The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1904-05-06
TEA GROWING In INDIA.
LIFE OF PLANT FROM SEED TO
FINISHED PRODUCT.

the Final Process.
Well-cared-for tracts Of level or
mountainous land are used in India
1or the cultivation of tea. The term
gardqns' is used to denote these
tracts, which vary in size from 100
acres In the hill districts of the lower
Himalaya mountains to 1900 acres on
the plains. The tea bush is raised from
SEED which is now carefully planted
ABOUT one inch deep in nursery of
SOFT fertile soil. In the early days of
Tea planting the seed was sometimes
scattered broadcast from the back OF
an elephant. The young plants re-
qulre rich soil and very moist heat
IN order to thrive we'll When the
plants have obtained a height Of II
inches they are transplanted 1t is
generally considered that a bush re-
quires about 16 square feet of well-cul-
tlvated soil around it to gain the best
results. The tea is planted in regular
rows, either insquares or triangles The
triangular planting, which giving each
push exactly the same space from it's
helgnbors, effects saving of nearly Is
per cent space, as it is possible to
plant l15 bushes in the same area that
would be occupied by 100 plants in
rectangular planting.
X By the third year the plants should
DE from four to five feet high and they
are then pruned down to about 20
inches, SO as to promote the growth of
new branches and tender shoots and
thus produce a larger number of new
leaves. The methods of pruning vary
greatly and in some cases the plants
are pruned before they are taken from
the nursery. The bush is so pruned
and trained that instead of growing
tall 1t is kept short and broad in or
der to furnish a greater plucking sur
lace. When the young bushes have
developed succulent shoots upon which
there are four or five leaves they are
said to have produced their first bush"
that is, they have sprouted sufficient
Iy to pluck. During the rains success
sive "fushes" occur at intervals with
10 to 20 days, varying according to
the soil, cultivation and climate. The
top part of the shoot is the only por-
\ ton that is plucked. 1t includes the
bud and the first two or three leaves,
according as fine, medium or coarse tea
is wanted, for tea can only be made |
from the young and tender leaves, and
}the younger and tenderer the leaf the |
better the quality of the tea.
Plucking is performed by turning the |
thumb downward and nipping off the |
shoot between the thumb nail and the |
foreinger 1t is done almost entirely
by women and children, as it is COM
paratively easy work and does not re-
quire any physical strength. Each
plucker carries large open-mouth
bamboo basket about two feet in di-
ameter and three feet in length, taper
ing toward a rounded bottom The
leaf is thrown into this basket and pro-
tected by a covering from the rays OF
the sun, which would otherwise cause
it to turn red. Late in the afternoon
the leaf is brought to the factory,
where it is carefully weighed and ex-
amined by the manager and his as
sistants and the several amounts en-
tered in a book against each FUCKERS
L
tain number of pounds of leaf must
be brought in This amount IS deter
mined beforehand by the manager, and
varies, as it depends upon the condi-
ton of the flush Extra pay is given
for whatever quantity is brought in
above the required amount of the day,
and in this way many good workers
earn double pay during the height of
the season. The rate of pay for the
extra work is always relatively higher
than the regular wages in order to Of
fer an inducement for hard work
The leaf is taken to the whitening
room after it has been weighed, and
evenly spread upon wide trays. The
men who spread the leaves work with
dexterity, making a pound
of the green leaf cover about one
square yard BY morning the leaf is
sufficiently withered to be rolled with
out being broken, and is then taken
to the rolling machine. The object of
rolling is to liberate the juices OF the
leaf cell, and during the operation the .
leaf changes color from bright green :
to slightly yellowish tint. In former
wears the rolling was done by hand, ,,
and 80 pounds was a good days work
for one man; now the machine does
about three times that amount in one
hour. The rolled leaf is then taken
10 a cool. dark, moist room, where it q
Is snread out on cement floor or in I
one trays, and covered with wet t