May 2, 1892.J 
fHP TftOPlCAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
MAT MANUFACTUEE IN COCHIN. ) 
The following account of the history and manu- 
facture of Wadakauchorry mats has recently been 
given in a report on the Agricultural and Industrial 
Exhibition held at Mysore in October of last year. 
The mats arc made "at Wadakauchorry. a taluk of 
Cochin. They are known at the place by the simple 
name of grass mats, and are recognised elsewhere by 
the name of Palghat and Kavalapasa mats, other 
places of manufacture. The industry was introduced 
into Cochin from Kavalapasa about forty years ago. 
At first there was but one family engaged in the 
trade, it has now increased to three, consisting in all 
of twenty souls. Both males and females are em- 
ployed in the work. The men were originally 
brought for making mats from the Sircar, and were 
provided with free quarters. Such is the short 
history of the introduction of the industry into 
Cochin. 
These mats are made, like the Palghat mats of a 
kind of sedge {Ci/iterus Paiifjorei), grown by the side 
of swamps and rivers. The sedges grow to a height 
of six feet, by one and a half inches in circum- 
ference, and are of a triangular shape. They are 
collected in the rainy season. The culms or stems 
are split, and the inside pith removed, and are then 
dried. Each stem may be split into from four to eight, 
or even twelve, according to the delicay of the tex- 
ture intended. The strips are then well seasoned 
and sown into mats. Women are mostly employed 
in the collection and splitting of the stems, while 
the actual weaving is done by men. The loom used 
for the purpose is of simple construction, consisting 
of two bamboo pieces at either end, attached to 
pegs driven in the ground. The warp consists of 
twine made of country hemp, and is produced by the 
weavers themselves. In special cases cotton-thread 
is also used instead of twine. The process of weav- 
ing is fone by the strips of sedge being passed to 
and fro cros.swise, by means of a stick with a whole 
at one end of it to which the sedge is attached. The 
warps are passed through a moveable piece of wood 
with as many holes as there may be warps, and are 
tiedup to theBamboo pieces at either end. According 
to the number and nearness of the warps the greater 
is the delicay and strength of the texture. The woof 
is made compact by means of the piece of wood 
above described. 
The distinguishing peculiarity of the Wadakau- 
chorry mats is their brilliant colour. Only four 
varieties of it can, however, be had, namely, the 
white, black, red, and yellow, ; of these the 'last is 
the readiest to fade, and is obtained from a peculiar 
solution of turmeric and cassia leaves. White is the 
natural colour of the stripa when properly prepared ; 
red is obtained by boiling the strips in water contain- 
ing sapan-wood and cassia leaves; black is but a 
conversion of red by a peculiar process of boiling 
the rod strips in a solution of gall-nuts and green 
vitriol, and by subsequent soaking in a preparation 
of black clay. The diflicult and dexterous portion 
of the work is the spliting and dyeing of the strips, 
the same has to be coloured with different colours, 
and this has to be done very carefully with reference 
to the size of ornamental work intended to be pro- 
■duoed. When one colour is being worked at, the 
rest of the strip which has to be coloured differently 
will 1)0 closely covered with the outer covering of 
the plantain tree. Tlie process of drying snd dyeing 
the strip nuiy take a fortnight. 
Natives use the mats as seats, and also for niat- 
tro8.scH in the hot weather. A sort of social distinction 
IS associated in tlie offer of these mats as seats, 
and amongst the vulgar, disregard of it on ceremonial 
occasions lends to foment disputes. These mats are 
also usod for Hooriug, and are then woven to the 
si/,0 ot largo halls and rooms. The mats vary in 
price Irom 1 to 10 annas, while the superior kinds 
letch Irom 15 to 2.'') rupees, according to qn.ality. 
I';xpernncnts have been made with other colours be- 
sides those iust mentioned, but hitherto without 
success. H the mdiiHtry wevo carried on by organ- 
ised cainliilisls. those experiments might perhaps be 
succosslully repeated, and many other improvements 
1012 
effected, such as facilitating the splitting of the sedge 
and keeping it compact by means of mechanical aid, 
and also relieving the weavers from the stooping they 
have always to assume when engaged in the work. ^ _j 
The mats of W^dakauoherry, compared with those 
of Tinnevelly, are generally superior in colour and 
ornamental work, but are less pliable, though the 
strips arc sometimos more delicate. — Journal of the 
Socicl;! of Arta. 
COMPEESSED OE TABLET TEA. 
In .January of the present year two samples of 
compressed or tablet tea were presented to the 
Museum by Colonel Alexander Moncrieff, c. b., 
accompanied by the following letter addressed to 
Sir Joseph Hooker. 
1^, Vicarage Gate, Kensington, W., 
24th January 1890. 
My dear Sir Joseph, 
I had almost forgotten to send you the speci- 
mens of " tablet tea " which I spoke of at the 
Athenamm, but as soon as I saw it just now 
I recollected my promise, and here it is. 
My Chinese correspondent, Mr. Gardiner, Her 
Majesty's Consul at Hankow, informs me that 
this tablet tea is in use throughout Russian Siberia. 
It is manufactured at Hankow, the larger tablet 
from common tea dust, which adheres after being 
steamed in a pudding cloth for a moment, by 
hand pressure. The quantity of the dust required 
is placed in the bag, and after being steamed, ia 
poured into the wood mould, and is pressed to 
the required consistency by lever or a heavy 
mallet wielded by one of the labourers. The 
cost of the common tea dust is 3J Chinese ozs. 
silver (say, 1.5s.) per pecul=133 lb. avoirdupois. 
The cost of the manufacture, export duty, packing, 
&c. amounts to a further 15s. a pecul. The bulk 
when packed is only one-sixth of the bulk of an 
equal weight of ordinary tea as ordinarily packed. 
" The small tablet is made of the finest tea 
dust, the selection of which is made with great 
care. The original cost of this tea here is about 
84s. a pecul. It is manufactured into tablets by 
steam machinery in a steel mould. The proper 
amount of dust is poured into the mould dry without 
steaming, and the pressure brought to bear upon 
it is two tons per tablet. Considerable care ia 
required in the manufacture and packing of- this 
tablet tea, and the cost is comparatively great. 
"Besides this tablet tea used in Russian Siberia, 
there is a pressed tea called brick tea used in 
Chinese Mongolia and Tibet. This is made of 
the whole of the leaf with stalks, and is about 
the size and shape of an ordinary brick, I have 
not seen this tea manufactured. It is made, I 
know, by Chinese in a very simple way. 
This is all the information I got with the 
spoimens.— I am, &c. (Signed) A. Moncbieff. 
Sir Joseph Hooker, k.c.s.i., f.h.s., &c. 
The manufacture of compressed tea at Hankow, 
referred to in the above letter, seems to be an 
industry of considerable importance, and is fully 
detailed m an article from the Planters Gazette, 
reprinted in the Tea Ciiclopcedia issued from the 
office of the Indian Tea Gazette, Calcutta, and 
published by W. B. Whittingham & Co 91 
Gracechurch Street, Loudon, in 1882. It is there 
stated that " the Commissioner of Customs at 
Hankow reports that the importance of the brick 
tea trade is rapidly increasing, and the demand 
becoming greater tliau the supply. The emnlov 
raent of stoam machinery for pressing the bricks 
has proved ui every way a gi-cat success, the 
stem-pies.ed brick being much better finished 
than that produced by hand, and more compact 
and hriii, withstanding the difficulties of transit 
better and u innately arriving at its destination 
\v-M n " l^,"''' l\ »»y. the worse for the journey 
With the old method, the bricks, from insufficient 
pressing power wore liable to chip and crumble at 
tlie edges; and as gi-eat stress is laid on perfect 
appearance of the brick by the Siberians, it cau bo 
