Jan. 1, 1902.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
453 
oxygen to any body with which it was mixed. Two 
such substances, both of which could not damage 
Ihe tea were therefore tried. These were Hydrogen 
Peroxide and Permanganate of Potash, eitlaer of 
which could be bought, were a demand to arise, at 
a comparatively cheap rate. 
With Hydrogen Peroxide 4 oz. of a " one volnme " 
solution was added to 2 lb. of leaf just from the 
roller, and fermentation allowed to proceed. After 
45 minutes the lot of leaf treated was distinctly 
brighter in colour. The feimentaiiou was considered 
complete- in each case after IJ hours, and both were 
dried in the same manner. I sent the teas to an 
expert taster who was good enough to make the 
following report : — " I give preference to 'B ' (without 
Hydrogen Peroxide) samples which have much better 
appearance than ' A ' (with Hydrogen Peroxide) 
and have more body. On the other hand ' A ' 
samples have fine Dirjeeling flavour, and almost 
perfect infusions. They only want a little more 
body in the cup, and less greynesa in the dry leaf 
to make them very desirable teas." Eliminating all 
reference to the appearance of the dry leaf, it 
appears that the addition of au oxidising agent had 
little effect ou the quality. A repetition of the ex- 
periment gave the same result." 
In similar manner Permanganate of potash was 
added to another lot of rolled leaf (4 oz. of 1 per 
cent, solution to 3 lb. of leaf) and on drying after 
being fermented for the same time no difference 
could be detected in color of liquor, taste, or 
pungency. 
The mere addition of Oxygen in an active form 
was therefore not capable of making the fermen- 
tation go either perceptibly more quickly, or more 
evenly. This would afford, were it needed, strong 
evidence against any theory of mere oxidation as 
explanatory of the changes which undoubtedly take 
place, 
BACTERIA IN TEA PEEMENTATION. 
Th'iugh the first experiment above described ap- 
peared to have eliminated the possibility of bacteria 
being the cause of the changes, another effort was 
made to isolate such as were present, and likely to 
be of any importance, so that one might then as- 
certain whether they had any influence on the 
fermentation of rolled tea leaf. This was done by 
grinding up some fresh tea leaf to a pulp, then 
sterilising it by means of steam, and finally intro- 
ducing into it a piece of fermenting tea leaf. After 
two days it was evident that growth of some or- 
ganism was taking place, and on examination this 
was found to be a small rod-shaped microbe. I only 
succeeded in isolating this one type of organism from 
all the cultures that I made, but it was nevertheless 
invariably present. After a second culture in tea 
juice, freshly rolled tea was inoculated with this 
microDe, and allowed to ferment. After IJ hours 
the tea was sour, while a check lot of rolled leaf 
to which nothing had been added was fermenting 
normally. This, I think, therefore, finally sots at 
rest the question as to whether actual living or- 
ganisms play a part in the ordinary fermentation of 
tea. Though they are present always, they are pre- 
sent as impurities, and have nothing to do with 
the action which it is desired should go on, and 
they should be eliminated, so far as is possible, 
from the fermenting leaf, and the fermenting house. 
FERMBNT OF THE TEA LEAP. 
Bat nevertueless there must be some active cause 
iu the tea leaf which causes the production of the 
desired colour a-id flavour, especially as we have 
shown that oxygen alone is not capable of produoiug 
the eSec, And this cause is the presence of a represen- 
tative of a class of (erments — not actually living but al- 
Ways produced by living cells, — the discovery of which 
in tea was, for the fiist time, as stated above, made 
by Mr. Bamber in the early part of 1900. These 
" uaorgaaised ferments" or "enzymes" aa they are 
termed have been discovered in recent years to 
play a most important part in many operations 
where their presence previously had been hardly sus- 
pected. Taking the oxidases," for instance, the 
class of enzymes which is active in the case of.tea, 
it has been suown that ferments of a similar type 
also take a principal part in the production of 
Japanese lacquer,* and further, aa has been still 
more recently discovered, in the curing and fer- 
mentation of tobacco, t 
{To be concluded.) 
THE RUBBER PLANTING SITUATION 
IN MEXICO. 
{To the Editor of the India Rubber World.) 
Regarding rubber culture in the Soconusco district, 
state of Chiapaa, Mexico, 1 desire to say in the 
first place, that on the low lands of said county, 
aud down near the Pacific coast, the rubber tree 
grows wild in profusion and in many instances is 
found of enormous sizes. On the " San Carlos ' 
tract, for example, belonging to Mr. Alejandro 
Cordova, of Tuxtla-Chico, Soconusco, there are 
rubber trees which cannot be less than fifty years 
old, having a diameter of seven feet, and the space 
shaded by the foliage a diameter of at least seventy 
to seventy-five feet. Similar trees can be seen at 
the "Jesus Maria" tract belougiug to Mr. liichard 
Bado, of Tapachula ; on the different properties of 
Mr. Porfirio Aparicio, Tuxtla-Ohico, towards the 
(juatemala frontier ; and ou " Los Gerros ' and 
" Santa Isabel " tracts belonging to the Escobar 
family, also of Tapachula. 
Now, as to the cultivation of the rubber tree in 
the same district, enough has been written lately 
to demonstrate that its returns provide plenty of 
mirgin for contingencies. I hereby give yo i some 
data in reference to this industry, the truth of which 
can be also easily verified. 
In 1871 Romolo Palacios planted over 100,000 
rubber trees in connection with cacao on the tracts 
"San Antonio" and "Pumpuapa" of his property, 
about five miles distant from Tapachula, and near the 
seaport of San Benito, in the district of Soconusco. 
These trees have been gradually reduced iu number 
by reason of forest fires until probably only about 
dOOO remain, The owner of the property, dying 
about ten years ago, left it to his son Teofilo 
Palacios, who now manages the estate. Ihe rub- 
ber trees are tappei every year, and some of the 
product has been shipped at various times to New 
York, to Marquardt & Co., and W. Loaiza & Co., • 
and to London. 1 have never seen the trees tapped, 
but from what I have seen in the district 1 should 
say that trees of the age mentioned should yield 
readily at a single tapping 10 pounds of milk, which 
will afford 4 pounds of dry rubber per tree. 
In 1872 the late General Seiaastian Escobar, a 
well-known agriculturist, thoroughly acquainted with 
the nature of the Soconusco lands, and enthusiastic 
in the matter of agricultural progress, planted over 
1,000,000 rubber trees ou his properties called " Loa 
Cerrod " and " Santa Isabel. " These trees were also 
plautefl in connection with cocoa, at a time when 
the Mexican government was seeking to encourage 
« Bertraud, 1894 and 1895. 
t Oscar Loew. Bulletins of the United States 
Department of Agriculture, 1899-1901. 
* It seems proper to state here that Messrs. Mar- 
quardt & Co. and also Messrs. Loaiza & Co. advise The 
India Rubbeb Wokld that no rubber which they may 
have received from Mexico at any time has been 
described to them as being the product of planted 
trees.^lHE Editor. - ' 
