^36 
the! TkDPICAL AGRICtLTUEIST. [Oct. 1, 1901 
£. s. d. 
Pent (say) ... 0 10 5 
Note. — Rent of one "Ko" (1956 sq. yds.) is 
gold yen 30, or £3 2?. 6d. A "Ko" beiis 10,000 
plants and prodnces 600 catties of caw tea 
Cultivation (say) 0 6 0 
N'ote. — The tea-gardens are tilled four times 
a year, in spring, Summer, Autumn and win- 
ter. For one "Ko" of garden 43 coolies are 
employed, their wages being 40 sen (lOda day 
including food, making a total of f 1 15s. 
Pbeparation of Tea (say) ... ... 18 4 
ATo^e.— Subdivided as follows:— £. s. d. 
Picking ... ... 0 12 6 
Fuel 0 1 6 
Charcoal ... ... 0 1 10 
Labourers ... ... 0 4 C 
Do. food ... 0 8 0 
Total. ..£2 4 9 
Over 100,000 persons are engaged in the production 
of tea in this Island, and it is iaid that iu Twatutia 
alone those occupied iu the business number over 
10,000 males and females. Labourers in the districts 
given up to the cultivation of tea-gardens are all 
natives of Formosa, and in the inttrvals of tending 
the tea are all engaged in farming and agriculture. 
With regard to the labour engaged in the final pre- 
paration of the tea, the shorters are all natives of 
this Island, but the remainder immigrate temporarily 
from the mainland of China as occasion rt quires. 
This custom is of long standing, and intending em- 
ployern have to engage their men in advance, 
making the re-engag'^ment at the close of each 
season when their employes returns to China. Their 
passage money is advanced to them, half the wages 
of the season is paid to them on account, and the 
. balance is handed to them when they leave the 
Island. Bates ruling for labour are approximate as 
follows, when calculated by the month: — s. d. 
Tea-coolies in Twatutia ... ... 14 7 
Tea-sorters (women and gir's) ... 9 5 
Tea-garden labourers 15 8 
Tea-cultivators 18 f) 
Wages paid to coolies by tea^merchancs and farmers 
vary, but the above is a fair average. Wages paid 
by the mtrchants in Twatutia are given above as 
for the month, but they are as a rale estimated in 
the lump for the nine months or so of the season. 
Tea-sorters are paid by the day, and it is the general 
custom to supply coolies and sorters with food, at 
an average cost per head of about Cs. a month. 
Tea-gardens in Formosa aie, as a rule, held by 
natives of the Island, who either rent unculiivated 
land from the owners, paying certain rates for 
fixed periods, and plant tea for their own profit ; or 
rent a garden already planted The former pay 
about 6s. a year for one "Ko" of untilled land, 
and the latter a rent of abont £2 10». the " Ko " 
per annum. As already stated there are two pro- 
cesses in the manufacture of tea; the preliminary 
preparation or curing by the planter and the finil 
process carried out by the export-merchant. There 
are many methods practiRed by the cultivator in the 
first process, varying with the diSerent districts, but 
the variation is unimportant. The successful produc- 
tion of Oolong tea depends greatly on the weather, 
and whether the season is favourable to the devel- 
opment of the leaf. The preliminary preparation 
of the leaf is, according to the season of the year. 
ae follows :— 
District. 
Pftichipo 
Haisoanpo 
Bunsoanpo 
Bekiteito 
Tokampo 
Aachirifumpo 
Number of 
Abea. 
Plants. 
Acres. 
Number. 
274-81 
6,300,000 
601-36 
14,879 600 
757-74 
22,500,000 
1,473-87 
36,470,000 
2,249-00 
62,890,000 
1,114-14 
6,080,000 
6,471&SI 
119,119,600 
Spuing Tea?. — The fresh picked leaf is firet spread 
on a cotton cloth (No. 3, plate 10, of the pamphlet), 
and dried in the sun until it curls up. This ia to 
aasist fermentation, and takes about 20 or 30 minutes, 
the workman in the meantime turning it over once 
every five or six minutes. The momtnt when this 
process is complete is recognized by the smell, and 
the tea is then taken under shelter to finish curling 
which is carried out as follows: — 4. small quantity 
(abont 14 lb. or 2 lb.) is laid on flat round ttays, 
made of split bamboo, arranged on shelves vNo. 4, 
plate 10, and see plate II), and the leaf is turned 
over at intervals of four or five minutes to let the 
air circulate freely, whilst it is rubbed between the 
hands to promote fermentation, b'ine dry weather 
is required for this part of the process, as damp 
weather destroys the aroma. After the preparatory 
indoor drying has gone on for about two hours the 
leaf is emptied into larger trays (No, 6, plate 10, 
and see plate 11) holding some 30 to 40 lb. and 
turned over by hand for another two hours or so 
at intervals of abont ten minuti s or a quarter of 
an hour, the process being considered complete when 
the leaf shows reddish brown at the edges, and 
gives out a fragrant scent in place of the raw 
smell of the green leaf. It then undergoes a first 
firing. About 2i lb. to 3 lb. or more of the leaf ia 
placed in a shallow iron pan over a fire (No. 7, plate 
10), after three or four minutes the leaf softens 
owing to the evaporation of its moisture, when it 
is rem oved to another pan and fired for another two ' 
cr three minutes. (Some prefer to fire the tea for 
^ix or seven minutes in one pan only.) After this 
it is transferred to small split bamboo trays which 
are placed on the "hai-i ' or rubbing-table, where 
the leaf is rubbed and pressed by hand for two or 
three minutes. The second firing, is much the same 
as the first, the only difference being that in the 
latter case the fire is not so hot as in the other. 
After the second firing, the leaf is poured out into 
a "toppin" or bamboo mat (No. 9, plate 10) and 
rubbed and pressed between the hands for some 
seven or eight minutes until the moisture comes out of 
it, which is a sign that this procees is finished. 
The compressed leaf is then well separated by hand, 
and is put to the first drying, the method of which 
is as follows: — 5 1b. or C lb. of live charcoal are put 
into the fire places (plate 12), and after the fumes 
have dissipated a " poelan " or bottomless round 
bamboo cylinder (plate 12) is set on the top, and 
on this rests a fine mesh sieve (No. 10, plate 10), 
holding about § lb. of the leaf at a time, where it 
is dried for one or two minutes. For the second 
drying the process is repeated, The leaf is then 
subjected to a third drying to complete the entire 
process before delivery to the merchant. In this 
last drying it is necessary to keep np a slow fire, 
and the fire is therefore banked up with ashes, the 
frame over it, and some 6i lb. of tea in the sieve 
which surmounts it; the leaf being turned over ones 
in 10 minutes for 2j to 3 hou's. Owing to the 
cooler weather, raw leaf prepared for spring teas, 
takes a very long time in curling — and the liquor, 
appearance and aroma being all inferior the tea com- 
mands a low price. 
SuMMEii Teas. — The process of preparation is iden- 
tical with the fo.'-egoiug, but owing to the difference 
ot the temperature the time occupied in curling is 
shorter (see tible below). The leaf prepared at Ihis 
season is of the very best quality. 
Autumn Teas.— For time occupied in process of 
preparation see table. These teas are only inferior 
to the summer teas, with a good aroma, and find a 
re dy market. 
Winter Teas.— For time occupied in process of 
preparation see table. Tea prepared at this season is, 
for climatic reasons, inferior in aroma, and can be 
classed wiih the spring teas, 
The table below gives the times for the steps of the 
preliminary preparation at the four diifereot sea^oas 
oftbeyeat!— 
