94 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
[Aug. 2, 1897. 
one cf the most important items in tea manufacture. 
Two or three years ago a yen would purchase 22 
kwainme of charcoal, but this year the purchasing 
value of the fell to 16 or 17 ktvaiiirne. NVith the 
general rise in the timber market, the price of tea 
boxes is also steadily going upward, probably to as 
high as 40 sen this year as compared with 35 rjen last 
year. Such being the movement in the cost of produc- 
tion it is not surprising chat tea manufacturers and 
dealers are very anxious about the outlook this sea- 
son. The supply of leaf will not be deficient, for 
though in some particular districts the damage in- 
flicted by the late frosts has been estimated to dimin- 
ish the output by about 30 per cent, as compared 
with the yield of an ordinary year. The crop from the 
whole prefecture of Shizuoka is expected to exceed that 
of last year by 20 per cent. From the 2nd to the 10th 
inst. the first picking will be most SLctive.— Japan Times, 
May 8. 
[second article.] 
Tea dealers and growers of Shizuoka hen are fully 
alive to the necessity of stamping out the ruinous 
tendency towards deterioration in the tea trade. Con- 
sequently, last year, when the tea market as 
unusually dull and when, therefore, according to 
previous experience, inferior goods were extremely 
likely to appear, people wisely decided to suspend the 
manufacture of tea altogether for the time. Tea 
manufacturers of Kanaoka-iuura and its neighbour- 
hood have decided this year to give up using iron 
pans in the manufacture of tea, the use of such 
implements tending to deteriorate the quality. There 
are several varieties of deteriorated tea, and tliese 
are made in different ways. For the sake of 
clearness, we may subdivide deteriorated tea in'o 
three classes namely “Fnsei-cha,” *■ Chakushoku- 
cha,” and “ Sosei-cha.” There are commonly five 
different ways of making Fusei-cha, and they 
are (1) to use leaves resembling those of the tea 
shrub, or to mix such leaves with real tea ; (2) 
to sprinkle black or dark-coloured sand, or other 
materials, in the tea. while the process of manu- 
facture is going on, and thus to increase the weight 
of it ; (3) to re-manufacture tea which has gone bad, 
and to use it either by itself or by mixing it with 
tea of good quality ; (4) to convert coarse leaves of 
other trees or shrubs into “ tea ” by the aid of certain 
sticky substances, or to mix such bogus “ tea with 
genuine leaf; (5) other clever methods, which, how- 
ever, are not so common as those enumerated above. 
“ Chaku-shoku-cha ” is made (1) by colouring tea 
(after manufacture) with antiinony or plumbago, 
or mixing tea thus coloured with ordinary tea, (2) 
by using sulphate of iron or other compounds of 
iron during the process of manufacture, to give the 
tea a black appearance. 
“Sosei-cha” is (1) tea dried in the sun (black tea 
excepted) ; (2) tea made of coarse leaves rotted by 
various processes so as to give them a black appear- 
ance. (3) Eotten tea dried in the shade. 
In enumerating these different varieties of adultera- 
tea and deteriorated tea and explaining the different 
ways of making it, we do not of course mean actually 
to charge the tea manufacturers of Shizuoka in par- 
ticular with being guilty of these frau'dnlent practices, 
for people of other'places, Yokohama, for example, are 
known to be guilty of the same offences. We merely 
make this statement to inform the general public 
how deteriorated tea is made, and how the Shizuoka 
people are setting their faces against it. Another 
article will bring this description of the Shizuoka tea 
trade to a close. — Japs/a Times, May 7. 
(THIRD ARTICLE.) 
The Shizuoka tea growers and dealer.? are tho- 
roughly desirous of keeping up the reputation which 
the locality enjoys as the largest centre of the tea 
industry in Japan. While tea growers of other 
districts, disappointed at the small margin of profit 
which the business has yielded during the last few 
years, are converting tea farms into Mulberry plant- 
ations, the Shizuoka men stick to the business 
with admirable perseverance. They have, for instance, 
invited from Formosa several experts in the 
manufacture of Oolong tea, and are trying to start a 
new branch of tea industry. All these efforts are 
most praiseworthy, but they seem to absorb the 
attention of the Shizuoka men too much, to 
the neglect of other important m 'tters which 
lack the attraction of novelty. For instance, 
they do not seem to devote enough attention 
to the necessity of devising means calculated 
to reduce the cost of pro iuctiou v/hich seriously 
threatens, according to the recent tendency of the 
market, to eat up whatever profit may be expected 
to accrue from the manufacture of tea. Indeed, the 
rate of increase of the producing cost during these 
few years far surpasses that of profit, as a glance 
at the following figures will show : — 
CO.ST OF PRODUCTION. 
18i)l 1895 Rate of increase. 
Daily average wages 
of tea labourers . .30 sen 50 sen G6 per cent. 
Price of charcoal per 
Kiramme .. .. 3.0 0.0 00 ,, 
PRICE or TEA. 
Average price of tea 
per lUO catties ..10.01 yen yen 37.6 percent. 
The year 189.5 was one of the most favourable 
years to tea growers, the market having stood at an 
unusually high level, and yet, even taking the figures 
of that year, the rate of increase of profit does not 
exceed 29 per cent, as compared with GO per cent, 
increase in the cost of production. The point deserves 
the most careful attention of Shizuoka people. 
Various schemes thus far devised by them for the 
purpose of reducing the cost of production are mere 
temporary expedients and are of no permanent use. 
The primary point to be kept in view is the expeusive- 
ness of manual labour, the whole process of manufac- 
ture being at present entirely undertaken by human 
hands. Under the circumstances, a machine which 
Mr. Mochizuki, of Shimo, Aibara county, Shizuoka Pre- 
fecture, “invented” last year must be recommended 
to the notice of those w'ho are interested in the tea 
industry. A set as originally constructed costs 250 yen, 
and the machine when operated with water power is 
capable of doing the work of 10 men, while only two 
men are needed for working the machine. The in- 
ventor has since thought it necessa,ry to effect some 
modifications and the cost of the later pattern is conse- 
quently raised to 800 yen. He is oontemplatiog the 
use of the machine this season at his tea factory, 
and the result ought to be carefully observed by 
ail tea growers. Another point to be impressed 
on the tea growers, though already very well known 
to them, is the necessity of bringing fuivign con- 
sumers of Japan tea and tea dealers and growers 
of Japan into closer touch, and to dispense with 
the service of intermed'ary foreign agents. For this 
purpose reflring manufactories must be established 
in Shizuoka, instead of Yokohama and Kobe, as at 
present, and tea thus made to suit foreign taste must 
be shipped from Shimizu, instead of sending the 
goods to those two ports. Indeed, Japanese tea now 
passes through the hands of too many agents before 
it reaches its destination, and the point will at once 
be evident if comparison be made in this respect 
between it and Csylon tea as follows: — 
INDIAN AND CEYLON TEA. 
(1) Con.snmers — (2) retail dealers — (3) American im- 
porters or wholesale dealers ; so much with regard to 
the interior of America; (4) foreign eximrters at 
Calcutta or Colombo — (5) producers ; so much with 
regard to the interior of India ; total 5. 
JAPANESE TEA. 
(1) Consumers— (2) retail de 'lers— (3) American 
wholesale dealers ; so much wi h regard to America ; 
(4) foreign exporters in Japan ports — (5) Japane.se 
dealers at treaty ports— ,6) local wholesale dealers 
— (7) local middle men — (8) producers ; so much with 
regard to Japan ; totals , — Japan Times, May 10. 
