S^i 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Feb. I, iS86, 



able substances, with a certain quantity of finings, 

 wliilst a sample called Dandelion Ooffee contained 

 no Guffee at all, and one labelled, " Siiecialhi 

 lirejya.i'd Fniieh Cul/'rc," contained M per cent of 

 Uotfee, the remainder being chicory and finings. 

 Every drinker of Coffee knows well the great differ- 

 ence there is between a cup made n-itli frrsh niustiil 

 iiKdifi'uviid berries, and one made with Coffee which 

 has been roasted or ground for weeks or perhaps for 

 months, such as the public purchase in the majority 

 of shops throughout the United Kingdom ; tlie latter 

 can only be compared to a glass of stale beer, or 

 to the dregs of a decanter of Claret which has been 

 opened for some days. The system which prevails 

 in this country, of roustinci lan/e rjiiantities at a time 

 the bulk thus losing in a short period most of its 

 aroma, is but a remnant of ignorance wliich 

 this Company intends to do its utmost to remove. 

 The worst treatment, however, reserved to Coffee, is 

 that resulting from the wholesale adulteration practised 

 under the sanction of Government.* "Whoever buys 

 ririmml Coffee in order to save himself a very little 

 trouble, will be supplied in shops witli tins or packets 

 bearing such attractive names as " deliciaiis (O freiicli^ 

 coftr" or"i<tqir.rior r.ofrr. ii-ith a little ofthrliiirxicliicory," 

 •tc, etc., and the stuff he gets will in most cases 

 be made up of a little Coffee and a quantity of chicory 

 or other vegetable compounds, which to say the least 

 are as nasty to the taste, as they are devoid of any . 

 of the refreshing or invigorating qualities of real 

 Coffee. The sellers and manufacturers of those mixt- 

 ures derive enormous profits from their trade, for 

 they sell what costs them perhaps -id. or "id. per lb 

 at the price of the genuine article, say lOd. to Is. per lb 

 hence the persuasive efforts made everywhere to in- 

 duce the public to buy their tins and canisters. 

 The taste for good Coffee " has not " disappeared 

 in this country, but the difficulty of procuring the 

 genuine article is such, and the public is cheated 

 so systematically or mioi^J so cleverly, when pur- 

 chas'ing it in small quantities, that it is no wonder 

 there lias been a diminished demand hero, whilst 

 everywhere else the consumption of the fragrant 

 bean is increasing, and nowhere more than amongst 

 our transatlantic cousins, or the hardy populations of 

 Northern Germany and the Scandinavian Wtates. The 

 following table shows the consumption per head of 

 population in some of the Continental States : — Holland 

 21 lb.; Denmark, 11 lb.; Belgium, 13J lb.; Sweden 

 and Norway, 10 lb.; Switzerland, 7 lb.; Germany, .5 ; 

 lb.: France, 2J lb.; United States of America, 7J lb ; 

 and United Kingdom, lb. 15 oz., agaiust 22 oz, 

 in 1854, notwithstanding an increase of population of 

 more than millione ! ! thus Great Britain, which does 

 the greater part of the carrying trade of the world, 

 whose Colonies grow Ooffee in abundance, and whose 

 opportunities for obtaining good Coffee are unequalled, 

 consumes less per head of population than any other 

 civilized country. 



It is intended to sell four qualities only of roasted 

 Coffee ' 



No. i Whole-Betrv at — lOd pet Ih., (a Good Strong 

 Coffcel No, 2 Whole-Berry at Is Od per lb., (Strong 

 una of Good Ouality) No. 3 Whole-Berry at l8 .Sd 

 per lb., (Fine "Quality and Highly Kecoiumeiided). 

 No. 1 Wnole-Berry at Is lid per lb-, (selectioua from 

 the Finest Marlts), , , , , ,j ,t 



I'aitiiiteri conlminng 1 lb. can be had at la J'd' lb. 

 c/tra wJtich will be allotced irlien the tin is retunia! 



Every piicl!i«ge will beat' the Eegistered Trade Mark 

 of the CoiMpttny. , 



No. 1 will bo qiiita equal to anythifig now retailed 

 lit Is 2d, and the finer qualities w-ill be selected 

 from first class growths of Jamaica, Mocha, East 

 India, Ceylon, Costa Eica, Guatemala, <Sfc., possess- 

 iiiy delightful fragrance and flavour. It can be pnr- 



• Aci-onliiiKto'thc Customs nnd Inland Eeveuue Art, otlss2, 

 the prenanilidu and sale is allowed of cliknnj or any "ilur 

 rtgelal'l' i^utis'aiieN. in linilnlicm ../, or for use as coffee or cincor;/. 

 under an Kxiisf Duty, Uvi«l bv means of an adhesive Uiht-l 

 Sumip t.r one hulf-iicnny for fvcry J lb. packet of miiture. tlui^ 

 giving official sauctiou to tlw most rtckless and uDpnucijilcd 

 (lauHcriitlon. 



chased in 1 lb. packets, or delivered free through 

 the London and Suburban districts, in packages of 

 3, 5, 7, 10 lb. and upwards, and will be sent to any 

 Town in the United Kingdon at a small charge for 

 delivery. The first order of 'S lb. and upwards, will 

 be p.ac'ked in .a good strong tin canister, which is 

 to be retained by the purchaser for the storage of 

 future parcels, iind the Company will provide a strong 

 mill, if required, at the trilling cost of Is Od to in- 

 duce the buyer to f/mtd thf f'njf'er onhj at the timr 

 of niahiiii/ : the Company will likewise supply siin^de 

 Machines for making Coffee at moderate prices. 

 This is the only way of retaining the delicious aroma 

 of Coffee, and it is universally practised on the 

 Continent where good Coffee is always to be 

 had, even in the humblest cottage. The Com- 

 pany will also sell unroiisted Coffee of Nos, 2, 3 

 and 4 at 2d per ]b. under the above roasted price?!, 

 its connections with growers and importers from every 

 part of the world, placing it in an exceptional position 

 for suppl\ing the public with every kind and quality, 

 at the most moderate rates. A simple Gas Roiisting 

 Machine, which every faniily can use, will be supplied 

 by the Company, at a charge of 20s. .Vs soon as 

 practicable the Company intends to open a Central 

 Depot in each district in l,oudo^. as well as in tlio 

 large rpivincial Town.s. If consumers will only buy 

 their Coffee ''fi-esli lonsted" in small .luantities, and 

 erind it every day a,s they require it, taking advant- 

 age of the facilities which this Compauy otters to 

 them. Coffee will soon be restored to its position as 

 the most delicious, stimulating and healthy of the non- 

 alcoholic beverages. 



A local correspondent, in sendiug us a second cnjjy of 

 the prospectus, says : — 



" I enclose prospectus of a Company which has 

 been most successfully floated and all capital sub- 

 scribed, the objects of which will be very pleasing 

 to all coffee planters. A perusal of the document 

 will, I am sure, be most pleasing to you, and who- 

 ever grows fine coffee will certainly share in the 

 benefits which this Company is about to afford to 

 Ceylon planters. The promoters of this enterjn'ize 

 deserve the thanks of all coffee producers here, 

 and the names of Messrs. Patryltt Pasteur of Mincing 

 Lane should not be forgotten so long as coffee 

 lasts in the island." 



TEA PACKAGES, WEIGHTS AND TAKES, 

 M,VKKING, Ac. 

 .Tudging from sundry Ceylon Tea Invoices, and the 

 Weights and Tares stencilled on each package, much 

 time and money is lost in trying to weigh into a series 

 of packages varying consideraldy in size and Tare, an 

 exact number of pounds of Tea, i>0 lbs. iictt, 80 lbs. 

 nett, or 100 lbs. iictt, as the case may be. 

 The chests are then carefully marked :^ 



Gross . . Ul 115 120 lbs. isay) 

 Tare .. 31 35 40 „ „ 



Nett . . 80 80 80 lbs. 

 all of which i") really lost time and expense, for with 

 such variations in the weight, it is impossible for 

 the Customs or the Trade to strike an average gross 

 and average tare, and bulking ensues with all its 

 consequent expense and deterioration as a matter of 

 course. It is understood we are writing chiefly for 

 those who are newly turning their attention to Tea, 

 and not for those shippers who have made thcBO 

 matters their study for sonic years, and can now 

 arrange their packages as to escape bulking hriu. The 

 difficulty of the varying Tare might, wc tliiiiU, be 

 partly got over by weighing iOO or 200 empty pack- 

 ages," and carefully assorting them according to their 

 sizes and wei;'lits; a chalk mark on each when assort- 

 ing is all that will be necessary. It should in this way 

 be possible to get at least 20 to :I0 chests each weigh- 

 ing exactly :10 lbs., then 10 to 15 each weighing some 

 other number of lbs. alike, and so on. If the 

 packages measure the same, .flVMlicm /';<//, and do not 

 Usavc space lot i lbs. in each pavUagu of nay 'JO baU< 



