October i, 1891,] 
THE TROPICAL AQRIOULTURI8T. 
665 
IN PRAISE OP TEA. 
An euthualastlo lover of tea, writiB* to the Olobt 
on the subject, says ; — “ But, while the wise men in 
Parliament are dealing drastically with water companies, 
and are seeing to it that we have wholesome water, 
is there no substitute f The road to grace is through 
teCj not that concoction served as such in Kngland, 
but an aromatic and delicious boverago as it might 
be made, as indeed it is made in Russia. The 
English opium-eater, learned in this as in all matters, 
has said : — ‘ For tea, though ridiculed by those who 
naturally of oonrse nerves, or sre become so from 
wine-drinking, and are not susceptible of influence 
from so refined a stimulant, will always be the 
favourite beverage of the Intelleotual.’ The oiatins of 
tea have been fittingly put forth too by Hazlitt and 
Leigh Hunt. The former, in the language of a jolly 
toper, talks of quafiing ‘ libations of tea.’ He could 
not have spoken thus and meant the bitter stuff 
served at thousands of ignorant tables. No ; depend 
on it, he knew how to brew tes, and had studied 
the judicious quantity of the leaf which should be 
imbrued. They certainly recognised in Swift's 
time that the water must boil, or my Lady Smart 
Would not have cried, ‘ Lord, miss, how oan you 
drink your tea hotP Sure your month’s pav'd,” That 
elegant lady also bids Batty ‘bring the canister,’ 
which shows ns the tea was made by those who 
had to drink it, doubtless for scieiitifio as well as 
economical reasons. Tea then cost a round sura per 
pound, aud an excessive infusion was injuriove both 
to the beverage aud the pocket. We may believe 
that a dish o’ tea made from Lady Smart’s oanittsr 
was worth the drinking. 
. “ Not a housewife but knows that lioiling water 
js requisite to a sound result, hut how often does 
the water boil at the moment? Urns brought to 
the tablo witli a spirit lamp beueath are not to be 
despised, but they are the appurtenances cf the 
weJl-to-do, and by no means common. What wo 
Want is a cheap and an easy way of heating our 
water, uinjer the oye of those who brow and those 
who drink. The Kussinn samovar, a delightful 
invention, has been devised for this purpose, and, 
m case somo are not acquainted with its virtues, 
let me describe it iu a few words. The Samovar, then, is 
a water. jacketed urn, often very elegant in shape, com- 
pased of metal, with a fminel in the centre, at tbe bot- 
tom of which is a miniature grate, upon which rests the 
obatooal fuel used to msiutaiu a boiling temperature. A 
lew shavings of wood are first introduced, aud, when 
ineso are iu a bisze, the charcoal is added, aud the 
samovar is ready for use. The top of the funnel or obim- 
ney is utilised to place a small tea-pot upon, thus keep- 
ing the brew from loiing auy of its beat. Meanwhile o 
choice simmer imparts to ibo toa-drinker a cheerful 
leeling, aud he may now eay his grace. The fiot receives 
some toiling water, and, when duly heated and emptied 
one spoonful of tea is introduced for four people, which 
}s atupiB. At a legitimate temperature the leaf rendr rs 
Its Quest flavour, and it is then only neoessaiy to fill 
cup one-third full from the pot, adding two- 
thirds of boiling water delivered from the samovar 
through a tap. Tea should be drunk without milk ; 
Out, with excellent reward to the palate, a slice of 
mon may ho put m tho oup. The Russians often 
‘as a small piece of sugar in tho mouth, and pass 
he ti'a over it, iostead of inserting the sugar 
hio the tea. .1 see no particular gai i in this habit, 
out am open to admit that without au ;ar at all the 
e.icato essence of the loaf appeal i mure iiisin. 
hatingly to a virgin palate; but, alas! how few of 
s can claim this immaculate virtue of discriiuina- 
Hveneas. Travel where you pleaso in Ku-saia. 
every peasant has his aaniovar. When he marries he 
seta up a samovar, which outlasts his lifetime. That, 
sh eiio'i f.T Lit ipiritual wants i oftennearall 
“e has, and ho is conti-nteJ. Tho price of a 
samovar is quickly aavt.d through the economy 
° cse of tea, aud a home-like influence is 
created in the poorest dwtliing. In EoglanU, n 
amovar could bo made and sold profitably for 10-, 
ho more artistic ornamout for tho tshlo o^n ',.c 
imagined. And why not serve glasses of tea in oTubs 
and restanranis at lunoheon time? At twopence tbe 
glass tho net profit would bo greater than on a 
glass of beer. There is much in example, but 
precious little in preaohiog. To see a gentleman 
quietly sipping h’s tea with lemon would find 
imitators, whereas all the dehortations in the world 
are as the babbling of insanity to your average lover 
of nioobol, 
*' It is to be observed that, for some physiological 
cause, tho nature of which has not been explained, 
tea and alcohol do not always harmonise in the same 
economy. A cup of tea taken by one who uses aloohol 
is not infrequently followed by a dyspeptic visit, duo 
probably rather to tho strengthof the tea than to any 
other cause, Drink t.a, however, of the proper strength, 
and you may swallow half a dozen oupa at a time with 
impunity as far as perceptible harmful' eflieots are 
concerned. Most of us know the fatal happy olimax 
of wine-taking, the Apex of Lamb, beyond which you 
cannot go, aod which you can only strive to regain, 
minus hope of reaching at that psrtiou'ar sitting the 
gaiety of soul already experioncoa. But with tea, one 
can go on passing bis gloss. An equable, normal 
jollity is comfortably sustsined. The brain is gently 
stimulated, end you participatn in tbe ideal hilarity of 
Dp. Johnson. Even a health might bo most properly 
drunk in tea.' Geutlemeu,cbarge your saucers,’ will be 
perhapa the order of the future. And tho ssnoer ia a 
very good thing to drink from. Tbe custom ahouid be 
revived.” — B. and V. Mail, Aug. 28tU. 
the INDIAN TEA TRADE- 
It was not long ago, before I had the good fortune 
to bo entertained by a mercantile firm, that I was just 
as ignorant as the generality of tho Indian public are 
to the present day, ot one of lodia’s principal trades 
— tho tea trade. It is true that I would almost weekly 
notice in the daily i>apers advertisements of tea auo- 
tiona having been held, and of thonaanda of cheats at a 
time having passed the hammer ; but my idea about all 
this was that those sales wore attended exclusively by 
native grocers; that the tea sold was consumed outirolv 
by ourselves in Calcutta and the mofusail : and that 
ns a matter of fact, ohoapneaa was the ptineipal 
charactonstio of these sales, labouring under the im- 
pres.-ion that oheap things could only be picked up at an 
auction. Tbe majority of the piihlio are today no wiser 
tlisn I was before 1 outered the trade. It may, there- 
fore, be interesting for them to know something about 
Buch ridiculoua uoiioua that prevail. Tea is one of the 
principal artiolts of export from India, also from Cey- 
lon, where it may be said to be still iu its infancy, not- 
withstanding its development within a comparatively 
short space of time. Indian tea ia manufactured in As- 
sam, Oaebar, Sylhet, Darjetliug, tho Dooars, Kumaon 
the Kaugra Valley aud Chota-Nagpur. Assam growths’ 
are renowned for their strength. Caohar and Sylhet 
posseas tho same character, but in leas degree. Darjeel- 
ing with the Dooara, the Kangra Valley and Kumoon 
produce flowery teas, and the last named district, tea 
of an i»feriorquality,vir.,appreciably devoid of either 
strength or flavour. Since the inirodnotion of Indias 
tea the old favourite, Cbiua tea, is being uuivcraally re- 
placed, It has oumpletely lost its former reputation, 
aud is year by year fast losing ground, and growing iu 
disfavour everywhere. Indeed the day is not far re- 
moved when China tea will only be a thing of tbe past. 
The reason of this general displacoiiient, nay expulsion, 
ia because it baa of late years depreciato-l very remark- 
ably iu quality, and is no touger eouaideren genuine. 
Besides, it is by far mure economical to drink Indian 
tea. In a report published by the Loudon Board of 
Ousk ma they say ; “ From iurormatioo which has been 
afforded us on tho subject, we believe that we make a 
moderate estimate in assuming that Indian tea goes half 
as fa: agam aa Obiuose tM, so far as depth of colour and 
fulness (nut deluaoy) of flavonr are concerned Tims 
if 1 lb. of Chinese tea prui-'ucea 6 gallons of tea of a 
cuuviu lUrln oi co'our ^n^ fulueas of Huvour, i lb of 
