artificially developed by manufacture. David Crole declares that
they are developed "to a certain extent during withering, and
also during the first stage of firing," which last process, if
carelessly conducted, "oxidises it (the oil) into resin."

Green tea, they first remove from the green leaf, imparts very
little flavor or scent to its infusion. In some Oolong Black
teas, and in some Ceylon Black teas, these oils are highly
developed and are very fragrant. In the black Souchongs and
Congous they have again been altered by treatment, but are no
less perceptible, and to many, are quite as agreeable. Although
constituting only one-half to one per cent. by weight of the
dried leaf, these oils are all-important to the trademan and to
the consumer.

These volatile oils are strongest in new teas, and are gradually
wasted by exposure to the atmosphere. Robert Fortune and other
travelers in China have stated that the Chinese will not use new
teas, but allow them to pass through a sort of "ripening"
process. Mr. Crole, speaking probably of the Indian teas with
which he was so familiar as a planter and chemist, says that
"tea should always be kept for a year before being drank. If the
infusion of freshly manufactured tea is drank, it causes violent
diarrhea; therefore it should be kept a year before it is
consumed, in order to let it mellow."

There is no doubt that the more impervious the package containing
tea is to the air, the more perfectly the finer qualities of the
tea are preserved. If there is a necessity for ripening or
mellowing by time, air should be rigidly excluded during that