478 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



as is well-known, Keemhn teas have attained 

 and still maintain their popularity simply owing 

 to the fact that untiring attention is paid to 

 these matters, and that as a consequence 

 the production of this district has increased 

 frcm 20,000 half-chests a few years ago to 

 95,000 half-chests last year, and that the pro- 

 bability is that considerably over 100,000 half- 

 chests w ill be sent to the market at Hankow this 

 season. The memorandum points out that while 

 Indian teas are stronger, are protected by Gov- 

 ernment and are free of duties, yet with the ab- 

 olition of lik in, stricter attention to culture and 

 manufacture. China teas could certainly be made 

 stronger than at present; while they will always 

 have that " sweet fragrance " from being sun- 

 dried, which teas prepared by machinery never 

 can possess. It admits that Indian tea owes its 

 present pre-eminent position to widespread ad- 

 vertising, as well as to its incessant, almost un - 

 scrupulous, exposure of the ''alleged impurity" 

 of China teas ; and it urges the Ministry and 

 the high authorities to take immediate steps in 

 conjunction with merchants "so that the trade 

 may be recovered and extended. " There is a 

 touch of sarcasm as to the methods adopted by 

 the China Association and a bit of sound com- 

 mon ser_6e in the following excerpt : — " The at- 

 tempt of certain foreign tea firms to eulogise 

 Chinese teas by means of the pr ess (obtaining 

 cheap press notices rather than advertising) 

 and lectures has not met with any noticeable 

 success and unless the teas are radically im- 

 proved no amount of public praise will help," 

 which may be construed to read : "Improve the 

 tea first, and make it worthy of all advertise- 

 ment afterwards.' 



The memorandum concludes' by pointing out 

 the risks incurred through the absence of proper 

 storage for teas which, in the ca.se of Hankow 

 teas particularly, are stowed away in junks and 

 subject to the vicissitudes of the Han river, bad 

 weather, squeezes and inability to deliver tea 

 sold as readily as could be wished, and prays 

 the Ministry for a loan for the building of a 

 godown capable of storing, at least '200,000 half- 

 chests of tea.' Such accommodation would be 

 beneficial to native and foreigner alike. It 

 would enable the native to deliver his produce 

 in better order, as also to finance it more easily, 

 while it would certainly benefit the foreigner if 

 it but contributed to retard the present rushed 

 export, the prime cause of much trouble. It 

 would enable him to give a little more time to 

 inspection and to ship off his purchases more at 

 his leisure. 



No official reply has as yet been received to 

 his memorandum, but the wind blows that it 

 is receiving attention. 



It is pleasing to note that small experiments 

 with artificial manure are to be made this year. 



Another proposal has been made by an im- 

 portant native authority in which there is show 

 of reason, that a combination should be made 

 for the purpose of leasing a certain area of tea 

 land, which should be planted out, manured 

 and kept clean, and the plants given what 

 they lack now, a sufficiency of space, light and 

 air ; that these teas should be specially sold 

 as being from a certain district, and by no 



chance mixed with the leaf of contiguous gar- 

 dens. Doubtless this would entail an initial 

 expense to teamen, but they appear to be hope- 

 ful that all in the end would benefit. 



The green tea season of 1909 establishes a re- 

 cord in the shortness of its duration. First ar- 

 rivals came to hand from the Hoochou districts 

 on June 15, and the market opened on June 17, 

 with purchases at Tls. 29.V per picul ; or 3 per 

 cent higher than last year. These teas are little 

 else than Pingsueys in disguise. Their chief 

 points of difference are that they bear a different 

 name and are packed in half-chests and not in 

 boxes. When the supply of Hoochous is ex- 

 cessive it is sometimes found necessary, in order 

 to effect a sale, to repack the teas into boxes. 

 This happened during the past season when 12 

 per cent of the crop or over 3,000 half-chests 

 were so repacked. 



The opening prices of Pingsueys were really 

 the lowest of the season. Later on quotations 

 had risen 10 to 15 per cent, for first crop leaf. 

 The second crop was poor and disappointing 

 and of the third crop amounting to some 30,000 

 half-chests of highly faced rubbish over 80 per 

 cent was unfit to pass the American standard 

 and so it was that thousands of packages of the 

 meretricious article were precluded entry into 

 the States, and were shipped off only to ewell 

 London stocks. The early arrivals of Wen- 

 chow teas were of capital cup quality and 

 the first few chops bought were amongst 

 the cheapest purchases of any green teas during 

 the season. Shanghai packets likewise were 

 rather above the average for a month or two, 

 but later on they fell off markedly in both 

 cup and make. Supplies of both these de- 

 scriptions are on the increase and promise to 

 be heavier. The advantage these teas present 

 to the continental buyer is the ease with which 

 he can secure any special line for which he may 

 have orders. 



It was hardly to be expected that the heavy 

 supplies of Hyson which came to hand in 1908 

 (about 190,000 cases) would be maintained, but 

 the trade is a big one, about as large as that of 

 the whole of the country teas put together. 

 The fluctuations in prices are very heavy, often 

 Tls. 15 to 30 a picul, but the business must pay 

 teamen handsomely. 



Every season has its special features. The 

 two that stood out in boldest relief this last 

 season were the rush there was for the most 

 audacious faked common Pingsueys, the ease 

 with which those rushes were met, the extra- 

 vagant prices demanded and without the 

 least delay or difficulty obtained. And this too, 

 when it is remembered that the American stan- 

 dard for Pingsueys is a first crop tea. Is it to be 

 wondered at that the brown infusions of the 

 third crop teas caught the keen eye of the inspec- 

 tor and that the teas were refused admission ? 

 In the circumstances shippers stand to be shot 

 at with their eyes open. 



The second feature was the absurd range of 

 nrices established for choice Moyunes and more 

 than maintained for the second and third chops. 

 Many of these teas are still unsold in New York. 



The lines to all concerned in the production 

 of green teas this year must indeed have fallen 

 in " pleasant places." 



