CHAPTER V.
THE MERCHANT SHOWMAN.
ELL, so it is to be about tea to-day," Mr. Graham at once began. "Supposing I do not know anything about it, though; what are we to do then? I know tea comes from an evergreen plant, something like a myrtle, but that isn't much information, is it? Wait a minute, though, children," he then went on, "and you shall have a proper lesson to-day." And as he spoke Mr. Graham disappeared, soon to return with a fellow passenger, a tea merchant, who would be the kind "show-man" for to-day.
"How far did you get?" he asked, as he sat amongst the group of father, mother, and children, for Mrs. Graham had also come to "the show" to-day.
"That tea was an evergreen plant, something like the myrtle," Sybil said, laughing; and all laughed with her.
GATHERING TEA-LEAVES.
SIFTING TEA.
"Then I have it all to do, it seems. Well, the tea-plant yields a crop after it has been planted three years, and there are three gatherings during the year: one in the middle of April, the second at midsummer, and the third in August and September. I suppose it will do if we begin here. The plant requires very careful plucking, only one leaf being allowed to be gathered at a time; and then a tree must never be plucked too bare. Women and children, who are generally, though not always, the tea gatherers, are obliged to wash their hands before they begin their work, and have to understand that it is the medium-sized leaves which they have to pick, leaving the larger ones to gather the dew. When the baskets are full, into which the leaves have been dropped, they are carried away hanging to a bamboo slung across the shoulders, which is a very usual way of carrying things in China. The tea-plant is the most important vegetable production of the 'Flowery Land.' But as there are, you know, several kinds of tea, I think I had better tell you how that called Congou, which, I suppose, you generally drink yourselves, is prepared. The leaves are first spread out in the air to dry, after which they are trodden by labourers, so that any moisture remaining in them, after they have been exposed to the air or sun, may be pressed out; after this they are again heaped together, and covered for the night with cloths. In this state they remain all night, when a strange thing happens to them, spontaneous heating changing the green leaves to black or brown. They are now more fragrant and the taste has changed.
"The next process is to twist and crumple the leaves, by rubbing them between the palms of the hands. In this crumpled state they are again put in the sun, or if the day be wet, or the sky threatening, they are baked over a charcoal fire.
"Leaves, arranged in a sieve, are placed in the middle of a basket-frame, over a grate in which are hot embers of charcoal. After some one has so stirred the leaves that they have all become heated alike, they are ready to be sold to proprietors of tea-hongs in the towns, when the proprietor has the leaves again put over the fire and sifted.
"After this, women and girls separate all the bad leaves and stems from the good ones; sitting, in order to do so, with baskets of leaves before them, and very carefully picking out with both their hands all the bad leaves and stems that the sieve has not got rid of. The light and useless leaves are then divided from those that are heavy and good, when the good are put into boxes lined with paper."
"What is scented Caper Tea?" Mr Graham asked.
"Oh, father! I am so glad that there's something you have to ask," Leonard said, "as you seemed to know everything."
SORTING TEA.
"The leaves of scented Orange Pekoe," the merchant answered, "obtain their fragrance by being mixed with the flowers of the Arabian jessamine, and when scented enough, they are separated from the flowers by sieves. Scented Caper Tea is made from some of the leaves of this Orange Pekoe.
PRESSING BAGS OF TEA.
TEA-TASTING.
"Those leaves which are prepared at Canton are black or brown, with a slight tinge of yellow or green. The tea-leaves growing on an extensive range of hills in the district of Hokshan are often forwarded to Canton, where they are made into caper in the following manner. But I wonder if Leonard knows what 'shan' means?" the merchant interrupted. He did, for he had seen in his geography that "shan" meant mountain. "A tea-hong," the merchant continued, "is furnished with many pans, into which seventeen or eighteen handfuls of leaves are put. These are moistened with water, and stirred up by the hand. As soon as they are soft they are put into coarse bags, which, tightly fastened, look like large balls.
WEIGHING TEA.
"These bags are moved backwards and forwards on the floor by men holding on to wooden poles, and standing upon them. In each bag the leaves take the form of pellets, or capers.
"The coarse leaves, gathered from finer ones, thus made into Caper, after being well fired, are put into wooden troughs, and chopped into several pieces, and it is these pieces which become the tea which we call Caper."
"Thank you very much," said Mr. Graham. "I did not know anything of this."
"Tea-merchants are most particular, before buying and selling tea, to taste it and to test its quality.
"And before it is shipped away it is also very carefully weighed, when I myself, I know, for instance, sit by, watching the process, and taking account of the result."
"I suppose tea isn't ever sent about in wheel-barrows?" then said Leonard, who liked very much indeed the idea of wheel-barrows with sails up, such as he had heard about.
GOING TO MARKET.
"I never saw it," was the merchant's reply; "but if you are interested in wheel-barrows, you might like to hear about one that I once saw in China. It was conveying not only goods, and the scales wherewith to weigh them, to market, but the family also to whom the goods belonged. The family party made a great impression upon me. The master of the barrow was pushing it from behind, a donkey was pulling it in front, and on the donkey rode a boy; a woman and two children were driven in the wheel-barrow, besides the goods for market. I thought the man and donkey must have a heavy load between them, but both seemed to work most cheerfully and willingly; and a sail in the centre of the wheel-barrow, gathering the full force of the wind, must have been a great help to them.
"The donkey was guided by no reins, only by the voice of the boy on his back, who carried a stick, but had no occasion to use it, although every now and then he just raised it in the air. Sometimes the boy ran beside the donkey. Anyhow suited the willing little beast, who was as anxious as his master to do his best. A dog completed the number of the party.
"The man told me that he was truly fond of this dog, and gave him 'plenty chow-chow' (plenty to eat), and that he considered he owed all his wealth to him, as he had once come to the house, and had since then remained with the family.
"A strange dog coming to, and remaining at, a house is looked upon by the Chinese as bringing good luck to the family, but a strange cat coming is a bad omen."
The children laughed.
"This man certainly treated his dog very well, as do some few of his countrymen; but, alas! alas! so many poor little faithful dogs in China, as in other countries, lead anything but happy lives!"
