A« 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July i, 1882. 



at half the cost. (It may be well to explain that both 

 substances are about the same price per ton, but coprolite 

 contains about twice as much phosphate as ordinary super- 

 phosphate.) So important is a good start, however, that 

 some more quickly acting form of phosphate slionld accom- 

 pany the slow coprolite. The rapid start by superphos- 

 phate we have seen was somewhat deceptive ; the promi.se 

 at lii-st held out was not maintained ; on the other hand, 

 bone flour gave a start not nnich behind, and its action was 

 more continuous. Tliis is precisely our experience in Abcr- 

 deenshii-e. Five years later on, however, it was foimd 

 that the surperphosphate augmented a disease well known 

 as " finger-and-toe " disease, but more correctly a club-root 

 disease— it is distinct from the magg-ot tubercles so common 

 in the south of England. On the whole, considermg the 

 action of all these phosphates in the field, considermg their 

 composition and their price, the most efficacious and 

 most economical form of phosphate ajipears to be, in 

 Sussex as in Aberdeenshire, a mixture in equal parts of 

 steamed bone and coproUte, both gi'ound to a flomy state. 



INDIAN TEA IN NEW MARKETS. 



If anything would justify the attention wbich has 

 been given to the subject of opening up new markets, it 

 will be found in the news rfceived by us last mail from 

 Australia, and in the Report of the Tea Syndicate which 

 we give in another place. The considerable number of 

 packages ottered in Melbourne, at the last public sale, 

 were not only all sold, but eagerly taken up, at improved 

 prices all round, and several lots changed hands at a 

 protit ; while the trade now, there quite look forward 

 to these Indian tea sales. When such a result has been 

 arrived at in so short a time, we may fairly congrat- 

 ulate ourselves, and feel justified and encouraged in niak- 

 lug sill further effort; for we may be sure that the 

 liking for Indian tea in Au8i,ralia is now well rooted, 

 and will spread with rapidity. Ahvady we hear com- 

 plaints that no public auctions of Indian tea are htld at 

 Sydney, and orders from there for several thousand 

 pounds'' weight were a short while b.ack sent to Mel- 

 bourne. Mn Sibthorpe, in his report on the Australian 

 market, was disposed to discredit the chances at Syd- 

 ney, although ifhy, we at the time, as now, could not 

 uud'erstaud" Leisure did not permit him, perhaps, 

 personally to experiment,* and he thus had to take very 

 much for granted wliat people said ; and the fact is, 

 at the time not very much confidence was felt re- 

 garding the future of India tea in Australia. A variety 

 of circumstances, however, fortuitously happen, d t to 

 spread the renown of our teas much more quickly than 

 peoi)le had dared to hope for, and the result is now 

 thiit they are being eagerly iiiquir.,d for, from all parts 

 of the Colony ; aod »e m.ay look to find a steadily in- 

 creaomg demand, which shall in no very distant time 

 amouut°to quite an appreciable figure. 



We do not think that planters liave hitherto been so 

 jubilant at the position reached as they fairly should 

 be ; but it is au Englishman's privilege too grumble ; 

 and those interested in Indian tea have forst long had 

 cause for grumbling, that they cunnot all a once get- 

 out of the habit. The complaints »e. hear, how 

 ever, appear to amount to this: — that i t ia a long 

 time before owners see the colour of their money. Wull, 

 this has been so no doubt, and in the initiatory stage of 



»But we know that he did his best, taking special advant- 

 age of .-m agricultural show in April 1S81, to introduce Indian 

 tea He complained to us of the immovable apathy 

 of Sydney firms. There was no firm of Henty & Co. 

 there and no J. O. Moody. Mr. Jas. Inghs was acting as 

 Commissioner for India in Melboui-ne. He is now in 

 Sydney, and, aided by Mr. Pitt Brown, is working zeal- 

 ously in the interest of Imlian tea.— Ed. 



+ " Fortuitously happened"! Messrs. Mondy, Iiiglis and 

 others pressed the iatrinsic merits of Indian tea, pointing to 

 analyses by Newbery and Dunn ; and they succeeded. — Ed. 



affairs it cou'd not well be otherwise ; but the draw- 

 back will diminish, as time goes on,— although, of 

 course, so long as the teas of all gardens are bulked 

 by the Syndicate, there is no obtaining, as in the 

 case of direct lionie shipments. Advances. It is a 

 long way from the garden to Melbiurnc (before leav- 

 ing Calcutta for which pace the teas have to be 

 collected, bulked, and repacked), and sales are not, 

 in Australia, weekly as with us, nor is the pajuient 

 by buyers, we fancy, fo prompt as here. Then wlien 

 remittances do rench Calcutta, tliere is necessarily si.me 

 delay, owing to the partitioning of thf amuunrj umong 

 so many. Of course in case of larc;e public ■ om|ianies, 

 tlie inconvenience is not felt much, but we can quite 

 understand why there should exist nmong-t private 

 owners some little soreness at a good deal of weary 

 waiting. However, as we say, the thing is to a 

 Certain extent inevitable, and people must find their 

 consolation in knowing that all share alike, and that 

 their money is safe, — which might not have been the 

 case had they had to trust to unknown and irresponsible 

 agents at so great a distance. 



Thus much for the Australian market. Now as to 

 America. It will be remembered that it is only a 

 month or so ago that encouragement held out to us, 

 there, was not of the heartiest description ; and we 

 were reminded that progress would be very slow, and 

 success by no means certain : while we were told to 

 prepare, at any rate for preliminary loss. Well, here 

 again we have been agreeably disappointed. The 

 latest advices report a decided inquiry for our 

 teas, and a brightening prospect,— the more so aa 

 Japaa is losing her hold on the Americ^iu market, 

 and even is seriously beginning to question the 

 desirability of continuing the trade. Her manu- 

 facture has so deteriorated that her teas no longer 

 fetch remunerative prices ; and, with the apathy of 

 orientals, tbe Jiipanese seem prepared rather to let 

 things elide than to bestow the requisite care and 

 expense to restore to themselves their former position. 

 We showed in a recent article what a prospect was 

 thus opened up to this country : and indeeil the effects 

 of the change have already begun to sensibly mani- 

 fest themselves. It now rtmaius for us to seize ou 

 the opportunity with vigilance, earnestness, and m- 

 telVujence. There is now reason to believe that America 

 will follow speedily the example of Australia, and 

 become iu time a tirm patron of Indian tea. The 

 hands of the Calcutta Syndicate shouhl therefore be 

 strengthened in every possible way, to enable them to 

 exploit the maiket on a sufficiemly liberal scale; for 

 it is no use trying to create a demand if, when it comes, 

 you are not in a position adequately to meet it. Any 

 doubt on this point existing iu the minds of the 

 American trade would be fatal to our future per- 

 manent success. We do not mean, of course, that In- 

 dia cannot give America all she is likely to ask for, — 

 nrovided the requisite organization exists, adequately 

 supported — but what we do mean is, that if supplies of 

 tea 10 the Syndicate fall short of possible requirements 

 — which seem likely earlic" to be much larger than was 

 originally expected — we should lose the vantage-ground 

 we hope to gain ; for it must be borne in mind that the 

 ."Syndicate is not a speculative public Company, able to 

 supply itself with siock from the open market. Such is 

 against the fundamental principles of the body, which 

 S:ieks to act as the pioneer, only, in opening up new 

 mirkete, — depending entirely for its aupplUs upon the 

 tea industry. Tbe larger, therefore, the support the 

 Symlieate receives, the greutr will be its power for 

 achieving successful results. * , * * 



The necessity is tliat a "Bulking Company" should 

 be formed to take over the business of the Syndicate 

 when they decide to continue no longer, and that this 

 Company should work on the lines laid down by the 

 Syndicate, whose experience — so valuable — has been 



