  and  tourma- 
line. One  mine,  called  Sukbagini  vb)ack  stained 
mine),  produces  mica  which  is  stained  black  and 
brown  through  the  spread  of  manganese  ore  and 
iron  between  the  planes  of  cleavage.  Some  slabs 
of  very  clean  surface  without  any  cracks  whatever, 
27  inches  by  32  inohes,  were  in  store.  The  price 
of  these  would  have  been  fabulous  if  they  had  not 
been  black.  We  further  learn  from  Dr.  Warth’s 
Report  that  the  sorting  of  the  mica  is  very  important 
for  the  trade.  A large  quantity  of  the  mica  is  thrown 
away  at  the  pit,  where  the  waste  heaps  glisten  in 
the  sun.  Of  the  mica  brought  to  BIr.  Sargent’s  stores 
at  Inikurti  only  about  23  per  cent  is  finally  selected 
for  the  trade.  Everything  else  is  thrown  away,  being 
either  cracked,  not  sufficiently  transparent,  ripple- 
marked,  or  too  small.  The  smallest  limit  of  rec- 
tangular size  is  2 inches  by  2 inches,  but  such  small 
sizes  are  at  present  very  cheap,  as  Bengal  exports 
too  much  of  it.  The  pieces  are  all  cut  acoordmg  to 
rectangular  standard  patterns.  Pieoes  of  the  same 
pattern  are  then  tied  in  bundles  and  so  sent  to 
London.  Dr.  Warth  thinks  that  such  successful 
mining  should  be  continued  and  extended  by  granting 
favourable  concessions  to  trustworthy  Companies  ap- 
plying to  take  up  the  industry.  Government,  in  its 
Order  on  his  Report,  concurs  in  this,  and  we  may 
therefore  expect  to  see  a further  development  of  the 
mineral  in  the  near  future.  The  oorundum  deposits 
of  Salem  and  Coimbatore  also  deserve  attention,  and 
we  should  like  to  see  Dr.  Warth  deputed  on  speoial 
duty  to  report  upon  thorn.— If.  Mail,  May  19. 
<a» 
MACHINEEY  FOE  THE  PEEPAEATION 
OF  TEA. 
It  is  now  between  thirty  and  forty  years  sinoe 
the  systematic  planting  of  the  tea  bush  commenced 
in  the  northern  provinces  of  India,  and  from  the 
date  of  such  commencement  there  started  that 
competition  whioh  has  now  almost  succeeded  in 
ousting  the  teas  of  China  from  the  home  market. 
The  progress  made  with  Buch  snppresion  was, 
however,  for  many  years  extremely  slow.  It  was 
not  until  Ceylon,  as  the  result  of  the  failure  of 
coffee  cultivation  there,  began  to  grow  tea  some 
eighteen  years  back  and  joined  in  the  competition, 
that  the  trade  in  the  China  growth  began  percep- 
tibly to  fall  off.  The  deoadence  of  that  trade  is 
now  so  great,  that  in  course  of  but  a few  more 
years  it  may  be  expected  to  oease  altogether.  The 
losses  incurred  with  respect  to  it  during  last  ysar 
have  amounted  to  no  less  than  £750,000,  teas,  the 
cost  price  of  whioh  in  China  had  been  two  shillings 
per  pound,  having  fetched  rates  in  the  London  market 
varying  between  Is  4d  and  Is  6d  per  pound  only. 
Having  thus  briefly  sketched  results  to  the  com- 
petition exercised  by  British  growers  of  tea,  we  may 
turn  to  the  express  subject  of  this  article,  the  moans 
which  have  mainly  contributed  to  render  that  com- 
petition so  suocessful.  We  have  on  several  occasions 
described  and  illustrated  some  of  the  machines  which 
have  been  designed  for  the  preparation  of  tea,  but 
these  have  been  but  as  a drop  in  the  ocean  oompared 
with  the  enormous  number  of  patents  taken  out  both 
in  India  and  Ceylon  for  inventions  having  that  process 
for  their  object.  It  would  of  course  be  invidious  in 
an  article  like  this  to  speoify  any  particular  in- 
vention of  this  nature,  and  it  is  apart  from  our 
intention  to  do  so.  We  shall  content  ourselves  with 
a description  of  the  needs  whioh  these  many  and 
various  devices  have  been  designed  to  supply, 
for  to  the  success  of  some  of  them  has  doubtless 
been  largely  due  the  astonishing  rapidity  with  whioh 
the  imports  of  China  teas  into  the  London  market 
have  dwindled.  To  effect  this  object  it  is  neces- 
sary just  to  glance  at  the  methods  used  by  the 
Chinese  from  time  immemorial  for  the  preparation 
of  the  tea  leaf.  It  must  be  premised  that  the  system 
of  growth  by  that  people  has  ever  been  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  has  answered  bo  well  both  in 
India  and  Ceylon.  Nothing  like  the  large  plantations 
of  those  two  British  dependencies  is,  or  has  ever  been 
known  in  China.  The  orop  of  tlm  latter  country  is 
derived  from  myriads — so  to  speak — of  small  gardens, 
every  peasant  cultivating  a f6w  bushes  around  his 
hut.  The  gathering,  and  all  the  subsequent  mani- 
pulation of  the  leaf,  is  performed  by  him,  and  he 
has  to  retain  the  trifling  outcome  of  his  individual 
industry  until  the  buyer— the  middleman— calls 
for  it  at  intervals  of  a few  weeks  or  months. 
As  the  consequence  of  this  waiting,  the  tea  falls  ofl 
both  in  strength  and  aroma,  a depreciation  unknown 
to  the  estates  of  India  and  Ceylon,  where  the  leaf 
may  be  plucked,  witherod,  rolled,  dried,  paoked,  and 
shipped,  within  the  course  of  a few  days  only. 
But  it  is  with  the  manipulation  by  the  Chinese 
peasant  that  we  have  first  chiefly  to  deal.  He  spreads 
the  green  leaf  when  plucked  upon  the  soil  surround- 
ing his  cottage.  This  is  often  done  without  the  pro- 
tection of  matting;  and  in  that  case  the  leaf  often 
