57 



Edible Products. 



not without hopes that we are now on the way to obtain at least a partial 

 solution of the problem. That methods of cultivation have a direct bearing on 

 the quality of teas produced is already well ascertained, but systematic work- 

 ing to this end lias not, until lately, been undertaken on any considerable scale. 

 Judging by results to date of writing there appears to be every probability of 

 success, as far at least as up-country estates are concerned. The application to 

 low-country properties is, however, likely to be a different matter, as while the 

 pungency, strength, and colour of a tea may possibly be increased, the attri- 

 bute of flavour is one that would seem to be almost entirely dependent upon 

 climatic conditions. The extra value attached to the qualities of increased 

 v pungency, strength, and colour alone is by no means on the same level as that 

 secured by the combination of these with flavour. The higher prices that 

 might therefore result on low-country estates would not in many cases, as far 

 as one can judge, afford an additional profit, though they might perhaps 

 prevent the heavy drop in the earning power of a property that takes place, 

 when the market value of teas for price falls below a certain figure. 



It is needless to say that any method of obtaining a considerable improve- 

 ment in the quality of the crop of an estate necessarily involves a greater cost 

 of production, and for any scheme to be successful the increment in price must 

 very much more than counterbalance such an enhanced expenditure. This, as 

 stated above, will be a possible difficulty in the case of low-country gardens, 

 but, on estates of higher elevation, it would seem that very favourable results 

 may be hoped for. It may be remarked that, to raise the prices of a given 

 estate, the maximum lesults will only be obtained from an improvement in 

 the intrinsic qualities of the teas. Such is to a great extent a matter that 

 concerns the field, and not the factory, working of a property. 



No amount of attention and care in manufacture will ever improve the 

 intrinsic value of a tea beyond a certain limit, determined by the quality 

 actually in the leaf, when it is plucked, In the factory this quality may, it is 

 true, be developed to the fullest extent, and herein, and in the sorting of teas 

 for the markets to which they may be destined, there is much scope for 

 scientific and practical knowledge. But, beyond this point, the value of the 

 teas can only be increased by altered conditions of growth and cultivation ; 

 for finer plucking, accompanied as it usually is with a shorter crop and higher 

 cost of production, seldom results in improved profits, except in a few indivi- 

 dual cases, and therefore does not, as is well-known, solve the difficulty — By 

 Henry M. Alleyn in the Times of Ceylon. 



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