592 
THE TROPICAL 
AGl?ICtJLTURiST. [March ], 1904. 
coatjnlated milfc on drying-trames made fay stretching 
brown linen on light wooden frames somewhat like 
those used for framing school slates. These frames 
miiy be of any suitable size to fit the drying-apparatua 
employed. 
A small American fruit-dryer answers very well, or a 
drying-stove may be conetiucted by building in brick a 
chamber about 3 feet high, 3 feet wide, and 6 feet 
long. These dimensions cau, however, be changea to 
any size in aocoi dauce with the qaantity of material to 
be dealt with. This chamber is open at ihe top, and 
about a foot from the top it is divided horizontally into 
two compartmects by a sheet of iron. In the lower 
compartment is a small fire grate, and at the opposite 
end to the grate is h chimney to cirry off the smoke. 
In order to obtain an even heat in the upper compart- 
ment it is well to spread a layer of sand one or two 
inches thick over the iron plate. The frames carrying 
the coagulated milk are placed on the top of the 
chamber so as to form a lid or cover to the opeoing , 
when the heat from the iron plate drives off the 
moisture. 
A LOW DHYING TEMPERATURE -NECESSARY. 
It is important that the temperature at which drying 
is effected shall be as low as possble. Any overheating 
destroys the active principle, so that a carelessly 
prepared product may be useless. In practice the 
temperature is kept as low as is consistent with 
getting the substance dried befo)^ decomposition sets 
in. It this can be done without the temperature of 
the tray being raised above 100^ P., so much the 
better. As the substance becomes dry it shrinks con- 
pdierably in bulk, and the contents of several trays 
may be emptied into one and the drying continued. 
PULVERISING THE DRY PAPAIN. 
Drying mn.=it be continued until the substance is 
crisp and in such a conditon that it can be reduced to a 
fine powder without any difficulty being experienced 
from stickiness. The dried material should be finely 
pulverised, when the resulting product should be a 
white or cream-coloured powder, with a characteristic 
but not putrid smell. The powder should be packed 
in tins or bottles and carefully preserved from contact 
with the air. Grinding is easily efiected in a mill of 
the type commonly used for grinding coffee. When 
grinding it is desirable to have the papain slightly 
warmed. 
Papain is collected by the natives in Ceylon, and 
dried in the snn or by smoking, but the process is 
very crude. A demand for good clean papain would 
probably be found in the London market without much 
difficulty. 
THE TEA TRADE IN RUSSIA. 
REPORT OF THS GERMAN CONSUL AT MOSCOW. 
The following report on the tea trade in Russia 
is of interest. Owing to the recent outbreak of 
hostilities, however, the Odessa route will probably 
take nearly all the tea for the Kassiau consumers, 
and it is probable that a very long period will elapse 
before the re-opening of the Dalmy route. As a 
matter of fact the tea trade via Eastern ports depends 
largely on the fiaal result of the Russo-Japanese 
war, and the opening of Ihe ports and railway to 
trade under the new regulations which will in all 
probability be enforced. 
The Russian tea trade has experienced a complete 
revolution in the last few years. Whilst formerly 
tea from China, and still more so from Ceylon and 
India, came to Russia via Odessa, the greater part 
will, after the completion of the East Siberian and 
Mauchurian Railways, reach Russia over the Siberian 
frontier. 
• THE FAB EAST ROUTE CHEAPER THAN VIA ODESSA. 
The considerably lower customs duty which- tea 
Imported across the Asiatip border has to pay as 
compared with that crossing the European border has 
very much to do with this change. Although the 
oucy on overland tea has risen 5 roubles per pood 
or kopeck 7-J @ lbs. since Angust 1902, tea imported 
info Moscow by Du.lny shows an outturn of kopeck 
15 @ lb. cheaper than that shipped by Odessa. It 
has even happened that Ceylon tea destined for South 
Rassia has been shipped to Dalny and forwarded to 
its destination from there by Moscow, as the difference 
in duty could not be made up for by the cheaper 
freight between Colombo and Odessa. 
MOSCOW, THE CENTRE OF THE RUSSIAN TRADE. 
Moscow has become the only important place for 
the Russian tea trade, as all large tea firms are settled 
there, and there the whole trade both for overland 
and ocean teas is centred. Here also the largest 
quantities pay duty, though it is levied ou consider- 
able parcels of overland tea at the intermediate 
custom houses of Manchuria, Irkutsk and Ishelabinsk 
and on many sea imports at Odessa. 
The tea trade of Nishny. Novgorod has also changed 
and lost considerably by the alteration in the trans- 
port route. While overland tea was formerly 
brought from Irkutsk by way of Tomsk sad Tjumen 
to Perin, to be stored there in large quantities and 
sold into all the Russian districts at fair time it 
now comes direct to Moscow and the tea trade 
at Nishny-Novgorod, what there still is of it 
then at fair time resolves itself into deals from 
samples instead of as it used to bo in the ready article 
on the spot. 
THE OLD LAND ROUTE GIVEN UP. 
The former land road across Mongolia or by 
Tientsin, Kalgan, Terga and Kiachta to Irkutsk 
is hardly used any more, and little is transported 
even on the Anner via Nikolajervsk, as the railway 
is little dearer and offers greater seoarity for the 
p'inctual arrival of goods. 
The year 1902 began with an unusually flat market 
for cheap teas. Very larg^ supplies of the inferior 
grades remained on hand unsold from the 1900 and 
even the 1899 seasons. As these grades -svere of 
distinctly better quality in 1901 than in the two pre- 
ceding years, and, in fine, China prices again gave 
way, the 1899 and 1900 stocks could only be realised 
in Russia at a heavy lo's. This moved some im- 
porters to export large parcels of these 
INFERIOR GRADES FROM ODESSA TO ENGLAND 
where they ultimately found a purchaser. Re-ex- 
portation of this kind had not secured for a long 
sequence of years. What was already in Moscow 
could not be exported because of the heavy freight 
and was sold there at unprecedentedly low prices • 
the cheapest kinds realised '2 to 3 kopecks (a), lb! 
over the actual amount of the duty. This stale of 
the market also influenced the price of medium grades 
and lasted till the Nishni Novgorod fair. 
In August an increase of 7^ kopeck @ lb. in the 
duty was declared which, however, called forth hardly 
any increase in the sale price. From September to 
October a better feeling began to make itself ap- 
parent ; the lowest sorts rose 7 or 8 kopeck about 
August, and the tea trade gradually assumed its 
normal tone ; but in the beginning of the year tea 
dealers had suffered heavy losses, 
CEYLON AND INDIAN TEA OUSTING CHINESE. 
The tea trade goes on developing itself in the di- 
rection embarked on just about 10 years ago. The 
large firms, which are also the largest importers 
grow appreciably, while smaller dealers have daily 
to fight harder for existence, and disappear one 
after the other. As regards quality also, the good 
old times seem to have vanished when only beautiful 
pure China tea was recognised in Russia. Only a 
few of the old kinds can hold their place and find 
their circle of consumers ; the mass of consumers 
on the other hand even m Russia demand tea with" 
