46 TEA 



ll>s., lollnuvd l>v Australia and New Zealand with 

 8,998,:r> Ihs., and Canada with 7,028,429 Ibs. Other 

 important buyers were Asiatic Turkey, the United 

 Slates. Ceylon, Persia, China, and Kashmir. 



TEA IN NATAL 



Next to Ceylon and India, Natal is by far the most 

 important oi tin- tea-producing colonies of the British 

 Km pi re, and the industry is one of considerable value 

 to the country. From the most reliable records it would 

 appear that the tea plant was first introduced into Natal 

 about 1850, from that " clearing-house of the botanical 

 world " Kew. The most important fact was that the 

 plants nourished in their new home. Tea-growing as a 

 definite industry, however, was not seriously undertaken 

 until about a quarter of a century later. It will be 

 remembered that the destruction of the coffee planta- 

 tions by a fungoid disease was essentially the cause of 

 the existence of the now splendid Ceylon tea industry, 

 and it was precisely the same misfortune which in 

 1877-78 necessitated Natal planters seeking a new field 

 tor the investment of their capital. When it became 

 evident that coffee was doomed as a cultivation of first- 

 class importance, Mr. (now Sir) J. L. Hulett became 

 convinced that, with suitable plants, tea would prove 

 the salvation of the planters. The matter was brought 

 before the Lower Tugela Planters' Association, and on 

 the Government being asked to render assistance, 

 free freight on seed imported from India was offered to 

 the colonists. The latter formed a syndicate to defray 

 expenses, and seed from Calcutta was landed in Natal 

 in March, 1877, and immediately planted out in nurseries. 

 Unfortunately, about the time the seedlings were planted 

 out a severe drought visited the country, and out of 



