June 1, 1904.] 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
807 
THES MAKING OF FORMOSA 
OOLONGS. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROOBaS. 
TUB TEA CEVLON WANTS TO TURN OUT. 
It has been constantly stated that Ceylon should 
turn out a class of green tea similar to the oolongs 
manufactured in Formosa, but hitherto all attempts 
in this direction have failed. Ceylon maimfacturers 
can turn out a tea exactly similar to oolongs in 
appearance and iu liquor Imt not in flavour ; and it is 
this flavour that bofiies them. The flavour of Ceylon 
oolongs is bitter and disagreeable. One manufacturer 
stated that he could make oolongs perfect in appear- 
ance of the leaf, exactly similar to Formoaas in 
liquor, but the flavour he described as "beastly." 
The special Formosa flavour is probably procured by 
the admixture of a special leaf, what the leaf is, and 
from what plant it is obtained, and how it is used, etc., 
are questions yet to be answered. Some authorities 
state that Formosa oolongs will never be produced in 
Ceylon, as the secret of the flavour is in the soil. 
Ceylon, however, has sent Uossrs. A C. Kingsford and 
Kelway liamber on a mission to Formosa to study 
the manufacture there, and find out, if possible, what 
the secret of their oolougs is, and after their return 
we shall probably know definitely whether Ceylon can 
hope to produce this special tea or not. One thing is 
certain, if real oolongs can be produced here it will 
mean a splendid market for Ceylon tea in America 
and Canada. -Meanwhile, the following account of the 
process of manufacturing Formosa oolongs, which Sir 
John Keane, Private Secretary to Sir Henry Blake, 
has contributed to the " Times of Ceylon," will prove 
of interest. 
ENERGY AND ENTEEPllISE OP CEYLON PLANTEES, 
The business methods of British manufacturers have 
been much criticised of late, and ihe increasing trade 
in foreign-made goods has been attributed to their 
disinclination to produce the class of articles that will 
satisfy the wants and tempt the fancy of various cus- 
tomers. Happily, no such charge can be made against 
the planters of Ceylon. With characteristic energy 
and buaineaa. instinct they have realised that commer- 
cial success depends, not upon educating the 
taste but upon meeting the demands of the 
consumer, and with this object they have, of late 
years, made rapid strides in the manufacture of 
green' teas, while, quite recently, Messrs. Kiogsford 
and Kelway Bimber have been deputed to proceed to 
Formosa to study and report upon a special class of 
teas known as oolongs, aud grown in that island. 
During the mouth of July last it was my good for- 
tune, during a short visit, to see something of 
THE LOCAL INDUSTRIES IN FOHMOSA, 
and I now propose, briefly, and necessarily very 
generally to describe the manner iu which the tea 
trade in that island is conducted. 1 do not for a 
moment claim that my remarks will be of any practi- 
cal value to the planting community ; all I hope is that 
they maybe of interest to general readers and convey 
Eome idea on a subject which at a later date will be 
fully treated iu a detailed and expert report. 
THE PB2CE83 OF MANUFACTURE. 
In many, indeed in most, respects the local condi- 
tions in the two islands differ very widely. In For- 
mosa the best teas are grown iu a hot damp olimate- 
and the growers are entirely Chinese proprietors cul- 
tivatiu" small gardens, many uot more than 5, the 
lareest'la to 20 acres in extent. 'J'he methods of cul- 
ture are primitive according to the approved ideas of 
tea planting. Picking is roughly and very carelessly 
done; pruning is little, if ever, resorted to; the use 
of fertilisers is almost unknown, and, to maintain a 
good quality of leaf, fresh virgin soil is coafcinually 
being brought under cultivation, 
102 
TLUCKING TUB LEAF, 
The loaves are picked four times a year in the 
spring, summer, autumn, aud winter -, but the first and 
last pickings give a very small yield, and far the 
largest crop is that obtained in the summer. The 
trade is so regulated that almost the entirety of the 
packing and exportation takes place between the 
months of May and September in each year. The 
process of preparation is simple, and no machinery 
whatever is used. The leaf, when brought in by the 
pickers, is spread in the sunshine. Here it is stirred 
lor a short time until a slight evaporation of moisture 
has taken place and slight fermentation has com- 
menced. The leaf is then placed in bamboo trays in 
large ventilated buildings and stirred every fifteen 
minutes or so, until the edge of the leaf assumes a 
reddish brown colour. 
THE rillST FIRING PROCESS. 
The next process is the first firing, when the leaf 
is placed in large metal trays over a wood fire, sub- 
jected to considerable heat and stirred by hand. 
When the leaf has commenced to curl up it is removed 
from the fire, placed in trays, and eu'ijected to hand- 
rolling, which is followed by a further firing. There 
is no hard-aud-faat rule for this process, ihe object 
being to remove sufficient moisture from the leaf to 
admit of its transportation to the factories of the 
exporters, distant aometiraea a journey of three days. 
In this semi-prepared state the tea finds its way into 
the hands of foreign exporting firms or native packers, 
who arrange for its final preparation — sorting, packing 
nnd consignment to the consuming countries. At 
Twatatei, the capital of the island, there are some 
twelve European firms, of which the two largest are 
British. Some have their principal offices at Amoy 
on the mainland of China and export by way of thia 
port. Others export direct, while the native firms 
export almost entirely through their principals on the 
mainland. 
CLEANING AND PICKING OVER THE LEAF. 
The tea, when it reaches the central factories — or 
"hongs" as they are called in China — is in a very 
dirty condition. It is accordingly picked over very 
carefully in order to remove impurities, pieces of 
stalk, coarse leaves and other foreign matter ; and the 
characteriotic sight in the streets of Twatatie during 
the summer season is to see the verandahs of the 
factoiies packed with women and children, dressed in 
their brightest clothes, and busily engaged picking 
over piles of tea in large bamboo trays before them. 
They work with marvellous rapidity, especially the 
girls, but their wages are not high. A fast worker 
may earn IG cents a day, but the average wage will 
not probably exceed 10 cents of the Mexican dollar. 
THE PINAL FIRING. 
After this final picking, the tea is subjected to its 
last filing, to prepare it for the long voyage to Europe 
or the United States. The firing takes place in 
large rooms situated round a central hall, where the 
sorting, packing, etc., is done. Each fire-place — and 
there are several hundreds in each room — consists of 
a small hole about 2 feet iu diameter, and the same 
depth, the top on a level with a built-up brick platform 
about '2' 6" high. The fireplaces themselves are about 
3 feet apart. Before introducing the tea, all the 
charcoal is allowed to burn down to a state of redheat, 
when it is banked up with ashes, and the heat thus 
retained for a considerable time. During tiring the 
tea is placed in baskets, each containing about 7 lbs., 
shaped somewhat like a dice-box with a perforated 
partition at the centre or waist. 
A NINE hours' FIRING, 
A basket is placed over each tire-place, and after 
being first introduced, the tea is allowed to remain for 
about three hours undisturbed. After this, the contents 
of each basket is turned over every three hours or so, 
and in about cine hours from the commencement of 
