twelve to sixteen pickings in a single season, the Chinese grower being limited to three or four at the utmost. Each separate picking in India is termed a “Flush,” a number of flushes constituting a “Break” or “Chop,” as in China, which is rarely more than 100 chests and frequently as low as 20, but generally uniform in grade. There is another remarkable feature about India teas; it is that while the first, second and third pickings of all other teas are respectively inferior to each other there is nothing in the India pickings to denote their relationship to any crop or gathering. The number of pickings from the India plant also varies considerably according to the soil, situation, garden and season. When all these conditions are favorable, the plantation will yield as many as sixteen “flushes,” while ordinarily and often under the most unfavorable conditions five to six are obtained in a single season. There is no radical difference between the Chinese and Indian methods of preparation up to what is termed the “Rolling process;” it being performed in the latter country very lightly and only by a minimum of pressure by machinery. Each day’s collection is immediately “withered” until thoroughly evaporated, when they are as promptly cured and fired. The processes of fermenting and firing are not as detailed or complete as in China, the India planter aiming to secure the component properties of a _strong tea_ at the expense of _flavor_ and keeping qualities. In India the tea is generally prepared from the young shoots, two leaves only being picked at a time and “withered” in the open air without any extraneous aid, much, however, depending on the skill and knowledge of the operators in arresting the process at the exact moment. When the proper point is reached they are immediately removed to a “drying” room, and laid out on trays until the excessive moisture has been dissipated, this process being hastened by occasional blasts of hot air driven through by a machine. When sufficient moisture has been extracted they are placed in a heavy rolling machine and tossed about until all the cellular tissues are broken, when they begin to curl up tightly, as if by the action of the hand, after which they are placed in heaps on tables for some hours to allow them to ferment; the color, meanwhile, changing from green to a dark bronze during the process.