TTIK OMAHA SUNDAY HKE: MAY 15. 1010.
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Tea Plantations of the Himalyas Whence Comes Drink for the World
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THREE LITTLE. TEA PICKERS
(Copyright. WIP, by Frank O. Carpenter.) bounties of from 3 to 7 cents a pound upon
AlUhhUNG, 1910. Come, take a all green tea exported, and they have In-
cup of tea with me this bright created their erop within the last few
Sunday'niornlnif whll f toll you years, so that It now amounts to millions
how tills shrub, whloh-cheers of pounds. I understand that the Chinese
but does "tiot Inebriate, la grown government Is alarmed at the situation and
out here In the Himalaya mouu- that the Chinese tea planters recently sent
tains, on the opposite of the globe. There a commission to India and Ceylon to in-
re hundreds of tea plantations all around vestigate tea conditions and the tea-curing
me and millions of pound of their product procenses.
re annually shipped from here to other 3
parts of the world. . . Ten itnLlmr In China and India.
-,i- " I have traveled extensively through the
How to Make Tea. tea fields of Japan and China and know
Before I begin let us start the water to something about them. The methods of
boiling. It should bo fresh from the spring cultivation and curing are different there
and snould not bubble over ten nilnutesXihan they aie on these big plantations of
before used for brewing. We will put the Hindustan. In the former countries the
tea lira porcelain pot and let the hot water tea Is raised In small patches. The ordl
remaln upon It not more than eight mln- nary tea garden of Japan is not much
tiles, and it will then be ready for drinking, bigger than a city lot and that of China
Tea should never touch metal and it should would not be larger than the ordinary
never stand In the pot after brewing. It American garden. The tea Is raised by t
hpuld never be boiled In the pot and it multitude of small farmers, each of whort
ahould be drunk clear, for milk makes it works after his own rule and In his own
poison. Good tea does not need sugar, al- way. When the leaves are picked there are
though a slice of lemon will add to the' traders who go about throuirh tho tea
1
flavor.
The tea we are using conies from the
mountains nearby. It is black and Is fla
vored with flowers. Green tea Is not fit to
drink. This is especially so of many va
rieties sold In the stores. Some of that
cured In Japan and China, of which we
consume thirty-odd nilllln dollars' worth
every year, is made green by the addition
or coloring matters, and It Is also rolled
and fired In copper-lined kettles. The best
tea Is black tea and you will go far before
districts and buy up the crops. They sell
to other traders and one crop may go
through a half dozen different hands be
fore It is shipped to Hankow, where It
gets one of the big steamers for Europe.
He(e In India the plantations are large.
Some of them are hundreds of acres and
employ thousands of men and women as
laborers. They are handled after business
methods. The soil Is studied and carefully
cultivated. At present there is more than
$100,000,000 invested In the business and lnr-
you will get better than that raised here the neighborhood of 600,000 people are em-i
at Darjeellng. ployed upon the plantations. The area,
$ under cultivation Is steadily Increasing and
India DrlnLs the 'World. ' It Is said that the crop may be raised all
Tou remember the temperance landlady's along the southern slopes of the Himalayas
remark to her bibulous boarder. "I will at an altitude of about 3,000 feet above the
sleep you and eat you, but I be bles If I sea- The plantations here are 6.000 or
drink you." In that sense India bids fair '00,, teet UP anl there are some tea
to soon drink the world. Her black teas fleIds which are a full half mile above
have practically monopolized the markets 8Pa leve'- The most of the land used is flat
-tr-tilk III :i iiW .. . i! ?? -KV iJJ-Ml: 'll ;L
Jlyl -T'l.y-t -mvr. . . - ' I , -.v . "VI
. JI :S;.wiS--. " - 'VC - '3. II in ' 1 " in i . -.w:?uv Ml
-f I'v1-,!, .-IiXh- -i 4IV :i.v . Ml lU. linTi -tcI
ffi : - i ir" 'mkmMm ... - imm.
I . .. MM tr -m . J d anKP it v m mt I
aZ?j.t t I a P 1 M,: , BI everirreen not unHk tho mania u-. J
II II I i f .v I Mr ' .A f sV f
mJ -2tlCS "J Li i'ilBZ?, v t I If ' iJm-A If lfa 1 ,here 18 no account of its having been cul- a
if . t. ZiX- m Ji 11 1"K out against the green, while their jew- ..'
Hi f .9T .'V; ii.V Ji - -r --iGZtvr5"' .10 elry flashes in the sun. Each woman has
II Wi-J .-'f , ll ' . 1 II a basket which will hold about two hushel, ' Vl'.VrtV
MB m m -7.1 l j m m jm' : . ,m mi - - i irj mcji i j , 1 1 .
WE
Ml
mi
3
his Tiead. Some have trunks six Inches In
diameter and others mere stems. The leaves
are like those of the willow tree. They
smell like tea when you crush them. The
ehrub Is a species of the camelia. It Is an
evergreen not unlike the maple, and the
leaves are beautiful. The plant Is supposed
to have come originally from China, but
there is no account of Its having been cul
tivated until about 350 A. 1). It grows wild
on this side of the Himalayas and there
are certain varieties of it which reach the
height of small trees. The planters are
crossing the various varieties In their at
tempts to make new and better teas.
I passed through many of these planta
tions on my ride up the mountains. The
shrubs rise In terraces up the sides of the
hill, looking not unlike well trimmed box
wood hedges. Here and there one sees gaily
dressed women picking the leaves, their
black skins and bright colored gowns show
ing out against the green, while their jew
elry flashes In the sun. Each woman has
a basket which will hold about two bushels
on her back, kept there by a band which
rests over the forehead. The leaves are
plucked with the hands and thrown into
the baskets, which, when full, are carried
to the factory. I am told that the planters
usually have five pickings a year, and on
the best lands they have seven. This is
far ahead of China and Japan, where the
ehrub that will yield three pickings Is good.
The tea planters here are chiefly British.
Many of the estates are owned bv com
panies. The planters live In fine bungalows 11 ls taken out with the foam on tt. when
;irrounded by lawns and gardens. Many
it
I 1 f m
m
ui mem are me second sons or noble ram
llles In England.
It is ready for drinking. The Tibetans
and Mongols serve their t-a in a somewhat
similar manner, using thu brick tea pre
pared by the Russians.
MklnK Tea
Tlie processes of
by Machinery.
making tea In India
In a Kuaslan Ten Knetory.
During my recent stay In China I went
re different from those of Japan and through some of the factories at Hankow.
iiiiin. in me latter countries nearly un(j
everything Is done by hand and their meth
ods are unsanitary to an extreme. In
China the leaves are sorted by women and
girls and the moisture is pressed out of
them by treallng them with bare feet.
They are rolled oviT and over on bamboo
trays with the hand and are fired In red-
there saw how brick tea is made.
Hankow Is (he chief tea market of China.
It is IKK) miles in the Interior, on the
wide YangtHH river, which Is so deep that
the biggest ocean steamers can carry their
cargoes from there to every part of the
world. Thehlef tea fields lie south of
the Vanglse, and most of them are somo
"WEIGHING TJEA AT HANKOW
hot pans by half-naked, perspiring work- distance from Hankow. The lea Is brought
mrn- on the backs of men to the river and is
It is the same In Jspan. I once visited shipped up the numerous tributaries of the.
a large firing establishment at one of the yailf;tse. At Hankow it Is prepared hi all
ports where they were preparing green tea sorts of ways for the market. There ai j
for the American market. They were cur- exporting firms there who manufacture
ins it by what ls known as pan-firing, for tne United States, some who deal
Imagine a long row of ovens filled with chiefly with Id gland, und also i epresentu-
cuppcr pans each twenty Inches wide and tives of the French and German Importing
tniriy incr.es aeep. j tie tops of the ovens houses. Tlio Russians have the larccsl
of Kvrope and more of them are consumed or iing and the best soil Is a reddish bushy. The soli Is often ton dressed with carefully nulled, a certain number being creat that no one knows when thev were were at about the heleht of n mi.n- ,.k. h,.. .i .h. n.. a.
serdy f!, J nin,?. rS"'..The.utea W00d loam amJ "rtlflclttI manures are fie- left to keep the plants growing. It takes planted. or just high enough to enable one to stir Industry, annually shipping millions of
';... , .r . " . : Afte'' - y luently used. As to the droppings of cat- five or six years for a shrub to mature. the contents about with the hands. There bricks to Vladivostok and Odessa, to Tibet.
tie, none are to be had In India, for the and at that time It should produce a pound Mow n Ten Plant Looks. a, ,ft , ,hP,., .,, lhnQ . . ...... ,, ... ,
or more of tea every year. Some of the Hut let me tell you how tea looks in tne . , . , ,, i,. , .. ...... ... ,.
. . . , . , , . , . . . , .... ,v. " ' "'.(,,, itvi uirsa uti tan miiiuuu lu jvusBiit, ninny ul w
After the nlants are three vaars o d thev trees ahnut here in fnrtv vem-s o lit and- fields. In the plantations about here the ,,,,., . ... . ........ . .. ... . . . .
trimmed. In order m muW. .h - . - . . . 7 v " . .. ... , .. oi.t .,, u .. a. aim ma upper part Drica are carried part of the way un
o - sic touj iui ji uniting. iic icav C9 nio iiiiri c aiv ouiiie ill viuiia. w iiudc ac 10 'ilu,,ld o- " - - t)j nd'
' Medici
than of the teas exported from all other
nations. A generation or so ago about the
only teas known to commerce wcr those
of Japan and China. . The India teas are
now driving the Chinese teas out of the
markets and Japan has to rely almost en
tirely upon the t'nited .States for the sale
of her surplus. We drink SB.000,000 pounds
of tea every year, and of this 31,000,000
pounds come from Japan and about 38,000,000
from China. We get only 8.000.000 pounds
from Kast India, but this amount ls In
creasing from year to year.' The exports
of Indian teas are mostly to Europe. They
go to Great Britain and thence to the colon
ies. Some are sent to the continent and
hlg shipments are made to Australia and
Canada. The British are the greatest tea
drinkers of all mankind. Their consump
tion amounts to six or seven pounds per
liead every year, while our people each
drink less than two pounds and the Rus
sians, lesa than one. The Germans and
French load themselves with coffee and
wine or beer, sipping tea now and then.
The Chinese and Japanese drink tea
throughout the day. The Chinese will not
drink water unless It ls boiled, and thev
flavor the water with tea. The consump
tion of these two nations is probably
irreater than that of nil the rest of the
world put together, hut for the lack of
statistics no one knowsXwl
have sprouted and reached the age of a
,a,. i..e, Bre sei out in rows a few feet people pick them up and use them for fuel.
apart, iney are careiuliy cultivated and
go overland In.u,
Choice Samples from the Story Tellers Pack
u
A Cost It Fare.
XCLE JOE" CANNON, in a re
cent political argument, said:
"That excuse Is not Rood
enough. It reminds me of a
Danville bartender.
reinstatement. The pastor made an elo
quent appeal to the congregation and
everybody began to shout and say "Amen."
it was at this point that the old negro
arose and said hotly:
"Look hyah, pahson; eber since I been a
This bartender came to work inembuh of dla congergashun. dar aln' been
in a Dalivllle bar, and as soon as he ar- nothln' but flghtln' an' fuhglvln' an. I
rived the receipts began to diminish. The been doing all de fuhglvln'.
body as bare as the Venus de camels, and not a few
Each was stirring and kneading Russian Turkestan.
mm luiiiinr-Tne orying tea. The fires were One of the factories I visited covered
hot and the steam rose. Pearl drops of more than an aero of ground. It employed
perspiration stood out upon the backs und 1.0UU Chinese; and it had on hand 1,600,000
busts of the workers, and It seemed to me pounds of tea pressed Into bricks and ready
as though the tea might be brewed by the for export. The bricks filled tlio wholo
sweat. It took thus women almost an upper floors of the factory. They Were
hour to finish each lot and after that tho laid up In piles, much us wo suck bricks
tias were put up by hand. for building, with narrow aisles running
Here In India the Ira uli ,.,.iij i. . i,, , i,.. n, . i.- Tt..
, . . ..,,. u.i .11, -u UJf if. i v aaiiu liic, d .oiwut., ,im .will. X ( , J
it? the youuM meeting or revival, or oyn ohL he machinery. Every plantation has iia fac had boon take-i i'rom the molds and left
tune, where ihe k-avea are withered and in tho warehouse to cure. Kach kind
rolled biilui'cn nrpfl iiUi..d . i . ... .
ous conflict rose over the bulkllns of a glauuatotl lhat do '
The drying is done by hot blasts and ro- Hankow to be made !Hu bricks before
Is that the uuinir to Ruasia.
Why don't you "The deacon was notorious for being
long-windrd. If he rose to speak t pravcr
than that girl In America,
try for her hand?'
" 'What has she got in
lawyer coldly answered. St. Louis Globe- sure to keep the floor half an hour. It was
Democrat. ' on tho deacons account, when a tremcna-
i ous conflict rose over the bulk
Where Look Don't Mailer. new wing to the church, that a rule was
Apropos of a titled foreigner's recent made that no speaker at the final building volvlng fans and the result
that It Is.
I
How Ail verllaina rays,
The exports of Indian tea now amount
to over 3SO.000.000 mm nds per year. Of this
more than S00.OO0.000 pounds are from
Hindustan and about l.VI.Ono.OOO pounds from
the Island of Ceylon, over the way. The
trade has grown up within the last thirty
years and It is largely based upon good
advertising. When I was here twenty
yera ago It nas in Its infancy and the
planters were discussing how they could
iret the American market. They concluded
to advertise In the newspapers and they
raised a fund to begin that work In Europe fond o'
and the United States. At the same time ftar.
they organised a sales bureau and thev
aw to It that Ceylon and India teas could
he. had In all the large stores, and that
they, were on tap at every state and na
tional exposition. As a result the demand
boss, a the end of the week, said seriously
to the newcomer:
" 'Look here, do you take money out of
the till?'
" 'Oil, no, sir," said the bartender. 'No,
Indeed, sir.'
" "Now," said the boss, 'you must be
taking money. I know It.'
" 'Well, of course, sir,' said the barten
der, 'I take out my car fare every night.'
" 'Oh, you do, eh?" said the boss. 'And
where do you live? San Francisco?' "
1'lilladelphlu Bulletin.
should take longer than five
It!"
That broke up the meeting. Popular Mag.
azliic.
Mysterious Knowledge.
Some years ago an expedition from the
University of Pennsylvania was sent to
l'se tired of marriage to a rich and rather ugly Amor- discussion
lean girl, Paul A, Sorg said at a dinner in minutes.
New York: "At the final discussion, held In the Sun-
"The count has no cause to complain, day school, a half dozen speakers had ex-
The ethics of such a marriage as his aro pressed, their views, and had tat down
but the ethlca of the matrimonial agency. promptly when a tap of the bi ll announced
" 'I am interested', he said, 'In the young that time was up, and then the deacon
ica. conies out perfectly pure and cltan
It Is carefully graded and packed while
warm In lead-lined chests for shipment
abroad.
The Hindoos Uo !o Drink.
- The chief tea drinkers of Asia are north
of the Himalaya mountains. On the other
lady who has I250.0U0 in her own right, rose.
one of our southern states for the pur- Could you let me see her photograph?' "The deacon droned on In his old familiar side of theso hills the natives soak them.
pose of obesrvlng a solar eclipse. The "-No; that Is not the custom.' the agent way, and when the bell rang he had not selves In tea, and in Tibet and the other
uy ueiore me event one oi me proiessors replied. 'In any case over 1100.000 the pho- even got to ins suujeci. i ne urn i .i. .huiumus Ine people make lea Btteat poured. 1 took up a nandful of the
saia to an ohj colored man belonging to tograph Is never asked for.' "-New York tinkle caused him to start ami rrown. uui, mixing tne Drew with milk, butter ril,'t an.i ,a-ted it It was rather sweet
mH'l,AuBH'ihntmvannoinerrttt li,,t'ni.AAin,,:, . ------ - -
llov llrlcL. Tea Is MimIc.
I was shown the whole process of brick
lea making. Tho tea Is first ground to a
dust and flun sifted by half-naked cuolls,
who stuff their nostrils with cotton battin
to keep the dust out of their lungs. The.e
men are naked to the wuiM, and the per
spiration stood out on I heir yellow skins.
The air was like a Russian bath and the
Clinching- the Argumrnl,
The late Nell Burgess used to clinch,
with an anecdute, his claim that atheists
were always Ignorant.
"A coarse, swaggering fellow," he would
begin, "declared In a barber shop: 'I don't
believe In no hereafter. You live and die
and that's the end of ye.'
" 'Why, you must be a Unitarian, George.'
the barber said.
" 'Huh, not me," was the reply. 'I'm too
meat for that.' "Kansas City
Fighters la I Be Majority.
Representative Harry Maynard of Vir
ginia tells the story of how a religious old
negro In his district put a stop to the
ami the
that my ana oiner rats. Uown here In Hindustan
the Hindoos drink almost no tea, and the
Mohammedans but little. The custom '1h
incieasliig somewhat among the towns
people, but there are millions In India who
have never seen a tea leaf or sipped a
tea cup. Over In Burma they have a way
oi picmng me leaves of the tea plant and
Discovery. eating them for desert, as we eat fi,,,
"Gle us a wee bit lilt Just oot here." he An on" w" imagines ' lacaing ine .eaves are thrown Into boiling water
said, In an accent which told that he also " amenities among the newsboys in the and left there until soft. They are then
was from the land of the haggis. "My auld Dl city hould IIM"n "'Kl"ny thelr rolled mats by hand and rammed Into
mither s In a creetlcal condeetlon oppstaor. laJK- " nen lneB - - " - cane, wnicti is stopped
for these teas steadily grew, and today exercise of Christian charity In the congre
theJr exports are almost twice thnaa nf gallon of which he was a member. It
China and more than five times those of eems that it was
Janttn. Within the last few years the East
the Household wherein the scientist was Times " 'Am I to understand,' he said
quartered: $ five minutes have expired?'
"Tom, if you will watch your chickens to- it i'lnlhe! the Doctor. " 'Yes, deacon,' taid the pastor
morrow morning you'll find that they'll a gaunt and kilted Scotchman made his audience tittered lightly,
go to roost at 11 o'clock. appearance in a country village, and was " 'Then, brethren," said the deacon, 'I
Tom was, of course, skeptical: but at the .endeavoring to charm the locals to charity will throw the rest of my remarks Inl the
appointed hour the heavens were darkened wltlt selections on his bagpipe. A shaggy form of a prayer." "Philadelphia Bulletin,
and the chickens retired to roost. At this haired man onehed the front . door of a '
the man's amazement showed no bounds, hons. and bM-linnnl to ihe minstrel. Disappointing:
and he sought out the scientist.
"Professor," said he. "how long ago did
you know dem chickens would go to roost?'
"About a year ago," said the professor,
smilingly.
"Well, ef dat don't lnnt all!" was the in mv k tr
.... 1 . - ..Il.n. l.bn.linlnnllV ...II V.H
Up and down In front of the house ""e"i'", .. , .
man-had the braw Hlelander. discoursing to cheer him up.
muain tht mlnl.t o.U hov hun lni-1. "Say, Bill, 'OII
dental to a cat and dog fight. Presently f" ' io"1 vsterday-de one I was goin
the shaggy haired man came out again.
"Gle ua the 'Head March' noo," he said.
'Is tha pulr auld lady gone?" questioned
man a comment. professor, a year ago
dem chickens wan't even hatched." Ladles'
Home Journal.
Tha Cold Vtut Lawyer.
Mrs. Sol Smith, the- veteran actress
whose 80th birthday was celebrated by a
When these two each with his pack- a tube of bamboo cane
TU. docto h. ge newspapers under hi. arm-met. one up and buried in ,h. ground until the tea ou t2! , he la.en r?
does mav save her life" appeared somewhat glum and disgruntled; has become pickled, when It Is ready for , . !, , , ' ke" ff
'member list dime I
to treat youse wld?
"Sure," assented Bill, sullenly
then with
but there Is but littlo lea flavor about it.
R Is us thick as giauulatcd tobacco. The
men scoop up tho lea dust with braaa
shovels, each of which holds about lo
pounds, or cii"ii,'li for a brick. Thi is
poured into a cloth and sUamed over boil
ing water. When it has became damp a
little more dust is added and the whole is
emptied Into a rough wooden bowl about
a fool square. It now goes to the press,
and a great weight packs the tea dust into
a brick almost as hard as one of burned
clay. The bricks are left In the moul1.4
to I'U
sale. The leaves are also prepared with a U,'i'', Y tt'' "ereiil sizes and
mixture of oil and salt, and sometimes "V U"J of ",a"y Kraten. Some brine
with assafoetlda. It smells like llmberger a" hl"'1 "'k'e!, " tne e,l'l''',t teas we hai7
chtese, but it Is said to be good for di- '" A""-','1"- T,ley B,' n"de of the first
gestion, and is considered a dainty. It is l'lLKl"tts of tnc lea- found to a dust and
used upon ceremonial occasions Another sttaincd and prersed Into hape. Another
growing reproai h fulness of tone, "I treated method of preparing It Is to throw the 'luallty Is made of later pickings, and still
practice in the church dinner of the Professional Women's league the piper.
Indian planters have decided to enter the
reen tea markets, and they are now ad
vertising such varieties In the same way.
Ceylon alone has already spent In the
neighborhood of t1.000.0ud on green tea In
formation, with such a result that the Chi
nese and Japanese are alarmed, fearing
that they may lose this trade, of which
they still have the monopoly.
Tha Ceylon planters have been giving
to excommunicate for one year any mem- " w or- '' ' mouern spirit, ai
ber who had been guilty of a "blood fight.' "' dinner:
-that is. any man who had attacked an- "The modern spirit Is more mercenary
other with a pistol or a razor. ha" th Plr,t ot th S0- 1 know vry
At the end of the year, If the of fender" beautiful glrl-ln my day shed have been
wished reinstatement, he could so to the married off at U-but. though she la now
Na, na, mon; ye ve saved mlther, ram
the reply: "but ye've killed the pulr doc
tor." Boston Transcript.
"mourners' bench." riso and declare his re
pentance, and be forgiven by the congrega
tion. This went on for many yeais. At
last a young darky wh had been in a par- out to a young lawyer and said:
How Vnrle Joe Is I.IWe Deacon.
Apropos of Speaker Cannon and his dlffi-
, her matrimonial prospects are dark culties in the house, Jerome S. McWade,
and gloomy. at a dinner, said:
"At a tea I pointed the beautiful creature "Speaker Cannon is crafty. He gets his
own way. He reminds me Of a deacon in
ticulaily objectionable broil appeared for 'There's nothing sweewr aud lovnher uiy native LnuulU
youse twlct already, Jim!"
"Well," went on Jim, animatedly, "wot
d'youse fink I found Jus' now? I wuz
feeling round In dls ixcket, an' I found,
right here In dls pocket. I-" A dramatic
ally timed pause. .
"Youse found ddlme!" exclaimed Bill,
brightening up.
"Saw Rill, vou'se always In
wus tryln' to tell youse
hole dat dime got Vrough." Youth's Cuia-paniun.
leaves, after they have been steamed and al,ut1'"' o( lhe refuse of the factories, ce
riavored, into pits of masonry or wells lHt'nf ,,r coarse leaves, broken tea and
lined with plank or bamboo, and then to 1,19 duBt flo,n n,e tahlfs and floors of im
press the tea down with a heavy weight, labllshments wheie. tliey put up lea in
The Burmese are now making 60u.0u0 chests. Both green and black teas are
pounds of pickled tea every year. used, the bricks of the former looking
I am told lhat some of the Himalayan 'or " ,h world like plugs of tobacco,
tribes churn tea as we churn butter. The whlla the latter are a deep chocolate bion .
liun-v. I "'Ixed with soda and put on to boll. The bricks are beautifulv stanu.ed. somr
dat I found de VVhen 'l ' quite hot butter and milk aro limes with the figure of a dragon Jin.l T
auucii, ami me whole Is put into a t.a ways with the name of the firTtMueO
thuiu. After it has bceu well shaka-n about sells lliiuu. 'RANfc. U. CARPLNI lift.