60 AGRICULTURE IN THE TROPICS [PT. II 



With the enormous growth of the industry in India and 

 Ceylon, which now have between them about 1,000,000 acres 

 in tea, the export of tea from China has gradually fallen off, 

 and the merchants have left Foochow for Calcutta and Colombo. 

 Thus, the figures of consumption in England for a few different 

 years may be quoted, as clearly illustrating this statement : 



In 1905, Ceylon exported 165,101,442 Ibs. of tea, of which 

 107,183,999 went to the United Kingdom. 



The rise of the tea industry of Ceylon affords one of the 

 most remarkable instances of rapid development of an agri- 

 cultural pursuit, especially when the previous history of the 

 planting industry in the island is remembered. In 1875 there 

 were barely 1000 acres planted with tea. During the next ten 

 years of depression, due to the failure of coffee, this acreage 

 increased to 102,000, by 1889 it attained 205,000, by 1893, 

 305,000, and it is now about 385,000, though with the inter- 

 planting of rubber in the tea that has gone on in the lower 

 districts, this will likely be reduced in about six years to 

 330,000. The island imported its tea in the early days of tea 

 planting, but in 1883 the export exceeded 1,600,000 Ibs., in 

 1887 it was 13,813,872 Ibs., in 1896 108,141,412 Ibs., and in 

 1905 no less (including green tea) than 165,101,442 Ibs. For 

 the present, at any rate, the growth of the industry seems to 

 have practically reached its upper limit. 



Tea is now the chief industry in the mountain districts of 

 Ceylon, the Nilgiri Mountains of South India, the great valleys 

 of Assam, the hills at Darjiling, and elsewhere in India, to say 

 nothing of the rapidly increasing industry in Java. In Ceylon, 

 above the elevation of 2500 feet, it forms almost the only culti- 

 vation, and a journey on the rail from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya 

 affords perhaps one of the most striking instances in the world 



