Dec, 2, 1901.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
405 
act more on the tannic and otlipr or;2;aniG 
•icids to produce the coloury liquor of black 
tea, rather than on any constituent which 
produces the well-iinown flavour of upcountiy 
teas. It is well known that the most delicate 
flavour is found in very lightly fermented, 
teas, whde over fermentation either re- 
moves Jthe flavour altogether, or dis- 
o-uises it by the iproduction of other 
odourless constituents in the leaf. If 
the soluble ferment (in tea) has an effect 
on the flavour at all, it probably takes place 
partly during growth, and partly durmg 
the withering process, as it is th en that 
the distinctive flavour is most noticeable; 
and it would be practically impossible to 
employ any external feroientmg agent at 
this stage. Mr. Mann, the chemist to the 
I.T.A., Ts working out this question of 
ferments and their eflrect on flavour in tea, 
and a similar enquiry is now being made 
in Ceylon, as to the effect of the euzyme 
referred to in Mr. Kelway Bamber s report 
to the Ceylon P.A., and other causes likely 
to produce flavour and quality. 
Mr. IJamber has himself on a previous 
occasion experimented in this direction and 
t is interesting, in view of the present dis 
covery, to quote from his " Keport on Ceylon 
ITea Soils and their effect on the quality of 
Tea" the result of these experiments: 
•'Quite recently, he says I have succeeded, after 
numerous attempts, in isolating a minute 
proportion of a soluble oxidising ferment, 
sonaewhat similar to the oxydases recently 
discovered in several plants of different 
natural orders. The substance in question, 
which evidently has a considerable bearing 
on the oxidising properties of the tex, 
' apparently does not exist in the active form 
in the fresh green leaf, but is changed either 
durin"- the withering if the leaf is bruised, 
or durino- the rollingl processes, when the 
I various organic acids &c., are liberated 
from the cells." . • * 
Again he says. " There is one variety of 
proteid present in the leaf which m dilute 
acid undergoes a slight decomposition, with 
the production of a very sweet aroma, 
almost identical with that of the essential 
oil which has been isolated and kept some 
weeks It is more than probable a simil.ir 
decomposition takes place with withering 
leaf especially if the sap is distinctly acid 
from the presence, in excess, of organic 
acids " Further on Mr. Bamber says—" An 
experiment on the effect of the ferment 
on a solution of gallataunic acid resulted 
in the formation of a considerable pro- 
portion of sugar (glucose), and a slight 
\ colouring of the solution from absorbed 
! "further information on the matter will 
' be waited for with interest. 
A' NEW DEPARTURE IN TEA 
MANUFACTURE. 
ISOLATION OF A FEKMENT. 
Mr C R Newton, of Kurseong, an old Fellow of 
the Royal Microscopical Society of England, and 
who has, under the nom-de plumc of " F R M h, 
fre^iieatly coutributed to our columns, pnucipally 
on microbes, ferments and the diseases of tea, has, 
we understand, after an enorniuus nnaiber of ex- 
periments, isolated a ferment liaving the same 
eti'ect on the tea leaf as one alieady existing there 
and has applied for patents for its utilisation in tea 
manufacture. Mr jMewton has alway-* been an 
pponent of the bacteria theory in the flavouring 
oatea, and has maintained that it was caused by 
;?fernient contained in the tea itself — a fc'incntnni 
■,i.uiduni viviirn. These ferments and their actimi 
are, we understand, b\it little known, and it is only 
within comparatively recent years that they iiav'e 
been I'eoognised, and this is, we believe, the flisc 
occasion on which it has been proposed to make 
artificial use of their great power of rendering 
soluble many plant snhstances. — [iidian Erigu 
neering and Planting, Nov. 7, 
BRlTISfl NORTH BORNEO : NEW DUES. 
A new customs tarifi came into force in Uritish 
North Borneo on the 15th October. Under it, im- 
ported riflis and (jjuns are charged at the rate nf (13 
a barrel, and pistols and revolvers $3 each. Cloth',' 
flour, rope, building maleiials, leather, rice, station- 
ery, and tinned provisions are cliarged 5 percent on 
the value, 10 per cent is the rate on chemicals, 
cutlery, haberdashery, machines, medicines, paints 
silk stulF-i, timber and pipes. Imported fireworks 
pay 25 percent on the value. Liquors are rated 
high, gin being .$7 'oO a case. s to > exports, barks 
and roots are charged 25 per cent oa the value, 
camphor four dollars per catty, copra 5 per cent ad 
valorem, gutta percha 10 per cent ad valorem — or 
§20 on every picul of the red kind — cattle §5 per 
head, gambler and cutch to be charged under 
agreement, rattans and rice 10 per cent ad valorem, 
raw sago 16 cents per picul, timber #2, §I/75, and 
0 75 per ton : tobacco (estate) one cent per English 
pound, and (native) one dollar per thousand rolls. 
— Straits Times, Nov. 2. 
❖ 
THE INDIAN TEA EXPLOITATION 
SCHEME. 
SOME SEARCHING CRITICISM. 
It is ditfioulc now to make anyone believe that the 
exploitation schema is really being worked for the 
benefit of the icliole tea industry ; and the reasons 
given for this non-belief are as follow. It is pointed 
out, that though the work has now been carried out 
for nearly a year, yet the Association and its Com- 
missioners have made no attempt to take the inter- 
ested public into its confidence. No reports uoi* 
accounts have been published. No statement has been 
announced showing the progress made, — the quality 
or quantity of tea sold, — the receipts and disburse- 
inenta made, — the composition of the staff employed, 
and so on. Such information can only be rightly 
withheld by a purely private firm ; but the Expansion 
Commission, which is alleged to be a national concern, 
is not justified in keeping the public in the dark about 
such matters. Further, an impression has got abroad 
that the Commissioners are more intent on advertising 
their own firm, instead of solely advertising the tea 
tentrusted to them. la support of this, it is pointed out 
that tea labels on the packets now offered for sale have 
rho full name and address of a private firm, when 
geference should only have been made to the imper- 
onal " Tea Markets' Expansion Commission.'' And 
again, that this firm has included itB own name ia 
its communications; and has been receiving fulsome 
congratulatory messages from thoughtless Govern- 
ment officials, as if the whole exploitation scheme 
was really owned by the firm instead of the firm beingf 
merely the Commissioners, or working agents of the 
IniXm Tea Asso':iaitioa, It k Eirgued that tba ^x\i\ 
