The English pans are two feet two inches_The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c.

inches in depth, and rather thicker than the Chinese.

The oven for making black tea is made of kucha brick. In height it

is two feet nine inches, in length, three feet, and in breadth three

feet one inch. Door one foot five inches in height, and 11 inches in

breadth. The base of the oven is 10 inches elevated above the floor

of the manufacturing room.

The oven with double pans for manufacturing green tea, is also built

of kucha bricks. It is three feet in height and three feet in

breadth; base of oven one foot in height. Door one foot six inches

in height, and 10 inches in breadth. The pans are placed

horizontally.

A brush made of split bamboo, used in sweeping the tea leaves out of

the pans.

A basket for receiving tea from the pan when ready to be rolled. It

is 2 feet long, and 1½ feet broad, and gradually increases in depth

from before backwards to 6 inches. It is made of bamboo.

The mat made of bamboo for placing on the table when the tea leaves

are about to be rolled. It is 8 feet long and 4 feet broad.

A flat basket made of bamboo for spreading out the tea leaves when

they have been rolled on the mat. These flat baskets are of various

sizes, varying from 3 to 5 feet in diameter.

A flat sieve basket of 2 feet in diameter, made of bamboo, upon

which the rolled tea leaves are placed, and which is deposited in

the centre of the double-coned basket.

Double-coned baskets. The height of these baskets varies from 2 feet

2 inches to 2 feet 6 inches, external diameter 2 feet 8 inches. In

the centre there are some pegs of bamboo to support the flat sieve

basket on which the tea rests.

Forked sticks for turning leaves.

Choolahs. These are formed of kucha bricks, and are 10 inches high,

10½ inches deep, and generally about 2 feet in diameter.

Funnel made of bamboo to allow the heated air from the choolahs to

pass through the tea; it is seldom used; the Chinese tea

manufacturers preferring one made in the tea basket by the hand.

Oven for firing green tea made of kucha bricks. The pans are

inclined at an angle of 50. In front the oven is 3 feet 2 inches in

height, behind 4 feet 8 inches, length 5½ feet, breadth 3 feet. Door

10 inches from the base, 1 foot 2 inches high, and 7 inches wide.

Frames for placing baskets. The first being inclined.

Baskets for collecting leaves.

Shovel, &c., used in regulating the fire.

Winnowing machine. This is a common winnowing machine, with a box 2

feet 10 inches in length, 1 foot 2 inches in breadth, and 1 foot 3

inches in depth, attached to the bottom of the hopper, and closely

fitted into the middle of the circular apartment which contains the

fanners. This box is entirely closed above (unless at the small

opening receiving the hopper) and at the sides. At the base there

are two inclined boards which project from the side of the machine 6

inches, and are partly separated from each other by angular pieces

of wood. The end towards the fanners is open, the other is partly

closed by a semicircular box which is moveable.

I shall now give the dimensions of the different parts of this

machine, which may be useful to parties wishing to make up similar

ones to those employed in the manufactories.

External frame 7 feet 2 inches in length, 18 inches in breadth, and

5 feet 8 inches in height. Hopper 2 feet 10 inches above, and 1 foot

8 inches in depth. Frame of box for fanners 3 feet 9 inches in

diameter. Hopper frame 2 feet 7 inches. Semicircular box, in length

2 feet 5 inches and 7 inches in depth. Inclined plane at base, first

15 inches, second 13 inches.

I may briefly state how this machine acts. With the right hand the

fanners are propelled by the crank, and with the left hand the

bottom of the hopper is opened by removing the wood. The flat piece

of wood (the regulator) is held in the hand to regulate the quantity

of tea that passes down. An assistant then throws a quantity of tea

into the hopper which escapes through the apartment, and there meets

the air. The first kind of tea falls down the inclined plane into

one box which has been placed to receive them, the second are

propelled further on, and fall into another box, and the lighter

particles are propelled on to the semicircular end, and fall into a

third box.

_Note on the culture of the tea plant at Darjeeling, in 1847, by Dr.

A. Campbell, Superintendant_.--About six years ago I received a few

tea seeds from Dr. Wallich; they were of China stock, grown in

Kumaon. I planted them in my garden in November, 1841, and had about

a dozen seedlings in the month of May following, which were allowed

to grow where they had come up, and rather close together. The

plants were healthy from the commencement, and up to May, 1844, had

grown very well; at this period the ground passed into other hands

(Mr. Samuel Smith's), and I lost sight of them until last August,

when Mr. Macfarlane, from Assam, who was acquainted with the tea

plant in that province, arrived here. Being desirous of ascertaining

how far the climate and soil of Darjeeling were suitable to the tea,

I took him to examine the plants, and begged of him to record his

opinion on their growth and qualities, with reference to their age,

and his experience of the plant in Assam. The result was quite

satisfactory. Encouraged by this result, I determined to give an

extended trial to the plant, and through the kindness of Major

Jenkins and Captain Brodie, of Assam, I procured a supply of fresh

seed in October and November last, which was planted in November and

the early part of December.

The seed was of excellent quality. It commenced germinating in

March, a few plants appeared above ground in the early part of May,

and now I have upwards of 7,000 fine healthy seedlings in the

plantation.

For the information of those who may desire to try the tea culture

in this soil and climate, I have to state the mode of planting

pursued by me, and other particulars. The ground is a gentle sloping

bank, facing the north and west; the soil is a reddish clay mixed

with vegetable mould. After taking up a crop of potatoes, and

carefully preparing the ground, I put in the seeds in rows six feet

apart and six feet distance in the rows. The seeds were placed about

three inches under the surface, five in number, at each place about

four inches apart--thus : . : On an average, two out of five have

come up. The seedlings commenced appearing above ground early in

May, and continued to show until the end of July. The earliest were,

therefore, six months in the ground; the latest about eight months.

The seed was of China stock, grown in Assam, and of the Assam plant

mixed. I am anxious to have the China stock only, and purpose

separating the plants of the Assam stock as soon as I can

distinguish them, which Captain Brodie informs me can be readily

done as they grow up; the China plants begin of a darker color, and

smaller than the Assam ones.

I hope to have a supply of the seed of China stock from Kumaon next

November, and with it to cause the extension of the experiment at

this place.

I think that it is reasonable to expect quite as good tea to be

produced here as in Kumaon.[14] I have not tasted the Kumaon tea,

but, from the opinion expressed on it in England, I am satisfied

that it is a very drinkable beverage, and that with similar success

here, the tea will be a valuable addition to our products. I have

recently tried two kinds of the Assam tea presented by Mr. Stokes to

a friend. They are excellent teas, and I shall be well content to

have an equally good article manufactured here.

Mr. A. Macfarlane's report on the tea plants in Mr. Smith's ground is

annexed:--

"According to your request I have the pleasure of transmitting you

my opinion of the tea plants in your garden in this place. The two

larger plants have made very good progress, considering their

closeness to each other, which prevents them from throwing their

branches freely in every direction, but as they have attained so

great a size I would not recommend their being transplanted, because

let it be done ever so carefully, the roots must receive more or

less injury, and should the injury be great the death of the tree is

certain.

The smaller ones on the contrary are much stunted; this is caused by

their confined situation, being completely choked up by the rose

trees, which prevents their receiving a proper supply of light and

air, so necessary to vegetation. They are also planted too closely,

and, as the plants are still small, by availing yourself of the most

favourable season, and using great care in the operation, they might

he transplanted with safety, and should then be placed at a distance

of not less than six feet apart. The difficulty of transplanting is

occasioned by the depth to which the root penetrates, as it

generally grows downwards, and in a large tree is principally in the

subsoil. The larger plants should be pruned of their lower branches

to allow a free current of air. This operation is generally

performed in November, but any time during the cold season or before

the rains, while the plant is at rest, would answer: as I have no

knowledge of this climate, I would leave it to more experienced

persons to judge of the proper season. To conclude, the plants are

in a very healthy condition, and had they been in the hands of a

cultivator, would now have been giving a very fair supply of

produce.

The small sample I tried was of a very good flavor, but on account

of the defective manner of manufacture, for want of proper

materials, no proper judgment can be formed." (Simmonds's Col. Mag.,

vol. xvi. p. 44.)

Report upon the Tea Plantations of Deyra, Kumaon and Gurhwal, by

Robert Fortune, Esq., addressed to John Thornton, Esq., Secretary to

the Government, North Western Provinces, dated Calcutta, September

6th, 1851:--

KAOLAGIR TEA PLANTATION.

1. _Situation and extent_.--The Deyra Doon, or Valley of Deyra, is

situated in latitude 3 deg. 18 min. north, and in longitude 78 deg.

east. It is about 60 miles in length from east to west, and 16 miles

broad at its widest part. It is bounded on the south by the Sewalick

range of hills, and on the north by the Himalayas proper, which are

here nearly 8,000 feet above the level of the sea. On the west it is

open to the river Jumna, and on the east to the Ganges, the distance

between these rivers being about 60 miles.

In the centre of this flat valley, the Kaolagir tea plantation has

been formed. Eight acres were under cultivation in 1847. There are

now 300 acres planted, and about 90 more taken in and ready for many

thousands of young plants raised lately from seeds in the

plantation.

2. _Soil and culture_.--The soil of this plantation is composed of

clay, sand, and vegetable matter, rather stiff, and apt to get

"baked" in dry weather, but free enough when it is moist or during

the rains. It rests upon a gravelly subsoil, consisting of

limestone, sandstone, clay-slate, and quartz rock, or of such rocks

as enter into the composition of the surrounding mountain ranges.

The surface is comparatively _flat_, although it falls in certain

directions towards the ravines and rivers.

The plants are arranged neatly in rows 6 feet apart, and each plant

is about 4½ feet from its neighbour in the row. A long, rank-growing

species of grass, indigenous to the Doon, is most difficult to keep

from over-topping the tea-plants, and is the cause of much extra

labor. Besides the labor common to all tea countries in China, such

as weeding, and occasionally loosening the soil, there is here an

extensive system of irrigation carried on. To facilitate this, the

plants are planted in trenches, from four to six inches below the

level of the ground, and the soil thus dug out is thrown between the

rows to form the paths. Hence the whole of the plantation consists

of numerous trenches of this depth, and five feet from centre to

centre. At right angles with these trenches a small stream is fed

from the canal, and, by opening or shutting their ends, irrigation

can be carried on at the pleasure of the overseer.

3. _Appearance and health of plants_.--The plants generally did not

appear to me to be in that fresh and vigorous condition which I had

been accustomed to see in good Chinese plantations. This, in my

opinion, is caused, 1st, by the plantation being formed on _flat

land_; 2nd, by the system of _irrigation_; 3rd, by too early

plucking; and 4th, by hot drying winds, which are not unfrequent in

this valley from April to the beginning of June.

GUDDOWLI PLANTATION (NEAR PAORIE).

1. _Situation and extent_.--This plantation is situated in the

Province of Eastern Gurhwal, in latitude 30 deg. 8 min. north, and

in longitude 78 deg. 45 min. east. It consists of a large tract of

terraced land, extending from the bottom of a valley or ravine to

more than 1,000 feet up the sides of the mountain. Its lowest

portion is about 4,300 feet, and its highest 5,300 feet above the

level of the sea; the surrounding mountains appear to be from 7,000

to 8,000. The plantation has not been measured, but there are,

apparently, fully one hundred acres under cultivation.

There are about 500,000 plants already planted, besides a large

number of seedlings in beds ready for transplanting. About 3,400 of

the former were planted in 1844, and are now in full bearing; the

greater portion of the others are much younger, having been planted

out only one, two, and three years.

2. _Soil and culture_.--The soil consists of a mixture of loam,

sand, and vegetable matter, is of a yellow colour, and is most

suitable for the cultivation of the tea-plant. It resembles greatly

the soil of the test tea districts in China. A considerable quantity

of stones are mixed with it, chiefly small pieces of clay-slate, of

which the mountains here are composed. Large tracts of equally good

land, at present covered with jungle, are available in this district

without interfering in any way with the rights of the settlers.

I have stated that this plantation is formed on the hill side. It

consists of a succession of terraces, from the bottom to the top, on

which the tea bushes are planted. In its general features it is very

like a Chinese tea plantation, although one rarely sees tea lands

terraced in China. This, however, may be necessary in the Himalayas,

where the rains fall so heavily. Here, too, the system of irrigation

is carried on, although to a small extent only, owing to the

scarcity of water during the dry season.

3. _Appearance and health of plants_.--This plantation is a most

promising one, and I have no doubt will be very valuable in a few

years. The plants are growing admirably, and evidently like their

situation. Some of them are suffering slightly from the effects of

hard-plucking, like those at Kaolagir; but this can easily be

avoided in their future management. Altogether, it is in a most

satisfactory condition, and shows how safe it is in matters of this

kind to follow the example of the Chinese cultivator, who never

makes his tea plantations on _low rice land, and never irrigates_.

HAWULBAUGH PLANTATION (NEAR ALMORAH).

_1st. Situation and extent_.--This tea farm is situated on the banks

of the river Kosilla, about six miles north-west from Almorah, the

capital of Kumaon. It is about 4,500 feet above the level of the

sea. The land is of an undulating character, consisting of gentle

slopes and terraces, and reminded me of some of the best tea

districts in China. Indeed, the hills themselves, in this part of

the Himalayas, are very much like those of China, being barren near

their summit and fertile on their lower sides.

Thirty-four acres of land are under tea cultivation here, including

the adjoining farm of Chullar. Some of the plants appear to have

been planted in 1844; but, as at Paorie, the greater number are only

from one to three years old.

2_nd. Soil and culture_.--The soil is what is usually called a sandy

loam; it is moderately rich, being well mixed with vegetable matter.

It is well suited for tea cultivation. The greater part of the farm

is terraced as at Guddowli, but some few patches are left in natural

slopes in accordance with the Chinese method. Irrigation is

practised to a limited extent.

3_rd. Appearance and health of the plants_.--All the young plants

here are in robust health and are growing well, particularly where

they are growing on land where water cannot flood or injure them. As

examples of this, I may point out a long belt between Dr. Jameson's

house and the flower garden, and also a piece of ground a little

below the house in which the Chinese manufacturers live. Some few of

the older bushes appear rather stunted; but this is evidently the

result of water remaining stagnant about the roots, and partly also

of over plucking; both defects, however, admit of being easily

cured.

LUTCHMISSER AND KUPPEENA PLANTATIONS.

1_st. Situation and extent_.--These plantations are on the hill side

near Almorah, and about 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. The

situation is somewhat steep, but well adapted to the growth of tea.

The former contains three acres, and the latter four acres under

cultivation.

2_nd. Soil and culture_.---The soil is light and sandy, and much

mixed with particles of clay-slate, which have crumbled down from

the adjoining rocks. I believe these plantations are rarely

irrigated, and the land is steep enough to prevent any stagnant

water from remaining about the roots of the plants.

3_rd. Appearance and health of plants_.--Most of the bushes here are

fully grown, and in full bearing, and generally in good health. On

the whole, I consider these plantations in excellent order.

BHEEMTAL PLANTATIONS.

The lake of Bheemtal is situate in latitude 29 deg. 20 min. north,

and in longitude 79 deg. 30 min. east. It is 4,000 feet above the

level of the sea, and some of the surrounding mountains are said to

be 8,000 feet. These form the southern chain of the Himalayas, and

bound the vast plain of India, of which a glimpse can be had through

the mountain passes. Amongst these hills there are several _tals_ or

lakes, some flat meadow-looking land, and gentle undulating slopes,

while higher up we have steep and rugged mountains. It is amongst

these hills, that the Bheemtal tea plantations have been formed.

They may be classed under three heads, viz.--

1_st. Anoo and Kooasur plantations_.--These adjoin each other, are

both formed _on low flat land_, and together cover about forty

acres. The plants do not seem healthy or vigorous; many of them have

died out, and few are in that state which tea plants ought to be in.

Such situations never ought to be chosen for tea cultivation. The

same objection applies to these as to those at Deyra, but in a

greater degree. No doubt, with sufficient drainage, and great care

in cultivation, and the tea plant might be made to exist in such a

situation; but I am convinced it would never grow with that

luxuriance which is necessary in order to render it a profitable

crop. _Besides, such lands are valuable for other purposes_. They

are excellent rice lands, and as such of considerable value to the

natives.

2_nd. Bhurtpoor plantation_.--This plantation covers about four and

a half acres of terraced land on the hill side, a little to the

eastward of those last noticed. The soil is composed of a light

loam, much mixed with small pieces of clay-slate and trap or

green-stone, of which the adjacent rocks are composed. It contains a

small portion of vegetable matter or _humus_. Both the situation and

soil of this plantation are well adapted to the requirements of the

tea shrub, and consequently we find it succeeding here as well as at

Guddowli, Hawulbaugh, Almorah, and other places where it is planted

on the slopes of the hills.

3_rd. Russia plantation_.--This plantation extends over seventy-five

acres, and is formed on sloping land. The elevation is somewhat less

than Bhurtpoor, and although terraced in the same way, the angle is

much lower. In some parts of the farm the plants are doing well, but

generally they seemed to be suffering from too much water and hard

plucking. I have no doubt, however, of the success of this farm,

when the system of cultivation is improved. I observed some most

vigorous and healthy bushes in the overseer's garden, a spot

adjoining the plantation, which could not be irrigated, and was

informed they "never received any water, except that which fell from

the skies."

In the Bheemtal district, there are large tracts of excellent tea

land. In crossing over the hills towards Nainee Tal, with J.H.

Batten, Esq., Commissioner of Kumaon, I pointed out many tracts

admirably adapted for tea cultivation, and of no great value to the

natives; generally, those lands on which the mundoca is cultivated

are the most suitable.

I have thus described all the Government plantations in Gurhwal and

Kumaon. Dr. Jameson, the superintendent, deserves the highest praise

for the energy and perseverance with which he has conducted his

operations. I shall now notice the plantations of the zemindars,

under the superintendence of the commissioner and

assistant-commissioner of Kumaon and Gurhwal.

ZEMINDAREE TEA PLANTATIONS.

1_st, at Lohba_.--This place is situated in eastern Gurhwal, about

50 miles to the westward of Almorah, and is at an elevation of 5,000

feet above the level of the sea. It is one of the most beautiful

spots in this part of the Himalayas. The surrounding mountains are

high, and in some parts precipitous, while in others they are found

consisting of gentle slopes and undulations. On these undulating

slopes, there is a great deal of excellent land suitable for tea

cultivation. A few tea bushes have been growing vigorously for some

years in the commissioner's garden, and they are now fully ten feet

in height. These plants having succeeded so well, naturally induced

the authorities of the province to try this cultivation upon a more

extensive scale. It appears that in 1844, about 4,000 young plants

were obtained from the Government plantations, and planted on a

tract of excellent land, which the natives wished to abandon.

Instead of allowing the people to throw up their land, they were

promised it rent-free upon the condition that they attended to the

cultivation of the tea, which had been planted on a small portion of

the ground attached to the village.

This arrangement seems to have failed either from want of knowledge,

or from design, or perhaps partly from both of these causes. More

lately, a larger number of plants have been planted, but I regret to

say with nearly the same results.

But results of this discouraging kind are what any one, acquainted

with the nature of the tea plant, could have easily foretold, had

the treatment, intended to be given it, been explained to him. Upon

enquiry, I found the villagers had been managing the tea lands just

as they had been doing their rice fields, that is, a regular system

of irrigation was practised. As water was plentiful, a great number,

indeed nearly all, the plants seem to have perished from this cause.

The last planting alluded to had been done late in the spring, and

just at the commencement of the dry weather, and to these plants

little or no water seems to have been given; so that, in fact, it

was going from one extreme to another equally bad, and the result

was of course nearly the same.

I have no hesitation in saying that the district in question is well

adapted for the cultivation of tea. With judicious management, a

most productive farm might be established here in four or five

years. Land is plentiful, and of little value either to the natives

or to the Government.

2_nd, at Kutoor_.--This is the name of a large district 30 or 40

miles northward from Almorah, in the centre of which the old town or

village of Byznath stands. It is a fine undulating country,

consisting of wide valleys, gentle slopes, and little hills, while

the whole is intersected by numerous streams, and surrounded by high

mountains. The soil of this extensive district is most fertile, and

is capable of producing large crops of rice, on the low irrigable

lands, and the dry grains and tea on the sides of the hills. From

some cause, however, either the thinness of population or _the want

of a remunerative crop_,[15] large tracts of this fertile district

have been allowed to go out of cultivation. Everywhere I observed

ruinous and jungle-covered terraces, which told of the more extended

cultivation of former years.

Amongst some hills near the upper portion of this district, two

small tea plantations have been formed under the patronage and

superintendence of Captain Ramsey, Senior Assistant Commissioner of

Kumaon. Each of them cover three or four acres of land, and had been

planted about a year before the time of my visit. In this short

space of time the plants had grown into nice strong bushes, and were

in the highest state of health. I never saw, even in the most

favoured districts in China, any plantations looking better than

these. This result, Captain Ramsay informed me, had been attained in

the following simple manner:--All the land attached to the two

villages with which the tea farms are connected, is exempted from

the revenue tax, a sum amounting only to 525 Rs. per annum. In lieu

of this, the assamees (cultivators) of both villages assist with

manure, and at the transplanting season, as well as ploughing and

preparing fresh land. In addition to this, one chowdree and four

prisoners are constantly employed upon the plantations. The chief

reason of the success of these plantations, next to that of the land

being well suited for tea cultivation, may, no doubt, be traced to a

good system of management; that is, the young plants have been

carefully transplanted at the proper season of the year, when the

air was charged with moisture, and they have not been destroyed by

excessive irrigation afterwards. The other zemindaree plantation at

Lohba might have been now in full bearing had the same system been

followed.

From the description thus given, it will be observed that I consider

the Kutoor plantations in a most flourishing condition. And I have

no doubt they will continue to flourish, and soon convince the

zemindars of the value of tea cultivation, providing three things,

intimately connected with the success of the crop are strongly

impressed upon their minds; viz., the unsuitableness of low wet

lands for tea cultivation; the folly of irrigating tea as they would

do rice, and the impropriety of commencing the plucking before the

plants are strong, and of considerable size. I am happy to add, that

amongst these hills there are no foolish prejudices in the minds of

the natives against the cultivation of tea. About the time of my

visit, a zemindar came and begged two thousand plants, to enable him

to commence tea growing on his own account.

It is of great importance, that the authorities of a district, and

persons of influence, should show an interest in a subject of this

kind. At present the natives do not know its value; but they are as

docile as children, and will enter willingly upon tea cultivation,

providing the "Sahib" shows that he is interested in it. In a few

years the profits received will be a sufficient inducement.

In concluding this part of my Report, I beg to suggest the propriety

of obtaining some of the _best varieties_ of the tea plant which

have been introduced lately into the government plantations from

China. Dr. Jameson could, no doubt, spare a few, but they ought to

be given to those zemindars only who have succeeded with the

original variety.

Having described in detail the various government plantations, and

also those of the zemindars which came under my notice in the

Himalayas, I shall now make some general remarks upon the

cultivation of tea in India, and offer some suggestions for its

improvement.

GENERAL REMARKS.

1. _On land and cultivation_.--From the observations already made

upon the various tea farms which I have visited in the Himalayas, it

will be seen that I do not approve of _low flat lands_ being

selected for the cultivation of the tea shrub. In China, which at

present must be regarded as the model tea country, the plantations

are never made in such situations, or they are so rare as not to

have come under my notice. In that country they are usually formed

on the lower slopes of the hills, that is, in such situations as

those at Guddowli, Hawulbaugh, Almorah, Kutoor, &c., in the

Himalayas. It is true that in the fine green tea country of

Hwuy-chow, in China, near the town of Tunche, many hundred acres of

flattish land are under tea cultivation. But this land is close to

the hills, which jut out into it in all directions, and it is

intersected by a river whose banks are usually from 15 to 20 feet

above the level of the stream itself, not unlike those of the Ganges

below Benares. In fact, it has all the advantages of hilly land such

as the tea plant delights in. In extending the Himalaya plantation

this important fact ought to be kept in view.

There is no scarcity of such land in these mountains, more

particularly in Eastern Gurhwal and Kumaon. It abounds in the

districts of Paorie, Kunour, Lohba, Almorah, Kutoor, and Bheemtal,

and I was informed by Mr. Batten, that there are large tracts about

Gungoli and various other places equally suitable. Much of this land

is out of cultivation, as I have already stated, while the

cultivated portions yield on an average only two or three annas per

acre of revenue.

Such lands are of less value to the zemindars than low rice land,

where they can command a good supply of water for irrigation. But I

must not be understood to recommend poor worn out hill lands for tea

cultivation,--land on which nothing else will grow. Nothing is

further from my meaning. Tea in order to be profitable requires a

good sound soil,--a light loam, well mixed with sand and vegetable

matter, moderately moist, and yet not stagnant or sour. Such a soil,

for example, as on these hill sides produces good crops of mundooa,

wheat or millet, is well adapted for tea. It is such lands which I

have alluded to as abounding in the Himalayas, and which are, at

present, of so little value either to the Government, or to the

natives themselves.

_The system of Irrigation_ applied to tea in India is never

practised in China. I did not observe it practised in any of the

great tea countries which I visited. On asking the Chinese

manufacturers whom I brought round, and who had been born and

brought up in these districts, whether they had seen such a

practice, they all replied, "_no, that is the way we grow rice: we

never irrigate tea_." Indeed, I have no hesitation in saying that,

in nine cases out of ten, the effects of irrigation are most

injurious. When tea will not grow without irrigation, it is a sure

sign that the land employed is not suitable for such a crop. It is

no doubt an excellent thing to have a command of water in case of a

long drought, when its agency might be useful in saving a crop which

would otherwise fail, but irrigation ought to be used only in such

emergent cases.

I have already observed that good tea land is naturally moist,

although not stagnant; and we must bear in mind that the tea shrub

is _not a water plant_, but is found in a wild state on the sides of

hills. In confirmation of these views, it is only necessary to

observe further, that all the _best Himalayan plantations are those

to which irrigation has been most sparingly applied_.

In cultivating the tea shrub, much injury is often done to a

plantation by _plucking leaves from very young plants_. In China

young plants are never touched until the third or fourth year after

they have been planted. If growing under favorable circumstances,

they will yield a good crop after that time. All that ought to be

done, in the way of plucking or pruning before that time, should be

done with a view to _form the plants_, and make them _bushy_ if they

do not grow so naturally. If plucking is commenced too early and

continued, the energies of the plants are weakened, and they are

long in attaining any size, and consequently there is a great loss

of produce in a given number of years. To make this more plain, I

will suppose a bush that has been properly treated to be eight years

of age. It may then be yielding from two to three pounds of tea per

annum, while another of the same age, but not a quarter of the size,

from over-plucking, is not giving more than as many ounces.

The same remarks apply also to plants which become unhealthy from

any cause; leaves ought never to be taken from such plants; the

gatherers should have strict orders to pass them over until they get

again into a _good state_ of health.

2_nd. On climate_.--I have already stated that eastern Gurhwal and

Kumaon appear to me to be the most suitable for the cultivation of

the tea plant in this part of the Himalayas. My remarks upon climate

will therefore refer to this part of the country.

From a table of temperature kept at Hawulbaugh from November 28th,

1850, to July 13th, 1851, obligingly furnished me by Dr. Jameson, I

observed that the climate here is extremely mild. During the winter

months, the thermometer [Fahr.] at sunrise was never lower than 44

deg., and only on two occasions so low, namely on the 15th and 16th

of February, 1851. Once it stood so high as 66 deg. on the morning

of February 4th, but this is full ten degrees higher than usual. The

minimum in February must, however, be several degrees lower than is

shown by this table, for ice and snow were not unfrequent; indeed,

opposite the 16th of February in the column of remarks, I find

written down _a very frosty morning_. This discrepancy no doubt

arises either from a bad thermometer being used, or from its being

placed in a sheltered verandah. We may, therefore, safely mark the

minimum as 32 deg. instead of 44 degrees.

The month of June appears to be the hottest in the year. I observe

the thermometer on the 5th, 6th and 7th of that month stood at 92

deg. at 3 P.M., and this was the highest degree marked during the

year. The lowest, at this hour, during the month was 76 deg., but

the general range in the 3 P.M. column of the table is from 80 deg.

to 90 degrees.

_The wet and dry seasons_ are not so decided in the hills as they

are in the plains. In January, 1861, it rained on five days and ten

nights, and the total quantity of rain which fell, as indicated by

the rain gauge, during this month, was 5.25 inches; in February,

3.84 fell; in March, 2.11; in April, 2.24; in May, none; and in June

6.13. In June there are generally some days of heavy rain, called by

the natives Chota Bursaut, or small rains, after this there is an

interval of some days of dry weather before the regular "rainy

season" commences. This season comes on in July and continues until

September. October and November are said to be beautiful months with

a clear atmosphere and cloudless sky. After this fogs are frequent

in all the valleys until spring.

In comparing the climate of these provinces with that of China,

although we find some important difference, yet upon the whole there

is a great similarity. My comparisons apply, of course, to the best

tea districts only, for although the tea shrub is found cultivated

from Canton in the south to Tan-chowpoo in Shan-tung, yet the

provinces of Fokein, Kainsee and the southern parts of Kiangnan,

yield nearly all the finest teas of commerce.

The town of Tsong-gan, one of the great black tea towns near the far

famed Woo-e-shan, is situated in latitude 27 deg. 47 min, north.

Here the thermometer in the hottest months, namely in July and

August, rarely rises above 100 deg. and ranges from 92 deg. to 100

deg., as maximum; while in the coldest months, December and January,

it sinks to the freezing point and sometimes a few degrees lower. We

have thus a close resemblance in temperature between Woo-e-shan and

Almorah, The great green tea district being situated two degrees

further north, the extremes of temperature are somewhat greater. It

will be observed, however, that while the hottest month in the

Himalayas is June, in China the highest temperature occurs in July

and August: this is owing to the rainy season taking place earlier

in China than it does in India.

In China rain falls in heavy and copious showers in the end of

April, and these rains continue at intervals in May and June. The

first gathering of tea-leaves, those from which the Pekoe is made,

is scarcely over before the air becomes charged with moisture, rain

falls, and the bushes being thus placed in such favourable

circumstances for vegetating are soon covered again with young

leaves, from which the main crop of the season is obtained.

No one, acquainted with vegetable physiology, can doubt the

advantages of such weather in the cultivation of tea for mercantile

purposes. And these advantages, to a certain extent at least, seem

to be extended to the Himalayas, although the regular rainy season

is later than in China. I have already shown, from Dr Jameson's

table, that spring showers are frequent in Kumaon, although rare in

the plains of India; still, however, I think it would be prudent to

adopt the gathering of leaves to the climate, that is to take a

moderate portion from the bushes before the rains, and the main crop

after they have commenced.

_3rd. On the vegetation of China and the Himalayas_. One of the

surest guides from which to draw conclusions, on a subject of this

nature, is found in the indigenous vegetable productions of the

countries. Dr. Royle, who was the first to recommend the cultivation

of tea in the Himalayas, drew his conclusions, in the absence of

that positive information from China which we possess now, not only

from the great similarity in temperature between China and these

hills, but also from the resemblance in vegetable productions. This

resemblance is certainly very striking. In both countries, except in

the low valleys of the Himalayas (and these we are not considering),

tropical forms are rarely met with. If we take trees and shrubs, for

example, we find such genera as pinus, cypress, berberis, quercus,

viburnam, indigofera, and romeda, lonicera, deutzia, rubus, myrica,

spiræ, ilex, and many others common to both countries.

Amongst herbaceous plants we have gentiana, aquilegia, anemone,

rumex, primula, lilium, loutodon, ranunculus, &c. equally

distributed in the Himalayas and in China, and even in aquatics the

same resemblance may be traced, as in nelumbium, caladium &c. And

further than this, we do not find plants belong to the same genera

only, but in many instances the identical species are found in both

countries. The indigofera, common in the Himalayas, abounds also on

the tea hills of China, and so does _Berberis nepaulencis_,

_Lonicera diversifolia_, _Myrica sapida_, and many others.

Were it necessary, I might now show that there is a most striking

resemblance between the geology of the two countries as well as in

their vegetable productions. In both the black and green tea

countries which I have alluded to, clay-slate is most abundant. But

enough has been advanced to prove how well many parts of the

Himalayas are adapted for the cultivation of tea; besides, the

flourishing condition of many of the plantations is, after all, the

best proof, and puts the matter beyond all doubt.

_4th. Concluding Suggestions_.--Having shown that tea can be grown

in the Himalayas, and that it would produce a valuable and

remunerative crop, the next great object appears to be the

production of superior tea, by means of fine varieties and improved

cultivation. It is well known that a variety of the tea plant

existed in the southern parts of China from which inferior teas only

were made. That, being more easily procured than the fine northern

varieties, from which the great mass of the best teas are made, was

the variety originally sent to India. From it all those in the

Government plantations have sprung.

It was to remedy this, and to obtain the best varieties from those

districts which furnish the trees of commerce, that induced the

Honourable Court of Directors to send me to China in 1848. Another

object was to obtain some good manufacturers and implements from the

same districts. As the result of this mission, nearly twenty

thousand plants from the best black and green tea countries of

Central China, have been introduced to the Himalayas. Six first-rate

manufacturers, two lead men, and a large supply of implements from

the celebrated Hwuy-chow districts were also brought round and

safely located on the Government plantations in the hills.

A great step has thus been gained towards the objects in view. Much,

however, remains still to be done. The new China plants ought to be

carefully propagated and distributed over all the plantations; some

of them ought also to be given to the zemindars, and more of these

fine varieties might be yearly imported from China.

The Chinese manufacturers, who were obtained some years since from

Calcutta or Assam, are, in my opinion, far from being first-rate

workmen; indeed, I doubt much if any of them learned their trade in

China. They ought to be gradually got rid of and their places

supplied by better men, for it is a great pity to teach the natives

an inferior method of manipulation. The men brought round by me are

first-rate green tea makers, they can also make black tea, but they

have not been in the habit of making so much black as green. They

have none of the Canton illiberality or prejudices about them, and

are most willing to teach their art to the natives. I have no doubt

some of the latter will soon be made excellent tea manufacturers.

And the instruction of the natives is, no doubt, one of the chief

objects which ought to be kept in view, for the importation of

Chinese manipulators at high wages can only he regarded as a

temporary measure; ultimately the Himalayan tea must be made by the

natives themselves; each native farmer must learn how to make tea

as well as how to grow it; he will then make it upon his own

premises, as the Chinese do, and the expenses of carriage will be

much less than if the green leaves had to be taken to the market.

But as the zemindars will be able to grow tea long before they are

able to make it, it would be prudent, in the first instance, to

offer them a certain sum for green leaves brought to the government

manufactory.

I have pointed out the land most suitable for the cultivation of

tea, and shown that such land exists in the Himalayas to an almost

unlimited extent. But if the object the government have in view be

the establishment of a company to develop the resources of these

hills, as in Assam, I would strongly urge the propriety of

concentrating, as much as possible, the various plantations. Sites

ought to be chosen which are not too far apart, easy of access, and,

if possible, near rivers; for, no doubt, a considerable portion of

the produce would have to be conveyed to the plains or to a

sea-port.

In my tour amongst the hills, I have seen no place so well adapted

for a central situation as Almorah, or Hawulbaugh. Here the

government has already a large establishment, and tea lands are

abundant in all directions. The climate is healthy, and better

suited to a European constitution than most other parts of India.

Here plants from nearly all the temperate parts of the world are

growing as if they were at home. As examples, I may mention myrtles,

pomegranates, and tuberoses from the south of Europe; dahlias,

potatoes, aloes, and yuccas from America; Melianthus major and bulbs

from the Cape; the cypress and deodar of the Himalayas, and the

lagerstroemias, loquats, roses and tea of China.

In these days, when tea has become almost a necessary of life to

England and her wide-spreading colonies, its production upon a large

and cheap scale is an object of no ordinary importance. But to the

natives of India themselves, the production of this article would be

of the greatest value. The poor _paharie_, or hill farmer, at

present has scarcely the common necessaries of life, and certainly

none of its luxuries. The common sorts of grain which his lands

produce will scarcely pay the carriage to the nearest market town,

far less yield a profit of such a kind as will enable him to

purchase some few of the necessary and simple luxuries of life. A

common blanket has to serve him for his covering by day and for his

bed at night, while his dwelling-house is a mere mud-hut, capable of

affording but little shelter from the inclemency of the weather.

Were part of these lands producing tea, he would then have a healthy

beverage to drink, besides a commodity which would be of great value

in the market. Being of small bulk compared with its value, the

expense of carriage would be trifling, and he would return home with

the means in his pocket of making himself and his family more

comfortable and more happy.

Were such results doubtful, we have only to look across the

frontiers of India into China. Here we find tea one of the

necessaries of life, in the strictest sense of the word. A Chinese

never drinks cold water, which he abhors, and considers unhealthy.

Tea is his favorite beverage from morning until night; not what we

call tea, mixed with milk and sugar, but the essence of the herb

itself, drawn out in pure water. One acquainted with the habits of

this people can scarcely conceive the idea of the Chinese empire

existing were it deprived of the tea plant; and I am sure that the

extensive use of this beverage adds much to the health and comfort

of the great body of the people.

The people of India are not unlike the Chinese in many of their

habits. The poor of both countries eat sparingly of animal food, and

rice, with other grains and vegetables, form the staple articles on

which they live; this being the case, it is not at all unlikely the

Indian will soon acquire a habit which is so universal in the sister

country. But in order to enable him to drink tea, it must be

produced at a cheap rate; he cannot afford to pay at the rate of

four or six shillings a pound. It must be furnished to him at four

_pence_ or six _pence_ instead; and this can be done easily, but

only on his own hills. If this is accomplished, and I see no reason

why it should not be, a boon will have been conferred upon the

people of India, of no common kind, and one which an enlightened and

liberal government may well be proud of conferring on its subjects."

I shall now add a description of the Chinese method of making black

tea in Upper Assam, by Mr. C.A. Bruce, superintendent of tea

culture:--

"In the first place, the youngest and most tender leaves are

gathered; but when there are many hands and a great quantity of

loaves to be collected, the people employed nip off with the

forefinger and thumb the fine end of the branch, with about four

leaves on, and sometimes even more if they look tender. These are

all brought to the place where they are to be converted into tea:

they are then put into a large, circular, open worked bamboo basket,

having a rim all round, two fingers broad. The leaves are thinly

scattered in these baskets, and then placed in a framework of

bamboo, in all appearance like the sides of an Indian hut, without

grass, resting on posts, 2 feet from the ground, with an angle of

about 25 deg. The baskets with leaves are put in this frame to dry

in the sun, and are pushed up and brought down by a long bamboo with

a circular piece of wood at the end. The leaves are permitted to dry

about two hours, being occasionally turned; but the time required

for this process depends on the heat of the sun. When they begin to

have a slightly withered appearance, they are taken down and brought

into the house, when they are placed on a frame to cool for half an

hour; they are then put into smaller baskets of the same kind as the

former, and placed on a stand. People are now employed to soften the

leaves still more, by gently clapping them between their hands, with

their fingers and thumbs extended, and tossing them up and letting

them fall, for about five or ten minutes. They are then again put on

the frame during half an hour, and brought down and clapped with the

hands as before. This is done three successive times, until the

leaves become to the touch like soft leather; the beating and

putting away being said to give the tea the black color and bitter

flavor. After this the tea is put into hot cast-iron pans, which are

fixed in a circular mud fireplace, so that the flame cannot ascend

round the pan to incommode the operator. This pan is well heated by

a straw or bamboo fire to a certain degree. About two pounds of the

leaves are then put into each hot pan, and spread in such a manner

that all the leaves may get the same degree of heat. They are every

now and then briskly turned with the naked hand, to prevent a leaf

from being burnt. When the leaves become inconveniently hot to the

hand, they are quickly taken out and delivered to another man with a

close-worked bamboo basket, ready to receive them. A few leaves that

may have been left behind are smartly brushed out with a bamboo

broom: all this time a brisk fire is kept up under the pan. After

the pan has been used in this manner three or four times, a bucket

of cold water is thrown in, and a soft brick-bat and bamboo broom

used, to give it a good scouring out; the water is thrown out of the

pan by the brush on one side, the pan itself being never taken off.

The leaves, all hot in the bamboo basket, are laid on a table that

has a narrow rim on its back, to prevent these baskets from slipping

off when pushed against it. The two pounds of hot leaves are now

divided into two or three parcels, and distributed to as many men,

who stand up to the table with the leaves right before them, and

each placing his legs close together, the leaves are next collected

into a ball, which he gently grasps in his left hand, with the thumb

extended, the fingers close together, and the hand resting on the

little finger. The right hand must be extended in the same manner as

the left, but with the palm turned downwards resting on the top of

the ball of tea leaves. Both hands are now employed to roll and

propel the ball along; the left hand pushing it on, and allowing it

to revolve as it moves; the right hand also pushes it forward,

resting on it with some force, and keeping it down to express the

juice which the leaves contain. The art lies here in giving the ball

a circular motion, and permitting it to turn under and in the hand

two or three whole revolutions, before the arms are extended to

their full length, and drawing the ball of leaves quickly back

without leaving a leaf behind, being rolled for about five minutes

in this way. The ball of tea leaves is from time to time delicately

and gently opened with the fingers lifted as high as the face, and

then allowed to fall again. This is done two or three times to

separate the leaves; and afterwards the basket with the leaves is

lifted up as often, and receives a circular shake to bring these

towards the centre. The leaves are now taken back to the hot pans

and spread out in them as before, being again turned with the naked

hand, and when hot taken out and rolled; after which, they are put

into a drying basket and spread on a sieve, which is in the centre

of the basket, and the whole placed over a charcoal fire. The fire

is very nicely regulated; there must not be the least smoke, and the

charcoal should be well picked.

When the fire is lighted it is fanned until it gets a fine red

glare, and the smoke is all gone off; being every now and then

stirred, and the coals brought into the centre, so as to leave the

outer edge low. When the leaves are put into the drying basket, they

are gently separated by lifting them up with the fingers of both

hands extended far apart, and allowing them to fall down again; they

are placed three or four inches deep on the sieve, leaving a passage

in the centre for the hot air to pass. Before it is put over the

fire, the drying basket receives a smart slap with both hands in the

act of lifting it up, which is done to shake down any leaves that

might otherwise drop through the sieve, or to prevent them from

falling into the fire and occasioning a smoke, which would affect

and spoil the tea. This slap on the basket is invariably applied

throughout the stages of tea manufacture. There is always a large

basket underneath to receive the small leaves that fall, which are

afterwards collected, dried, and added to the other tea; in no case

are the baskets or sieves allowed to touch or remain on the ground,

but always laid on a receiver, with three legs. After the leaves

have bean half-dried in the drying-basket, and while they are still

soft, they are taken off the fire and put into large open-worked

baskets, and then put on the shelf, in order that the tea may

improve in color.

Next day the leaves are all sorted into large, middling, and small;

sometimes there are four sorts. All these, the Chinese informed me,

become so many different kinds of teas; the smallest leaves they

call Pha-ho, the second Pow-chong, the third Souchong, and the

fourth, or the largest leaves, Zoy-chong. After this assortment they

are again put on the sieve in the drying-basket (taking care not to

mix the sorts), and on the fire, as on the preceding day; but now

very little more than will cover the bottom of the sieve is put in

at one time; the same care of the fire is taken as before, and the

same precaution of tapping the drying basket every now and then. The

tea is taken off the fire with the nicest care, for fear of any

particles of the tea falling into it. Whenever the drying-basket is

taken off, it is put on the receiver, the sieve in the drying-basket

taken out, the tea turned over, the sieve replaced, the tap given,

and the basket placed again over the fire. As the tea becomes crisp,

it is taken out and thrown into a large receiving-basket, until all

the quantity on hand has become alike dried and crisp, from which

basket it is again removed into the drying-basket, but now in much

larger quantities. It is then piled up eight and ten inches high on

the sieve in the drying-basket; in the centre a small passage is

left for the hot air to ascend; the fire that was before bright and

clear has now ashes thrown on it to deaden its effect, and the

shakings that have been collected are put on the top of all; the tap

is given, and the basket, with the greatest care, is put over the

fire. Another basket is placed over the whole, to throw back any

heat that may ascend. Now and then it is taken off, and put on the

receiver; the hands, with the fingers wide apart, are run down the

sides of the basket to the sieve, and the tea gently turned over,

the passage in the centre again made, &c., and the basket again

placed on the fire. It is from time to time examined, and when the

leaves have become so crisp that they break by the slightest

pressure of the fingers, it is taken off, when the tea is ready. All

the different kinds of leaves underwent the same operation. The tea

is now, little by little, put into boxes, and first pressed down

with the hands and then with the feet (clean stockings having been

previously put on).

There is a small room inside of the tea-house, seven cubits square,

and five high, having bamboos laid across on the top to support a

network of bamboo, and the sides of the room smeared with mud to

exclude the air. When there is wet weather, and the leaves cannot be

dried in the sun, they are laid out on the top of this room, on the

network, on an iron pan, the same as is used to heat the leaves;

some fire is put into it, either of grass or bamboo, so that the

flame may ascend high; the pan is put on a square wooden frame, that

has wooden rollers on its legs, and pushed round and round this

little room by one man, while another feeds the fire, the leaves on

the top being occasionally turned; when they are a little withered,

the fire is taken away, and the leaves brought down and manufactured

into tea, in the same manner as if it had been dried in the sun. But

this is not a good plan, and never had recourse to if it can

possibly be avoided."

In 1810, a number of tea plants were introduced into Brazil, with a

colony of Chinese to superintend their culture. The plantation was

formed near Rio Janeiro and occupied several acres. It did not,

however, answer the expectations formed of it, the shrubs became

stunted, cankered and moss grown, and the Chinese finally abandoned

them. The culture was again tried in 1817. The plantations lie between

the equator and 10 deg. south latitude, nearly parallel with Java, and

of course are exposed to the same intemperate climate, and suffer in a

similar manner. In addition to these physical disabilities, the

enterprise has had to contend with the natural indolence of the

natives, the universal repugnance to labor, the crushing effect of

committing so important a work to the superintendence of slaves and

overseers, the amazing fertility of the soil, the extent of

unappropriated land, the ease with which subsistence can be obtained

and the low degree of personal enterprise. These are frowning

features, and would rather seem to indicate a failure, before the

attempt at cultivation was made. But, nevertheless, the plant does

nourish to some extent, even in Brazil, under all the disparaging

circumstances which surround it. From the Brazilian Consul General, I

learn that although the plant for some years after its introduction

received but little attention and was almost abandoned, yet within the

last few years the cultivation has revived and is now prosecuted with

energy and with a corresponding success. Some of the large and wealthy

land proprietors of Brazil have directed their attention to tea

culture, and one gentleman has given up his coffee plantation and

directed his attention exclusively to the cultivation of the tea

plant. The market of Rio Janeiro is said to be largely and almost

entirely supplied with tea of domestic growth, and the public mind is

awakened to the prominent fact, that no plant cultivated in Brazil is

more profitable and none is deserving more decided attention.

_Experimental cultivation of the tea plant in Brazil_.--I now proceed

to notice the report of M. Guillemin, presented in 1839 to the French

Minister of agriculture and commerce, on the culture and preparation

of the tea plant in Brazil--in a climate of the southern hemisphere

just equivalent to that of Cuba in the northern. The report enters

very minutely into the incidents of temperature and cultivation, and

cannot fail to strike the attention when disclosing the important

fact, that the tea plant grows luxuriantly with the coffee and other

valuable plants of the equatorial regions, and even on low-lying

lands, on a level with the sea, and exposed to the full rays of a

burning sun.

"As the tea shrub," says M. Guillemin, "is grown in several

plantations about two days' journey distant from Rio, in different

directions, I hired a lodging at St. Theresa, sufficiently

contiguous to all the establishments I meant to visit, and further

recommended by having a small garden attached to the house, where I

could deposit the growing plants of tea, and sow seeds. During the

month of November, except when hindered by slight indispositions

incidental to the Brazilian climate, I pursued my researches, and

principally in the charming valleys of the Tijuka and Gavia

mountains. There, together with coffee, their principal product, the

most valuable plants of the equatorial region are cultivated.

In the middle of November I had an opportunity of observing the

method pursued when culling the tea, which is performed by black

slaves, chiefly women and children. They carefully selected the

tenderest and pale-green leaves, nipping off with their nails the

young leaf bud, just below where the first or second leaf was

unfolded. One whole field had already undergone this operation;

nothing but tea shrubs stripped of their foliage remained. The

inspector assured me that the plant received no injury from this

process, and that the harvest of leaves was to become permanent by

carefully regulating it, so that the foliage should have grown again

on the first stripped shrubs at the period when the leaves of the

last plant were pulled off. About 12,000 tea shrubs are grown in

this garden: they are regularly planted in quincunxes, and stand

about one metre distant from each other; the greater number are

stunted and shabby looking, probably owing to the aspect of the

ground, which _lies low, on the level of the sea, and exposed to the

full rays of a burning sun_; perhaps the quality of the soil may

have something to do with it, though this is apparently similar to

what prevails in the province of Rio Janeiro. This soil, which is

highly argillaceous, and strongly tinged with tritoxyde of iron, is

formed by the decomposition of gneiss or granite rocks. The flat

situation of this tea ground is unfavorable to the improvement of

the soil, for the heavy rains which wash away the superfluous sand

from slanting situations, of course only consolidate more strongly

the remaining component parts, where the land lies perfectly level,

and thus the tea plants suffer from this state of soil.

The kindness of M. de Brandao, director of the Botanic Garden,

induced him to invite me, shortly after I had seen the above

described tea ground, that I might inspect all the operations for

the preparation of tea. I found that the picking of the leaves had

been commenced very early in the morning, and two kilogrammes were

pulled that were still wet with dew. These were deposited in a

well-polished iron vase, the shape being that of a very broad flat

pan, and set on a brick furnace, where a brisk wooden fire kept the

temperature nearly up to that of boiling water. A negro, after

carefully washing his hands, kept continually stirring the leaves in

all directions, till their external dampness was quite evaporated,

and the leaves acquired the softness of linen rag, and a small pinch

of them, when rolled in the hollow of the hand, became a little ball

that would not unroll. In this state the mass of tea was divided

into two portions, and a negro took each and set them on a hurdle,

formed of strips of bamboo, laid at right angles, where they shook

and kneaded the leaves in all directions for a quarter of an hour,

an operation which requires habit to be properly performed, and on

which much of the beauty of the product depends. It is impossible to

describe this process; the motion of the hands is rapid and very

irregular, and the degree of pressure requisite varies according to

circumstances; generally speaking, the young negro women are

considered more clever at this part of the work than older persons.

As this process of rolling and twisting the leaves goes on, their

green juice is drained off through the hurdle, and it is essential

that the tea be perfectly divested of the moisture, which is acrid,

and even corrosive, the bruising and kneading being especially

designed to break the parenchyma of the leaf, and permit the escape

of the sap.

When the leaves have been thus twisted and rolled, they are replaced

in the great iron pan, and the temperature raised till the hand can

no longer bear the heat at the bottom. For upwards of an hour the

negroes are then constantly employed in separating, shaking, and

throwing the foliage up and down, in order to facilitate the

dessication, and much neatness and quickness of hand were requisite,

that the manipulators might neither burn themselves nor allow the

masses of leaves to adhere to the hot bottom of the pan. It is easy

to see that, if the pan was placed within another pan filled with

boiling water, and the leaves were stirred with an iron spatula,

much trouble might be obviated. Still, the rolling and drying of the

leaves were successfully performed; they became more and more crisp,

and preserved their twisted shape, except some few which seemed too

old and coriaceous to submit to be rolled up. The tea was then

placed on a sieve, with wide apertures of regular sizes, and formed

of flat strips of bamboo. The best rolled leaves, produced from the

tips of the buds and the tenderest leaves, passed through this

sieve, and were subsequently fanned, in order to separate any

unrolled fragments which might have passed through them; this

produce was called _Imperial_, or _Uchim Tea_. It was again laid in

the pan till it acquired the leaden grey tint, which proved its

perfect dryness, and any defective leaf which had escaped the

winnowing and sifting was picked out by hand. The residue, which was

left from the first fanning, was submitted to all the operations of

winnowing, sifting, and scorching, and it then afforded the _Fine

Hyson Tea_ of commerce; while the same operations performed on the

residuum of it yielded the _Common Hyson_; and the refuse of the

third quality again afforded the _Coarse Hyson_.--Finally, the

broken and unrolled foliage, which were rejected in the last

sittings, furnish what is called _Family Tea_, and the better kind

of which is called _Chato_, and the inferior _Chuto_. The latter

sort is never sold, but kept for consumption in the families of the

growers.

Such is the mode of preparation pursued at Rio Janeiro, though I

must add that the process employed at the Botanic Garden being most

carefully performed in order to serve as a model for private

cultivators of tea, the produce is superior to the generality, so

that we dare not judge of all Brazilian tea by what is raised at the

garden of Rio. I was also assured, that at Saint Paul each grower

had his own peculiar method, influencing materially the quality of

the tea, which decided me to visit that province, where I hoped to

gain valuable information respecting the culture and fabrication of

tea, especially considered as an article of commerce.

In the interim, the month of December proving excessively hot and

rainy, so as to forbid any distant excursions, I turned my attention

to the important object of procuring _tea plants_ in number and

state fit for exportation; and, observing that almost all the shrubs

I saw were too large for this purpose, I applied to M. de Brandao

for his help and advice. This gentleman, in the most courteous

manner, offered me either seeds or slips from his own tea shrubs.

The striking of the latter was, he owned, a hazardous and uncertain

affair, though it had the probable advantage of securing a finer

kind of plant than could with certainty be raised from seed. I,

however, began by asking him for newly gathered seeds, in order to

set them in my little nursery garden at Santa Theresa, and he

obligingly gave me a thousand of the seeds, perfectly ripe and

sound, which is easily known by the purplish-brown color of their

integument. M. Houlet immediately set about preparing the soil in

which to plant these seeds, and the earth being excessively

argillaceous and hard, much digging, manuring, and dressing were

needful; in a word, we neglected no precautions which could

contribute to the growth of our seeds. In the interim I allowed not

a single dry day to elapse without visiting the country house near

Rio, in all of which I saw something more or less interesting,

either in the culture of tea, or other vegetable productions of

commercial value.

* * * * *

I detected, growing not unfrequently in the environs of Rio, the

_Ilex Paraguayensis_ of M. Auguste de St. Hilaire, perfectly

identical with the tree which the Jesuits planted in the missions of

Paraguay, and whose foliage is an article of great importance

throughout Spanish America, and vended under the name of _Paraguay

Tea_. A living plant of this shrub was brought home by me, and

placed in the Royal Garden at Paris, as well as a species of

Vanilla, and many other rare and interesting plants. I also made a

valuable collection of woods employed for dyeing, building, and

cabinet work, with samples of their flowers, fruits, and leaves, to

facilitate botanical determination.

Early in January, 1839, M. Houlet began anew sowing tea, not only in

the open ground in our little garden, but also in pans, in order to

facilitate the lifting of the young plants, and putting them into

the cases that I had brought for the purpose. The heat being

excessive, we purchased mats, that we might shelter them from the

sun, and we gave them water far more frequently. Many of the seeds

that we had sown a month previously, were already appearing above

the ground, but the soil being of too compact a nature, some did not

come up, which warned us to make choice in future of a lighter kind

of soil.

The period now arrived when I was to visit the tea plantations in

the province of St. Paul; and hoping that the cultivators would give

me some of the young shrubs, I took M. Houlet with me, leaving the

charge of our collections and seedlings to M. Pissis, a French

geologist and engineer, with whom I had formed an intimate

acquaintance, and who most obligingly offered to attend to them

during my absence. Many were the influential persons at Rio Janeiro,

who gave me introductory letters to the proprietors and tea growers

of St. Paul.

We started on the 15th January, by steam-boat, and in two days

reached Santos, the principal port in the province of St. Paul;

thence crossing the great chain of mountains, named the Serra do

Mar, in caravans drawn by mules, we reached the city of St. Paul on

the 20th January, where I experienced the warmest reception from the

governor, two ex-governors, and some other gentlemen.

* * * * *

Accompanied by M.J. Gomez and a M. Barandier, an historical painter,

whom the desire to visit a new country, and to see its inhabitants,

had induced to become _my compagnon de voyage_, we visited almost

immediately a M. Feigo, ex-Regent of the Empire, and now President

of the Provincial Senate. We found this venerable ecclesiastic at

his country-house, two leagues distant from the city, and here we

saw all the process pursued on the tea leaf, commencing by the

bruising, drying, and scorching of a large quantity of foliage

picked the preceding evening. The chief difference that struck me in

the mode here adopted, was, that the tender, flexible, and not

brittle leaves, were gathered with the petiole and tip extremity of

every bud, and that some water was put with them into the iron pan,

in which the negresses twisted, squeezed, broke and shook the masses

of foliage. The operation was, on the whole, more neatly performed

than at Rio. When the tea was perfectly dry and removed from the

pan, it was placed aside in a box, shaded from the air and light,

and was considered ready for present use, on the spot; but M. Feigo

informed me, that when sent to a distance, the cases were

hermetically closed, and the tea underwent an extra dessication over

the fire.

The plantations belonging to M. Feigo, and surrounding his chagara,

are extensive, containing about 20,000 tea shrubs, of fine growth

and high vigor, most of them six or eight years old, set in regular

lines, a metre asunder from each other, and the lines with a metre

and a half between them. The soil is excellent,

argillaceo-ferruginous, as is generally the case near St. Paul.

In the Botanic Garden at St. Paul, some squares are devoted to the

growth of tea; but I am not aware that the leaves are ever subject

to preparation.

M. da Luz had invited us to inspect his tea-grounds near Nossa

Senhora da Penha, and I went thither, accompanied by Messrs.

Barandier and Houlet. The cultivation is admirable, the soil

excellent, and the tea-plants peculiarly vigorous. Each shrub was so

placed that a man can easily go all round it, and _young plants,

self-sown, were springing up below every old one_; of these offsets,

I was made welcome to as many as I could take away, and should have

had a great stock, but that the ground had been very recently

cleared. M. da Luz showed me his magazines of prepared tea, which

were extensive and well stocked.

Hence I went to the property of a lady, Donna Gertrude Gedioze

Larceda, situated at the foot of Jarigur, a mountain famed for its

gold mines, and passed two days in exploring this celebrated

locality, and then visited the Colonel Anastosio on my way back to

St. Paul. These plantations are in the most prosperous condition,

situated on a sloping and well-manured tract behind the habitations.

The shrubs are generally kept low, and frequently cut, so as to,

make them branching, by which the process of picking the leaves is

rendered easier. There may be 60,000 or 70,000 plants, but a third

of them were only set a year before. Every arrangement is

excellently conducted here; the pans kept very clean, though perhaps

rather thin from long use and the fierceness of the fires. But the

general good order that prevails, speaks much in favor of the tea

produced in this neighbourhood. The colonel showed me his warehouse,

where the tea is stored in iron jars, narrow-necked and closed by a

tight fitting stopper. I ventured to put some questions to Colonel

Anastosio respecting the sale of the produce. He gave me to

understand that he was by no means eager to sell; but, confident of

the good quality, he waited till application was made to him for it,

as the tea is thought to improve by time, and the price is kept up

by there being a small supply. With respect to the cost of its

production in Brazil, he said, this was so great that, to make it

answer to the grower, a price of not less than 2,000 reis, about six

francs (5s.), must be got for each pound. The whole labor in Brazil

is done by slaves, who certainly do not cost much to keep, but who,

on the other hand, work as little as they can help, having no

interest in the occupation. The slaves, too, bear a high price, and

the chances of mortality, with the exorbitant value of money in

Brazil, augment their selling value.

The Major da Luz kindly presented me with 300 young tea-plants,

which he had caused his negroes to pull up for me; and in an

adjoining farm, where an immense tract planted with tea is now

allowed to run to waste, being no object of value to the proprietor,

I was permitted to take all I could carry away; and in a single

day's time, M. Houlet and I, aided by some slaves, succeeded in

possessing ourselves of 3,000 young plants, which we carefully

arranged in bamboo baskets (here called cestos). To diminish the

weight, M. Houlet removed as little soil as possible; but carefully

wetted the roots before closing the baskets, and covered them with

banana leaves. In one garden, the largest I have seen devoted to the

growth of tea, but which is not particularly well kept, I saw that

the spaces between the shrubs were planted with _maize_, and the

bordering of the squares which intersect this vast plantation, and

the whole of which is inclosed with valleys of _Araucaria

Brasiliensis_, is formed of little dwarf tea-plants, which are kept

low by cutting their main shoots down to the level of the soil.

On the 8th of February I again embarked in the steam-boat to return

to Rio Janeiro, and when we came in sight of St. Sebastian, I left

M. Houlet to proceed to the city alone, charging him to take the

very greatest care of our package of tea-plants, as well as of the

nursery-ground at St. Theresa, while I should visit the flourishing

colony of Ubatuba, inhabited by French families, who cultivate most

successfully _coffee_, and other useful vegetables. After a

delightful sail through an archipelago of enchanting islands, I

landed at Pontagrossa, where I was most kindly received, and spent a

week, obtaining much and varied information, both respecting

cultivated plants and the kinds of trees which grow spontaneously in

the virgin forests of this lovely land, and afford valuable woods

for building, cabinet work, and dyeing. Finally, I visited the tea

plantations of M. Vigneron, which are remarkably fine, though their

owner finds a much more profitable employment in the growth of

_coffee_, which is very lucrative. He kindly gave me a quantity of

young tea-plants and chocolate trees. Reluctantly quitting these

worthy colonists, I re-embarked in a Brazilian galliot, which took

me back to Rio Janeiro in the close of February. There I found the

tea-plants from St. Paul, set by M. Houlet, in our garden at St.

Theresa, and I added to them the stock I had brought from Ubatuba.

All the very young ones had perished on the way, from the excessive

heat, and M. Houlet had much difficulty in saving the others.

* * * * *

M. Guillemin concludes his interesting narration with this partially

discouraging fact;--that though the culture of the tea-shrub

succeeds perfectly well in Brazil; though the gathering of the

foliage proceeds with hardly any interruption during the entire

year; though the quality (setting aside the aroma, which is believed

to be artificially added) is not inferior to that of the finest tea

from China--still the growers have not realised any large profits.

They have manufactured an immense quantity of tea, to judge by what

he saw in the warehouses at St. Paul, but they cannot afford to sell

it under six francs for the half kilogramme (a pound weight), which

is higher than Chinese tea of equally good quality. This is,

however, precisely one of those commodities in which free labour,

that is, the labor of a free peasant's family, the wife and

children, the young and the old, can successfully compete with slave

labor, and considerably undersell it. It is manifest, from the

remarks of M. Guillemin, that the cost for plantation slaves, under

a system apparently so profitable as labor without wages, is a dead

weight on the Brazilian planter."

_Paraguay Tea._--A species of holly (_Ilex Paraguensis_), which grows

spontaneously in the forest regions of Paraguay, and the interior of

South America, furnishes the celebrated beverage called _Yerba Mate_,

in South America. The evergreen leaf of this plant is from four to

five inches long; when prepared for use as tea it is reduced to

powder, and hence the decoction has to be quaffed by means of a tube

with a bulb perforated with small holes.

The leaves yield the same bitter principle called theine, which is

found in the leaf of the Chinese tea-plant, the coffee berry, &c.

Various other species of Ilex are sometimes employed in other parts of

South America for a similar purpose. Although the leaves may not

contain as much of the agreeable narcotic oil as those of the China

shrub, in consequence of the rude way in which it is collected and

prepared for use, yet it is much relished by European travellers in

South America, and would doubtless enter largely into consumption if

imported into this country at a moderate rate of duty.

The consumption in the various South American Republics is estimated

at thirty or forty millions of pounds annually. It is generally drank

without sugar or milk.

There are no correct data for calculating the exports, but some

authorities state the amount sent to Santa Fe and Buenos Ayres at

eight millions of pounds.

A great trade is carried on with it at Sta. Fe, where it is brought

from the Rio de la Plata. There are two sorts, one called "Yerba de

Palos," the other, which is finer, "Yerba de Carnini." Frezier tells

us that, in the earlier part of the 17th century, above 50,000

arrobas, or more than 12,000 cwt. of this herb were brought into Peru

from Paraguay, exclusive of about 25,000 arrobas taken to Chile; and

Father Charleroix, in his "History of Paraguay," states the quantity

shipped to Peru annually at 100,000 arrobas, or nearly 2,500,000 lbs.

My friend, Mr. W.P. Robertson, has favored me with some details as to

the production of Paraguay tea. His brother has graphically described

a visit he paid to the wastes or woods of the Yerba tree, with a

colony of manufacturers from Assumption. These woods were situated

chiefly in the country adjacent to a small miserable town called Villa

Real, about 150 miles higher up the river Paraguay than Assumption.

The master manufacturer, with about forty or fifty hired peons or

servants, mounted on mules, and a hundred bulls and sumpter mules, set

out on their expedition, and having discovered in the dense wood a

suitable locality, forthwith a settlement is established, and the

necessary wigwams for dwellings, &c., run up. The next step is the

construction of the "tatacua." This was a small space of ground,

about six feet square, of which the soil was beaten down with heavy

mallets, till it became a hard and consistent foundation. At the four

corners of this space, and at right angles, were driven in four very

strong stakes, while upon the surface of it were laid large logs of

wood. This was the place at which the leaves and small sprigs of the

yerba tree, when brought from the woods, were first scorched--fire

being set to the logs of wood within it. By the side of the tatacua

was spread an ample square net of hidework, of which, after the

scorched leaves were laid upon it, a peon gathered up the four corners

and proceeded with his burthen on his shoulders to the second place

constructed, the barbacue. This was an arch of considerable span, and

of which the support consisted of three strong trestles. The centre

trestle formed the highest part of the arch. Over this superstructure

were laid cross-bars strongly railed to stakes on either side of the

central supports, and so formed the roof of the arch. The leaves being

separated after the tatacua process, from the grosser boughs of the

yerba tree, were laid on this roof, under which a large fire was

kindled. Of this fire the flames ascended, and still further scorched

the leaves of the yerba. The two peons beneath the arch, with long

poles, took care, as far as they could, that no ignition should take

place; and in order to extinguish this, when it did occur, another

peon was stationed at the top of the arch. Along both sides of this

there were two deal planks, and, with a long stick in his hand, the

peon ran along these planks, and instantly extinguished any incipient

sparks of fire that appeared.

When the yerba was thoroughly scorched, the fire was swept from the

barbacue or arch; the ground was then swept, and pounded with heavy

mallets, into the hardest and smoothest substance. The scorched leaves

and very small twigs were then thrown down from the roof of the arch,

and, by means of a rude wooden mill, ground to powder.

The yerba or tea was now ready for use; and being conveyed to a larger

shed, previously erected for the purpose, was then received, weighed,

and stored by the overseer. The next and last process, and the most

laborious of all, was that of packing the tea. This was done by first

sewing together, in a square form, the half of a bull's hide, which

being still damp, was fastened by two of its corners to two strong

trestles, driven far into the ground. The packer then, with an

enormous stick, made of the heaviest wood, and having a huge block at

one end, and a pyramidal piece to give it a greater impulse at the

other, pressed, by repeated efforts, the yerba into the hide sack,

till he got it full to the brim. It then contained from 200 to 250

pounds, and being sewed up, and left to tighten over the contents as

the hide dried, it formed at the end of a couple of days, by exposure

to the sun, a substance as hard as stone, and almost as weighty and

impervious too.

Having described the process of making ready the yerba for use, we

will now accompany Mr. Robertson to the woods, to see how it is

collected.

"After all the preparations which I have detailed were completed

(and it required only three days to finish them), the peons sallied

forth from the yerba colony by couples. I accompanied two of the

stoutest and best of them. They had with them no other weapon than a

small axe; no other clothing than a girdle round their waist and a

red cap on their head; no other provision than a cigar, and a cow's

horn filled with water; and they were animated by no other hope or

desire, that I could perceive, than those of soon discovering a part

of the wood thickly studded with the yerba tree. They also desired

to find it as near as possible to the colonial encampment, in order

that the labor of carrying the rough branches to the scene of

operations might be as much as possible diminished.

We had scarcely skirted for a quarter of a mile the woods which shut

in the valley where we were bivouacked, when we came upon numerous

clumps of the yerba tree. It was of all sizes, from that of the

shrub to that of the full-grown orange tree; the leaves of it were

very like those of that beautiful production. The smaller the plant,

the better is the tea which is taken from it considered to be.

To work with their hatchets went the peons, and in less than a

couple of hours they had gathered a mountain of branches, and piled

them up in the form of a haystack. Both of them then filled their

large ponchos with the coveted article of commerce in its raw state,

and they marched off with their respective loads. Having deposited

this first load within the precincts of the colony, the peons

returned for a second, and so on till they had cleared away the

whole mass of branches and of leaves cut and collected during that

day. When I returned to the colony I found the peons coming by two

and two, from every part of the valley, all laden in the same way.

There were twenty tatacuas, twenty barbacues, and twenty pies of the

yerba cut and ready for manufacture. Two days after that the whole

colony was in a blaze, tatacuas and barbacues were enveloped in

smoke; on the third day all was stowed away in the shed; and on the

fourth the peons again went out to procure more of the boughs and

leaves."--(_Letters on Paraguay_, vol. ii. p. 142-147).

Each peon or laborer, going into the woods for six months, can procure

eight arrobas, or 200 lbs. of yerba a day. This, at the rate of two

rials, or 1s. for each arroba, would make his wages per day 8s.; and

this for six months' work, at six days in the week, would produce to

the laborer a sum of £57 12s.

Wilcockes, in his "History of Buenos Ayres," published in 1807,

states:--"Though the herb is principally bought by the merchants of

Buenos Ayres, it is not to that place that it is carried, no more

being sent thither than is wanted for the consumption of its

inhabitants and those of the vicinity; but the greatest part is

dispatched to Santa Fe and Cordova, thence to be forwarded to Potosi

and Mendoza. The quantity exported to Peru is estimated at 100,000

arrobas, and to Chile 40,000. The remainder is consumed in Paraguay,

Tucuman, and the other provinces. It is conveyed in parcels of six or

seven arrobas, by waggons, from Santa Fe to Jugui, and thence by mules

to Potosi, La Paz, and into Peru proper. About four piastres per

arroba is the price in Paraguay, and at Potosi it fetches from eight

to nine, and more in proportion as it is carried further."

SUGAR.

Sugar is obtained from many grasses; and, indeed, is common in a large

number of plants. It is procured in Italy from _Sorghum saccharatum_;

in China, from _Saccharum sinense_; in Brazil, from _Gynerium

saccharoides_; in the West Indies, from _saccharum violaceum_; and in

many other parts of the world from _S officinarrum_. The last two are

commonly known as sugar canes, and they are generally considered as

varieties of a single species, _S. officinarum_, which is now widely

spread over different parts of the world.

Some curious specimens of palm sugars were exhibited at the Great

Exhibition of 1851, among others,--gomuti palm sugar (_Arenga

saccharifera_) from Java; date palm sugar, from the Deccan; nipa

sugar, from the stems of _Nipa fruticans_, and sugar from the fleshy

flowers of _Bassia latifolia_,--an East Indian tree.

Among the other sugars shown were beet root sugar, maple sugar, date

sugar, from Dacca, sugar from the butter tree (_Bassia butyracea_),

produced in the division of Rohekkund, in India; and sugar candy,

crystallized by the natives of Calcutta and other parts of India.

Sugar and molasses from the grape, were also shown from Spain, Tunis

and the Zollverein.

Sugar, or sugar candy, has been made in China from very remote

antiquity, and large quantities have been exported from India, in all

ages, whence it is most probable that it found its way to Rome.

The principal impurities to be sought for in cane sugar are inorganic

matter, water, molasses, farina, and grape, or starch sugar. The

latter substance is occasionally, for adulterating purposes, added in

Europe to cane sugar; it may be detected by the action of concentrated

sulphuric acid and of a solution of caustic potassa; the former

blackens cane sugar, but does not affect the starch sugar, while

potassa darkens the color of starch sugar, but does not alter that of

cane sugar. But the copper test is far more delicate. Add to the

solution to be tested, a few drops of blue vitriol, and then a

quantity of potassa solution, and apply heat; if the cane sugar is

pure, the liquor will remain blue, while, if it be adulterated with

starch sugar, it will assume a reddish yellow color.

Inorganic matter is determined by incineration, farina by the iodine

test, water by drying at 210 deg., and molasses by getting rid of it

by re-crystalization from alcohol, as also by the color and moisture

of the article.

The natural impurities of sugar are gum and tannin; gum is detected by

giving a white precipitate with diacetate of lead, and tannin by

giving a black coloration or precipitate with persulphate of iron.

An experienced sugar dealer easily judges of the value of sugar by the

taste, smell, specific gravity, moisture and general appearance.

The value of molasses may be determined by drying at 220 degs., and by

the taste.

The commercial demand for sugar is mainly supplied from the juice of

the cane, which contains it in greater quantity and purity than any

other plant, and offers the greatest facilities for its extraction.

Although sugar, identical in its character, exists in the maple, the

coco-nut, maize, the beet root, and mango, and is economically

obtained from these to a considerable extent, yet it is not

sufficiently pure to admit of ready separation from the foreign matter

combined with it, at least by the simple mechanical means, the

ordinary producers usually have at command; unless carried onto a

large extent, and with suitable machinery and chemical knowledge and

appliances.

The different species of commercial sugar usually met with in this

country, are four, viz:--brown, or muscovado sugar (commonly called

moist sugar); clayed sugar, refined or loaf sugar, and sugar candy;

these varieties are altogether dependent on the difference in the

methods employed in their manufacture.

The cultivation of the sugar cane, and the manufacture of sugar, were

introduced into Europe from the East, by the Saracens, soon after

their conquests, in the ninth century. It is stated by the Venetian

historians, that their countrymen imported sugar from Sicily, in the

twelfth century, at a cheaper rate than they could obtain it from

Egypt, where it was then extensively made. The first plantations in

Spain were at Valencia; but they were extended to Granada, Mercia,

Portugal, Madeira, and the Canary Islands, as early as the beginning

of the fifteenth century. From Gomera, one of these islands, the sugar

cane was introduced into the West Indies, by Columbus, in his second

voyage to America in 1493. It was cultivated to some extent in St.

Domingo in 1506, where it succeeded better than in any of the other

islands. In 1518, there were twenty-eight plantations in that colony,

established by the Spaniards, where an abundance of sugar was made,

which, for a long period, formed the principal part of the European

supplies. Barbados, the oldest English settlement in the West Indies,

began to export sugar in 1646, and as far back as the year 1676 the

trade required four hundred vessels, averaging one hundred and fifty

tons burden.

The common sugar cane is a perennial plant, very sensitive to cold,

and is, therefore, restricted in its cultivation to regions bordering

on the tropics, where there is little or no frost. In the Eastern

hemisphere its production is principally confined to situations

favorable to its growth, lying between the fortieth parallel of north

latitude and a corresponding degree south. On the Atlantic side of

the Western continent, it will not thrive beyond the thirty-third

degree of north latitude and the thirty-fifth parallel south. On the

Pacific side it will perfect its growth some five degrees further

north or south. From the flexibility of this plant, it is highly

probable that it is gradually becoming more hardy, and will eventually

endure an exposure and yield a profitable return much further north,

along the borders of the Mississippi and some of its tributaries, than

it has hitherto been produced. In most parts of Louisiana the canes

yield three crops from one planting. The first season is denominated

"plant cane," and each of the subsequent growths, "ratoons." But,

sometimes, as on the prairies of Attakapas and Opelousas, and the

higher northern range of its cultivation, it requires to be replanted

every year. Within the tropics, as in the West Indies and elsewhere,

the ratoons frequently continue to yield abundantly for twelve or

fifteen years from the same roots.

The cultivation of this plant is principally confined to the West

Indies, Venezuela, Brazil, Mauritius, British India, China, Japan, the

Sunda, Phillippine, and Sandwich Islands, and to the southern

districts of the United States. The varieties most cultivated in the

latter are the striped blue and yellow ribbon, or Java, the red

ribbon, violet, from Java, the Creole, crystalline or Malabar, the

Otaheite, the purple, the yellow, the purple-banded, and the grey

canes. The quantity of sugar produced on an acre varies from five

hundred to three thousand pounds, averaging, perhaps, from eight

hundred to one thousand pounds.

Six to eight pounds of the saccharine juice of the plant, yield one

pound of raw sugar; from 16 to 20 cart-loads of canes, ought to make a

hogshead of sugar, if thoroughly ripe. The weight necessary to

manufacture 10,000 hhds of sugar, is usually estimated at 250,000

tons, or 25 tons per hhd. of 15 or 16 cwt.

The quantity of sugar now produced in our colonies is in excess of the

demands of the consumers, that is, of their demands cramped as they

are by the duties still levied on sugar consumed in Great Britain,

imposed for the purposes of revenue; the high duty on all other but

indigenous sugar, consumed all over the continent, imposed to promote

the manufacture of beet-root sugar, and the legal duty levied on all

other than indigenous sugar used in the United States, for the purpose

of protecting the sugar production of that country; and so long as

that excess exists---until a further reduction of duties shall

increase consumption and cause sugar to be used for many purposes

which the present high rates prohibit its being applied to--any

improvement which may be effected in the quality--any increase which

may take place in the quantity of colonial sugar--will only result

infinitely more to the benefits of the consumers than the producers.

In 1700 the quantity consumed in Great Britain and Ireland was only

about 200,000 cwt. In 1852, including molasses, &c., it was not less

than 8,000,000 cwt., a forty-fold increase in the century and a-half.

Taking the whole population last year, it was nearly 28 lbs. per

head. In 1832 the consumption in Great Britain alone was put down by

Mr. M'Culloch at 23 lbs.; and as my estimate includes Ireland, where

the consumption is notoriously small, we may infer that it has

increased in Great Britain since 1832 at least 5 lb. per head. As the

allowance to servants is from ¾ lb. to 1 lb. per week, it may be

assumed that 50 lb. a year, at least, is not too much for grown

persons. In sugar-producing countries the quantity consumed is

enormous; the labourers live on it in the manufacturing season; and a

Duke of Beaufort, who died about 1720, consumed one pound daily for

forty years, and enjoyed excellent health till he was seventy years of

age. The consumption of sugar has increased considerably since it has

become cheap; and we may expect, therefore, that the consumption will

extend more rapidly than ever. The whole quantity consumed in Europe

last year, including beet-root sugar, was not less than 16,000,000

cwt. If peace be preserved and prosperity continue, the market for

sugar will extend amazingly, and force the cultivation by free men in

all tropical countries.

British East India and Total of B.P.

Years. Plantation Mauritius E.I. and Consumption

tons. tons Mauritius tons.

1838-39 176,033 54,017 230,050 195,483

39-40 141,219 60,358 201,577 191,279

40-41 110,739 52,232 162,971 179,741

41-42 107,560 97,792 205,352 202,971

42-43 123,685 80,429 204,114 199,491

43-44 125,178 78,943 204,121 202,259

44-45 122,639 81,959 204,598 206,999

45-46 142,384 102,690 245,074 244,030

47-48 164,646 125,829 290,475 289,537

48-49 139,868 107,844 247,712 308,131

49-50 142,203 121,850 264,053 296,119

50-51 129,471 119,317 248,788 305,616

51-52 148,000 110,000 258,000 312,778

--The above figures refer to raw sugar only.

At these periods, calculating from 1838-39, the duty on British sugar

ranged from 24s. down to 10s. per cwt., and foreign slave-grown sugar

from 63s. down to 14s. The greatest impetus was given to foreign sugar

when the duties were reduced, in 1846.

The extension of sugar cultivation in various countries where the

climate is suitable, has recently attracted considerable attention

among planters and merchants. The Australian Society of Sydney offered

its Isis Gold Medal recently to the person who should have planted,

before May, 1851, the greatest number of sugar canes in the colony. I

have not heard whether any claim was put in for the premium, but I

fear that the gold fever has diverted attention from any new

agricultural pursuit, and that honorary gold medals are therefore

unappreciated. Moreton Bay and the northern parts of the colony of New

South Wales, are admirably suited to the growth of all descriptions of

tropical products.

The Natal Agricultural Society is also making great exertions to

promote sugar culture in that settlement. Mr. E. Morewood, one of the

oldest colonists, has about 100 acres under cultivation with the cane,

and I have seen some very excellent specimens of the produce,

notwithstanding the want of suitable machinery to grind the cane and

boil the juice. Many planters from the East Indies and Mauritius are

settling there. His Royal Highness Prince Albert awarded, through the

Society of Arts, a year or two ago, a gold medal, worth 100 guineas,

to Mr. J.A. Leon, for his beautiful work descriptive of new and

improved machinery and processes employed in the cultivation and

preparation of sugar in the British colonies, designed to economise

labor and increase production.

The centrifugal machines, recently brought into use, for separating

the molasses from the sugar, more quickly than the old-fashioned

method of coolers, have tended to cheapen the production and simplify

the processes of sugar making. The planters object, however, to the

high prices which they are charged for these machines, so simple in

their construction; and that they are not allowed, by the patent laws,

to obtain them in the cheaper markets of France and Belgium.

Great loss has hitherto taken place annually, in the sugar colonies,

through the drainage of the molasses, resulting from the imperfect

processes in use; but this can now be obviated, by the use of the

centrifugal machine. It is a modification of the "hydro-extractor,"

and is the invention of Mr. Finzel, of Bristol.

The machine being filled with sugar, appropriately placed, is rapidly

revolved, and a powerful ceutrifugal force generated; the moisture is

speedily removed to the circumference of the revolving vessel, and

passes off through apertures adapted for the purpose.

Various other improvements in the making of sugar have been carried

into effect within the last few years, by Dr. Scoffern, Messrs. Oxland

and M. Melsens, but the description of these would occupy too much of

my space, and those who are desirous of growing sugar on an extensive

scale, I must refer to Dr. Evans' "Sugar Planter's Manual," Mr. Wray's

"Practical Sugar Planter," Agricola's "Letters on Sugar Farming," and

other works which treat largely and exclusively of the subject.

An announcement has recently been made, that a Mr. Ramos, of Porto

Rico, has discovered some new dessicating agent, to be used in sugar

making, which is to cost next to nothing, but improves most materially

the quality of the sugar made, and also increases considerably the

quantity obtained by the ordinary process.

The average annual quantity of cane sugar produced and sent into the

markets of the civilised world, at the present time, may be taken at

1,500,000 tons, exclusive of the amount grown and manufactured for

local consumption in India, China, Cochin-China, and the Malay

Archipelago, of which no certain statistics exist, but which has been

estimated at about another million tons.

So far back as 1844, the Calcutta "Star," in an article on sugar,

estimated the domestic consumption in India, at 500,000 tons. This is

considerably below the mark, even if India is taken in its limited

signification, as including only British subjects. On this estimate

the 94,000,000 of British subjects, men, women and children, would not

individually consume more than one pound avoirdupois by the month. A

fat, hungry Brahmin, at any of the festivals given by the great, will

digest for his own share four pounds, without at all embarrassing his

stomach.

Assuming the million and a half of tons that find their way into

civilized markets, to represent an average value at the place of

production of £15 per ton, we have here the representation of

£22,500,000 sterling. But this value may fairly be increased by

one-fourth.

The whole exportable production of the sugar-growing countries was

found to be, in 1844, about 780,000 tons, of which Cuba furnished

200,000 tons. In 1845, notwithstanding Cuba only produced 80,000 tons,

the increase from other sources was so considerable (namely:--the

British Colonial supply 40,000, United States 40,000, Porto Rico

15,000, Brazil 10,000 tons) that the total produce fell very little

short of the previous year--having reached 764,000 tons.

The present SUPPLY of sugar to the markets of Europe, is nearly as

follows:--

Cwts.

England 8,000,000

France 2,550,000

German League 1,350,000

Prussia 220,000

Austria, (ten Provinces) 560,000

Belgium 294,000

Other States not defined.

The present DEMAND, according to the estimated consumption per head

(28 lbs.), found to exist in England, where taxation is favorable, and

the price moderate, would be about 3¼; million tons, viz.:--

Cwts.

England 8,000,000

France 8,875,000

Germany 5,750,000

Prussia 4,100,000

Austria 8,642,857

Belgium 1,250,000

Russia 15,250,000

Rest of Europe 12,500,000

The whole annual PRODUCTION of the world is estimated by another party

at 1,471,000,000 lbs., of which the United States produce 150,000,000

lbs., including 40,000,000 lbs. of maple sugar. Of the whole amount of

sugar produced, Europe consumes about 648,700 tons, divided nearly as

follows:--

lbs.

Great Britain 803,360,096

France 160,080,000

Belgium 19,840,000

Netherlands 42,000,000

Russia 70,000,000

Denmark and Sweden 22,000,000

German Zollverein 101,300,000

Other parts of Germany 160,000,000

Austria 50,000,000

-------------

1,428,580,096

The following figures show the quantities of raw sugar in general, in

tons, imported into the British markets for the last five years,

compared with consumption:--

Entire British

Years. Importations. Consumption. Surplus.

1847 415,289 290,281 125,008

1848 354,834 309,424 45,410

1849 362,087 299,041 63,046

1850 332,470 310,391 22,089

1851 419,083 329,561 89,472

1852 360,033 358,642 1,391

Deduced from Parliamentary Paper, No. 461, Session 1853.

The consumption of sugar then in the whole world may be roughly

estimated at two and a half million tons, of which the United Kingdom

may now be put down for 350,000; the rest of Europe 420,000, and the

United States 300,000.

The United States produce about 140,000 tons of cane and maple sugar,

which are exclusively used for home consumption, the remainder of

their requirements being made up by foreign importation. The American

consumption, which in 1851 amounted to 133,000 tons of sugar cane

reached last year a total of 321,000 tons, almost as much as England

consumed--358,000--and more than the consumption of 100,000,000 of

persons on the continent.

The whole production of tropical sugar, is about one million and

a-half tons, while the consumption is probably two million tons; but

the manufacture of sugar from beet root, maple and other sources,

supplies the deficiency.

The total quantities of sugar, and molasses as sugar, consumed in the

United Kingdom in the last six years, were, according to a

Parliamentary paper, No. 292, of the last session, as follows:--

Cwt. sugar. Cwt. molasses.

1847 4,723,232 1,256,421

1848 5,003,318 865,752

1849 5,283,729 1,021,065

1850 5,570,461 752,027

1851 5,043,872 1,522,405

1852 7,203,631 799,942

The returns further specify that the annual average consumption of

_British colonial sugar_, in the five years ending 1851, was 5,124,922

cwt.; and in the five years ending 1846, was 4,579,054 cwt.; the

average consumption of British colonial sugar, has, therefore,

exceeded in the five years since the duties were reduced, in 1846, the

average consumption for the five previous years by 545,868 cwt. per

annum; or in the aggregate in the five years, the excess has been

3,239,338 cwt. The quantity consumed in the year ending December,

1852, was 4,033,879 cwt.[16] There can be no doubt whatever, that the

consumption of sugar in Great Britain is capable of very large

increase; moderate cost, and the removal of restrictions to its

general use, being the main elements required to bring it about. The

question of revenue must of course be a material consideration with

Government; but recent experience certainly leads to the conclusion

that it would not suffer under a further reduction of duty.

The revenue derived from sugar before the reduction of the duty, was

five millions per annum; in the past two years it reached nearly four

millions.

The reduction in duties which took place in 1845, may be said to have

answered the expectations formed of it, as regards the increase of

consumption, which there is no doubt would have even gone beyond the

estimate, if the failure in the crop of sugar in Cuba--that most

important island, which usually yields one-fifth of the cane crop of

the whole world--had not driven up prices in the general market of the

continent, and, in consequence, diverted the supply of free labor

sugar from this country. As it was, however, the consumption of the

United Kingdom, which in 1844 was 206,472 tons, in 1845 was not less

than 243,000--Sir Robert Peel's estimate was 250,000 tons--the average

reduction in price to the consumer during the latter year having been

20 per cent. The large increase in subsequent years I have already

shown.

The consumption of sugar we find, then, has been steadily and rapidly

increasing in this country, and if we add together to the refined and

raw sugar and molasses used, it will be seen that the consumption of

1852 amounted to 400,178 tons; which is at the rate of 29 lbs. per

head of the population per annum. Whilst the quantity retained for

home consumption in the United Kingdom, in 1844; was but 4,130,000

cwt., the amount had risen in 1852 to upwards of 8,000,000 cwt.

Sugar unrefined, entered for home consumption.

Colonial Raw. Foreign Raw. Total.

Cwt. Cwt. Cwt.

1848 5,936,355 1,225,866 6,162,221

1849 5,424,248 498,038 5,922,386

1850 5,201,206 911,115 6,112,321

1851 5,872,288 1,383,286 6,255,574

1852 6,241,581 687,269 6,928,850

To the foregoing should be added the following quantities of refined

sugar and molasses, entered for home consumption.

Refined Sugar and Candy. Molasses. Total

Cwt. Cwt. Cwt.

1848 46,292 637,050 683,342

1849 75,392 812,330 887,722

1850 116,744 917,588 1,034,362

1851 338,734 773,035 1,111,769

1852 274,781 799,942 1,074,723

The quantity of sugar refined by our bonded refiners, and exported,

is shown by the following figures. The increase in 1851, was

one-fourth in excess of the previous year.

Cwt.

1848 248,702

1849 222,900

1850 209,148

1851 258,563

1852 214,299

The following were the imports of sugar into Great Britain, in 1848

and 1851, respectively--and the quarters from whence supplies were

derived:--

1848--Tons. 1851--Tons.

West Indies 121,600 153,300

Mauritius 43,600 50,000

East Indies 65,200 78,286

Java and Manila 11,000 20,850

Havana, Porto Rico, and Brazil 76,900 76,526

------- -------

318,300 378,962

The production of sugar in the last four years, may be stated

comparatively as follows:--

+----------------------+---------+---------+---------+-----------+

| CANE SUGAR. | 1849. | 1850. | 1851. | 1852. |

+----------------------+---------+---------+---------+-----------+

| Cuba | 220,000 | 250,000 | 252,000 | 320,000 |

| Porto Rico | 43,600 | 48,200 | 49,500 | 50,000 |

| Brazil | 106,000 | 103,000 | 113,000 | 100,000 |

| United States | 98,200 | 120,400 | 103,200 | 110,000 |

| 1. French Colonies | 56,300 | 47,200 | 50,000 | 50,000 |

| 2. Danish Do. | 7,900 | 5,000 | 6,000 | 5,000 |

| 3. Dutch Do. | 13,800 | 14,200 | 15,000 | 20,000 |

| 4. British Do. | 142,200 | 129,200 | 148,000 | 140,000 |

| The East Indies | 70,403 | 67,300 | 66,000 | 60,000 |

| Mauritius | 50,782 | 57,800 | 55,500 | 65,000 |

| Java | 90,000 | 89,900 | 99,347 | 104,542 |

| Manila | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 |

+----------------------+---------+---------+---------+-----------+

| | 919,182 | 952,200 | 977,547 | 1,044,542 |

+----------------------+---------+---------+---------+-----------+

+----------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+

|BEET ROOT SUGAR.| 1849. | 1850. | 1851. | 1852. |

+----------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+

| France | 38,000 | 61,000 | 75,000 | 60,000 |

| Belgium | 5,000 | 6,000 | 8,000 | 9,000 |

| Zollverein | 33,000 | 38,000 | 49,000 | 50,000 |

| Russia | 13,000 | 14,000 | 15,000 | 16,000 |

| Austria | 6,500 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 18,000 |

+----------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+

| | 95,500 | 129,000 | 162,000 | 153,000 |

| Cane Sugar | 919,182 | 952,200 | 977,547 | 1,044,542 |

+----------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+

| Total | 1,014,682 | 1,081,200 | 1,139,547 | 1,197,542 |

+----------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+

The price of sugar has, however, fallen considerably, and like many

other things--corn, and cotton, and tea--has been lower for a long

period than ever was known before.

Average price per London Gazette.

Year ending July 5, British West India. Mauritius.

1842 37s. 0d. -----

1843 34s. 7d. 33s. 10d.

1844 34s. 9d. 34s. 7d.

1845 31s. 3d. 30s. 3d.

1846 35s. 3d. 34s. 2d.

1847 32s. 11d. 32s. 1d.

1848 24s. 3d. 23s. 3d.

1849 24s. 4d. 24s. 0d.

1850 25s. 3d. 28s. 8d.

1851 27s. 3d. 26s. 9d.

Half-year ending Jan. 5,

1852 27s. 3d. 26s. 9d.

Thus, it is equally clear that the fall in the price has been very

considerable since 1845, and that in 1849 and 1850 the price of sugar

was about 10s. per cwt., or nearly one-third less than in 1838. The

planters complain of the fall of price; and the only question in

dispute is whether the fall has been occasioned by the reduction of

the duties. Now the reduction of duties subsequent to 1846 and to

1851, was, on brown Muscovado sugar, from 13s. to 10s., or 3s.; and on

foreign, from 21s. 7d. to 16s. 4d., or 5s. 3d. At the same time there

was a very large increase of consumption, and the price, as of almost

all articles, would not have been reduced to the full extent of the

reduction of the duties, and certainly not reduced in a much greater

degree, had there not been other causes at work to reduce the price.

Between 1846 and 1851 freight from the Mauritius fell from £4 1s. 8d.

to £2 13s. 9d., or 35 per cent.; and that reduction of price was not

made from the planter. In the interval, too, great improvements were

made in the manufacture of sugar; and in proportion as the article was

produced cheaper, it could be sold cheaper, without any loss to him.

I shall now take a separate review of the capabilities and progress of

the leading sugar producing countries.

The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. · 第 4 / 20 章

The English pans are two feet two inches in diameter, and eight