and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society.— June, 1912. 



567 



THE NEW U S A. TEA STANDARDS. 



Washington, March 29. — As officially published 

 by the Treasury Department today the 191'2 

 regulations for the importations of teas and an- 

 nouncing the standards differ in only a few 

 respects from those in force last year. The 

 differences include the so-called Read test for 

 detecting colouring matter in teas and in stiffer 

 regulations against the presence of dust, paraffin 

 or facing matter. 



Tea Dust and Broken Leaf. 



Tne final paragraphs of the regulations relate 

 to the detection of dust and other foreign sub- 

 stances in teas. They read as follows : 



Tea dust or broken leaf mixed with other teas 

 or separate, made to imitate gunpowder or other 

 teas, with the use of paste or gum or any other 

 substance, must be rejected. 



If the examiner suspects the presence of 

 paraffin or any similar substance, he should 

 make the following test in comparison with the 

 standards : Spread the tea between two sheets 

 of unglazed white paper. Place thereon a hot 

 iron. The greasy substance, if any, will appear 

 on the paper, and if not equal to the standard 

 the tea shall be rejected. 



When comparing teas with respective stan- 

 dards, care should be used by the examiners 

 not to confuse particles of charcoal, charred 

 leaves, and stems with coloring or facing matter. 



In the regulation relating to the presence of 

 extraneous matters in teas it is explained that 

 the word "unintentional" is used in order not to 

 penalise an accidental admixture of outside 

 matter into the tea, in such small quantities as 

 to affect its purity.- Tea and Coffee Trade Jour- 

 nal, April. 



PLANTING INDUSTRY IN CEYLON. 



A new edition has been issued of the ex- 

 cellent little pamphlet on Ceylon 



compiled for intending settlers by the 

 emigrants' information office 

 (34, Broadway, Westminster, S.W.). The 

 area under tea is now put at about 400,000 

 acres, but in the low country a considerable 

 extent is interplanted with rubber. Tea flou- 

 rishes from a few feet above sea level to an 

 elevation of 7,100 ft. Tea land in full bearing 

 at a high elevation has been sold for as much 

 as £120 per acre. The average value of young 

 tea in bearing is about £30 per acre. The cost of 

 production is from 3d. to 6|d. per pound, and 

 the average price realised in England is 6d. 



to lOd. per pound. Up to 1,100 lb. of tea per 

 acre have been gathered on the lower levels; 

 an average yield of 300 lb. to 450 lb. per acre 

 is a fair estimate. The area planted with rub- 

 ber is now about 200,000 acrea ; in 1904 it was 

 25,000 acres. In the latter year the exports of 

 rubber amounted to 77,212 lb. ; last year they 

 were about 6| million pounds. Insistence is 

 laid on the fact that there are 



no openings on estates 

 except for those who have capital to invest, 

 or who can support themselves for a few 

 years by private means. It may be a number 

 of years before a salary is paid. Anyone who 

 is attracted by the prospects is advised to 

 communicate with the London house of a 

 Ceylon company, or with ex Ceylon residents 

 who may be able to give introduction to estate 

 managers. Boots and leather articles should be 

 taken out, but it is advisable to defer the pur- 

 chase of thin clothing until after arrival. Every- 

 thing necessary can be obtained in Colombo 

 and the other towns. — Field, April 6. 



RUBBER INDUSTRY OF PERU. 



The following information is from the report 

 by H. M. Consul at Iquitos (Mr. G B Michel) 

 on the trade of that district in 1911, which will 

 shortly be issued :— The outlook for the rubber 

 industry during the year 1912 is a gloomy one. 

 Official statistics show that the exports of 

 rubber have been declining since 1907, and 

 although the smaller quantity exported in 1910 

 was counterbalanced by the high prices of that 

 year, in 1911 there was a deficiency of 212 tons 

 with prices of an average of 50 per cent, under 

 those of the year before.— Board of Trade Jour- 

 nal, May 9. 



COCONUTS IN ZANZIBAR. 



Help from Malabar. 

 Great attention is being bestowed nowadays, 

 in several coconut-growing countries, to im- 

 proved methods both of cultivation and of pre- 

 paration of coconut products for the market, 

 writes a correspondent to the Madras Mail. And 

 in this connection it is interesting to learn that 



AN OFFICIAL FROM THE ZANZIBAR 

 PROTECTORATE, 



which is now distinct and separate from the 

 Government of East Africa, has just visited 

 Southern India with the object of securing, as 

 free or unindentured emigrants, 12 families 

 who are wanted in the Protectorate to help, 



