1% 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICLTLTITRIST. 
[May 1, 1903. 
seem to be quite up to date. At least the state- 
ment that " you can never get the same out- 
turn f I'om green teas as you can from black " 
does not apply to ouv North Indian adapta- 
tion of Mr. Drummond Deane's process, and 
the estimate of 4 cents or 8 pies (nearly 
|d !) per lb. extra for manufacture is a sheer 
waste of money. We get our full weight from 
green as from black, without any loss of 
quality — as you may have noticed from certain 
appreciations of our Indian green teas 
published by yourself and others in Ceylon. 
Our new Indian appliances for the purpose 
are good, and naturally from long knowledge 
of green tea on the old Indian processes we 
have a bit of a pull in handling leaf; but 
there should be nothing beyond the resources 
of your local talent in reducing cost and 
getting full weight with a little trouble. If 
I could not truthfully assure Indian tea 
concerns that they could make green tea 
without loss of weight on our Indo-Ceylon 
system, and without any material increase 
in expenditure, our business-like men would 
laugh me out of their offices. But there is 
little encouragement to the introduction of 
our North Indian improvements till the 
question of security from imitators is more 
settled. If your correspondent's estimate is 
generally true in Ceylon, Indian tea concerns 
working on our system are going to make 
green tea at a cost some 3 cents below 
yours, and if sales at public auction in 
London can be relied on (and there is no 
sentiment, so far as I know, in London) our 
Indian teas will average some 3 cents more 
than your correspondent's estiui-xte of value. 
This, of course, is purely basod on your 
correspondent's statements which, perhaps, 
are not universally true. I enclose three 
statements from leading Indian green tea 
gardens, bearing out the results I claim. I 
am sorry I am not authorised to publish the 
names in support of the first two, though I 
append them for your information, but the 
third I give, and it is one that is well-known 
as a successful mark.— Your faithfully, 
CHARLES JUDCJE. 
{Extract T^om cutting referred to.) 
Ambeganiuwa, March 25, 
Sir,— What ISfcout that green tea giant ? Surely 
the " Thirty Committee " do not expect men to 
bs philanthropists when most of them are face to 
face with ruin. The men around here are aver- 
aging 35 cents and more for their blacks. Can you 
expect them to go in for green teas which averasre 
about the same and which cost nearly 4 cents 
more to produce as you can never get the same 
outturn from green teas as you can from black ? 
No, Sir, the only remedy is for the "Thirty 
Committee " to go on with tiie praiii, G. T. 
(Reports on three marks of green tea ) 
Extract from a letter from the Manager of 
estate to Mr. C. Jud.tje :— " Given 
adequare machinery the only extra cost would be 
in the fuel. At witli short drying machi- 
nery and working night and day when busy I 
consider per lb. extra on the 2,500 maunds. 
I ■ made eu.sily clear all extra expenditure on fuel 
and labour and also leave.s sufficient over to pay 
ilie cost of niacliinery. Green Tea after manu- 
facture weighs out ns vmU a.5 black." 
Extract irom a letter of the Superiniendent of 
to whom the above letter was submitted 
for coulirmatioa or criticism. " I see no reason 
why should not gut as much weight from 
their greens as from their blacks. If there is 
any loss in the manufacture of greens it is when 
true greens are panned occasionally and, of course, 
does not make true greens (i.e. the 
first estate makes ' uncoloured ' and does not 
"finish.") 
A third statement is from the Manager of 
Kolbong whose teas (after pan-firing in Calcutta 
by machine) fetched in open auction in London 
9^d for Young Hyson, S^d for Hyson and 8d for 
Hysjn 2— who says:—" Greens anil blacks here 
weigh out the same." 
GREEN TEA MANUFACTURE AND 
BLACK. 
Ambegamuwa, April 20. 
Dear Sir,— Replying to Mr. Judge's letter 
and your correspondent re green teas and 
outturn (see page 783), I still maintain that 
it costs nearly 4c. more than black tea. 
Carelessness in manufacture or extreme 
supervision will not give an outturn of over 
23 per cent. I will ask Mr Judge or your 
other correspondent to weigh out, say, 3001b. 
of green leaf from the field straight to the 
steamer. They must be sure it is done under 
their immediate eye and if they can with a 
bona fide 300 lb. tea leaf turn out more than 
68 to 69 lb. I am open to be instructed how 
it is done. [ have carefully weighed out 20'J lb. 
green leaf, withered it separately, and when 
ready, rolled the leaf off and had the lot 
fired. 24: per cent black tea was the result. 
There is weighing and — weighing ! — of leaf, ! ! 
and results accordingly. All true men know 
this. Mr. Judge is quite right to get in as 
much advertisement for his machine as pos- 
sible. He is no exception to human nature. 
Apologising for any trouble, — Yours truly, 
G. T. 
P. 8.— It 23 per cent is the result of green 
tea outturn, add the cost of extra leaf and 
extra cost of manufacture, it will turn out 
very close on 4c. above blacks. -^G.T. 
— .# — 
Soils of Dominica,— We have received from 
Mr, D, Morris, c M G, copy of a report on the 
physical and chemical analyses of the Soils of 
Dominica, 1902, by the Hon. F Watts, B. Sc., 
Government Analytical and Agricultural Chemist 
for the Leeward Islands, issued by the Commis- 
sioner of Agriculture for the West Indies. The 
Keport poutains a great deal of valuable informa- 
tion ; for as Mr D Morris says : — 
In countries where the land has been tilled for long 
periods, much knowledge is gained by expeiience 
and the need for thorough chemical and physical 
analysis may not be urgent. In Dominica the case is 
entirely different. Much of the land has never been 
cnitivated and there is no fund of experience to guide 
intending planters. The valuable information con- 
tained in this report may well then be the means of 
preventing costly mistakes in planting crops on lands 
unsuitable to them. This report ia a valuable con- 
tribation to oar knowledge of West Indian soils and 
embodies the results of very careful work by Mr 
Watts, continued over a long period of time, and the 
thanks of the Government and the Planting Com- 
munity are due to him for his active and zealous 
efforts. 
