3o8 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [NoVEMseR 2, 1885, 



tln^a■d^ ihe niluctiou of Iha cost ot (Ultii'ation and 

 iiiimif ic'.ure. Jn thi* ailempt tbe plante-s will be 

 li.' ptd t • 6om5 degree hy he gei:e.-jl progre^-i oi India 

 in inatar.al ci . ilization. This can already be I'erceived 

 in Assam, waire the i.uw swift d .ilv steamers du thj 

 l>:ahniaputra replaciui;- the old weakly oues, hav • 

 materially leJuced tie average c^st of each cuoly ti 

 (he tea-pla iter, and t le further i.x' elision of tbe Kauni i 

 Railway towards Assim will cheapen C-Oy transport 

 still mort'. In Sylhet and C'aohar there is every 

 prospect of a daily sleamer fervi e or at 

 least a service of swift steamers twice a week, 

 raking tbe place of the present tedious method 

 of briugiug up coolies in country boats — a method 

 which may strictly be calieil a slow proiess oi ibolt-ra 

 inoculation, alteiided by a fiightful mortality, deplor- 

 able alike in the interests of humanity and in those of 

 the planter, to whom each coolie safely lamled c sts 

 so nunli the more in proporlion to the number of the 

 batch who have succuuiljed to the poisonous etfectsof 

 the water of the rivers and creeks, from which they 

 driidi in their three weeks' progress upcountry wi bin 

 the cramped and noisome limits of a eo\ered Bengalee 

 river-boat. Improved communications will doubile.-s do 

 much towaids reducing the cost of production; hut 

 there is aim her way in v. hich still larger savings can 

 be made, and that is by the aggregation of li a estates; 

 in a word, by an industiial revolution similar to that 

 which we see going on in tbe great agricultural Sta'es 

 of Anreri a. Wealthy cumpanies dealing with large 

 anasare able to eliect economies in labour and super- 

 iiiteiidmee to apply machinery to the fullest advaut- 

 uf;e, and to bring ouilay and outtuiu towards an average 

 uniioimity which tends to counteract fluctuations in 

 price s anei variations in the character of seasons. The 

 elajs of single gardens seem to be numbered. In Assam 

 at least it is probable that in the future we shall see 

 less ai d bss of the planter-proprietor and more and 

 more eif the great companies which add grant to grant 

 and effect each successive extension at a smaller pre)- 

 poriijuate outlay on la'. our, management, and appli- 

 ances. Oue result will be the disappearance of what 

 litilc interest native Indi.cu capital now has in the tea 

 Indus' ry, and monopolisation of the business by EugUsh 

 capital mure exclusively than ever. Yet large as is tie 

 stake of Kiiglish capital in Indian tea, «e cannot gel 

 rid of a feeling of unrcaHty in contemplating the 

 whole bu iness, as it it existed really upon sufferance. 

 Indian tea has not yetcerue seriously into competition 

 with Chinese tea, lor lie demand for the latter his 

 scarcely begun to show f gns of dimimdioii, audit is 

 evideiiilj not the intere.-t of the Chiua houses to push 

 matter? to extremities. But if ever the competition 

 should become vital, there can be little doubt which of 

 the two rivals h;iB the larger resources and the greater 

 staying power, if the China houses should see cau.se 

 to 'force down prici-s, it might speedily be discovered 

 that tea in India is only an exotic, and that the task of 

 siippl\iiig the world with lea had better he left to other 

 countries where Nature has prescribed more favourable 

 conditions for its production. 



THE TEA THAT PAYS. 



The season opened with a great flourish of trniu-!- 

 ets and for a couple of sales fairly high vahn^s 

 were oblained. Things are rather ditferent now, and 

 we are anxious to si-e how, at the end of tbe seeison, 

 the brokers are to get out of their dilemma, unless by 

 a"ain resorting to the old stock excu.se of deteri r- 

 ation in Indian tea. We could point to some well- 

 known marks celebrileil both for liquor in cup and 

 general manufacture, which lasryear, in an extremely 

 depressed market, commanded high rates,whilst I his ye'ar 

 they are relegated to a lower than even the medium 

 claes How are the brokers to account for this ? Quality, 

 iiuality has been the cry for Ihe past fewye!ars, anel we 

 firmly believe that this has bci n sacrificed* at the expense 

 of eiuantity. The tea Imshes thus s'ripped yearliy year 

 have lost somt-whatof their vigor, and, in conseeptence 



» The wrItJc meant " jjained."— Ep. 



somewhat of their former properties which gave full 

 anil puMgeut liquors. Doubtless in this stitement we 

 are running counter to a great deal that has been 

 written on this subject. In the annual tea report we 

 are aevare that men-e than on-j Deputy Commissioner 

 gives it as his opinion that eiuantity has been more 

 attenlel to than quality, but we venture to hold an 

 entirely oppj«i'e opinion, and if our readers take time 

 to consider, we believe they will agree with ns. 

 It does not staud to reason that tea planted 

 20 years ago, wliii'h has been couti'nding against 

 red spider, mosquito blight, white _ ants, et 

 Iioc f/eii'i.i omne, besides baing expected to give a good 

 vielei per acre, can give the same vigorous flushes it used 

 to. Some of our planter friends may »ay, " Oh, but then 

 look at our extensions maele with high class plant "; 

 true, but then bear in mind that these extensions are 

 not more than representations of perhaps one-third, or 

 one-quarter, of the bearing area. Indeed, if we take 

 away those new extensions from many gardens, there 

 would be precious little left to leaven the mess, and we 

 would see those old gardens of twenty years' standing 

 le-ft behind, and distanced in the race for prices, insteiad 

 of being nearly always as they are now placed. If Indian 

 ti a has deteriorated so much as we are made to believe by 

 the Coi/niKiriiili at home, vviU they explain how it is that 

 low clii.ss Indians are boldiug tli'-ir own notwithstanding 

 the drop on the m irket? If our readers carefully examine 

 our tabulated list of prices", and compare them for some 

 sales back, they will see that low class Indians hold 

 their own well. A year or more ago we ventured the 

 statement that the high prices for Ceylon would not 

 bold ; and that in a short time we should see these 

 ruuniug si.Ie by side with Indiau.s. In the review of the 

 year'.s outturn and manufacture, we note that the Home 

 brokers .say that Ceylon have receded to Indian prices, 

 with Ihe exception of one or two well-known marks, 

 which I ave w. 11 held their own. Now, exactly the 

 sjme might h>- said of Indian teas, only it is not so much 

 notici'd. beeau-e the names of the estates are legion, 

 whilst in Ceylon, although the list is increasing fast, 

 op to date the marks that stand out were easily 

 seen and followed. We flatter ourselves, too, that 

 for some time back we have been insisting upon 

 our planter fi lends producing so much per acre at a 

 price that would defy competition, the only sure basis 

 I'pon which to go. We feel sure that our views have 

 not been lost, and that those who have followed us 

 uiil not now repent of doing so. Quantity isquiteas 

 much to be kept in view as quality if Indian tea is 

 to hold its own and be a paying speculation. The 

 ilrop in the price of high class te is this year, we think, 

 points conclusively to the advancement made in cultiv- 

 ating the British taste for pure Indians: and besides, 

 the grocers and dealers find that it is cheaper and 

 more suitable for their customers to get a tea quite 

 unaiUdlerated, or, ifyouwi.shto call it by a more polite 

 term." blended." This is wliy lowclass Indians are hold- 

 ing their own. They offer better value for the samu money 

 than the same class Chinas ; they require no blending; 

 they pass straight from tbe box in which they are 

 packed on the tea factory into the hands of ihe ce.n- 

 sumer, except, and so far as in beiirg handed out in 

 small packets aceoidiug to the consumer's reejuire- 

 ment. The market for fine teas to be used in this 

 way is but limited, and to be used as a blend entails 

 various petty expenses wliich constitute a profit in 

 the other lines. Whilst thus advocating a large out- 

 turn per acre we by no means desire to create tbe im- 

 pression that quality is of no account. We are merely 

 suggesting a likely method to give the best results in 

 a l.irge outturn per acre of good sound tea, the greater 

 proportion of which could be passed straight to the 

 consumers ns a good drhdcing tea, whilst the remainder 

 could he made into a hi;4her class, suitable for blend- 

 ing purposes. — liuViaii PI j liters' Ga;citc, 



" ROUGH ON RATS." 

 Clears out rats, mice, roaches, flics, ants, bed-bugs, 

 beetles, inse'cts, skunks, chipmunks, gophers. Druggists. 

 W. E. Smitli k Co., Madras, Sole Agents. 



