12 
RESEARCHES ON THE MANUFACTURE 
are arranged side by side in a firing room. At first, 2.5 kwam- 
me * l of charcoal are well heaped upon the bottom of each furnace, 
and it is then made to glow. Soon afterwards, two or three 
bundles of rice straw are put upon the glowing charcoal and 
allowed to burn into ash, so that the latter completely covers the 
former, thus preventing air from direct contact with the char¬ 
coal, and thus securing an uniform and continued action of 
heat. As this furnace is very rough in structure, air can freely 
enter from all sides. In the case of a good furnace, a special 
opening for the entrance of air is made at the side. Thus 
arranged, three strong iron bars are put across the furnace, 
upon these bars is put a square iron wire gauze, which receives, 
in its turn, a wooden frame with paper bottom, 2 upon which 
the whole operation is conducted. This frame must be so 
well fitted to the furnace that when properly arranged there 
should be left no large open space between the two. In the 
case of preparing a superior tea, starch paste is thickly rubbed 
upon the surface of the paper to give it a smoother face to pre¬ 
vent the formation of dust and rough-faced tea. Such 
furnace is, however, only employed in the final drying of the 
twisted leaves. The furnace with the glowing charcoal in its 
heart is now ready for the reception of the leaves. At first, 
about 500 me of the properly steamed leaves are placed upon 
the paper tray, and a workman begins to do his work. In the 
beginning of the operation he simply scatters the leaves by 
tossing them in the air without any attempt at rolling or press¬ 
ing. Soon afterwards, however, he proceeds to roll the leaves 
1 i Kwcimmc = 3,']56ç ) Kilograms. 
2 Sometimes an iron plate is employed instead of paper, since the latter is 
very liable to be damaged during the manufacture. But the tea prepared 
with an iron tray has a blakish tint not esteemed by our countrymen. Hence 
it is recommendable to use the iron tray for preparing tea of an inferior de¬ 
scription or destined for export. The following advantages may be enu¬ 
merated for the use of the iron tray in the furnace. 
1 Great economy in time and labour. 
2 The tea made with the iron tray is said to assume a finer appearance by 
refiring. 
