i88 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [September 2, 1889. 
ib somewhat exaggerate^, that all Oeylon tea rapidly 
deteriorates ; no doubt this is trne to a certain extent, 
but present rateB, even allowing for this factor, are 
certainly too low, and we look for an important reco- 
very shortly. 
[It is surely time that this charge against Ceylon 
tea of special liability to " go off" should be decided, 
and if in favour of the allegation that the cause 
should be ascertained, so that the requisite remedy 
— slower firing? may be applied.— Ed.j 
» 
TANNIN IN TEA. 
The Pioneer has the following deliverance on 
this subject : — 
Some time ago we called the attention of Indian 
tea-growers and tea-merchants to a statement made 
by Sir Robert Hart, the Inspector-General of Maritime 
Customs in China, to the effect that Indian tea was 
much less wholesome than its Chinese rival. Sir Robert 
Hart gave no authority for his assertion ; but in a 
recent report Mr. Allen, the British Vice-Consul at 
Hankow, adduces the results of a chemical experiment 
in proof of the same position. The test is said to have 
been made by Prnfessor Dittmar, and to have shown 
9'68 per cent tannin in Indian tea against 6 01 in 
Chinese. Also " after 20 minutes infusion of 100 grains 
of each there is present in the respective liquors 2 96 
grains thein and 6'53 grains tannin in the Indian, and 
3 37 grains thein and 3-86 grains tannin in Chinese tea." 
This last way of putting the matter is scarcely to the 
point, as no one wishes to infuse tea for 20 minutes 
and everyone knows that to make an infusion of equal 
strength ]f>ss Indian tea is required than Chinese; 
but here is little doubt that reports like that of Mr. 
Al'en's if a"owed to go unchallenged, will hurt the 
prospects of Indian tea in the European market. 
Our contemporary is quite right about the absurdity 
of giving results after 20 minutes' infusion. It may 
interest the Pioneer to learn that Ceylon high-grown 
teas have been analysed by Mr. John; Hughes of 
Mark Lane with the following result : — 
Moisture dried at 212° F. ... 7-30 
Chlorophvl and oil ... ••• 2"25 
Soluble tannin • •• ••• 6'37 
Other soluble organic matters ... 29 - 03 
Sluble mineral matters ... ... 2 - 50 
Vegetable fibre and insoluble organic 
matters ... ... ••• 49'62 
Insoluble mineral matters ... 2-93 
100-00 
A CORNER IN QUININE. 
To the Editor of "The Financial News." 
Sib— Will you allow me to draw attention, through 
the medium of your influential paper to the very re- 
markable position of quinine ? 
Here am a few facts, which no doubt will be of 
interest to some of your numerous readers :— 
Import of ciuohona bark (from which quinine is 
made): October, 1885, to May, 1886, 10,900,000 lb. 
(price of quinine, 3s 6d per oz.) ; October, 1888, to 
May, 1889, 7.600,000 lb. (price of quinine, Is per oz.), 
or a decrease of 3,300,000 lb. Export: First five 
months of 1886, 47,431 cwt. ; againBt 64,265 cwt. for 
the first five months of 1889. 
Thus we see a decrease in the imports and an in- 
crease in the exports; yet, in the face of this, quinine 
has dropped from 3s 6d to Is per oz., instead of increas- 
ing or, at least maintaining its position. Why is this ? 
Because bear sellers, who are almost exclusively 
Carman manufactures, have been selling to an enor- 
mous extent for forward delivery ; but when these 
deliveries became due, by offering a small quantity 
on the spot at a low rate, they have been able to 
buy back their own contraots at a considerable re- 
duction on the price at which they sold. This b as 
been going on for a considerable time, until n ow 
tbey have brought quinine to its present absurdly 
ow quotation, viz., Is per oz., at which price 1 ' 
does not seem possible that it can pay; and this 
view is borne out by the fact that in some contracts 
made for July delivery, with the special stipula- 
tion that the quinine was to be delivered " direct 
from the works " within the previous three or four 
months, the goods have been tendered ; but when the 
buyers demand proof of the recent delivery from 
the manufactory, they have, up to the present, been 
unable to obtain it. 
The quinine sold for delivery in August next (apart 
from the normal consumption, which is continually in- 
creasing) is over a quarter of million ounces ; so that 
if buyers will only demand delivery of the goods, 
instead of re-selling them at a loss to the very persons 
they bought them from, the bears would be entirely at 
their mercy. 
Many people seem afraid of the present stock of 
cinchona in London; but on May 31st 1885, the stock 
was 76,500 packages against 65,700 on May 31st in the 
present year, thus showing another falling-off to the 
extent of over 10,000 packages ; and it must be men- 
tioned that a great deal of the present stock is ab- 
solute rubbish, the sale of which would not even rea- 
lise the amount of the dock charges incurred upon 
it, without reckoning freight and the original cost of 
the goods. 
Judging from these facts, it would seem that a capi- 
talist with a moderate amount of capital — say, about 
£100,000 — could entirely 'control the market, and send 
up the price of quinine 300 or 400 per cent, in a very 
short time, as the supply of cinchona is limited, and 
it requires from four to five years for new trees to 
arrive at maturity thus distinguishing it from mines 
and other undertakings, the production from which 
is mostly a matter of labour and money, any amount 
of which will not materially hasten the growth of a 
cinchona tree.— I am, sir, yours, &c. Common Sense. 
♦ 
A CEYLON PLANTER IN MINCING LANE: 
CEYLON TEAS IN MINCING LANE AND THE VICINITY— THE 
CRY FOR FLAVOUR AND QUALITY— A GOOD STORY — 
EFFECTS OF DRINKING " OOLONGS " — PLANTERS AND 
THEIR BROKERS — FALLING-OFF IN QUALITY MEANS 
FALLING-OFF IN PRICES — HOW TO AVOID IT I PRACTICAL 
ADVICE AND ILLUSTRATIONS — SHAKSPEARE APPLIED TO 
THE CEYLON PLANTER. 
Thpre can be no doubt it is good for us all 
sometimes " to see oorsels as ithers see us," 
and this outside view of the Ceylon tea planter can 
be had, I will not say enjoyed, on a visit to Mincing 
Lane, and the parts that do adjacent lie. 
It would be " piper's news " to tell you that 
"flavour" and " quality " are all the cry in the 
city now, and though I think some of the acutest 
spirits have begun to grasp the idea that these 
characteristics cannot in many cases be imparted 
for reasons known to all of you, the cry does not 
diminish in its loudness nor is it likely to do so. 
Not but that there is a demand for bad teas, 
or what the tasters would describe as bad teas, but 
in the nature of things there will always be a 
supply equal to this demand. To explain the above 
I may say I was informed that in certain districts 
of the English Midlands and Scottish Highlands 
they would take nothing but thick, over-fermented 
teas ; and in connection with this an amusing 
story was told me. On a certain estate in a favourite 
district the tens turned out were much inferior in 
liquor and valuation to those from the surrounding 
estates. They sold, nevertheless, very well; but after 
a time the manager, who was evidently not a 
believer in the old saying, "Let well alone," changed 
his mode of manufacture and turned out the same 
style of tea as his neighbours. This was ai onea 
followed by the buyers, who had hitherto taken 
these teas for special markets, transferring their 
affections elsewhere and by a faU in price. The moral 
