Edible Products. 



150 



THE OLDEST TEA IN CEYLON. 



It is our custom annually to record the condition and progress of the 

 oldest regularly cultivated tea field in Ceylon— that of 20 acres on Loolecondera 

 planted by Mr. James Taylor (for Messrs. Harrison and Leake of Keir Dundas & 

 Co.) in 1868-9. Mr. G. P. Deane, who has been Manager now for 14 years and has 

 courteously informed us at intervals as to its condition, wrote us as follows on July 

 7th (a letter which was lost in the post— but of which he has sent us a copy dated July 

 14th) as follows !— 



" In reply to your enquiry as to the condition of the old tea on Loolecondera, 

 the oldest field, some 20 acres planted in 1808-9 Assam-Hybrid and which is very 

 wind-blown and has never been manured, has given last season a yield of 536 lb. 

 made tea per acre in the 37th or 38th year from planting, and has averaged over 

 400 lb. made tea per acre for last six years. 



" The next older field planted in 1875 (84 acres), also wind-blown and never 

 manured, gave 428 lb. made tea per acre last year. Both fields are looking well and 

 the China tea planted out along the roadside in 1866 is still flourishing." 



The yield of 536 lb. made tea is particularly good — considering that last year 

 we recorded the fact that after the last pruning in 1901 the yield had ranged from 

 350 only up to 425 lb. We congratulate Mr. Deane on the result.— Ceylon Observer. 



THE LEADING TEAS OP THE WORLD. 

 India. 



The remarkable revolution which has taken place in the source of the 

 tea supply of the world may be gathered from the fact that, in dealing with 

 the tea-producing countries, there is no hesitation in placing British-grown teas 

 first on the list. Fifty years ago, " tea " and " China " were almost synonymous 

 terms ; to-day, tea is a cosmopolitan product obtained from a variety of countries 

 each of which is predominant in its own particular market. Moreover, it is beyond 

 doubt that China tea is on the down grade, while that of British India continues 

 to make the most extraordinary advance, its exports having trebled during the 

 last twenty years. In the same period, the exports of Ceylon tea have expanded 

 from two to a hundred and fifty million pounds a year ; and there has been a heavy 

 increase in the exports of Japan and Java. These developments will be more easily 

 grasped by a reference to the following tabulated list of the exports of tea from 

 the latest official statistics :— 



Exports of Tea From the Principle Tea-Producing Countries of the 



World, in 1884 and 1904. 



Country. 1884 1904 



Lbs. Exported. Lbs. Exported. 

 British India ... ... ... 60,473,000 213,808,000 



Ceylon ... ... ... ... 2,393,000 149,227,000 



Total British-grown tea ... ... 62,866,000 363,035,000 



China ... ... ... ... 268,800,000 193,466,000 



Japan ... ... • ... ... 35,716,000 67,162,000 



Java ... ... ... ... 5,575,000 21,287,000 



From these figures it will be readily seen that the exports of British-grown 

 Indian and Ceylon teas to the markets of the world are not far from double those 

 of China. Whereas twenty years ago they did not export a quarter of the 

 amount sent out from Flowery Land. 



