Dec. 1, 1902.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUIilST. 
397 
olive, tending too J/ght a green. Liquor, a gooA 
pale straw-green. Flavour, very fair, but not fully 
developed and slightly raw. Aroma, faiut aud evau- 
eaoeut." 
No. 2. The Drnmmoud Deane " (nncolonred) 
Appearance, Young Hyson mixed with broken leaf. 
Leaf rather flat and broken. Colour very mixed and 
blackish green, lacking the uniform grey green tint 
admired in China teas. Aroma, slight and not as 
good as No, 1. Infusion : — Leaf, pj.le olive, tending 
to too light a green. Liquor, a pale atraw-green, but 
little too thin. Flavour, fair, but somewhat raw and 
undeveloped. Aroma, very faint. 
General Remarks : — Both these samples must un- 
douhtcdhj ha claseed as qrcen teas, but the defects of 
amateur manufacture are still very apparent. The 
" Deane- Judge " I consider superior to the " Drum- 
mond Deane." The former, however, still requires 
more development in manufacture. I would suggest 
that the fresh greou leaf bo made more flaccid 
before rolling, while the drying and final panning 
should be continued further. The panning process 
is most important, as it enhances the avoma, pro- 
duces an even grey green colour, and gives the leaf 
a glossy finished appearance. And I am of opiuion 
a through panning also greatly increases the keeping 
quality of green tea. I have drunk panned green 
tea from Dehra Doon fourteen years old, and it 
was as sound as on the day it was manufactured. 
To my mind the Drummond Denue system, though 
an advance in some ways, is still an incomplete 
process. It does not go far enough and hence its 
defects. The pannel No. 1 Dean-Judge is and un- 
doubted improvement, but even that requires further 
experience before it can be said to produce perfect 
green teas. 
India has marked advantages over Ceylon in the 
matter of green tea and there is every reason to 
believe that we will eventually produce the better 
article. J, B. Leslie Eogeks. 
Umballa, Punjab. 
TEA IN THE UNITED STATES AND 
THE AMERICAN DUTY. 
Writing to us direct from South Carolina 
under date September 15th, Mi\ Charles U. 
Shepard, the pioneer of local " Tea Culture," 
reports as follows : — 
" I have DO further news to communicate than 
that the leaders of the dominant political party 
of the country are said to be seriously contem- 
plating the re-establi^liment of tiie iluty on foreign 
teas— and thus that Belgium will continue to 
enjoy the monopoly of a ' free breakfast table.' 
I should not be surprised to see the law in foice 
when the present duty expires. But I shall beg 
for 20 cts. per lb." 
Twenty cents a lb, is more than tenpencel 
An entirely oiitrap^tons impost, and Mr. 
Shepard must surely be in a jocative mood 
We trust ha will prove a bad prophet ia re- 
gard to any duty beinfj continued on tea 
after the 1st .lanuary next. We are quite 
content to leave the market of Pinehurst or 
even the markets of South Carolina for all 
the tea Mr. Shepard can grow ; but surely he 
is interested in his countrymen elsewhere 
all over the States becoming consumers of 
bis and our staple— aud how is this to be 
accomplished if a prohibitory, or even the 
present, duty is continued? At present locally- 
produced American tea is such a curiosity, 
VUat it must command a fancy price, duty or 
no duty. And as to the future, we are 
quite content for Mr. Shepard— if ho only 
refrains meantime— to head an Agitation 
for a. 20 cent duty, on the day that the 
production and manufacture of one million 
lb. of American tea is reached. If this is 
agreed to, we think, we should be safe, and 
hiv. Shepard be spared the necessity of 
adding the role of "agitator"' to that of 
" planter fur quite a generation to come 
—and by that time (1932 A.D.) the United 
States should want 400 to 500 (in place of 
80) million lb. of tea per annum ! tSo mote 
to be. 
TEA IN INDIA : 
MR. ALLEYNS VISIT TO'CALCUTTA 
AND THE INDIAN TEA DISTRICTS. 
NO INCREASED CROPS FROM INDIA TO BE 
ANTICIPATED FOR SEVERAL YEARS. 
Mr. H. M. Alleyn is looking very well 
after his visit to Calcutta -a great city, but 
not to be compared with Colombo for cleanli- 
ness and scenic beauty— and the Indian Tea 
districts, including Upper and Lower Assam, 
Sylliet, and the Dooars. Mr. Alleyn was 
much impressed with the rich soil and fine 
tea gardens of Upper Assam, where very 
great attention is paid to the keeping up 
of a high standard in the teas turned out, 
through fine plucking aud special attention 
to the manufacture. Generally in India, 
careful attention to the factory, through a 
special man, is the rule. In Lower Assam, 
coarser plucking is not uncommon; while 
in Sylhet the tea is not of the same quality; 
but in all these divisions, the labour 
question is becoming a very serious one, and 
entirely forbids the idea of any extensions 
of cultivation. In the Dooars, there is not 
the same difficulty about labour; but prices 
have, of late, become so unremunerative for 
the teas turned out, that greater care with 
less quantity is likely to be the rule. The 
soil is very fine. The idea of manuring to 
increased production, Mr. Alleyn found 
generally scouted— only to improve quality 
or maintain the condition of the trees i s 
manuring sanctioned by agents or pro- 
prietors. 
Altogether, Mr. Alleyn came to the con- 
clusion that not much is to be feared from 
India for some years, in the way of increased 
tea exports. 
THE TEA WAREHOUSING QUESTION. 
[BY AN INDIAN TEA PLANTER.] 
The Calcutfa correspondent of the Fi7'i,ancial 
Netos recently referred to the possibility of a 
break in the Indian tea warehouse ring. He said: 
— " I am told that the warehouse charges as tliey 
now stand are often e(|aal to the cost per case of 
conveying tea froiu Calcutta to London." 1 can 
say positively tliac this is actually tlie f^^ct. My 
disbursements for freight (Calcutta to Loatlon) an^ 
