THE CULTIVATION OF TEA.
Description of the tea-plant--Indigenous to China--Introduced into
India--Work in a tea-garden--Tea-gatherers in China--A Chinese
tea-ballad--How tea is cured--How the value of tea is determined.
The tea-plant formerly occupied a place of honour in every gentleman's
green-house; but as it requires much care, and possesses little beauty,
it is now rarely seen. Linnæus, the Swedish naturalist, was greatly
pleased at a specimen presented to him in 1763, but was unable to
keep it alive. Dr. Edward Smith describes the plant as being closely
allied to the camellias; but states that the leaf is more pointed, is
lance-shaped, and not so thick and hard as that of the camellia. Dr.
King Chambers suggests the spending of an afternoon at a classified
collection of living economic plants; such, for instance, as that
at the Botanical Gardens, Regent's Park. It is much pleasanter, he
points out, to think of tea as connected with the pretty little
camellia it comes from, than with blue paper packets, and the despised
"grounds" which for ever after acquire an interest in our minds.
The tea-plant, although cultivated in various parts of the East, is
probably indigenous to China; but is now grown extensively in India. In
consequence of the poorness of the quality of the tea imported by the
East India Company, and the necessity of avoiding an entire dependence
upon China, the Bengal Government appointed in 1834 a committee for the
purpose of submitting a plan for the introduction and cultivation of
the tea-plant; and a visit to the frontier station of Upper Assam ended
in a determination on the part of Government to cultivate tea in that
region.[1] In 1840 the "Assam Company" was formed, and it is claimed
for them that they possess the largest tea plantation in the world.
Some idea of the progress of tea cultivation in India may be gathered
from the following official figures. In 1850 there was one tea-estate,
that of the Assam Company, with 1,876 acres under cultivation, yielding
216,000 lbs. In 1870 there were 295 proprietors of tea-estates, with
31,303 acres under cultivation, yielding 6,251,143 lbs. In 1872-73
the area of land held by tea-planters covered 804,582 acres, of which
about 75,000 were under cultivation, yielding 14,670,171 lbs. of
tea, the average yield per acre being 208 lbs. Every year thousands
of acres are being brought under cultivation, and in a short time it
seems likely that we shall be independent of China for our supplies of
tea. In the year 1879-80 the exports of Indian tea to Great Britain
rose to 40,000,000 lbs., and in the following year to 42,000,000
lbs. In Ceylon, also, a proportionate increase is taking place. The
plant appears to be a native of the island. In Percival's "Account of
Ceylon," published in 1805, occurs the following paragraph:--
"The tea-plant has been discovered native in the forests of Ceylon.
It grows spontaneously in the neighbourhood of Trincomalee and other
northern parts of Ceylon.... I have in my possession a letter from an
officer in the 80th Regiment, in which he states that he found the real
tea-plant in the woods of Ceylon of a quality equal to any that ever
grew in China."
A large quantity of tea is now imported from this island, and new
plantations, it is reported, are being made every month; day by day
more of the primeval forest goes down before the axe of the pioneer,
and before another quarter of a century has passed it is anticipated
that the teas of our Indian empire will become the most valuable of its
products.
The cultivation of tea in India, and the processes to which it is
subjected after the leaf is gathered, differ from those of China.
According to Dr. Jameson, the great difficulty of the Indian
tea-planter arises from the wonderful fertility of the soil and the
strength of the tea-plant. As soon as the plants "flush" the leaf
must be plucked, or it deteriorates to such an extent as to become
valueless, and at the next "flush" the plant will be found bare of
the young leaves. The delay of even a single day may be fatal. The
leaf when plucked must be roasted forthwith, or it ferments and
becomes valueless, as is also the case in China. There, however,
the tea-harvest occurs only four or five times a year, but in India
once a fortnight during some seven months of the year. The number of
work-people required on a tea-farm may be estimated from the figures
given by Dr. Rhind, who says that to manufacture eighty pounds of black
tea per day twenty-five tea-gatherers are requisite, and ten driers and
sorters; to produce ninety-two pounds of green tea, thirty gatherers
and sixteen driers and sorters.
From "A Tea-Planter's Life in Assam" we take the following account of
work in a tea-garden:--
"After the soil has been deep-hoed and is quite ready, transplanting
from the nursery begins; few men sow the seed at stake. The nursery
is made and carefully planted with seed on the first piece of ground
that is cleared, so that by the time the remainder of the garden is
ready to be planted out the seed has developed into a small plant,
with strength enough to stand being transplanted. Holes are prepared
at equal distances, into which the young plants are carefully
transferred. The greatest caution is exercised in both taking them up
and putting them in their new places, that the root shall be neither
bent up nor injured in any way. For this work women and children are
employed, as it is light, but requires a gentle hand to pat down
the earth around the young plant. It speedily accommodates itself
to its new circumstances, and thrives wonderfully if the weather is
at all propitious. A succession of hot days with no rain has a most
disastrous effect on transplants; their heads droop and but a small
percentage will be saved, which means that most of the work will have
to be done over again. Once started, plenty of cultivation is the only
thing required to keep the plant healthy, and it is left undisturbed
for a couple of years to increase in size and strength. At the end
of the second year, when the cold season has sent the sap down, the
pruning knife dispossesses it of its long, straggling top shoots,
and reduces it to a height of four feet; every plant is cut to the
same level. The third year enables the planter to pluck lightly his
first small crop. Year succeeds year, and the crop increases until
the eighth or ninth year, when the garden arrives at maturity and
yields as much as ever it will. During the rains the gong is beaten at
five o'clock every morning, and again at six, thus allowing an hour
for those who wish to have something to eat before commencing the
labours of the day. In the cold weather the time for turning out is
not so early; even the Eastern sun is lazier, and there is not so much
work to get through. Few of the coolies take anything to eat until
eleven o'clock, when they are rung in. The leaf plucked by the women
is collected and weighed, and most of the men have finished their
allotted day's work by this time, so they retire to their huts to eat
the morning meal and to pass the remainder of the day in a luxury of
idleness. For the ensuing two or three hours there is perfect rest,
except for the unfortunate coolies engaged in the tea-house; their
work cannot be left, and as fast as the leaf is ready it must be fired
off, else it would be completely ruined. At two o'clock the women
are turned out again to pluck, and those men who have not finished
their hoeing have to return to complete their task. About six o'clock
the gong sounds again, the leaf is brought in, weighed, and spread,
and outdoor work is over for the day. No change can be made in the
tea-house work, which goes on steadily, and if there has been much
leaf brought in the day before, firing will very frequently last from
daybreak until well into the night, or small hours of the morning."
At present, however, the greater proportion of tea consumed in England
comes from China and Japan, which produce no less than 325,000,000 lbs.
annually, against 52,000,000 lbs. by India.
[Illustration: A TEA PLANTATION.]
India may be the tea-country of the future, but China still supplies
nearly all the world. Millions of acres are devoted to its
cultivation, and the late Dr. Wells Williams states that the management
of this great branch of industry exhibits some of the best features
of Chinese country life. It is only over a portion of each farm that
the plant is grown, and its cultivation requires but little attention,
compared with rice and vegetables. The most delicate kinds are looked
after and cured by priests in their secluded temples among the hills;
these have often many acolytes, who aid in preparing small lots to be
sold at a high price. But the same authority tells us that the work
of picking the leaves, in the first instance, is such a delicate
operation that it cannot be intrusted to women. Female labour is paid
so badly that they cannot afford to exercise the gentleness which
characterizes their general movements; and when they come upon the
scene of operations they make the best of their short harvest.
The second gathering takes place when the foliage is fullest. This
season is looked forward to by women and children in the tea-districts
as their working time. They run in crowds to the middle-men, who have
bargained for the leaves on the plants, or apply to farmers who need
help. "They strip the twigs in the most summary manner," remarks Dr.
Williams, "and fill their baskets with healthy leaves, as they pick
out the sticks and yellow leaves, for they are paid in this manner:
fifteen pounds is a good day's work, and fourpence is a day's wages.
The time for picking lasts only ten or twelve days. There are curing
houses, where families who grow and pick their own leaves bring them
for sale at the market rate. The sorting employs many hands, for it
is an important point in connection with the purity of the various
descriptions, and much care is taken by dealers, in maintaining the
quality of their lots, to have them cured carefully as well as sorted
properly."
Like hop-picking in this country, tea-picking is very tedious work, but
its monotony is relieved by singing during the live-long day. The songs
of the hop-pickers are not generally characterized by loftiness of tone
or purity of sentiment, but travellers in China speak highly of the
songs of the tea-pickers. For instance, Dr. Williams quotes in his book
on "The Middle Kingdom" a ballad of the tea-picker, which he considers
one of the best of Chinese ballads, if regard be had to the character
of the sentiment and metaphors. One or two verses will give an idea of
this charming ballad,--
"Where thousand hills the vale enclose, our little hut is there,
And on the sloping sides around the tea grows everywhere,
And I must rise at early dawn, as busy as can be,
To get my daily labour done, and pluck the leafy tea.
"The pretty birds upon the boughs sing songs so sweet to hear,
And the sky is so delicious now, half drowsy and half clear;
While bending o'er her work each maid will prattle of her woe,
And we talk till our hearts are sorely hurt and tears unstinted flow."
The method of curing is thus described:--
"When the leaves are brought in to the curers they are thinly spread
on shallow trays to dry off all moisture by two or three hours'
exposure. Meanwhile the roasting-pans are heating, and when properly
warmed some handfuls of leaves are thrown on them, and rapidly moved
and shaken up for four or five minutes. The leaves make a slight
crackling noise, become moist and flaccid as the juice is expelled,
and give off even a sensible vapour. The whole is then poured out upon
the rolling-table, when each workman takes up a handful and makes it
into a manageable ball, which he rolls back and forth on the rattan
table to get rid of the sap and moisture as the leaves are twisted.
This operation chafes the hands even with great precaution. The balls
are opened and shaken out, and then passed on to other workmen, who go
through the same operation till they reach the head-man, who examines
the leaves, to see if they have become curled. When properly done, and
cooled, they are returned to the iron pans, under which a low charcoal
fire is burning in the brickwork which supports them, and there kept
in motion by the hand. If they need another rolling on the table it
is now given them. An hour or more is spent in this manipulation,
when they are dried to a dull-green colour, and can be put away for
sifting and sorting. This colour becomes brighter after the exposure
in sifting the cured leaves through sieves of various sizes; they
are also winnowed to separate the dust, and afterwards sorted into
the various descriptions of green tea. Finally, the finer kinds are
again fired three or four times, and the coarser kinds, as Twankay,
Hyson, and Hyson-skin, once. The others furnish the young Hyson,
gunpowder, imperial, &c. Tea cured in this way is called _luh cha_, or
'green tea,' by the Chinese, while the other, or black tea, is termed
_hung cha_, or 'red tea,' each name being taken from the tint of the
infusion. After the fresh leaves are allowed to lie exposed to the air
on the bamboo trays over night or several hours, they are thrown into
the air and tossed about and patted till they become soft; a heap is
made of these wilted leaves, and left to lie for an hour or more, when
they have become moist and dark in colour. They are then thrown on the
hot pans for five minutes and rolled on the rattan table, previous
to exposure out of doors for three or four hours on sieves, during
which time they are turned over and opened out. After this they get a
second roasting and rolling, to give them their final curl. When the
charcoal fire is ready, a basket, shaped something like an hour-glass,
is placed end-wise over it, having a sieve in the middle, on which the
leaves are thinly spread. When dried five minutes in this way they
undergo another rolling, and are then thrown into a heap, until all
the lot has passed over the fire. When this firing is finished, the
leaves are opened out and are again thinly spread on the sieve in the
basket for a few minutes, which finishes the drying and rolling for
most of the heap, and makes the leaves a uniform black. They are now
replaced in the basket in greater mass, and pushed against its sides
by the hands, in order to allow the heat to come up through the sieve
and the vapour to escape; a basket over all retains the heat, but the
contents are turned over until perfectly dry and the leaves become
uniformly dark."
When this process is completed, every nerve is strained to put the
tea into the market quickly, "and in the best possible condition;
for, although it is said that the Chinese do not drink it until it is
a year old, the value of new tea is superior to that of old; and the
longer the duration of a voyage in which a great mass of tea is packed
up in a closed hold, the greater the probability that the process of
fermentation will be set up. Hence has arisen the great strife to bring
the first cargo of the season to England, and the fastest and most
skilfully commanded ships are engaged in the trade, both for the profit
and honour of success."
Dr. E. Smith, an authority upon the subject, showed that the value
of tea is determined in the market by its flavour and body; by the
aromatic qualities of its essential oil and the chemical elements
of the leaf, rather than by the chemical composition of its juices.
Delicacy and fulness of flavour, with a certain body, are the required
characteristics of the market. The same authority tells us that
the tea-taster prepares his samples from a uniform and very small
quantity, viz. the weight of a new sixpence, and infuses it for five
minutes with about four ounces of water in a covered pottery vessel;
and in order to prevent injury to his health by repeated tasting, does
not swallow the fluid. He must have naturally a sensitive and refined
taste, should be always in good health, and able to estimate flavour
with the same minuteness at all times.
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Russia, also, has become impressed with the importance of growing
its own tea; but the efforts of its agriculturists appear to have been
unsuccessful. Samples of the produce of the tea-plants which have
been acclimatized in Georgia were lately exhibited in the hall of the
Agricultural Society of the Caucasus at Tiflis, and appear to have
excited considerable interest. The local journals, however, admit that
the samples proved to be rather poor in flavour, and that their aroma
resembled that of Chinese teas of very inferior quality. It is pleaded,
however, that these specimens were grown by a planter of little
experience in the Chinese methods of cultivation and preparation, and
hopes are entertained of ultimate success.--_Manchester Examiner_,
April 23, 1884.