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CHAPTER XXXIV. 



MARKETS OUTSIDE GREAT BRITAIN. 



I HAVE forestalled a good deal on the above in the last 

 chapter, so this will be short, but, I hope, cheering. 



AUSTRALIA. 



This, from the correspondent of the Tea Gazette in Mel- 

 bourne, as to the size of chests, should be attended to : 



If the planter wishes to get his Tea direct into consumption, the 

 packages must be small, to suit buyers. In the Colonies a large trade 

 is done in 381b. half-chests. They are within the purchasing power of 

 a numerous class, and are easy to handle. 



A fierce fight has been going on in Melbourne between 

 the advocates of China and Indian Tea. The latter say 

 China Tea is often adulterated, but this is disputed by the 

 former. Of course I cannot say which is right, but chemical 

 analysis, to which China Teas have been subjected in Mel- 

 bourne, would seem to prove that in some cases they are 

 not pure. We all know China Teas in London have, in 

 several instances, been pronounced unfit for consumption, 

 so it is possible, of course, that similar Teas are sent to 

 Australia. 



The Tea trade in China has taken alarm at our attempts 

 on the Australian market. This is what the North China 

 Herald (an organ of the China Tea trade) said lately : 



There are no squeezing mandarins in India ; there is European 

 supervision in the packing and firing of the leaf, and the plantations 

 are connected with civilisation by the railway and the telegraph. 

 Everything is done to give India an unfair advantage over China. 

 Consequently, India tea of the same quality is far cheaper in London 



