100 



'liiL TKui^iCAt AGKiCOLTURlST. 



[At'6(J6T ?, J%} 



Some few years eince Japan sliawecl suflicient enterpri ze 

 to make up a lot o£ pekoe for Ibis market in imitation of 

 Indian pekoes. Theee teas look well, are fully up to the 

 stamlard for .strength, but they are overtired, anil want the 

 aroma of the Assam pekoe; and failing to command good 

 prices, are no more imported. This is an instrnctive lebson ; 

 the same tea which, fired and got up as a pekoe, scarcely 

 saleable at sixteen pence in this market, is worth two 

 shillings prepared as natural leaf or basKet fired. 



The one lesson which I wish to convey to the Indian 

 planter is, that here is a market large enough to absorb the 

 whole Indian output,* but that if India thinks seriously ot 

 competing tor a share of the tiade, she must adapt her teas 

 to the market. 



The Canadian demand for Indian pekoes and pekoe 

 souchongs is limited by the cousumption of congons ; the 

 trade at present is small, but ruling prices are appro-fimately 

 ten per cent better than in England, and the trade is 

 susceptible of some development. 



The following are the current iiriccs of teas in Montreal :— 



Japans I to 2 2 - English money. 



Young Hysons ... 



i^ 



6 



11 

 G 



The bulk of 

 businessdone 

 is ill the me- 

 dium grades. 



Per head, 

 lb. 

 5 (about) 



1 l-5th „ 



Gunpowders 

 Imperials 

 Oongous 



Indian Pekoes ... 

 Pekoe Houchougs 



Upper Indian Souchongs... - - „ 

 These pi ices include the duty paid, ton per cent ad valvnin 

 with an additional penny per lli. on black, and IJ per poun.i 

 on green teas.— lam, yours faithfully, , ,, . , 



C. F. AmeRY, Tea Agency, 187, St. Paul Street, Montreal. 

 There are eome absurd (rrors in the above, more 

 epu^cially in refering to the United States as ^he 

 greatest tea-ooal^Ulning country in the world. .he 

 United ICiiisdom is far in advance, the oompansou 

 being somewhat as follovv.s : — 



Total annual 

 Oonsuraption. 



tjnited Kingdom 170,000,000 



United States with Pacific 



Oo.ist r,l).i:00.0(IU 



Canadian Dominion 12,OCO,0UO aj „ 



The sources whence the Slates and Canada noeive 



their principal supply of tea are approximattly as 



follows ;— 



Ghina 30,000,000 



Japan 40,000,000 



India \ 2,000,000 



United Ivingdom J 



We hope that, before miny years e. 



figure for au appreciable ((uantity i 



LETTERS FROM JAMAICA :— No. Vl. 



CROV TIME ON THE BLUE MOUNTAINS— SHORT CROPS— A 

 VISIT TO THE GOVERNMENT CINCHONA GARDENS — A 

 LOVELY VIliW— GROWTH Or CINCHONA— AN UNWISE 

 POLICY— PROFITS FROM CINCHONA— MR. MORKIS— A 

 SANATORinM WANTED- PUIU IC OPENING OP A BRIDGE 

 ^RAIN IN .TAMAICA— A GOOD STORY. 



Blue Mountain District, May 188,'). 

 De.M( SiK,— This 18 now crop time in the blue 

 M.'iUitaina, for, as in Hnpumie, Ceylon, most of our 

 is picUed (Uiniiq Mnrch, April, May and June 



ise, Cejlou may 

 this return. 



noticed an improvement in the appearances as the 

 cinchona fields advance in age, the grass lands and 

 pastures improve, the many var'egated trees and 

 shrubs grow up, and the lovely flower bids decked 

 out in their yay array flourish from seeds sent from 

 KfW of all the new varieties : indeid nothing reminda 

 me more of " Home, sneet home," 'ban Cinchona. It 

 IS a pity this old Belle Vue is not more accessible, 

 but it is fully twemy-three milts from Kingston 

 only nine miles of which are cartroarl to Gordon 

 Town, thence steep bridle-path to Gnava Ridge, 

 down to the Yallah.s, and then the last tug of all, 

 a rise of, I suppose, quite 3,000 feet in Ave miles, 

 fsut the traveller is rewarded by a most glorious view 

 extending soulhw.ird to Port Royal and the Man- 

 chester Mountains fsr westward ; to the sea at 

 *Dnatto Bay on the north side; to Morant Point 

 to the eastward ; embracing a view most lovely, 

 grand and extensive, of tea, lull and valley, precipice 

 and virgin forest with the Blue Mountain 7,350 

 feet above the sea as a summit, and Kingston Port 

 l\oyal, and the Pallisadoi-s, at the foot, looking as 

 if one could almost throw a biscuit and land it in 

 King Street, for it cannot Le more than 10 miles 

 distant as the ciow ill s. Words fail me to describe 

 with full juatice this mist lovely and extensive 

 pio pcct, which I consider quite equal to many of the 

 lust \ieW3 1 have seen in niy various wanderings 

 niid travels. As to the cinchona itself there is no 

 doubt as to its sncces?, and consequently it is a 

 pty fi'V Jamaica, that prices have fi lien so low. There 

 may now be seen Eucoirubra (rei s fully ten to twelve 

 jears old (or even older) which have been shaved 

 and XIV ssed and are looking nono the worse ; an 

 otliciualis field, which hjs yielded three or four cop- 

 pictd crops and i- now mainly composed of self-sown 

 trees; vpry beautiful patches ot hybrid and oflicinalia 

 of younger gr.'Wth, and all the newer sorts, such as 

 Ledger, Cal saya Ver.ie, etc.. all well represeiittd 

 »nd"niakiig good progress. In addition plantations 

 of lori-st tiees and shruhp, specimens from all lands, 

 are being termed, so that in a few years it will 

 indeed be a show place, and well worthy of Jamaica. 

 So thai it seems a p ty tlie Commissioner! reoommer.ded 

 the aa'e of the larger part of the plantation on the plea 

 that C4ovirnintiit eh^'uld not compete witLi private 

 individuals in the Produce Market, and even Mr. Morris 

 I himself IS of the same opinion, but i have always 

 thought this admitted maxim might be waived lu 

 the ease of Jamaica, as the produce of 150 acrea 

 cannot make much difference in the markets, whereas 

 it would enable the department to become self- 

 supporting, and no h.nger a charge on the revenue. 

 If Govirninent can without prijudice, and for tho 

 general public good,ownaLd work a Goverament Railway 

 as in ( e^len and J.imaica, I canUi t see why it should 

 not aUo own a ci. ohona plantation to enable tbe 

 Department of Public Oardius and Plantations to 

 be benilioal to the public without causing a charge 

 on the revenue, t lus enabliag duties to be diminisbud 



th ngi! picking lasts (or fully nine itioiitli9 o. tlio year, 

 'lie nie"seht aesoou is Vefv bnckwiii'd i thiB has no 

 Ao'ubt been caused iiy Oulder ai^l more showery 

 W»i,lh r, wnich has prevailed sincG Jfinuary, though, 

 Itiwet- d .\»n the w.fit of roiil io much felt; As a 

 ru 6 crnpB Will not he afi large as last ye.nr I th'S 

 should k Ip to Ueip nf V^'ceft, as there U now much 

 lesi good colory coffes in the European markets 

 than in former years when CeJ'lon and S ulh India 

 were free of Itafdfl ase. ,,.,-•,. 



S nee I list wrote yu, I have paid my third visit 

 (since 18S-2)to "Cinchona," the Government plantation, 

 wh^re the old cofifee estate of Belie Vue formerly 

 existed, Each time I have visited_CinchoLa^I_have 

 ■ # Ab.siird iionipnsr and {,'reatly itxaggerated «fatiMif'(",-K( 



on otier impoited goods whioh are now taxed at tha 

 rate of 12i per c. ut ad va'orem duly. Prices of 

 cinchona are ci rtainly very low, but there are ihosa 

 here who, nolWth.iiandinB, still be li ve that will pay, 

 aud ay tl at at 9 years old it in^y be worth 0u8 

 sb.iliog a trie) so, with 8.0(0 trees to theaore, tbaS 

 would mean a value of £\iO an acie, on Which sum 

 a veiy f<ir profit should be obtained, Mr. Morris 

 is a most Zealous and hardWoikii g public servant ) 

 he has lately reudued imtni use str' ice to the i, land 

 as C.ram-.ssiomr at the New Orleans Expnsitim 

 in bring ug Jan aica prt mi neutly bi fore tlie America ri 

 public, Hi.d was instruaieutal in f:etting quaiantiia 

 removed from vessels sailing from Jamaica, so open, 

 ii.g up the fruit trade for the supply of tho vast 

 rogion of the Mia iisippi Vnllcy, 



