Though the signatures differ, I conceive Mr. C. B. Fergus, C.E., wrote the second as well as the first. He has evidently pondered the matter well. Let others do so too, and I foretell that the day is not far distant when _flat_ Tea gardens will, in a great measure, be cultivated by steam or animal power. When this is so, even 8 annas (say 10_d._) per lb. for our Tea all round should pay us well. _Tea Manufacturing Machinery._ The processes in Tea manufacture, as generally practised in India to-day, are-- 1. Plucking. 2. Withering. 3. Sorting green leaf in a measure, and separation of Pekoe Tips. 4. Rolling. 5. Fermenting. 6. Drying or firing. 7. Sorting. 8. Final heating before packing. No. 3 is not always done, the others invariably. I will consider the machines invented for each process, in the order of the said processes. _Plucking._--No machine has ever been invented for this, and I do not think any is possible. _Withering._--In any but continued wet weather no artificial means are necessary. The leaf, spread thinly and exposed to the action of the air below and around (former attained by any kind of mesh), withers perfectly.[96] In continued wet weather artificial means are sometimes required. The various Dryers in use (see further on) are sometimes supposed to furnish the means, but their use necessitates much labour, nor is the result satisfactory. A good withering machine (it must be on a large scale) might, I think, be easily invented; there is none at present. Why do none of the inventors of other Tea machinery try to succeed in this? _Sorting Green Leaf._--This is sometimes attempted in a rough way by the use of sieves of different meshes. To separate the fine from the coarse leaf, and in some cases to eliminate the Pekoe tips, is the object. A machine by John Greig and Co., of Edinburgh, professes to do the latter. I have never seen it, but I doubt any machine abstracting the Pekoe tips alone. A machine which would, however, separate the fine from the coarse leaf previous to rolling is, I think, quite feasible, and it would conduce much to good Tea. This, again, is an opening for inventors. _Rolling._--This is perhaps the most important of all processes in Tea manufacture. The object of it is to break the cells in the Tea and liberate the sap (fermentation could not take place otherwise), and further to give a tight roll or twist to the leaf. Formerly this was always done by hand (it is so done in China, I believe, to this day), but the process was lengthy, expensive and dirty. I might perhaps add inefficient, for doubtless machine-rolled Tea is better done (better in appearance, better in liquor) than hand-rolled. I will now consider-- _Tea Rolling Machines._ The inventors are Jackson, Kinmond, Haworth, Lyle, Greig and Thompson. There may be others, but I have not heard of them.