April r, 1890.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
707 
NOTES ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
MB. GOSCHEN AND THE TEA DUTY— CHEAP 
CHINA TEAS AND THE " GROCER " — FAILURE 
OF JAVA COFFEE CROPS— A NEW JAVA 
COMPANY. 
Mr. Goachen has given a private intimation that 
it will not be possible to introduce the Budget before 
Easter. As to the tea duty, it appears to have been 
positively stated within the la9t few days by one in 
some authority tbat in the opinion of Mr. GoBcben 
reduction of the duty is not desirable; that at less than 
sixpence it would be more vexatious and less justifiable. 
Thus the prospect of the Budget is clouded with much 
uncertainty. The Cobden Club is advocating the 
abolition of the tea duty, 
China teas are so extraordinarly cheap in Mincing 
Lane tbat the Grocer feels it its duty to urge the fact 
upon the trade, and to add that " as it is improbable 
that prices will remain as low as they are for any 
length of time, it behoves those who hold these views 
to look about them without much delay." "Indeed," 
says the Grocer, " already we find that it is impossible 
in gome oases to duplicate the occasional extraordinarily 
cheap price of full first-crop teas, made as far back 
as two months. In black leaf teas, parcels of ripe, 
thorny Oopaok are to be bought at 4£d., also full- 
flavoured Oonfa on the same level of price, and Ping- 
Kong, of the first crop growth, mellow and good, with 
a slight " tarry " flavour, at 4|d. — tea which used to 
be worth 9d. three years since. Again Kutoan at 4jd. 
to 6J., ripe and full in flavour, is a marvel of cheap- 
ness. Soomoo tea, which in the early part of the season 
was worth 9d., is now purchasable at 5d. for most 
useful-flavoured tea, eminently desirable in a mixture 
to soften down the roughness of Indian. Indeed no 
one could have anticipated that such value would be 
obtained as is now to be bought from 4Jd. to 6d. For 
teas above this range of price, Panyongs from 6d. to 
9d. show wonderful value ; the latter being the price 
of tea worth Is. 2d. earlier in the season. Rasping, 
f nil -flavoured, handsome Panyongs, full of point, 
are selling from 6jd. to 7d. ; they are excellent 
drinking alone, and have such merit that they scarcely 
need any admixture of Indian or Ceylon. To those 
who can use Souchongs it is not too much to say 
that the prices for these probably eclipse all others 
in cheapness. Only 4§d. will buy a clean, useful 
Souchong, whilst 5£d. will brinsr a tea which grades 
between gcod and choice, such as last season sold as 
high as Is. 4d. per lb.' 1 It is a sad reflection, and our 
contemporary makes the most of it, that " an exami- 
nation of the red-leaf teas sold at auction lately dis- 
clo es tbe fact tbat quite usable Soomoo brings 4Jd. 
to 4|d. ouly. It is needless to say most of these teas 
are belling for pence below cost, and several pence lower 
than the prices of last autumn. Those dealers and 
retailers who use scented tea will find an excellent 
opportunity of buying well a common grade at 
54d., or if they can give 7d. to 8d. they can 
purohase teas showing 2d. per lb. drop, or more, 
on the prices of two months back, and a grade 
of tea that of late years has rarely sold lower 
than Is per lb and over frequently. ' New make ' 
congous are attractive at their present low prices, and 
are perhaps more useful than any other kind of 
ChiLa tea, carrying as they do a dark liquor with a 
rasping Indian flavour ; indeed, certain Hoyune teas 
possess grippy, telling waters, and they are eminently 
useful in a mixture. Some of the newly arrived 
fourth crop ' new make ' have a full rich liquor, and 
make a delicious cup of tea. Supplies of this grade 
are quite short. Shipments have ceased from Canton, 
with a total crop only half the size of last season's' 
and thus buyers have no time to Iosp, as the 
above kinds will be very scarce long before new 
teas can arrive. They have practically all been 
■old on arrival, and virtually no stock is carried 
over. Good or choice black-leaf teas seem scarcely 
to exist, but some full-flavoured Kecmuns are oc- 
casionally sold at auction at i)d. to lOd. show- 
ing a drop of 6d from opening prices. They are fra- 
grant teas and very cheap," 
Another, though a minor, feature in the market, the 
Grocer point b out, is the small quantity of siftiogsthat 
have arrived from China this year ; the few lots auc- 
tioned going under 4d. Shantaam tea has ceased to 
come forward for some months, and the low-priced 
Oopacks at 4jd. must not be confounded with them. 
Buyers have an excellent opportunity (with China tea) 
of making up a remarkably good mixture showing a good 
profit to sell at Is. 4d.; while such rich-flavoured teas 
as first-crop Keemnns and Panyongs, with tho slight 
help of Darjeeling or Ceylon tea, would make an 
extraordinarily good article for sale at Is 8d or 2s 
per lb. Green teas are selling very cheaply, having 
sustained a large drop on most kinds since last 
Christmas. The quantity of tea afloat from China ia 
now very trifling, and, as far as it can be ascertained, it 
is as follows: — From Shanghai, congou, 500,000 lbs. 
weight ; from Foochow, congou, 1,750,000 lbs. ; and 
from Canton, congou, 250,000 lbs. 
The failure of tbe Java coffee crop haB been an un- 
pleasant surprise in Holland. For mere than two 
centuries the Dutch have derived large profits from 
coffee-growing in Java, and the average annua! pro- 
duction in recent years has been over 140,000 tons. 
Blight is stated to be the cause of the present disaster. 
A new company, with a capital of £208,000) has been 
formed in Amsterdam. It bears the name of Javasche 
Cultuurmaatschappy, and will promote coffee culture in, 
and trading with, Java. — Home Colonial Mail. 
COTTON IN INDIA. 
The importance of cotton to the Indian cultivator 
seems to lie in the fact that neither the demand for 
it Dor the selling price are dependent, to any appreci- 
able extent, on the nature of tbe harvests in other 
producing oountries, as in the oase of wheat and oil- 
seeds At no time since 1881 has the price of cotton 
varied by as much as three rupees per cwt. Formerly 
the shortness of the staple of Bengal cotton had always 
caused it to be more or less held in disrepute by 
English spinners, and consequently a percentage of it 
only was employed by them, for the sake of its com- 
parative cheapness. This naturally caused the trade 
to be a rather precarious one, the demand and value 
being ruled by the production of America and Egypt. 
This has all changed, however, for in connection with 
the industry which has of late years sprung up in 
so-called cotton tweeds, union cloths, mixed cotton 
and woollen goods, &o., a special demand has arislen 
for the cotton grown in the N.-W. Provinces, ita 
peculiar characteristics having been foand specially 
adapted for use in the manufacture of these materials. 
The demand, too, is even more from the Continent 
than from England. A steady market therefore may 
be anticipated as long as the trade in these mixed 
fabrics lasts and the present standard of quality is 
maintained. — Pioneer, Feb. 8th. 
♦ 
PLANTING IN DELI : TOBACCO. 
The shipment of last year's tobacco crop has 
taken place unusually early, and most of the pro- 
duct will, in all likelihood, arrive at Amsterdam 
before May next. Railways and steamers have 
been hard put to it in meeting the demands of 
shippers. Up lo the middle of this month, about 
35,000 bales had been forwarded. Estate work on 
this year's crop goes on less actively. The Chinese 
new year began amid dry weather, but this favour- 
ble turn of events did not last long. From within 
two days after the beginning of the year, heavy 
rains have checked field labour. Burning operations 
have naturally stopped, and if a change for the 
better doeB not set in soon, this month also will 
close as disappointingly. March must turn out fine 
to admit of a satisfactory orop this year. 
A correspondent assures the Deli Courant that 
the rivalry of Ceylon tobaooo has nothing formi- 
dable about it. The rainy nature of the climate of 
Oeylon standB in the way of effective competition. The 
rainfall in both colonies stands almost alike, but 
the number of rainy days differ widely. In Ceylon 
