The Supplement to the 



to those who order in the pot under the name 

 of China tea than ever came from the country 

 that is supposed to have produced it. Good, 

 clean, wholesome Indian or Ceylon tea is a 

 safe enough drink for all ordinary consumers. 

 The possibility of extracting from it a large 

 percentage of tannin, which is so often adversely 

 commented upon, is the very factor that recom- 

 mends it to those accustomed to enjoy and 

 benefit by a really good cup of tea. All tea 

 can be spoilt in the making, and the best that 

 can be said for China tea is that its deficiency in 

 tannin renders the improper use of it less 

 likely to be hurtful but by no means make it 

 a better tea. 



Japan Tea. 



It may appear superfluous to make reference 

 to Japan tea in a market where practically none 

 of it is used. The general development?, how- 

 ever, of the tea trade throughout the world have 

 had an influence upon the production of Japan 

 tea that has been no small a factor in contribut- 

 ing to the recent rise in the value of other 

 growths. The United States of America and 

 Canada have been hitherto practically the only 

 consumers of Japan T6a, except the Japanese 

 themselves. The force of competition in recent 

 years has so lowered the price obtainable on the 

 American continent for the ordinary growths 

 that (since the Russo-Japanese war and the 

 consequent increase in the cost of labour) the 

 production has been found somewhat unprofit- 

 able. The latest published official statistics of 

 the Japanese Empire indicate that since 1896 

 there has been a diminution by nearly 20 per 

 cent, in the cultivated area under tea. Mul- 

 berries have been planted instead as a more 

 profitable crop with less cost for labour. Japan 

 tea thus displaced in Canada and the United 

 States of America has been replaced by Indian 

 and Ceylon. 



Tea Statistics for Six Calendar Yeaks. 



(Accompanying McMeekin & Co.'s Annual 

 Review of Tea for 1907 :— ) 



.stock of all 

 kinds in 

 Bond at 

 31st Dec. 

 Stock of all 

 kinds in 

 Bond at 

 31st Dec. 

 Consumption of i 

 all Tea per I 

 person of Po- f 

 ttulation with- J 

 in thi United 

 Kingdom 

 Percentage » 



of each | Indian m\% 59 

 kind con- I Ceylon Hl'i „ 

 sumed Vjava b-j ., 

 within the I China 3.V „ 



United I 



kingdom ' 100;: 



121.211,0 129,292,000 134,2.3,0(0 



125,726,000 112,658,000 108,638,000 



lb. 



9': 



lb. 



617 



31, 



lb. 



58% 

 Sii „ 

 5 



2i„ 



lb. 



6'0U 



lb. 



6 - 03 



59J % 

 3 i„ 



5i„ 



lb. 

 6'U6 



33i„ 



100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 



Mc;Me£kin & Co, 



Tropical A griculturist 



THE TEA SITUATION IN AMERICA. 



Interesting Conclusions from a Study of 

 History and Statistics. 



Is America's taste for tea waning? It is a 

 question which has been debated corsiderably 

 within the past few months and judges of the 

 situation fail to reach any definite conclusion on 

 the issue which meets with the coincidence of 

 other judges. From the view point of one care- 

 ful student of the situation the average conclu- 

 sions are based on altogether too narrow 

 grounds, and if a range of years and contem- 

 porary history are considered, it will be found 

 'hat tea is in an extremely strong position in 

 the market. This student, who desires to re- 

 remain anonymous, writes this paper as fol- 

 lows : — 



New York, Dec. 30, 1907. 

 Editor of The Journal of Commerce and Com- 

 mercial Bulletin. 



Sir, — It is frequently stated that there is a 

 falling off in the consumption of tea in the 

 United States, and the imports of the last two 

 years, contrasted with those of the preceding 

 three years, are quoted as a proof of this. This 

 method of argument is based upon the supposi- 

 tion that the importations of tea are identical 

 with the consumption in each year. It only re- 

 quires this assumption to be stated to expose 

 its falsity, for stocks of tea are carried over 

 from year to year and exports are also a 

 factor. The figures dealt with here are all 

 net, after deducting exports, and the years 

 are fiscal years ending June 30th. 



A 'just estimate of trade conditions today 

 cannot bo reached by making comparisons of 

 the importations of isolated years one with 

 another, nor can 



THE RECENT HISTORY OF THE TRADE 



be ignored, for the following brief sur- 

 vey will show the conditions today to be 

 the immediate outcome of this history. To 

 find a normal period, undisturbed by legis- 

 lative acts, we have to go back to a time 

 prior to 1897. 



" An act to prevent the importation of im- 

 pure and unwholesome tea " became operative 

 on the 1st of May, 1897. The imposition of 

 an import duty of 10o. per lb. on tea went 

 into effect on the 14th of June, 1898, remained 

 in force to the 31st of December, 19Q2, and was 

 discontinued on the 1st of January, 1903. 

 Xho tea trade is ouly now recovering from 



