Edible Products. 



154 



The Planters' Association, however, seems to be impervious to all arguments, 

 and in its reply to the foregoing letter, makes the following rather lame enquiry : 

 "The majority of both bodies are of the opinion that the advantage to be gained 

 by allowing the blending of all teas in Colombo is problematical, and the possibility 

 of damage to the producers' interest probable. What precautions are the Govern- 

 ment of Ceylon prepared to adopt to prevent inferior teas being imported for 

 blending purposes, and what precautions to prevent blends being exported from 

 Ceylon as pure Ceylon tea ? This, in the opinion of my Committee, would entail the 

 establishment of a new department." The Ceylon Observer, as the oldest and most 

 representative journal in Ceylon, is of Sir Henry Blake's opinions. Our contemporary 

 has grasped the fall significance of the advantages Ceylon is giving up, and writes : 

 " We are glad to see that on being referred to by Lord Elgin, H.E. Sir Henry Blake 

 has pointed out very clearly the fallacy of the 'pure Ceylon' tea theory — adhered to 

 so closely (and rightly so in the earlier stages of the industry by the planting 

 community). Planters, like the trade, know very well that very little pure Ceylon 

 tea goes into consumption as such, or unblended with other tea. If the blending 

 were done here, there is no reasou to suppose less Ceylon tea would be used ; and it 

 is known that directly Colombo became a blending centre, there would be more 

 buyers and business drawn to this port and greater competition attracted to the 

 local market, with increased prompt cash returns. The P. A. Committee, in reply, 

 once again ask Government what precautions they will take to prevent blends being 

 exported as 'pure Ceylon.' The Committee surely know very well by this time that 

 this could be secured by expert inspection at the Customs and special warehouses for 

 blending in bond, from which all tea exported would be officially stamped and sealed 

 as 'blended.' Expert inspection at the Customs will also ensure 'pure Ceylon tea' 

 being exported- -though when blended with fine Indian it might pass muster ! 

 The prejudice is too strong, perhaps, for the present against China and Java teas ; 

 but surely an experiment could be made by admitting Indian teas free for blending 

 in bond. And from how this plan worked could be judged the advisability of 

 either reverting to the old (the present) order, or of extending the privilege to 

 China, Java and Japan, and of thereby making of Colombo the great central 

 tea blending mart for the whole world." However, the objection against admitting 

 Indian tea duty-free is too shadowy, and the advantages of the port of Colombo so 

 great, that we need not labour the question any further. — Indian Planting and 

 Gardening. 



THE COFFEE INDUSTRY IN BRAZIL. 



LABOUR AND OVER-DEVELOPMENT. 



The State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, has 1,908,000 acres planted in coffee. There 

 are 545,000,000 bearing trees and 140,000,000 trees that will come into bearing within 

 three years. Sao Paulo has 4,585,000 acres of land suitable for coffee. Four hundred 

 and twenty thousand labourers are employed during the picking season. The 

 coffee trees are worth $312,000,000. The average yield per 1,000 trees is 2,300 pounds. 



The methods iu use are entirely unlike the Hawaiian practice in coffee 

 growing. The picking is deferred until the whole crop of cherries has ripened. 

 The labourers then strip the cherry off the branches, allowing fruit, leaves and 

 twigs to fall on the ground. When the trees have been stripped, the fruit, Avith 

 dirt, sticks and stones is raked into heaps, shovelled into wagons or cars on portable 

 track, and transported to a river, stream or flume, to be washed in sluice-boxes. 

 These deliver the cherry free from sticks, stones, dirt and rubbish. The cherry is 

 then transported to huge, open-air drying floors of cement or clay. The sun-dried 

 cherry is run through hulling machinery, graded and polished, and, when bagged, 

 is ready for market. Santos coffee may, therefore, be pioduced and marketed at 

 a profit at prices which would drive our Hawaiian growers out of the business. 



