140 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1883. 



hands of tea-dnuking classes. Once reacTi the ronmmers, 

 even fit a sdcrijicef-und as a sequence the merchants and 

 purveyors will follow suit in self-defence, and compete for 

 Indian teas as they do now f.ir Japan and China trash, 

 in order to meet competition anil the public taste. 



Being fully aware of the conclusion arrived at years since, 

 that the i^ublic taste must be educated to the tiavour of 

 Indian teas, your correspondent still differs \vith the means 

 adopted to further this object. The agents of the Syndic- 

 ate in New York undoubtedly do their best in the in- 

 terest of their principals, so far as selling otf their con- 

 signments wholesale. But it is not by this means that a 

 taste will be incLdcaled into tlie mctascSf to insure whose 

 appreciation is the Indian tea grower's yole ai/n. Jly re- 

 ference to the statements made by large tea importers sup- 

 ports this view, as it c(>.s/.s moretoinirodtice it thaaii isjrortli, 

 co:iveys volumes. .Japan and China teas can Vie sold, but 

 Indian teas caiuwt, and it therefore pays best to leav« well 

 alone. I saw chests of splendi<l teas of every class, from 

 Pekoes downwards; and from my own knowledge of their 

 cost and present selling value, some sacrifices have been 

 made, and much money lost, as also valuable work, as no 

 one appreciates these magnificent teas here, — teas that 

 have turned managers' hair grey to produce so carefully ; 

 to show American:^ what India a tea:> are, will be characterized 

 here by tea-drinkers as poor kinds of black tea, (fact,) and 

 yet the same class will leadily pay 75 to bO cents a pound 

 for rank poison cidled colored Japan or Oolonys, but would 

 not pay :-s5 cents for a splendid Indian drinking tea. 

 Americans do not ohject to pay for ndue, and will pay one 

 dollar or even more, for a tea they know to he pare, iin- 

 adnlterated and vncolored. I have met dozens of people who 

 are real lovers of good teas, and ready to pay ant/ price 

 to procure such, and yet these say, that they have not 

 drank tea for years, simjily because they were afraid of 

 it. Blenty of these now drink iiothinff but Assam tea, which 

 thei/jirocurc direct from tnc, and repeatedly thank me for 

 placing them in a position to drink such splendid tea so 

 cheap. The price charged is that of the finest Voloni/, (or 

 Caper) kinds, and it is readily paid for, and acknowledged 

 to be more economical th.an teas costing one-third of the 

 price. If the price was fixed at the rate of cheap teas, 

 they would not buy it, the reason being that they have 

 been so often swindled, but knowing that its excellence and 

 jmrity arc (guaranteed by the seller (in the present case), 

 price becomes only a secondary consideration. Swindling 

 J^ri^e packet lea Companies have lately been prosecuted 

 and suppre.ssed, and it is only the other day that agents 

 have been exposed in this neighbourhood itself for selling 

 teas in packets, offering as inducements various prizes, ac- 

 cording to quantity purchaseii. Fur example, any one who 

 purchased JJ.S'OO worth, would receive a suite of furniture, or 

 a Sewing-machine, which of course never arrived, leaving 

 the purchaser with a stock of rubbish called <e« to con.solo 

 himself with. These " premium " tea concerns are the out- 

 come of the thousands of chests of China teas shut out last 

 yearns ^* impure,'^ and ** spurious '^ by the British Customs 

 avthorities, these same having in due com-se arrived in this 

 comitry, where at that time no prohibition existed against 

 their import. This state of affairs at length has brought 

 its o^vn deserts — the climax Ijeing a combiuo'l petition to 

 Congress from several of the largest importers of teas in 

 the States, including Messrs. Oatherwood ^ Co., Colhurn <f 

 Co., and others. At a meeting of the Philadelphia [Penn] 

 Chamber of C^omnierce held lately, tlie whole affair was 

 ventilated and discussed, and resulted in a bill being placed 

 before Congress, to prevent the importation of spurious or 

 poisonous teas. It met with some opposition, it was stated, 

 prtncipally from Enijlish firms or their representatives, or, who 

 are materially affected as importers. Virtue however was 

 rewarded, and the Bill was pa.sscd only last month ; so 

 now for jnire teas, or none. 



The question arises, how is the taste for Indian teas to 

 he introduced to the ma.'ises upon whose appreciation its future 

 success is dependent, i n tiiis countm/. An opinion is ventured 

 that it will not be by wholesale means, as no one here 

 will buy even a half chest of tea, but hundreds will and 

 do hwy quarter j)onnd packets on trial; and if they drink 

 that amount, will return again and again for Assam tea. 

 Many, however, taste it and ilun't like it, call it herhi/, 

 and drink no more ; many dislike its taste from its sheer 

 Strength, as they put in as nuicU as tbey would of trashy 



Cliina from ignorance, and are .surprised to be nearly knocked 

 down by its great strength. No quantity less than ^ pound 

 should be sold, for this reason, that having paid, say, 20 

 cents for it, they don't like to lose it, and .so will try and 

 drink it again, and when tliey have finished that J ponnd, 

 they will come again for more. Now if people can get a 

 " pinch " or i ounce on trial, there arc hundreds who will 

 " try it," as if it were '■ Senna " tea, spit it out, and never 

 try it again. To properly and successfully intioduce Ind- 

 ian teas in the States and Canada, I am convinced that the 

 " packet " system is the one to be instituted. Agents should 

 be appointed in all large cities, with controlling powers over 

 cert.nin States or districts, and having powers vested as to 

 appointing sub-.agents in all minor towns. These agents 

 should be essentially the servants of any Syndicate or com- 

 bination, being properly salaried and treated as if they were 

 simply ifactory Managers. It may of course be urged that 

 it would not pay to give an agent, say K300 or R20L' a 

 month, simply on the chance of selling a few pounds of 

 teas, but this is the sacrifice, or the "sprat "to catch the 

 mackerel. Contingent expenses, such as office, advertizing, 

 travelling, &c., would of course, have to be estimated for, 

 and the agents should be required to engage in no other 

 business than that of pushing forward Indian teas. The 

 Syndicate would, through its New York agents, ar- 

 range for keeping up continuous supplies in such quant- 

 ties as needed according to periodical indents. The lead- 

 ing representative periodical of American Industries anim- 

 adverts .itronr/ly on the point of the universal consump- 

 tion of Indian teas, and recognizes America as a vast field 

 for the future of Indian teas ; and your correspondent 

 ventures an opinion that there are thousands of people 

 in these States who will gladly (h-ink Indian teas if they 

 only taste them properly at a moderate (not cheap) itrice, nnd 

 obtain regular supplies under guarantee of purity. A custom 

 exists almost universally in America of boilinc/ tea as if it 

 were coffee, and this not unfrequently in copper kettles. 

 The expression of the Taunic acid and the sequent efltects 

 of then combined action, has, in seme cases I am certain, 

 led to cases of suspicious malicious, poisonmg, and three such 

 cases are now fresh in my mind, where arrests have been 

 made in suspected cases of arsenical poisoning. 



As to the means and w.ays to be followed in order to carry 

 out the foregoing hints, these are open to discussion and 

 suggestions, and the statements and ideas are founded upon 

 practical experience and not upon theoretic assumptions. 



I .shall have more to say upon this subject at a future 

 day. •' Stae Spangled." 



TOBACCO CULTIVATION AND CURING. 



M' nioranduni on Tobacco Cultivation and Curiny at Gazipur 

 in contrast with the French system described by JKumar Go- 

 zend'ra Narayan, Jr., of Kuch Behar, in his Memorandum, 

 page 19 of his Report on the Cultivation and Manufacture 

 of Tobacco in France, ISSl. 



Shelter for field. — The tobacco fields are usually sheltered 

 from the hot west winds by a high crop on that side, or, 

 in the absence of this, by sowing a hue of castor-oil 

 plants or any other fast and high-growing crop. The cult- 

 ivation commences in July. In France in October. 



notation of crops. — AVe follow the American system, and 

 tobacco is grown on the same land only once, or on rich 

 land twice, in three years. The land usually lies fallow 

 the third year, or should do, and in America a crop of 

 oats is often sown, which crop is ploughed into the land 

 just as the ears commence to form. In I'rance tobacco is 

 grown on the same land only once in from five to seven 

 years. 



Manure. — The manure at Gazipur and Poosa consists 

 principally of cowdung and vegetable manure, such as leaves, 

 indigo sect, &c. ; at Gazipur a good de.al of night-soil and 

 poppy trash. "The land is manured yearly. 



Soil. — Lands suitable for sugarcane and poppy are selected 

 as being the richest. The land is ])loughed from com- 

 mencement of rains to time of planting, or earlier if feasible. 



Seed-bed. — A juece of good high land is selected, well 

 ploughed, cleaned and manured with good old manure (low 

 ground woidd swamp.) The ground, when soil has become 

 well pulverised, is now marked otf into beds four feet 

 broad and miming the w-hole length of the ground. The 

 bed is slightly raised in the centre as a protection against 



