378 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



equal to the standard of previous years, manu- 

 factures from others fell much below expecta- 

 tions; as a rule, however, this was compen- 

 sated for by increased yields. This district 

 has produced the usual attractive flavoured 

 teas expected in semi-final and final invoices 

 and the autumnal character has perhaps been 

 more pronounced than usual, but as a rule 

 this has synchronised with thin liquors. 

 The Dooars has sent to market teas that have 

 on the whole been disappointing, for with 

 the exception of the first flush, at no period 

 of the season can quality from this district be 

 said to have been good and the autumn crop 

 has been the least attractive gathered for many 

 seasons, the rich liquoring invoices usually 

 seen have been comparatively scarce ; Terai 

 offerings, on the other hand, have been if 

 anything above average. 



Cachar and Sylhet manufacture has been quite 

 satisfactory in regard to liquor and compara- 

 tively little sour or overfired tea has come for- 

 ward, but in appearance the teas have been spoilt 

 by the undue proportion of stalk they have con- 

 tained which would undoubtedly have seriously 

 affected values had not the demand for "price 

 tea " been exceptionally strong throughout the 

 season. 



A considerable quantity of what can best be 

 described as 



TEA HOUSE SWEEPING CONTINUES TO FIND ITS WAY 



into consumption and it is unfortunate 

 that the jurisdiction of the Health officer 

 of the City is apparently restricted, for where- 

 as the presence of a comparatively small percen- 

 tage of sand or other mineral renders tea liable 

 to confiscation, parcels of "so-called tea " which 

 contain a large admixture of other vegetable 

 matter may be marketed with impunity. This 

 is almost invariably bought by native buyers for 

 distribution in India, for in no other country 

 would it be allowed to pass the Customs, and 

 its unpalatableness is probably to some extent 

 the cause of the comparatively slow increase in 

 the consumption of tea amongst the natives of 

 India. 



Climatic conditions have mainly been very 

 similar to the previous season and until the end 

 of August were almost universally favourable 

 to growth. The latter months of the season, 

 however, have shewn a steady falling off in out- 

 turn and an increase of fully 12 million lbs at 

 mid-season has been reduced to little more than 

 5 millions by generally unfavourable weather 

 and an exceptionally early appearance of cold 

 weather conditions. 



The manufacture of • 



GEEEN TEA CONTINUES TO FIND DISFAVOUR 



amongst producers ; and offerings in public 

 auction have been insignificant. A cer- 

 tain quantity of this class of tea has, however, 

 been disposed of by private treaty and clear 

 ances through Calcutta and Chittagong have 

 totalled 1J million lb., • the destination of 

 which has tor the most part been Persia and 

 Russia. The prices obtained have generally 

 been satisfactory, but the difficulty of maintain- 

 ing a uniform standard of quality, the uncer- 

 tainty of demand which it is not unnatural 

 should follow a commodity of which there are 



no regular supplies, and the remunerative re- 

 sults recently given by black teas, have gene- 

 rated a disinclination to produce green tea in 

 northern India ; and it is probable that little 

 or none of this description will be manu- 

 factured in the coming season. 



Ceylon on the other hand continues to show 

 much enterprise in this direction and her 

 green tea trade must now be looked upon as 

 firmly established, shipments having totalled 

 during the past year practically 9 million lb., 

 an increase of 2} millions over the preceding 

 year, Russia having exported half this quantity. 

 In Southern India also, attention is being paid 

 to the manufacture of unfermented teas and it is 

 estimated that fully 2£ million lb. will be manu- 

 factured this year; it must be remembered, how- 

 ever, that conditions both there and in Ceylon 

 vary very much from those existing in Northern 

 India, for the continuous flushing of the bushes 

 throughout the year enables a comparatively 

 uniform standard of quality to be maintained. 

 At the same time it is perhaps unfortunate that 

 producers in this part of India have not seen 

 their way to foster and extend a production that 

 might in times of depression prove of great value. 



The Planters of Southern India were again 

 instrumental in reviving the question of alloca- 

 ting a portion of the funds at the disposal of the 

 Cess Committee to a bonus on green tea, but 

 although the suggestion found favour in some 

 quarters it did not receive sufficient support to 

 warrant its inclusion in the Committee's budget 

 for the coming season. 

 From the producers' point of view the past 



SEASON HAS PROBABLY BEEN THE BEST EVEE 

 EXPERIENCED 



in Northern India, for not only has the crop 

 been of record dimensions but it has realised 

 a higher average price than for many years 

 past, and all districts with the exception of 

 Darjeeling, which is only fractionally higher, 

 have received approximately half-an-anna per 

 lb. more for their produce than in the previous 

 season, which in turn shewed for the most part 

 highly remunerative results. 



The selling season commenced at the end of 

 May with all grades on a comparatively high 

 level, but so strong was the demand for tea that 

 prices with occasional fluctuations rose stea- 

 dily, until at the beginning of November clean 

 common Pekoe Souchong was selling freely at 

 As. 7-3 per lb., the highest point touched for 

 this grade of tea for many years past. 



Large orders for low-priced teas were forth- 

 coming from some of the big distributors at 

 home, and the market was to a great extent 

 influenced by this competition, a position which 

 has not obtained of recent years, London buyers 

 being unable, as a rule, to compete profitably 

 in Calcutta with the demand from foreign mar- 

 kets. When, however, it was realised in Min- 

 cing Lane that shipments from both Northern 

 India and Ceylon to the United Kingdom 

 would be considerably more than the previous 

 season, and some provision having been made 

 by distributors against future developments, 

 an easier feeling was manifest and this move- 

 ment became more pronounced at the begin,- 

 ning of the new year. 



