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THE TKGFZCAL AGRICULTURIST. 





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found very much larger, whilst the return now obtained 

 on same is almost infinitesimal. The estimated out- 

 turn from the province for the year 1884 as shown by 

 the last returns received by the Association is 

 48,335,000 1b., or an average yield from the total area 

 under tea of 257 1b., or say 3.]'maunds per acre, 



From the baokers' sale lists, I find that the average 

 price realized for the portion of the past season's crop 

 sold in Calcutta is 8 annas 9 pie per lb., and we may 

 take this to represent also the value of the teas sent 

 direct from the gardens to Loudon, where the range 

 of values will not he found, I think, on the whole 

 to differ materially from that current here. Taking 

 then the val ue of the crop of 18S4 at 8 annas 9 pie 

 per lb., aud the average yield at 3] mauuds, in order 

 to obtain a return of say 10 per cent on a capital of 

 K500 per acre, there should be a margin of fully 3 

 anuas per lb. between the cost of production and the 

 price realized for the teas. This would necessitate 

 the teas b-ing laid down in Calcutta at less than G 

 annas per lb., aud we all know that very few gardens 

 have hitherto done this. The average cost of Assam, 

 Cachar, and Sylhet teas in Calcutta, including charges 

 for selling, is probably about 8 annas per lb. for 1SS4. 

 In some concerns, the cost of production may have 

 been Ies=, but in a great many cases last season, I fear, 

 it was more. 



I have troubled you with these figures as they help 

 to show the critical position in which the tea in- 

 dustry at present stands, and the. absolute necessity 

 for a reduction of expenditure in the abseuce of any 

 prospect of a material rise in prices, which the in- 

 creasing production that may he expected from the 

 large extensions carried out of late years both in India 

 and Ceylon render very improbable. 



Without taking an alarmist view of the situation, 

 it is evident that gardens cannot go on for any length 

 of time producing tea at a cost greater than the 

 price obtained for it, and unless a remedy can 

 be applied, many estates will eventually have to be 

 closed, with disastrous consequences to the proprietors 

 and those employed by them. Attention has for 

 some time past been directed to this subject and 

 efforts ma le to reduce expenditure, but more remains 

 to be done. Managers have much in their power in 

 connection with this matter. The bulk of the outlay 

 for working a garden is for labour and stores, and 

 upon the careful use or the abuse of these by a 

 manager may depend the question of profit or no 

 profit. Managers must recognize this aud act accord- 

 ingly. We find one Manager making his tea at a 

 local cost of 4 annas per lb., while his neighbour, 

 working under similar conditions, but with less atten- 

 tion to economy aud to the judicious application of his 

 labour to the work requiring to be done, runs up his 

 expenditure to 5 annaB and 6 annas per lb. 



The cost of importing labour has, by the extension 

 of the system of recruiting by garden sirdars, been 

 considerably reduced during recent years. Prices of 

 manufacturing aud othtr stoes are also lower, and 

 considerable reductions have been made in the rates 

 of freight to and from Assam. Machinery is still a 

 heavy item of expense, inoic especially since the 

 introduction of tea dryers, some of these machines, 

 with the frequent renewals they require, alterations 

 and improvements', en ; ailing a heavy outlay on gardens 

 in addition to their original cost. The principal 

 expense on a girdeD is for labour, and attention 

 must be direcu il to the possibility of effecting a 

 large reductii n under this head. This may be 

 done by a more economical use of the labour avail- 

 able and by getting better work from the coolies so 

 that fewer hands will be required. It is in connec- 

 tion with the suhject of reducing the expenditure 

 for labour tint proposals have been made fordoing 

 away with the payment of a bonus to coolk,. pa 



re-engaging. I do not know how this practice of 

 giving a bonus originated, but it has now been in 

 force for many years. The system, as the Chair- 

 man has stated, is unknown in any other industry, 

 and while entailing an outlay on tea properties that 

 they are no longer able to bear, is of doubtful 

 benefit to the coolies, but hitherto no real effort has 

 been made to do away with it. From the inform- 

 ation which the Committee of the Association have 

 been able to obtain, it would appear that upwards 

 of ten lakhs of rupees are annually spent in piv- 

 ment of bonus to coolies in Assam, Cachar, aud 

 Sylliet. This represents more than one per cent on 

 the sum of 947 lakhs, which I have taken to be 

 about the amount of the nominal capital invested 

 in tea in these districts, and is probably about 

 half the nett profits realize! from the gardens during 

 the past season. In doiug away with the bonus I 

 do not think that we should be inflicting any real 

 hardship upon the cooly." 



In Ccylou we have a better climate, better com- 

 muuicatious, and the system of bonus is unknown. 

 Our position, therefore, is much more favourable. 



TEA : KACHAE, NOTES. 



It is a strange fact that, whenever the market falls, the 

 " character " of the tea also declines. But we have always 

 looked on this as one of the broker's " little ways " which 

 t( no fellow can understand." However, a well-known 

 London house has stated boldly that Indian tea uow-a- 

 days is very inferior to what was made by the good old 

 planter in the good old days, and many papers have wept 

 over our deterioration. This firm also suggests that 

 there is something radically wrong with the man- 

 ner in which we now wither our leaf — to which ]irocess 

 we give tx> little attention. Now I would not for 

 the world contradict such a high authority, but would 

 it let a little light fall on the subject if I mentioned that 

 one of the partners of this firm was " a good old planter" 

 in the " good old days," who invented a machine to 

 wither leaf, which unfortunately was not appreciated by 

 his fellow-planters? I state the facts — my readers can 

 draw their own conclusions. Though it is absurd to assert 

 that Indian tea is now inferiorto what it was from fifteen 

 to twenty years ago, yet it is well that special attention 

 has been drawn to " witherin g," as it is impossible to 

 make good tea from badly withered leaf, aud, although 

 this is an universally recognized axiom, still a goodjmany 

 planters do not calculate heforeliand what is tho largest 

 space they arc likely to need in the season — while per- 

 haps in August a great rush of leaf comes with a long- 

 coutinued spell of wet weather, and tea houses get. tilled 

 with leaf that will not wither, and which has to he manu- 

 factured anyhow. A poor invoice of tea is the result, 

 followed by a thundering letter from the agents wanting 

 to know why tin; tea has fallen olf so, and fearing tho 

 Manager lias not ''given that attention to his manu- 

 facturing, - ' &e. — ( Calcutta Enqlishmahi. 



♦- 



Tiik "Saw Tkeu." — We attiaot attention to an 

 extract with further interesting particulars about tho 

 Albizzia stipulata which will be found on page 9-4, 

 This Albizzia, like a good many more of the same 

 species, is indigenous to Ceylon ; and it is ap- 

 parently to be freely found iu the chenas and forests 

 arourjd and north of Kandy, aud we learn today from 

 Mr. J. H. Madden that he has good reason for believ- 

 ing that he has the tree shading a patch of coffee on 

 Wewclmadde estate, tho good bearing qualities of 

 which he has noticed for some time. Three years 

 ago; before the Indian reference to the tree appeared, 

 Mr, Hadd'ii called < iur atteution to the suhject, send 

 ing us a branch lor ident fication, without, however, 

 the m ittcr receiving vtleution at tbe time. Mr. Iladdeu 

 is of the same opinion as the writer in the Indian 

 Planters' Gazette that the benefit conferred is from 

 the fill of leaf, and the surface manuring so entailed. 

 Experiments in cultivating this tree among tea 

 we are glad to learn, likely to be made. 



