1^6 



THE TROPICAL AGmCVLrVRlBf. 



[Stpf. i, i^^ 



It may be good news to your readers to hear 

 that the fancy bleaching has, as I foretold, been 

 found out to be but a superficial excellence. It 

 caught the broker's fancy for many years in the 

 case of the brands above-mentioned as being unique 

 and apparently superior ; but it is one of the 

 tricks of trade — just as boiling pepper on the same 

 properties — which have but a limited existence. 

 Now, you ought to invent a dodge to add to the 

 aroma of your already highly-flavoured tea. I hope 

 to hear that salaries have reached more respect- 

 able figures, and that commissions on profits have 

 become general. " Muzzle not the ox that treadeth 

 out the corn."— Yours truly, ABERDONENSIS. 



'Our correspondent promised to tell us some- 

 thing more particular, about cardamom preparation 

 in India.— Ed. C. 0.^ 



ENEMIES OF GROTON-OIL PLANTS. 



Wattegama, 24th July 188G. 



DtAK SiK, — By thi> post I send you some beetles 

 and caterpillars taken off Croton oil trees. I find 

 they eat flowers, leaves, tender branches, skin of the 

 fruit, and even tender fruit. 



I may here mention that up to January last (some 

 9 years since 1 first planted croton) I never saw any 

 insect attack and injure the croton plant or tree. 



I had a small patch ^V-acre attacked in January 

 which was soon checked by picking the beetle, 

 throwing ashes over, and then shaking the trees 

 when the caterpillars fell off. I purchased some 

 village fowls who soon picked them up and fattened 

 on them, 



I quite agree with Mr. Westland that taken in 

 time tlie damage will not be much, as the trees 

 soon recover. I have another attack of this pest 

 now.— Yours faithfully, J. HOLLO WAY. 



[Colombo, 28th July 18Sfi.— The caterpillars I do 

 not know. They are probably the larvn? of some 

 small moth. The other insects are not beetles but 

 bngs belonging to the family Scntellerid;t:. Length 

 half-an-inrh, breadth three-tenths of an inch 

 ground color metallic green, which in some positions 

 has a coppery tinge ; three oblong blue-black spots 

 in a line across thorax close to head : three large 

 ones beneath them, with two smaller ones on each 

 side of the row ; six large spots on Scutellum in 

 two longitudinal rows witli a black pear-| '.'?jjied 

 line between the four upper spots. The im /jj^'^'e 

 insect is of a more rounded form and tlAe />/'', 

 markings are rather differently arranged- j^j / 

 vary in size according to their age. The""' /ose^*^^^ 

 appear to have a wide distribution andt^^ sa tne- 



tunes common 

 -Ed.1 



in Colombo. — Entowoloi;'' 



./ 



Jeree 



DETERIORATION IN" THE QUALITY OF 

 CEYLON TEAS. 



•iOtii July 18813. 



hiuHi HiR; — Many opinions of late have been 

 given as the causes to which can be ascribed the 

 deterioration in the <jualities of our Ceylon teas. 

 Many of them are mere conjectures, and, if our 

 teas have actually fallen in rank, from the first 

 teas in the world to a mere average, too many 

 opinions cannot be obtained, if in the end, one 

 can be given and proved to be correct. 



My own idea is, that far too much is made of 

 this supposed deterioration. 



That it may exist to a small extent is perfectly 

 j)Ossible, and I think if it does, it is solely and 

 alone due to the vast quantity of leaf now manu- 

 factured from immature bushes. But, that it does 

 exist to the extent home dealers would wi^ih us 

 touuderitaud, I do oot for one uiomeut believe. 



Dealers in tea are no more exempt from the 

 " customs of the trade," than dealers in other 

 products ; and my firm belief is, tea-tasters often, 

 and many of them invariably, suit their palates 

 to the " requirements of the trade." 



I never did much believe in tea-tasting ; my 

 own little personal experience of London tea-tasters 

 being that on three opinions on one sample, I 

 had values ranging from lOd to Is 4d ; one report- 

 ing " poor thin liquor," and another " ricu, etc.," 

 and "considerably above the usual run of Ceylon 

 teas," and all these from supposed competent men. 



Tea-tasters' mouths, like other folk's, vary ac- 

 cording to state of liver ! 



To find the reasons for the deterioration of our 

 Ceylon teas, I think we have to look to home. 

 Till within the last twelve months our exports 

 were not much felt in the London market. Our 

 teas were reckoned as " fancy teas " of a high 

 quality and fetched, not fancy, but real values. 

 Why are not these real values obtained now ? 

 I think the reasons are obvious. I repudiate the 

 idea that there is any appreciable change in quality. 

 High-class manufacturers in the island are turn- 

 ing out their teas as before, many of them have 

 no leaf from young bushes to afl'ect them, they 

 manure as they did before, pluck in the same way, 

 and bar that their bushes may be a year older, 

 and their factories fitted up with more approved 

 machinery, no reason, atmospheric or otherwise, 

 can be ascribed to London reports on ijuality, 

 without going into the " secrets of the trade." 

 It is an extraordinary and signific?.nt fact, 

 that the observer of the various marks and 

 prices of our various estate teas cannot help 

 having of late remarked, that while sundry 

 marks have fallen from 2d to 3d per lb., others 

 have hardly altered at all ; if not, why not? I fear 

 we are being duped. As a rule, London dealers in 

 Ceylon teas, have been and are dealers in Indian 

 and China teas for years, have vast interests 

 directly and indirectly in the advancement, or at 

 any rate keeping together, of these latter countries 

 and their teas. They find Ceylon imports have 

 increased and are increasing to an alarming ex- 

 tent, and what is natural, they begin to think 

 which business will pay or does pay them best. 

 The advancement of the one must mean the keep- 

 ing back of the other, and in the equalising of 

 the value they keep the whole business together, 

 and they l^eep back Ceylon Tea^. They cannot serve 

 all masters, and so endeavour to make all equal. 

 I think Ceylon teas and India teas may now be 

 said to be very nearly about equal value in 

 Mincing Lane ; any way they are fast approaching 

 that end. Are they in reality ? Certainly not. Prices 

 for the same article for some time proved this. 



Retail dealers have likewise damaged our charac- 

 ter ; they cannot afford to sell our teas pure and 

 simple ; profit on such would not be sufficient, and 

 the means lost of disposing of the cheaper and 

 more paying descriptions. So long therefore as the 

 above goes on I see no prospect of improvement. 

 As Ceylon exports increase we may see a rise in 

 prices, as then it may pay the dealers to give up 

 the one and take to the other, but as business is 

 being done at present our teas, I do not think, will 

 ever again rise to their real value. Political dis- 

 turbances in Great Britain may account for a 

 general depression in all trades but not to the 

 equalising of articles unequal in value. 



My firm impression is gathered from facts, and 

 from some commercial experience in E. C. in years 

 gone by. There exists a ring to keep Ceylon teas 

 back, that the said deterioration in quality is a 

 mere humbug and excuse, and that by the few in 

 Ceylon who are io a positiou to do io. a liriu arsd 



