Aug. 2, 1897.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
A very high temperature can be used even up to 
300 F.. if the teas have been kept a length of time 
before packing, and have become somewhat flat and 
soft flavoured, but at this temperature very careful 
attention is required, together with thin spreading 
of the tea upon the ttays, and quick removal the 
moment the n, cessary flavour is attained. If left too 
long at such a high temperature discoloration o! the 
infused reaf would be the result, whereas at the 
lower temperature the leaf is scarcely perceptibly 
darkened in colour, no matter how long It 
may be subjected to that degree of heat. 
Too high a temperature is likely to develop a 
burnt flavour, and discolouration of the infused 
leaf. The infused leaf of properly roasted tea 
should be a degree, but only just a percep- 
tible degree, darker in colour than the same tea 
without being roasted, and the dry leaf should be 
somewhat more glossy black, and the pekoe tips a 
shade yellower. A tin-lined bin or box, of suitable 
dimensions, should be provided alongside the sirocco, 
and each tray full of tea as finished should be em- 
ptied into it. A full day’s work of one sirocco ought 
to fill this bin, say 1,500 lb., and before packing 
the tea should be well bulked together, otherw se 
undesirable variations in value may occur, even from 
the most practical hands. The tea will be found to 
remain hot enough in the bin to be suitable for 
bulking and packing in the evening. From ripe ex- 
perience tea planters in India and Ceylon deem the 
Sirocco absolutely necessary to satisfactorily cure 
their yield, and the romance of only rolled tea 
would quickiy disappear if compared with properly 
machine-made tea which I have carefully tested. 
The following are the necessary qualifications : — 
Withering, rolling, fermenting, drying, sorting and 
packing. 
In conclusion I might remark upon the large 
quantity of “ out of condition ” and damaged teas at 
present offering on this market, some of them en- 
tirely unmerchantable, which if properly made by 
machinery would have been valuable, and saved the 
owners from the probable heavy loss. — I am, etc. 
Hankow, May 27th. Wm. White. 
— N.-C. Herald, June 4th. 
PRODUCE AND PLANTING. 
The Outlook for Tea. — Following the example of 
those who cry peace when war is inevitable, some 
people find a subtle pleasure in pointing out danger 
in anticipation of evil and without sufficient cause. 
The frequent additions to th j list of new tea Companies 
lends some point to the warning of financial critics 
who are anxious no doubt to guide investors in the 
right path at the earliest possible moment, and to 
exhibit a red light before there is actual danger. 
This is admirable as an exhibition of alertness, but 
it is not fair to an industry which has a clean record 
and, we hope, a bright outlook. The risk of good 
uad bad seasons, the bugbear of over production, are 
dwelt on with great emphasis. The old, old story 
is reiterated that new markets must be found, con- 
sumption must increase or else dividends will decline. 
These are truisms, and in emphasising .them the 
writers are merely calling attention to the ordi- 
nary risks which atteud all commercial ven- 
tures. The demand for remunerative investment 
is so keen that tea-garden proprietors have not 
unnaturally taken advantage of the moment to 
convert their estates to the joint stock form. Allow- 
ing that tea companies are increasing rapidly, and 
that when the new land is cultivated and in bearing 
the supply of tea will also be much larger, the danger 
apprehended may bo minimised by tbe opening of 
fresh outlets for the supply and the further develop- 
ment of home consumption. Identical risks attend all 
forms of enterprise, but we are not aware that 
quite so much stress is laid on these chances in their 
application to other industries. The past year has 
been a prosperous one for tea, and the prospect con- 
tinues good. The need for scrutiny in the case 
of some of the new concerns offered to the public 
does not warrant insinuations against the good faith 
of all vendors, nor justify gloomy forebodings of 
future trouble, unless those who indulge in them 
think it accords with the fitness of things to cry 
‘•Breakers ahead!” when the ship is going steady in 
mid ocean. There is no sign at present of the down- 
grade movement winch a few pessimists try to 
discern. On the contrary, the past year’s record, 
as far as it is known, shows that the majority of 
Indian and Ceylon tea gardens are worked with 
remarkable ability, and that the industry for the 
most part is in the hands of capable and straight- 
forward men with sharp eyes to its further progress. 
The Chemistry of Cocoa.— It is desirable that those 
who handle produce should know something about 
it, and the Grocer therefore gives its readers some 
information about the chemistry of cocoa, in which 
it says: “ Cocoa is obtained from tbe tree Theohroma 
cacao and its congeners, several species of which are 
indigenous to Soiuh Africa, and are cultivated in the 
East and West Indies, parts of Africa, and some 
districts of Australia. The portion actually utilised 
is the seeds, some thirty or forty of vvhich are 
found embedded in the pulp of each cocoa fruit, 
the latter being a pod about eight to ten inches 
long. To isolate the seeds the pulpy mass is allowed 
to ferment for a time j it thus becomes more easily 
disintegrated, and allows a ready separation of the 
seeds, xhe latter are also believed to share in the 
fermentation process, and according to some 
authorities the characteristic cocoa-alkaloid is 
formed during this stage ; but whether this 
be so or not, it is certain that the flavour and 
aroma depend largely 011 the careful fermenting and 
the subsequent drying and roasting to which the 
cocoa-beans are subjected. After the roasting the 
husk of the seed is separated, and the resulting 
kernels are what are known commercially as ‘ cocoe^ 
nibs.’ They contain a remarkably large proportion 
of fat or ‘cacao- butter,’ fully 50 per cent, being 
usually present. Other notable constituents are 
albuminoids, about 12 or 14 per cent. ; cellulose 8 or 
9 per cent. ; starch, 2 or 3 per cent. ; and appreciable 
quantities of sugar, gum, tartaric acid, and ‘ cocoa- 
red, this last bsing 3/ colouring matter resultinff 
from the oxidation of the tannin of the cocoa. It i» 
worthy of notice that cocoa contains considerably less 
tannin than is present in tea. The most important 
ingredient, however, is the cocoa-alkaloid theobro- 
mine; this substance, though only present in the 
comparatively small proportion of 1 to 4 per cent 
is the constituent which chiefly confers upon cocoa 
its stimulative and refreshing properties. Theobro- 
mine is a white powder with a very bitter taste 
showing marked poisonous effects when tnken in 
large doses It is a nitrogenous compound closely 
allied to the caffeine ol coffee and the theine of 
tea ; and like these bodies, it acts physiologically 
as a stimulus to the heart’s action and as an exci- 
tant of the nervous system. One curious fact about 
cocoa IS that, like preserved peas and some kinds of 
oysters, it always contains a small quantity of 
copper. The proportion, however, is very minute in 
good-class preparations. 
The Manipulation op Cocoa.— “ So much for the 
material which the cocoa manufacturer has to 
manipulate. _ But, as mentioned above, it contains 
about halt its weight of ‘ cacao-butter,’ and hence 
cannot well be ground straight into a powder Two 
methods of overcoming this difficulty are in 
use, one yielding the class of preparation 
known as cocoa essence’ or ‘ extract ’ the 
other giving ordinary cocoa and chocolate. 
In the lirst process part of the fat is separated bv 
warming the material and pressing out the melted ca- 
ca.o-bntter ; in the second method the crushed nibs are 
‘ diluted ’ with a considerable proportion of aii<rar 
and farinaceous substances, of which the principal 
are arrowroot, rice-starch, and wheat flour Bro ialy 
speaking, all the various biands of cocoa and choco- 
late fall into one or other of these two groups * 
the differences mainiy consist in the varying quaul 
