The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1956-03-16
Muscling- In
YOPON
Continued from Page One)
courtesy.


courtesy.
In the process of manufacture,
the bushes are first cut and hauled
to the chopping trough, there be-
ing no particular size of limb or
bush selected, although the most
of those seen would run from
three-quarters to an inch and a
half in diameter where cut off.
Then the twigging knife comes in
to play. This is heavy-bladed and
sharp and one may be seen stick
ing in the top of the nearest cor
ner post of the chopping trough
in the picture. The particular
knife shown was made from an old
blacksmith's rasp, untempered
hammered down, ground to a fine
edge, and set in a rough handle.
Standing alongside the trough,
the bushes are picked up in the
left hand and, with the twigging
knife in the right, all the small
twigs, with leaves attached, are
Topped off, twigs up to at least an
eighth of an inch in diameter be-
ing taken. So it will be seen from
this that the young wood is used
as well as the leaves in this make
of tea. This work of twigging con-
tinues until pile of raw material
has accumulated sufficient to make
charge for the hogstead. Mean
while fire has been built and
rocks put in the Goals to heat. The
rocks used will probably average
some six or eight pounds each in
weight, and they are cared for
carefully between firing as they
are imported goods, no rock of any
description being a natural con-
stituent of the soil hereabouts.
While this heating is going on the
cutting up of the twigs' in the
chopping trough is started. This
trough is some twelve feet long by
two feet wide by nine inches deep,
with the bottom made of one
heavy piece of timber hewn flat
on its upper side and strongly sup
ported. Standing alongside it the
operator with his broad axe chops
steadily into the piled up mass of
tw1gs and leaves, cutting and STIR
ring until the twig lengths are all
reduced to one or two inches. This
work is continued with fresh ma
terial in the trough until the
whole charge has been worked
over, when the sweating of the tea
has to be looked after.
Buried in A Barrel
The "hogshead"-see illustration
is a hollow cypress log measur-
ing on the inside about three and
a half feet in diameter by five
feet deep and something over half
its depth is let into the ground
and by so doing bringing its top
to a convenient height for work
ing at. Possibly the question of
the prevention of radiation of heat
may have had something to do
with this practice of partly bury
ing the sweating receptacle. The
inside of the hogshead is smooth
and clean and it's bottom is built
of plank.
From the fire the hot (but not
too hot) stones are raked and lift
ed by means of the rock hook
(shown lying on the hogstead) and
4 layer of them is spread over it's
bottom. On top of these is quickly
shovelled thick layer of the prod
uct of the chopping trough and
another pile of clean, hot stones
on top of that. Then more chonped
caves and twigs and more rocks
until the hogshead is fully charged,
ien it is tightly covered and the
1ork is over for the time being.
After the sweating caused by
ne heat and moisture has gone on
y thirty-six hours the cover is
removed and the cured tea taken
out and spread on an elevated
ank nlatform to thoroughly dry
out. When properly dried it is
'hovelled into sacks and barrels
and packed away in the storehouse
% await a sale. One chargi~g IF
his hogstead produces about
thirty bushels of dried tea, the
oushel being the unit by which it
Is measured and sold Ard q e.