234 
THE TROKiCAL aQRIOULTURIST. 
[October i, 1891. 
while the object of tho drying process must be oon- 
hued to the dcsicctiliog of tho lotif withovit driving ol'j 
the flavour alrendy developed. He tlieieiipon got somo 
experiments carried ‘'nt for him wi^h .‘»aiuplo lots of 
laaf by aomo ot hia immtrous pliinter ftii'nils, nuit Iho 
iiiforniatit»u wbich lie gloMied frein tb»'8a 6xiicriraau*s 
hftR proved ao inopotlanb that its outoomo i» tho intro* 
ducliou uow by Me. liaviilaou of what prouiiafs to be 
a rovolutiou iu many of tbo eatablibbi'd ideas and princi- 
ploa concernini' the maiiiifaolnto ot our teaa. One part of 
tho syatom w liioli ho haa evolved is for thocnhaoce- 
inent of Uavnir and quality of .tho tea prior to the 
dryiug prooeaa and U tho aobj' ct of oiio Cl Ina I.itrc 
pateiita. Tivo of tho very laegtst of one Iiidi ui 'I’eu 
Oorapanio.a were so aatistiod with the proliabihtios id 
tho reaulU that would likely ousiio hy workiiig Ihis 
speoial proooss that they arraugod with him lor ita 
use with tho uevoral palouted iniohiiias wliioli nru 
i.eciaaary for i's proper working being exelusivoly con- 
fiaed to tbeoiaelvoB, ao that we uiidoratoud they are 
well aatinfied with the result a they are obtaining there- 
Irain, yet in-aa-mutih as tbii part of the process is to 
bo ooiiflued to these companies, wo cannot iurther 
refer to it ; but the remaindec of Mr. Davidaon’s 
investigations as above indicated we are at liberty 
to submit to the consideration of oar planting 
frieuda, as the improveuient effected by attention to 
the directioi-8 be gives as to the temperaturea for 
dryiug have, in some instances that we are informed of, 
given a most wonderful improvement in the quality of 
the tea produced. Mr. Davidson points out that it is 
essential while using low temperatures that either 
tho leaf be spread extremely thin upon the sieves 
upon which it is exhibited to tho heat, or that if 
spread thiok, the air draught through it should be 
very rapid to carry off the moisture quickly without 
involving any risk of the tea being “ stewed." 
For this piirposo and to moot these desirable 
ends Mr. Davidson has greatly increased the power 
of the air current through hia new Down 
Draught Sirocco, which ho now rccoonmauds heing 
used at 150 deg. tcmpera'uro for ouloha* battio 
aed withdrawing tho leaf before it is quite crip dried, 
so that its t'-mperaturo when tes'ed by thermometer 
ahould not inoicatc m uo than 130 deg., and that the 
fiual drying or pu ic i I' b.itlie of Uds should lio worked 
at a temperature of 130 deg. Some hill tcaa made on 
these lines have a very delicious siid exceptional 
flavonr. Ot conrso leaf grown iu the plains cannot be 
expected to have as much flivour us hill tea, never- 
theless such as it does poitsess Mr. D.svideoii uays can 
be fully retained bv following the above direclious. 
We understand that Mr, Davidson hopes to arrive 
hack at his Works iu Belfast about the latter end of 
Btiptettibcr M»d although these nr© already extensive pre« 
raises (uotwithstaudirg their recent iimnguralion aome 
10 veara ago) yet wo predict thnt if he coiuiunoB to ^ive 
the s'lino detail- d and asientifio attention to the im- 
provement of te.i in its general manufacture that he 
has hitherto besiowrd upon it, their growtb.will he still 
more rapid and that a great and prosperous futnre is 
in store for him, as it is only by improving the M°»[tty 
of the Indian teas that tho death-blow can be dealt to 
those ot China wLi.h arc still much ei ugbt for on ac- 
count of the delicacy of their liavi ur in the high class 
qiialitit-B, these being still the favoorito tcaa both on the 
Continent and in America. 
We arc indebted to tho aailtog of the S.8. “Goloonda 
having been unexpectedly postpuned from the -Ith to 
5th instant for tho above particulars mid Mr.Davidson’s 
uhotagraph, but mitorluastoly wo omitted to obtain 
h-orahim aoy psrtioulata of hia piivata history, and we 
have now only to conclude by wishing him W wyflys 
to oiild Iceland for which bo loaves Ceylon early next 
month. 
TKA SHARES AND INVESTORS. 
When the olaiiii of less anbstantial but more freely 
advertisod oompatiios are in abeyance, the nnaucial 
press oooasioiially calls attention to the^uaiioial 
• Temporary or proliminary : tlio primary idea is 
tho reverse ot solid and teruianent, — BP. T. A. 
I Dermauent, solid, or final.— T. A, 
position of tho tea industry. In its isme of yesterday, 
tho financial Aeii's had a long article on the subject, 
and the writer, while dealing with tho position fairly, 
lias iiuthiug to reproach hi'iiSolt with in tho scoio 
of undue optimism, lie says: Quo ot tho featurea 
of tho financial year, so far ns it has gone, is tho 
fitabilHy ot Indian ani Cejlon tea ahares amid all 
t--e iluotuatioim of the other markots. Kiir imo 
thing, tlioy ri'inain oulsi-:le llio rungoof the ordimvry 
ppociPutor, iiiui, for anotlier, there are few of tiiera 
quoted in the Stock Kxchani.o hat One may htar 
oui a'ii nully ol a movement iu .Jokais, which for tho 
lu.t seven years have lioi n paying 111 per cent., and 
sometimes of a tr.sns'ictioii in Dooars, or Darjeelingn, 
or .lorcliBUte. The investor, however, who believes 
that ho ha.s a grip of a good security does not iisimlly 
cairy his heart exposed lor daws to peek at ; and, o,i 
thu other hand, liio uiifortunatu persons who have 
dropped money on tho strength ot deceptive pro-.- 
peotuai-s usually maintain a cynical ailei ce as long as 
they think that tliere is a chance of tranaferritig 
their white cli-pbant to someone else. Indian tea 
shares, and partieula-ly those of the new Ceylon 
plantations, have been so little known, indeed, that 
111 certain quarters the value of a new discovery 
was attributed to the article in the Financial A'etes 
of Febcnaty, which diaousaed and explaiued the sub- 
ject from an investor’s point of view. The question 
then was, why tea, as a commodity, should have 
attained so high a prieo as it then held, and why tea 
company shares should oontlnue to be so diapro- 
portionate'y low. Our answer was, subslBuiiBlly, ibat 
many of the cempaniea — and we were referring 
particularly to the Indian compinics — bad been over 
capitalUed, and many otbera cxtiavagantly and un- 
soieutifically managed. There were too many of 
them, also, which seemed to regard quantity rather 
than quality as the Alpha aud Omega of tbelr 
policy. On the whole, nevertheless, wo felt free to 
aay that, iu view of the inoreaaing demand for tho 
" oup that cheers,’’ there should be good prospecis 
for investors in well oonducteJ ten gardens, whether 
in Assam, or Caebar, rr Ceylon. 8ince wa dealt 
with the question six months ago tea shares of 
QUO description have appreciably improved, nearly 
all have held tlioir own, and, at tho same time, a 
larger nnniber of compBiiiss have earned good dividends. 
Yet, even when so much la said of tho past half- 
year’s businessj it ooRtinuea to be the fact that tea 
shares are not in aolive demand, and are, as a rule, 
quoted lower chan recent dividends would appear to 
warrant or explain. 
The Financial Neics bases its calculations on tho 
statistical report by Mr. A.W. Martin : — 
a 'a 
5 r? 
« >* 
ag 
5 pf 
Assam 
Assam Frontier 
Borelli 
Borokai 
limmapootra 
British India 
Chiirgola | 
Ohubwa 
Darjeeling. ... . 
Dooars I 
Doom Dooma 
Indian of Caohar., 
Jhanzio 
Jokai (Asam) .... 
Jorehuut,.,, 
Lebong...,,.,.,.,. 
'g a 
•.So 
O 
a t; 
a 
u “ 
5 Q'C 
"S ® 04 
s. 
1831) 
1800 
£ S 
IH71GO 
10 
10 
5 10 
110,1X10 Porf. . . 
10 
9 
6 0 
110,000 Ord. ... 
13i 
11 
7 8 
78.170 
10 
7 
7 16 
43,SijU 
9 
74 
7 10 
114,500 
18 
20 
lu 0 
60,«26 
— 
i 
0 0 
18,000 7 p.c.Pret 
6 
8 
8 0 
73,500 Old. .. 
7 
7 
7 15 
,36.14(1 
135.420 
B 
Q 
5 14 
20.360 7 p.o.Prel 
7 
7 
5 0 
106,000 Urd. 
10 
10 
8 3 
35,64H Ord. . . 
25,000 "A" . . 
8 
B 
5 14 
75,000 "K” 
IG 
IT) 
10 4 
16,100 Ord, .. 
14 
131 
9 16 
U,6(j 0 New 
— 
— 
94,nti0 
6 
7 
7 15 
66,000 
.S 
10 
8 6 
200,000 
10 
10 
6 9 
100,000 
10 
10 
6 1 
82,070 ,. 
6 
6 
6 8 
