m% THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1902. 
has been used as an argument for their disparagement, 
it is simply a case of dealing with the tea^ according 
to their strength. 
Ceylon teas should only be infused for five or six 
minutes after which time the made tea should be 
poured off into another tea-pot heated for its reception. 
If this were always done we shouM hear no more 
about Tannin which in properly made tea only adds 
a") the analyst remarks strength and pungency to 
the liquor ; fresh spring water should be employed, 
and water that has once been boiled should not be 
reboiled for tea making, Of course, it ia necessary 
to procure a good sound tea, and for this purpose 
you have only to apply to any of the numerous 
agents of Kogivue & Co. Ld., to obtain what you 
require. 
Tho most delicate tea is grown at high altitudes 
whilst magnificent crops are produced from the low 
country gardens. The curious characteristic of Ceylon 
tea is that at whatever the altitude it is grown it can 
always be drunk unblended, it is a self-drinking tea, 
and does not require the agency of anj* other tea 
to make it enjoyable or drinkable. It is however 
about time to think of the tea seed if we are ever 
going to arrive at the tea -cup, 
After a block of jungle is hought, felled and burnt 
it must be first well roaded and afterwards holed for 
the reception of the young tea plants, which are 
planted from three to four feet spart according to 
the altitude of the estate. A Nursery muet first ba 
prepared for the reception of the tea seed, well screened 
from the sun by Palm leaves or dried mana grass. 
This nursery it is needless to say is a most im- 
portant part of the undertaking. On a large nursery 
it is quite one man's work to watch and water the 
seedliDga and keep the ground clear of insects, pests, 
weeds, etc. The tea plant when about nine inches 
high only requires the rains to commence for plant- 
ing out. The young plant is then gently extracted 
from the soft earth of the nursery, tied up into bun- 
dles and served out to the most experienced coolies 
to plant in the holes prepared for their reception. 
These holes are dug to the depth of about 1! inches 
and should be filled in with surface soil carefully 
freed from stones or rough subsoil. Planting is a 
most important operation and requires great care ; 
should the long tap root get bent the future pros- 
pects of the tree will be greatly affected. The rain- 
fall in the low country is about 180 inches per 
annum, about 6 or 7 times as much as London 
registers, as much as 6 inches of rain will some- 
times fall in a few hours, this humid atmosphere 
coupled with the forcing properties of a tro- 
pical sun produces a wonderful growth in the tea 
fields, the first picking of the leaf often taking place 
within two years of planting. In the higher altitudes 
the rainfall is less §ind the growth not nearly so 
rapid, three to four years is generally allowed to 
elapse before the first crop is plucked. The general 
management of the tree will much depend upon alti- 
tude and climatic differences. The rougher teas from 
Assam or the Kelani Valley naturally require differ- 
ent treatment to tha high-grown and more delicate 
sorts, it is not altogether unlike the high and low 
born of the human race, both are necessary but 
require separate modes of treatment to procure the 
best results. This is supposed to be a popular lecture 
on CEYLON TEA SO that I shall not weary you with sta- 
tistics. After I have finished my remarks upon tea 
cultivation and discussed with you other important 
points, there will be thrown upon the sheet a number 
of beautiful photographs taken by Mr. H. W. Cave of 
Ceylon. It the lecture should have proved a little 
dry I sincerely trust these pictures will dissipate any 
weariness acquired during the relation of details a 
little monotonous perhaps but necessitated by the 
subject. 
The coolie women and children become very expert 
(d plucking the leaf, it is marvellous to watch ^heir 
dexterity, it seems to be an instinct with them to know 
what part of the flush should be taken and what felt 
for future use. The eye in the axil of the leaf must 
not be injured as that represents the future flush. 
The top leaf or bud of the shoot is known in the traele 
as " tippy " tea, this is a small orange-coloured leaf 
found in high class teas, easily distinguished amongst 
the black leaves by its golden appearance, this leaf 
makes the best tea and wou'd be too strong in liquor 
to drink by itself unless used sparingly, a single 
pound specially picked has fetched in Min:iug Lane as 
much as £35 stg. These fine leaves are collected by 
throwing the tea against a special matting made of 
jute, the extremely small tips stick to it whilst the 
heavier leaves fall to the ground. The Oiange Pelcoe, 
the PeJcoe and Pekoe Souchong a,re ihe next io sequence 
down the stem of the flush. There are two kinds of 
plucking; fine and coarse, the former turns out teas as 
follows : — 
Broken Orange Pekoe ... Equal 30 per cent 
Orange Pekoe ... . . do 40 do 
Pekoe . . . , . . do 19 do 
Pekoe Souchong . . . . do 7 do 
Dust ,. ... .. do 3 do 
Wastage .. ... ... do 1 do 
th« coarser picking would include a higher percentage 
of the Pekoe Souchong leaf. After pluckiog the leaf 
the coolie carries his or her basket to the central store 
where it is carefully weiorhed and placed in the wither- 
ing rooms. The withering process is very simple, the 
leaves are spread out thinly upon " Tattu " or shallow 
trays, and left until they become- proparly withered, 
sometimes hot air is passed through the shed, but 
this is mostly resorted to when the weather is wet and 
the leaves in consequence refuse to dry, the leaf when 
ready for rolling should feel to the touch like a dry rag. 
This is a very important part of tea manufacture, as 
unless the leaf is properly withered it is quite impos- 
sible to roll it. After the withering the leaf is taken 
by trained coolies to the rolling machine, a marvellous 
instrument which roll and crushes the withered leaf 
into the fine spiral form so well known. After rolling 
comes Fermentation, the crushed leaf is placed in 
fl.itish heaps and covered with wet cloths until it 
becomes a bright coppery colour. Machinery having 
done its duty up to this stage, human intelligence 
mu»t for a short time take its place It is the/e/ men- 
tation of the leaf which is the 'laost important part of 
the tea manufacture. During this process the chemical 
properties of the leaf are changed, the point is to know 
exactly when this change has taken place, and con- 
sequently the right moment to break up the fermen- 
tation, and consign the tea to the Dessicator or roast- 
ing machine. To gain this experience a long course of 
close application to the subject is neceaeary. how- 
ever careful one may have been in the other parts of 
the manufacture, carelessness with the ferm'-ntation 
will spoil the whole day's work and not only lose a 
valuable lot of tea, but should the tea, so spoiled be 
shipped to London and receive an adverse criticism 
from the trade, the estate in question may get a bad 
name which would effect its lales of tea for a consi- 
derable time perhaps. In the very early days the 
proprietors of one garden nearly killed the prospects 
of Ceylon tea by sending to Mincing Lane samples 
which were discovered to be quite unfit to drink. 
There was a good deal of joking about this at the time 
but fortunately no real harm resulted. In these early 
days tea was made entirely by hand. Although a tea 
roaster was invented by a near relation of mine, 
which if it had been preserved might now hare 
proved of considerable value to a museum set apart 
for showing the early efforts of the pioneers, who 
without guidance resorted to their inborn ingenuity 
and pluck for devising means for tea manufacture 
all honour to them say I, and I feel sure that you 
will agree to the scentiment. After the leaf is roasted, 
it ia sifted into the different qualities required and 
packed into chests, half chests or boxes for the Londoa 
Market . 
