202 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[September i, 1890. 
time past still contione, sdcI it is thought that the 
whole of the Crop will be disposed of at very satisfactory 
rates. The Tea market is also well supported, and it 
is hoped that the average price of the whole Crop will 
certainly not he lees than last season’s. Should the 
Directors’ expectations as regards Crop and prices be 
realised, a fair profit on the year’s working should 
result. 
Bearing in mind the present value of Coffee, every- 
thing possible has been done to retain this product on 
the Company’s estates, and in spite of the yearly dis- 
appointment brought about by steadily diminishing 
crops, hopes have iieen entertained that the two pests, 
Green Bug and Leaf Disease, might in time disappear, 
but it is difiBcult to entertain such hopes any longer. 
The Coffee trees looked vigorous and healthy, and 
everything was in favour of a good Crop for season 
1890-91, but last accounts to hand from the Estates 
report very severe attacks of both Green Bug and Leaf 
Disease, which cannot but affect the out-turn of 
that Crop. 
Under these circumstances, the Directors have re- 
solved to plant up in Tea 270 acres of the weakest 
Coffee, still leaving 942 acres under Coffee, which may 
gradually have to be planted up in Tea in future years. 
It is satisfactory to report that all the Tea on the 
Company’s properties is thriving well, and from past 
results the Directors have every reason to anticipate a 
continued improvement, both in point of yield and 
quality as the Tea gains age. As Ceylon Tea daily in- 
creases in favour, there is no reason why the present 
range of prices should not be maintained. 
The Company have on their estates Wire Tramways 
and other appliances which enable manuring operations 
to be carried out most expeditiously and cheaply, and 
from this work, which is now being undertaken on a 
large scale on the Company’s properties, the best pos- 
sible results are looked for, as the Tea bush responds 
to manure in a most marked manner, and within a few 
months of its application. 
The area under Tea is as follows : — 
TEA. 
Planted Nov. Dec. 
1883 
9 acres 
1884 
347 „ 
1885 
448 „ 
1886 
27 „ 
1887 
17 „ 
1888 
67 „ 
,, ... 
1889 
12 „ 
Total area under Tea 
927 
To be planted during 1890 

270 acres 
TEA AND DARJEELING. 
Sixty-five inches of rain had been gauged since the 
1st January to date. Taking the average rainfall to 
be 120 inches in the year, it will be seen that a little 
more than half our usual allowance has reached us, 
while if the season is at all a normal one we may 
count our rain until the first week of October. A 
very considerable amount of damage, as was to be ex- 
pected, was done by the deluge, and for a few days 
through booking of passengers on the D.-H. Railway 
had to be suspended. The line was completely blocked 
near the J8th mile by a huge rock. With the help 
of dynamite the obstruction was removed in a little 
over 48 hours. It was rather amusing, though ex- 
cessively aggravating, to notice how very quick the 
local petty shopkeepers were in taking advantage of 
the line being blocked. Up went the price of their 
wares fully 50 per cent, and at once : so that the 
public loss was their gain. The line has been damaged 
near Kurscong, and again near Gyabaree Station, 
where the I’uggla Jhora — very appropriately so called 
— broke loose and carried away a largo portion of the 
retaining wall, which had stood so well almost since 
the line was completed. Your readers will see from 
this rough sketch that the traffic branch of the Rail- 
way have bad by no means an eaey time of it in 
keeping communication open with Silligorie. From 
what I have seen the quality of tea is very satis- 
factory. Davidson’s Sirocco tea drier does require four 
men to look after it, and does not dry off the leaf in 
the time stated by the prospectus. I say this after 
watching one of them at work several times. Still, 
the new drier is an improvement on his earlier driers, 
and no doubt when these points have attracted Mr. 
Davidson’s attention — it has been drawn to them 
already I know — he will set to work to remedy these 
undoubted defects . — Indian Planters' Gazette, July 22nd. 
TANNIN IN INDIAN AND CEYLON TEAS. 
Analytical Laboratory, 79, Mark Lane, 
London, E. 0., July 18th. 
John Hughes, Agricultural Analyst, to A. Philip Esq., 
Planters’ Association, K»ndy. 
“Tannin in Indian and Oeyi.on Teas.” 
Dear Sir, — In the T. A. for last February there is 
on page 562 an abstract of a paper on the above sub- 
ject. The original paper was communicated to the 
“Chemical News” of December 27tb, 1889, by Mr. David 
Hooper of Ootacamund, and as the analytical results 
are interesting and worthy of being confirmed or re- 
futed I send you a copy of same. 
You will observe that out of 65 samples of tea ex- 
amined for tannin, only six represent estates in 
Assam at the comparatively low elevation of 600 feet. 
All the others represent tea grown at an elevation 
ranging from 2,500 feet in Travancore to 7,800 feet on 
the Nilgiris, the tannin per cent being 19‘95 in the 
former and 13’55 in the latter. Practically, therefore, 
these teas represent the hill gardens, and not the 
plains of lowlying gardens of Assam, and as such 
it is not at all remarkable that the proportions of 
tannin should agree closely with that produced on 
the Ceylon hills. 
In the 13 Ceylon teas examined by Mr. Hooper 
in his report the tannin ranged from 15 per cent in a 
sample of pekoe souchong from Yellangowry estate 
2,500 feet, to 20'87 in broken pekoe from Kanangama 
200 feet. Here we have a difference of nearly 6 per 
cent in favour of the low grown tea ; though curiously 
enough in a sample of broken pekoe from Glenorchy 
5,700 feet Mr. Hooper found as much as 19 per cent: 
Before, therefore, disputing Mr. Hooper’s conclusions, 
namely that the amount of tannin present in tea is 
not influenced eitlier by elevation or manufacture, I 
would respectfully ask. Are his facts correct P At pre- 
sent his conclusions are certainly in advance of his facts, 
and the very opposite of popular opinion based on 
practical experience. 
Mr. Hooper tells us that the figures for tannin given 
in the list of the 65 samples represent the total amount 
of this constituent obtained by perfectly exhausting the 
leaves, and do not represent the amount taken in do- 
mestic use. Further that the usual teapot infusion of 
ten minutes removes only one-third of the total amount. 
Therefore all the 65 examinations for the total 
amount of tannin present in these several specimens 
are of little practical use in showing the actual available 
tannin for domestic requirements. 
What would be really useful information to the 
planter, and also interesting to the tea-drinking public, 
might be obtained if the proportions of tannin were 
carefully determined with a 1 per cent infusion after 
standing for ten minutes. 
With our present information it is only reasonable 
to conclude, that not only tho elevation, but the mode 
of cnltivation. manufacture, season of the year, variety 
of plants and general skill brought to bear upon the 
industry, must exercise a very great influence on the 
quality of tea produced, and on the strength of same 
as indicated by the proportions of what I may term 
the available tannin. 
According to Watt all tannins are remarkable for 
the avidity with which they absorb oxygen, especially 
in the presence of alkalies. This remark, I think, 
should be considered in conneotion with the opera- 
tions of withering and rolling. 
