THE TROHtCAL aOHiCULTURIST, 
[October i, 1891 . 
250 
shares, even though he has to pay from 30 per 
oent to 40 per cent premium. I may add that I for 
one have bought more eharcs since the circulation 
of Mr. Grigson’s report.— Yours faithfully, 
WillSKEIlOSO. 
\tliitlienticaled,\ 
A PEAOTICAL TALK ON TEA 
MANUl-’AOTUllE. 
Sept. 3rd. 
Dbab Siii, — Yoor issue of lat instant contains a 
good deal of interesting matter to tfa plantors : — 
1. Mr. Hughes’ remarks to your London ocrros- 
pondent regarding tannin in tea as being the teat 
of the market. No word, in Mr. Hughes' remarks 
or in your loader, appears as io flavour. Any ex 
pert will tell you that that is the true test of tea.* * 
Strong teas are the result of quiok withering in a 
warm oliniato bcoause one day’s plucking is rolled 
tho next day, and therefore the withered 1. af is not 
Buflloiontly tough j whereas at a high elevation and 
at a lower temperature tho withering process is 
slower and more natural so that tho contents of the 
cells of the leaf are reloasi d without the texture of 
the leaf or the cell walls being bruised. Yuu say, 
tannin is said to bo searecly "ever present 
to any extent m the first cup of infusion 
obtained from tea if the time allowed for 
it to stand be limited to some three minutes 
or BO only.” Just eo ; so that tea tasters do not 
wait for the extract of tannin. When tannin is 
unduly present tho tea are olassitied ns " rough ” 
or harsh. 
2 . Mr. Davidson's remarks. — Here wo have a ti us 
expert speaking, and his remarks are worthy of 
all attention. Stewing is the result of rolled tea 
spread thickhj on the tiring trays and not tho 
result of low temperature used in tho drier. Slow 
firing is the correct method to dessicate iha tea, 
hut when a planter is pushed for time he cannot 
sfford to do it. Let a machine be adapted to 
finish large quantities of leaf with a minimum of 
firewood. There is a good deal of truth in the 
effect of sleep rooky land on tea giving it a "high- 
grown” oharaoter. Udiigama and Gallo bnng 
“ puoka” low country, does not oomo under that 
category, and I have often heard that tea from that 
port of tho island has o distinotoharaoter of its owri.-l 
3 " Wanderer's” Notes — Tho remarks as to tho 
abeonoo of the planter from the factory reauhing in 
better tea is oorreot, barring the chuff implied, Your 
Talawakellio correspondent is not oonsistent He 
first of all " joins isEUB ” with Wanderer, that is 
seeks to oorreot him. Then ho says "he .Wanderer) 
talks about the absence of the planter from tho 
factory as possibly oonduoiug to better made tea,” 
and then in the next lire agrees with him that 
" tea is not made in the factory ” 11 Ths Talawa- 
kellio oorrespondont may say what he likes, but 
when all departments in the factory are strained 
by press of loaf ; when coolica have to tear ahead, 
and Sinhalese called in to help during the rush in 
May : — surely the tea cannot have the attention 
wbioh it gels in August. In August a planter oau 
pluok, wither, roll, fire, pack, calmly and easily 
therefore better tea is the result. Many men say 
that it is oil humbug for tho brokers to call out 
about bod tea when large quantities arooomiogin, 
but tho majority of planters know what goes on 
when to save their estimates loaf wiast be harvested, 
when the rush is on, end to that end the flush 
* For drinking unmlxed, no doubt ; but f' r mixing 
purposes strength has been desiderated. — En T. A. 
* Like that of tho Terai and Doosrs in India.— 
Ed. r, A. 
must not be allowed to run away. Theory about 
inferior quality of tea, and insulfloient labour bo- 
oomes a sorreoh in the agony of a " May ” rush, 
and sinks almost to a whisper in tho easy days 
of August. Your Tulawakelo friend must have 
laughed in his sleeve when he wrote the follow- 
ing: “I would say rather labour is plentiful because 
more coolies have oomo in from the coast.” Ha ! 
Hal All our troubles are ended — more coolies have 
oomo in from tho coast 1 I wonder who is tho 
man whom your Talawakolo corroapondent knows 
who “ rarely spends over an hour a wiek in tho 
fnetory.” His teas may be good, but that argues 
the exoellencn of the tea maker and the wisdom 
of tho tea-maker’s m.a 8 tor in keeping ont of the 
way, but not that the factory coolies will do better 
without tho dural going n-ar. 
4. Then in tho issue before the one under notice we 
had some h.ard oritioism from India. All right, 
wo can afford to read it and Isugh over it. 'The 
days are gone when Ceylon plant 'rs used to brag. 
That’s gone out with coffee. There is no brsg 
now, but a hard grind to make ends meet ; and 
if groat progrera has been made, tjiun Indian 
sneerers cannot nff ot what is known everywhere : 
that wo have built a new industry on the ruins 
of another. The Indian tea plant- rs were always 
tea planters and have been nt it for many years ; 
hut tho Ceylon men have risen from the nslics 
of a former great ruin, and if they are nert making 
their fortunes, they have held their own and pushed 
nlxood by steaely determination, energy, combination, 
and advertisement, Pn.\CTICAL MAN. 
UNEEEMENTED TEA BELLING WELL. 
Dkab Sib,— a planter of many years’ experience 
of tea told mo a short time ago that ho never 
allowed his tea to ferment, but put it into bis 
driers diroot from his rollers. Beading a treatise 
on the subject of Fermentations, I notice tho 
following paragraph: — “ Fire your tea immediately 
after it is rolled, and after infusion note llav< ur 
of liquor aod colour of oul-turu. The liquor 
tastes harsh, pungent and raspy, and is quite 
Hiipnlatable, it further wants bedy.” 
In the face ot these remarks I am surprised 
to find the unfermenled teas, made by tho planter 
I refer to, have realized an average ot about 
47a per lb. during the present year. Can any 
ot your renders give me any information on tho 
suhjeot? — Youra faithfully, PUZZLED. 
[\Ve can imagine such teas being pungent and 
valued for this quality, but if warning in body it 
is not likely they would sell at the price men- 
tioned, Over-fernieiUint/ is certainly iiijurioua,— 
Ed. T. a.] 
CorrxE Gbowino in the Vanni is described by Mr. 
J. P. Lewis, A. G. A. of Mullaittivu, in his Diary 
for 1890, as fellows 
Jure 25. I turned off on tlio read also to inspect 
KHchcliilamadu, a good villogo. . Here in one rom. 
pound 1 saw several coffee trees in besring — a curious 
sight m the Vsnui. The owner ('bo chief cultivator 
VellivayslKuHm) said they had been planted by bis 
graniHiithcr, and that formerly there was a whole 
garden of coffee in this village ; even now the berries 
are sometimes s hi. This is the place where Pandara 
Wiuiniya was finally defeated hy llie Biitish troops 
nniler ( aptaui Driehorg in 1803. I made inquiries 
as to the exact spot where tho fight took ptaoe, and 
the man referred to above pointed out to me a part 
of tho village clearing under some tamarind trees, 
which bo said he heard his grandfather and other 
people describe as the soeue of the fight. 
