284 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Oct.  i,  1892. 
tea  and  o'her  marvels  were  rifo  ; and  nobody  seemed 
to  know  exsctly  what  was  being  done. 
But  in  South  Sylhet  I think  I came  upon  the 
track,  alas,  it  was  a defaced  and  abandoned  tiack,  of 
the  mystery.  The  new  process  which,  ev-.  n now,  is 
more  or  less  of  a secret,  was  an  attempt  to  make  tea 
on  some  new  and  scientific  system,  on  the  part  of 
ME.  .JAS.  DAVIDSON, 
whose  success  in  the  machinery  line,  and 
in  sale  of  tea  in  packets,  has  made  him  so 
well-known  in  the  tea  world.  Carried  away  by  his 
reputation  as  a successful  and  “level-headed  ” man, 
the  South  Sylhet  Tea  Company  gave  him  carte 
hldnche  to  conduct  his  experiments  in  their  factories, 
regardless  of  expense.  Existing  machinery  was 
altered,  moved  about,  and  generally  turned  end  for 
end  and  upside  down;  new  machines  and  new  “fakes'' 
of  various  sorts  were  indented  for ; and  the  whole 
system  of  manufacture  reorganised  throughout  ail  the 
big  factories  of  the  Company.  Such  thorough  con- 
fidence was  felt  by  Davidson  himself  in  the  new 
system,  and  by  the  Company  in  him,  that  the  experi- 
ment was  tried,  not  in  one  factory  only  as  one  would 
have  thought  advisable  in  introducing  an  entire 
revolution  in  manufacture,  but  throughout  all  the 
factories.  Davidson  himself  remained  up  in  Sylhet 
throughout  the  greater  portion  of  the  manufac- 
turing season  last  year,  superintending  the 
operations,  and  working  himself,  early  and  late,  in 
the  tea  house,  with  all  the  ardour  of  a young  and 
energetic  assistant  just  out  ; having  to  be  extracted 
forcibly  for  his  meals  and  necessary  rest.  But, 
alas!  “the  best  laid  plans  o’  men  and  mice;”— you 
know  the  rest.  Whatever  the  mysterious  process  was,  it 
was  by  no  means  a brilliant  success.  The  market  was  not 
educated  up  to  the  tea  of  the  future  probably.  Anyl  ow 
THE  RESULTS  WERE  ALMOST  DISASTROUS  ; 
and  a drop  of  a penny  or  more  per  pound  on  all  the  teas 
manufactured  under  thenew  process  added  lo  the  ex- 
pense of  moving  machinery,  getting  up  new  machines, 
and  so  od,  made  a big  hole  in  the  profits  of  the 
Company  for  the  year.  Davidson  went  home,  die- 
heartened — but  only  for  the  time — at  his  failure, 
financially  ipeaking,  to  improve  prices  ; and  tbe  mach  - 
nery  has  had  lo  bo  all  moved  back  again,  and  the  old 
style  of  manufacture  reverted  to.  But  it  is  said 
Davidson  is  still  full  of  the  hope  of  yet.  revolution'zing 
the  process  of  tea  making  by  his  new  system,  further 
thought  out  avd  perfected  : and  more  than  one  of  the 
planters  who  worked  on  his  system,  believe  in  it,  and 
declare  that,  notwithstanding  sale  results  on  the  market, 
tbe  process  produced  the  finest  drinking  tea  they 
have  ever  tasted.  .So  we  may  yet  educate  the 
tea  market  up  to  scientifically  manufactured  teas. 
The  profit* wan  vulgns  has  to  be  educated  up  to  many 
new  ideas,  and  the  proce  s takes  time.  It  is  said  that 
even  heer-drinkmg  is  nn  acquired  taste  : but  tbe  British 
public— and  the  planter  too — have  thoroughly  acquired 
it.  Meanwhile  we  have  Mr.Bamber  carrying  on  aserieB 
of  careful  chemical  experiments  on  the  various  pro- 
cesses employed  in  tho  present  “common  or  garden” 
method:  testing  the  temperatures,  the  time  necr  ssar\ 
for  each  process,  the  gases  evolved  during  fermentation 
or  “oxidization”  and  various  other  things  I don’t  pre- 
tend to  understand,  up  at  the  Jbarzi  Associations 
estates,  with  a view  to  crystallizing 
A FIXED  SYSTEM  OF  MAKING  GOOD  TEA 
into  a certainty,  and  evolving  a knowledge  of  how 
to  produce  with  scientific  accuracy  any  particular 
qualities  which  the  market  for  the  time  being  may 
demand.  This  is  undoubtedly  a step  in  the  right 
direction  : tea  manufacture  hitherto  has  hardly  emerged 
from  the  “rule  of  thumb”  stage,  resulting  from  the 
practical  expeiience  of  inniviuual  planters;  and  in- 
dependent to  a far  gt eater  extent  that  it  ought  to  be 
on  that  very  uncertain  fact ir,  the  weather.  It  is  far 
behind  tbe  scientific  accuracy  of  most  other  manufac- 
tures, and  it  is  unquesti  li  able  that  the  marks  which 
command  the  bight  st  prices  (I  am  not  speaking  of 
tbo3e  absurd  “ fancy”  thirty  guinea  Ceylon  teas,  ihe 
outcome  of  advertising  dodges  arid  a ring  of  bidders, 
but  of  steady  high  averages  at  r^a -enable  prices)  are 
jbe  production  of  exceptionally  careful  men  who  give 
an  unusual  amount  of  attention  to  their  leaf,  from  the 
time  that  it  is  to  be  taken  off  the  bushes,  right  through 
the  tea  house,  into  the  boxes  ; and  who  endeavour  to 
reduce  their  manufacture  to  an  unvarying  and  most 
carefully  supervised  system. 
THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SOUTH  SYLHF.T 
is  somewhat  peculiar.  The  district  is  divided  into  a 
number  of  valleys  by  parallel  spurs  running  ont  almost 
due  north  from  theLuehai  bilis  ; each  valley  drained  by 
its  own  main  stream,  flowing  into  the  Barak  or  its 
tributary,  the  Moan  Elver.  These  spurs  between  the 
different  valleys  are  of  varying  height,  and  are  tra- 
versed by  roads  of  more  or  less  pretensions,  called 
pliaris,  locally ; — short  cuts  from  valley  to  valley.  A 
longer  and  better  road  round  from  one  valley  to  the 
other  is  generally  available  by  going  right  out  of  the 
valley  and  round  tbe  end  of  the  separating  spur  into 
the  next  one ; but  the  plains  are  much  shorter 
routes ; and,  except  after  unusually  heavy  rain,  when 
bridges,  and  sometimes  whole  bits  of  road  “ carry 
away,”  are  more  generally  used.  A ride  through  one 
of  these  phans,  winding  up  the  minor  valleys  in  the 
spurs,  through  forest  and  bamboo  of  every  variety 
across  an  almost  imperceptible  watershed,  and  down 
again  into  the  other  valley,  is  by  no  means  an  un- 
pleasant experience  in  good  weather.  The  road  is 
very  pretty  in  places;  you  come  round  a corner  now 
and  then  on  quite  picturesque  little  nooks.  But  cross- 
ing a phdri  after  heavy  rain  is,  well,  it  may  be  pictur- 
esque, but  it  is  not  pleasant.  Bridges  conspicuous  by 
their  absence,  leaving  yawning  chasms,— just  round  a 
corner  as  a rule,  so  that  yon  come  on  them  unexpect- 
edly ; slips,  by  which  portions  of  tbe  road  have  retired 
down  to  the  bottom  of  the  valley  to  spend  the  rest  of 
the  season,  and  what  is  left  of  the  road  either  cut  up. 
or  rendered  intensely  slippery,  so  that  your  pony's 
legs  go  all  abroad  as  if  they  didn’t  belong  to  him  ; 
these  things  keep  your  interest  in  the  road  from 
flagging,  and  attract  your  attention  undoubtedly,  but 
they  are  hardly  cheerful  or  exhilarating  ex- 
periences. I heard  one  or  two 
HEARTRENDING  STORIES 
of  parties  crossing  from  the  Balisera  Valley  to  the 
Dhulai  Valley  by  the  Kamalganj  phari  ; how  a 
couple  of  young  ladies  and  one  of  the  men  went 
perfectly  astounding  “ croppers ;”  how  their  horses 
either  went  dead  lame  or  bolted  (while  the  riders 
had  retired  temporarily  down  the  Hind).  I forget 
the  exact  details  of  the  cause  of  the  catastrophe, 
but  remember  the  result  ; that  these  unfortunate 
dismounted  ones  had  to  sit  pensively  on  the  edge 
of  the  road  for  hours  while  one  of  the  cavaliers 
rode  back  (or  forward  was  it '?)  to  the  nearest 
garden  to  procure  chairs,  or  dhulis,  or  ponies,  ot 
some  means  of  conveyance.  Of  course  it  wasraining, 
as  it  knows  how  to  rain  in  Sylhet,  all  the  time ; 
and  those  young  ladies — one  of  whom  was  rather 
badly  hurt  by  her  spill,  got  slightly  damp.  N.  B. — 
The  breed  of  leeches  in  these  pharis  is  an  extremely 
thirsty^insinuating  and  energetic  one. 
Tho  Sylhetti  is  a gentleman  I confess  I do  not  like. 
To  my  mind,  he  is  the  worst  type  of  about  the  worst 
class  in  India, — the  Eastern  Bengali  Mahamroadan, — 
and  under  the  fostering  influences  of  a permanent 
settlement,  and  a ready  access  to  minor  local  courts 
wherein  he  has  sharpened  his  already  naturally  fine 
talents  for  litigation,  with  its  concomitant  luxuries  of 
perjury,  forgery,  and  subornation  of  evidence— he 
has  developed  into 
THE  MOST  OBJECTtONAnLE  KIND  OF  NATIVE 
I have  met  in  my  wanderings.  Very  probably 
I have  cnly  seen  the  worst  side  of  him.  He  may 
have  many  virtues  I am  unacquainted  with.  I 
h_ve  generally  come  in  contact  w.th  iiim  in  connee- 
t on  wi'h  boundary  disputes, — or  in  trying  to  get 
h'm  to  do  something  in  the  way  of  work  or  a6sist- 
arce  (for  reasonable  payment  of  course),  and  I havn 
invariably  found  him  untrusi  worthy,  cheeky,”  lazy, 
and  uithtl  truculent.  He  is  hardly  plucky  ; but,  in 
numbers,  he  has  been  known  to  go  for  a salub  occasion- 
ally,— and  fo  get  him,  too.  During  the  first  settlement 
of  the  Baliren  lands,  there  was  more  than  one  m a- 
pit  case  in  whioh  a sahib  go!  a broken  head.  There  is 
al  aya  ttoubic  abouj  land  cjue&ti^ns  in  Syllet,  yka 
