40 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July i, 1885. 



also appeared favourable to a rise. During 1884 in England 

 the imports were 59,287 bales against 90,608 and 110,517 

 bales in the two proceeding years ; the deliveries were 78,532, 

 67,340 and 88,717 iu 1884, 1883 and 1882 respectively ; and 

 the stocks remaining were 80,500, 99,667 and 70,676. The 

 stocks ia Franco iu the same years were 11,205, 18,282 and 

 15,776 bales ; and in New York 2,600, 6,200 and 15,000 bales 

 respectively. Thus in 1884 the total imports were 76,708, 

 deliveries 106,630, and stocks reduced from 124,149 bales in 

 the proceeding year to 94,305. The London imports included 

 10,000 bales of Ouprea. This statistics are not to be ac- 

 cepted without examination, asihe greater part of the imports 

 and a large percentage of what was worked up was of Asiatic 

 origin, that is to say, the bales were nearly double the 

 size of those from South America. The English imports and 

 exports stated iu hundredweights give a different appear- 

 ance:— 



1884. 

 Owt. 



Imports 105,957 



Exports 102,853 



The stocks in 1884, although reduced hy 19,167 bales, arc 

 only 3,104 cwt. less. The shipments from Ceylon have been 

 as follows, the year dating from October 1st to September 

 30th:— 



Lb. Lb. 



1880-81 1,208,518 11882-83 6,925,598 



1881-82 3,099,893 | 1883-84 11,492,947 



It was estimated that the shipments for 1884-85 would be 

 between 5,000,000 and 8,000,000 lb., or about 6,500,000 lb. 

 But this amount is almost certain to be exceeded, as up 

 to February 19th 678,183 lb. of twig and 3,053,5791b. of stem 

 bark had already been embarked, against 240,836 lb. and 

 2477,018 lb. in the same part of the previous season. The 

 imports of South American bark into London were — in 

 1882, 95,930 bales ; 1883, 53,780 bales; 1884,20,070 bales. 

 The high pricesof bark at the beginning of the year were ]iart- 

 ly influenced by sudden large purchases for North America, 

 which possessed only small stocks of bark, and where the 

 newly-erected factory in Philadelphia, as well as a further 

 establishment in New York, will soon commence operations, 

 or have already done so. Their object is to make the im- 

 portation of European quinine into the United States un- 

 necessary and impossible. Here are the imports of quiuiue 

 (iu ounces) into the States from June 30th to end of the 

 fiscal year: — 



1877 (duty 20 per cent.) 75,804 



1878 „ 17,549 



1879 „ 228,348 



1880 (duty free) 



1881 



1882 



1883 



416,998 



408,851 



794,495 



1,055,764 



The guiding spirit in the now American factory is the 

 speculator formerly of Milan, who desires to influence the 

 London auctions as was attempted to a small extent in 

 January, or by purchases in Ceylon to lessen the arrivals in 

 London, and so pave the way for a fresh rise in prices. 

 Against this stands the magnitude of the stocks iu London, 

 amouutiug to 70,564 bales on March 1st, mostly in strong 

 hands, and consisting to a large extent of valuable Oupren, 

 Toeima, and Calisaya. Nothing but a considerable reduction 

 iu the arrivals from the East Indies, with stagnation in the 

 exports from South America, could favour a frtsb and 

 permanent arrangement.— C/j««fs( ayid Drvyi/ist, 'iia.y 15lh, 



TEA IN LONDON : THE SECRETS OP THE 



SALES-ROOM : REFOKM NEEDED. 



With the increase in the public sales of tea some years 

 back, the system of offering parcels in lots of six, nine, 

 or ten packages, which was well adapted to a small trade, 

 was felt to be totally inapplicable to a large one, while 

 the waste of time to which it led was intolerable. It was 

 therefore suggested to the importers and brokers that 

 the size of the lots should be increased, and that not 

 less than thirty or fifty packages should be offered at one 

 time. Instead of this reasonable solution of the diflicully, 

 a far more drastic remedy was adopted, and the importers 

 decided to offer entire parcels in single lots. This certainly 

 had the effect of saving much more time than the trade 

 had desired, but it has led to much greater evils than 

 tli« {utmer titate vl tUiuijs. The Oliiua tew ehivtiy oUttred 



at public sale are of the commoner qualities, where the 

 trade are more closely agreed as to value than with 

 other sorts. On 6d. or 7d. Oongou, for instance, the 

 general valuations would not differ more than about a 

 farthing. When a parcel of tea is offered there is at once 

 a wild shout from perhaps twenty or thirty voices, and 

 the auctioneer is more often than not at a loss whom to 

 knock down the tea to, so that the most clamorous and 

 persistent individual has the best chance of being named 

 the buyer. The public sale-room for China tea has long 

 become a sort of bear garden, and everyone is agreed 

 that some change in the method of conducting the sales 

 is an absolute necessity. It is not, however, the question 

 of maintaining better order in a place supposed to be 

 frequented for business purposes, which it is proposed to 

 discuss here, but the point that full competition, under 

 the present circamstances, is rendered practically im- 

 possible. On entire breaks of common descriptions offered 

 in one lot, buyers cannot afford an extra farthing, as it 

 ■will render the teas dear. If, on the other hand, there 

 were several lots, for instance four of twenty-five packages 

 instead of one of a hundred, there would be an opening 

 for competition, and other buyers, by giving the extra 

 farthing for a few packages, which would not materially 

 raise the average cost, would have a chance of securing 

 some of the tea they wanted. For instance, a further 

 farthing on twenty-five packages would represent only 

 1-1 6d per lb. on 100 packages, which would be a trifling 

 matter, even on low-priced tea. With the finer China 

 teas or with the more expensive Indian sorts another set 

 of considerations arises. It is only the larger buyers who 

 are prepared to take entire parcels of costly teas, and, by 

 offering them in one lot, competition is materially 

 diminished. The general results of this state of things 

 are most injurious both to the sellers and to the real 

 buyers of tea, because they have had for their inevitable 

 result the revival of the " buying-over " broker, and the 

 handing over of the Tea sales, which were thrown open 

 with so much trouble and at so great a cost a few years 

 ago, as a close monopoly to a small clique of operators, 

 whose voices are almost the only ones heard iu the auction 

 rooms. This return to old and evil conditions of trade is 

 distinctly injurious to the importers, to the first-hand 

 brokers, and to tho dealers, by limiting competition 

 and by introducing a totally unnecessary element of cost 

 into the purchase of tea. The importers, if they sell to 

 two or three people instead of to twenty or thirty, place 

 themtelves in an unfavourable position, and undoubtedly 

 get less for their tea than if they appealed to the whole 

 trade. Unless they take active mtasui-es iu time they may 

 see their property sacrificed to a virtual " knock-out," 

 such as they formerly so loudly complained of, and tliey 

 will have the mortification of knowing that the spoil ia 

 divided afterwards. The first-hand, or Importers' Brokers 

 do not in anyway benefit by the change that has taken 

 place, unless it be that wheu they have orders to buy a 

 parcel of tea they are 'offering, they can generally knock 

 it down to themselves. To the dealers the alteration ia 

 anything but satisfactory. The benefit of the abolition of 

 tho buying brokerages is gone, so far as public .sales are 

 concerned, because the" buyiug-over " brokers assume the 

 mastery of the auctiou-room. If a whole parcel of common 

 tea is wanted, which is not always the case, except among 

 eight or ten of the larger houses, it is out of tho question 

 for a dealer to bid a farthing beyond the buying broker, 

 as the brokerage paid for taking the tea from liim after 

 the sale is very small, compared with jd per lb. With 

 finer teas the old bad practice is revived, and a dealer 

 who bids on his own account at sale is tacitly Ist know 

 that he will be what is called " run" for the tea— that 

 is, be made to pay more for it than if he took it through 

 a buying broker. The evils of the present state of the 

 public .sales must be patent to anyone who will look through 

 the catalogues, though they are still more obvious to those 

 who attend the rooms. The remedies, also, are simple. 

 First, not more than twenty to fifty packiigcs should be 

 offered in a lot ; second, the leading dealers should agree 

 among themselves that for a time they will refuse to pur- 

 chase any " bought-over " parcels, but only buy their public 

 sale teas either in their own names, or through instruc. 

 tious givuu tu a brukcr by thutuselvet.- i'/'yiitfce .Uwket)' 

 Rev WW, 



