December, 1910,] 



507 



Edible Products, 



whom 81,000 were temporarily engaged. 

 But even these figures do not tell the 

 whole tale, since in Southern India the 

 work is sometimes done by contract, 

 and no record is accordingly available. 

 The prosperity of the industry is thus a 

 matter of no small moment to this 

 country, and it is satisfactory to find 

 that, so far as can be ascertained, there 

 was an increaso of nearly 13,000 in the 

 number of persons employed as compared 

 with the previous year. The aggregate 

 production of tea for 1909 is returned at 

 262,560,668 lbs. The acreage under the 

 leaf rose by 7,209 acres, while the output 

 increased by 15,654,589 lbs. Since 1885 

 the acreage has advanced by 95 %, while 

 the expansion in production has been no 

 less than 267 %. The increased output 

 last year was mainly derived from Assam 

 which produced 174,851,000 lbs., as com- 

 pared with 166,456,000 lbs. in the preced- 

 ing year, and Eastern Bengal, whose out- 

 put amounted to 52,243,000 lbs., as 

 against 44,978,000 in 1909. In Bengal 

 proper there was a reduction from 

 14,993,000 lbs. in 1909 to 13,165,000 lbs. 

 last year. Coming to the shipments of 

 tea, the exports by sea in 1909-10 reached 

 a total of 249,412,000 lbs. , which represents 

 an increase in round figures of 15^ 

 million lbs. The direct shipment to the 

 United Kingdom rose by over 12 million 

 lbs., while Ceylon took 11,302,000 lbs., 

 China 1,376,000 lbs., more than in the 

 previous year. The value of the report 

 would be enhanced if uuiformity were 

 observed in regard to the periods for 

 which statistics are given, and if more 

 lucid explanations were afforded of the 

 contents of certain of the tables. Com- 

 parison between calendar years and 

 official years are of no value, but, though 

 this has been pointed out before, the 

 practice is still continued of publishing 

 the statistics in a most confusing way. 

 A table, for instance, is given of the 

 exports of India, Ceylon, and China 

 respectively, for the series of years, but 

 while the Iudian figures are for the 

 official year, the Ceylon aud China 

 figures are for the calendar year. This, 

 however, is by no means the only in- 

 stanceof crude and unscientific statistical 

 methods contained in the report, for the 

 exports of tea from India are given for 

 the official year, while the re-exports of 

 tea from the United Kingdom are for the 

 calendar year, Prom the figures cited it 

 appears that the exports from Ceylon 

 rose from 179,398,000 lbs. in 1908 to 

 192,886,000 lbs. in 1909. The shipments of 

 black and green tea from China fell from 

 J 30,022.000 lbs. in 1907 to 129,265,000 lbs. 

 in 1908, and of brick, tablet, and dust 

 from 84,040,000 lbs. to 80,885,000 lbs, The 

 exports from Japan, which had amounted 



to 35,269,000 lbs. in 1908, rose to 40,664,000 

 lbs. last year, while the figures relating 

 to Java show little change, the ship- 

 ments amounting to 36,679,000 lbs., an in- 

 crease of 100,000 lbs. Since 1905, however, 

 there has been an expansion in the Java 

 export trade of 11 millions lbs. The 

 steady growth of tea-drinking in the 

 United Kingdom is of good omen for the 

 future of the industry. In 1905 the con- 

 sumption of tea or all descriptions per 

 head of the population was equivalent 

 to 5*99. Last year it rose to 6'28 lbs., and 

 during the same period the consumption 

 of Indian tea increased from 3"48 lbs. to 

 3-60 lbs. per head. The total quantity 

 of the Indian leaf entered for Home con- 

 sumption rose from 157,441,000 lbs. in 

 1908 to 160,146,000 lbs. last year, and that 

 of Ceylon increased from 92,960,000 lbs. 

 to 95,133,000 lbs. In the case of the 

 China leaf there was a falliug-off from 

 8,920,000 lbs. to 8,190,000 lbs., but the 

 Home consumption of tea of " other 

 countries " increased by 4 million lbs. to 

 over 20 million lbs. If tea became an 

 article of general consumption in India 

 the industry would have an enormous 

 market at its door, but the information 

 as to the increase of tea-drinkiug in this 

 country is of the most meagre descrip- 

 tion. A table is furnished indicating the 

 difference between the production and 

 the net exports to foreign countries, 

 and this shows a total of 18 million lbs. 

 last year, as compared with 18^ million 

 lbs. in the preceding year, 21£ million lbs. 

 in 1907-08, and 9 millions in 1906-07. It is 

 difficult from the data given to follow 

 this calculation. The expert, however, 

 observes that as the figures of pro- 

 duction are "far from accurate, any 

 estimate of consumption per capita in 

 India is vitiated at the outset." It is 

 added that there are reasons for think- 

 ing that internal consumption is increas- 

 ing, though no evidence is adduced in 

 support of this statement. 



THE INDIAN TEA INDUSTRY. 



(Prom the Indian Agriculturist, Vol. 

 XXXV., No. 5, M ay, 1910.) 



CULTITATION. 

 One of the first things we have to 

 consider in connection with the cultiv- 

 ation of tea is : What is cultivation, and 

 why should it ba necessary, since the 

 plant iu its native state grows to an 

 enormous size. The reason is the con- 

 stant drain on the plant year after year 

 and pluckiug and pruning has to be 

 made good, while it is necessary also to 

 kill off all the weeds that would rise up 



