May 2, 1892.J 
fHF TftOPlCAL AQRI0ULTUR18T. 
813 
MAT MANUFACl'UEE IN COCHIN, 
Tho following account ot the history and mann- 
facturo of W'aditkauchorry mats has recontly been 
given in a report on tho Agiicnltural and Industrial 
Exhibition held at Mysore in October of last year. 
The mats are made at Wadakancherry, a taluk of 
Cochin. They are known at tho place by the simple 
name of grass mats, and are recognised elsewhere by 
the name of Palghat and Kavalapasa mats, other 
places of manufacture. The industry was introduced 
into Cochin from Kavalapasa about forty years ago. 
At first there was but one family engaged in tho 
trade, it has now increased to three, consisting in all 
of twenty sonls. Both males and females are em- 
ployed in tho work. The men were originally 
brought for making mats from the Sii'car. and were 
provided with free quarters. Such is the short 
history of tho introduction of the industry into 
Cochin. 
These mats are made, like tho Palghat mats of a 
kind of sedge {Cijjimis I'aiiijorei), grown by tlio side 
of swamps and rivers. The sedges grow to a height 
of six feet, by one and a half inches in circum- 
ference, and are of a tiiangular shape. They are 
collected in tho rainy season. The culms or stems 
are split, and the inside pith removed, and are then 
dried. Each stem may be split into from four to eight, 
or even twelve, according to tho delicay of tho tex- 
ture intended. The strips are then well seasoned 
and sown into mats. Women are mostly employed 
in the collection an.d splitting of tho stems, while 
tho actual wearing is done by men. Tho loom used 
for the purpose is of simple construction, consisting 
of two bamboo pieces at either end, attached to 
pegs driven in the ground. Tho warp consists of 
twine made of country hemp, and is produced by tho 
weavers themselves. In special cases cotton-thread 
is also used instead of twine. The process of weav- 
ing is done byj the strips of sedge bein" passed to 
and fro crosswise, by means of a stick wuth a whole 
at one end of it to which tho sedge is attached. Tho 
W’arps are passed through a moveable piece of wood 
with as many holes as there may bo warps, and are 
tied up to IheJlamhoo pieces at either end. According 
to the number and nearness of the warps the greater 
IS tho delicay and strength of tho toxtiu-e. The woof 
is made compact by moans of tho piece of wood 
above described. 
The distinguishing peculiarity of the Wadakau- 
cherry mats is their brilliant colour. Only four 
vwietios of it can, however, be had, namely, tho 
white, black, red, and yellow,; of these tho last is 
the readiest to fade, and is obtained from a peculiar 
ROlntion of turmeric and cassia leaves. White is the 
natural colour of tho strips when properly prepared ; 
rod is obtained by boiling tho strips in water contain- 
mg sapan-W'ood and cassia leaves; black is hut a 
conversion of red by a peculiar process of boiling 
the red strips in a solution of gall-nuts and green 
vitriol, and by snlmemicnt soaking in a preparation 
of black chi.y. The difficult and dexterous portion 
of the work is the spliting and dyeing of tho strips, 
tho same has to bo coloured with different colours, 
and this has to bo done very carefully with reference 
to the size of ornamental work intended to bo pro- 
duced. When one colour is being worked at, the 
rest of the strip which has to he coloured differently 
will bo closofy covered with the outer covering of 
the plantain tree Tho process of drying snd dyeing 
the strip may take a fortnight. 
Natives use tho mats as seats, and also for mat- 
tresses in the hot weather. A sort of social distmetiou 
is associated in the offer of these mats as seats, 
and amongst tho vulgar, disregard of it on ceremonial 
occasions tends to foment disputes. Those mats arc 
also used for ffooring, and are then woven to the 
size of largo halls and rooms. The mats vary in 
price from 1 to 10 annas, while the superior kinds 
le^h from 1,5 to 25 rupees, according to quality. 
Experiments have been made with other colours bo- 
Wdos those just mentioned, but hitherto without 
Uecess. If the industry wore carried on by organ- 
on capitalists, these experiments might perhaps be 
nccossfully repeated, and many other improvements 
102 
effected, such as facilitating the splitting of tho sedge 
and keeping it compact by means of mechanical aid, 
and also relieving tho weavers from tho stooping they 
have always to assume when engaged iu tho work. ^ 
The mats of Wadakauchorry, compared with those 
of Tinnevelly, are generally superior in colour and 
ornamental work, but are leas pliable, though the 
strips are aomotimes more delicate . — journal of the 
Society of Art). 
COMPRESSED OR TABLET TEA. 
In .Tannary of tho present year two samples of 
oompressed or tablet tea wore presented to the 
Museum by Colonel Alexander Moncrioff, c. u., 
accompanied by the following letter addressed to 
Sir Joseph Hooker. 
15, Vicarage Oato, Kensington, W., 
24th January laOO. 
My dear Sir Joseph, 
1 had almost forgotten to send you tho speci- 
mens of “ tablet tea " which I spoke of at tho 
Athonroum, but as soon os I saw it just now 
I recollected my promise, and hero it is. 
My Chinese correspondent, Mr. Gardiner, Her 
Majesty’s Consul at Hankow, informs me that 
this tablet tea is in use throughout Russian Siberia. 
It is manufactured at Hankow, tho larger tablet 
from common tea dust, which adheres after being 
steamed in a pudding cloth fox a moment, by 
hand pressure. The quantity of the dust required 
is placed in tho bag, and after being steamed, is 
poured into tho wood mould, and is pressed to 
tho required consistency by lover or a heavy 
mallet wielded by one of the labonrers. The 
cost of tho common ten dust is 31 Chinese ozs. 
silver (say, 15s.) per pocnl^'lSS lb. avoirdupois. 
The cost of tho manufacture, export duty, packing, 
<V-c. amounts to a further ISs. a pecul. The buflt 
when packed is only one-sixth of the bulk of an 
equal weight ot ordinary tea as ordinarily packed. 
‘‘ The small tablet is made of tho finest tea 
dust, the selection of which is made with great 
care. The original cost of this tea here is about 
81s. a pecul. It is manufactured into tablets by 
steam machinery In a steel mould. Tho proper 
amount of dust is poured into the mould dry without 
stesmiing, and the pressure brouglit to bear npon 
it is two tons per tablet. Considerable care is 
required iu tho manufacture <uid packing of this 
tablet ten, and tho cost is compoiatively great. 
“Besides this tablet tea used in Russian Siberia, 
there is a pressed tea called brick tea used in 
Chinese Mongolia and Tibet. This is made of 
tho whole of tho leaf with stalks, and la about 
tho size and shape of an ordinary brick. I have 
not seen this tea manufactured. It is made, I 
know, by Chinese iu a very simple way. 
This is all the infonnation I got with the 
speimons.— I am, Ac. (Signed) A. Momckieit. 
Sir .fosoph Hooker, k.c.b. 1 ., f.u.s , &c 
The manufacture of compressed tea' at Hankow, 
referred to in the above letter, seems to bo an 
mdustry of considemblo importance, and is fully 
detailed in an article from the Plantcm 
ofl?cn"‘nf t!' issued from' the 
Sni Calcutta, and 
published by \\ . R. \\ hittingham & Co., Dl, 
Gracechiirch Street, London, in 1882. It is thero 
stated that the Ooniiiiissioiier of Customs at 
a 
success, the 
better finished 
Hankow reports that the importance of the brick 
tea trade is rapidly increasing, and tho demand 
becoming greater than tho supply. The emXv- 
ment of steam machmoiy for pressing the bricKi 
has proved 111 every way a meat “ “ 
stem-presfed brick being niuoh 
and firm, withstanding^ ‘l^e'^diffioult^"®orSu 
With the old method, "^the bJIck? fron tasffi"?; 
pressing power were liable to chip and St “t 
tho edges; and as groat stross is Inid ^ 
appearance of the bri^ by the Bibelus, j" 
