June 2, 1890J 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
849 
LONDON AND COLOMBO TEA SALES. 
An interesting discussion has been carried on in 
our columns and in that of a contemporary as 
to the respective advantages to planters of selling 
their tea in the Colombo and London markets. One 
proprietor has given very practical attention 
to the subject by dividing his consignments of teas 
into two equal parts, one of which has been sent 
to London and one to Colombo and this has gone 
on for over twelve months with the result of the 
Colombo sales showing a small fraction better re- 
turn than that from the teas sold in London. There 
are some planters however, who strenuously hold 
that Mincing Lane is the better market for them 
and who show exceptionally low charges on their teas. 
A correspondent " C. T. G." of our contemporary 
who maintained at first that the charges on his teas 
equalled only 1 l-16th d. per lb, is among these ; 
but his statement has been challenged and con- 
tradicted by two others as follows : — 
" O.T.G." considers 2d. per lb. above the average 
charge on tea in London. Taking into consideration 
what this charge represents, namely, shipping charges, 
freight, London charges, draft (allowance of 1 lb. per 
package), and last but not least the risk of exchange 
and the market, his calculation of ll-l(>thsd. per lb. 
is palpably inaccurate, "Seeing is believing" as the 
saying goes, and it would be a benefit to his co-planters 
to expose the high rates estimated of 2d. per lb. by 
publishing the particulars by which he arrives at the 
exorbitant rate of 1 l-16th d. per lb. 
If C. T. G. positively asserts tbat he can lay his tea 
down in London, so far as freight and Lcndon charges 
go, for 1 l-16feh d. per lb., of course I cannot con- 
tradict him. But is not his case exceptional ? I think 
that, in calculating 2d. as the equivalent of these 
charges, Colombo buyers are not far out. I add at 
foot the charges on a parcel of 206 packages shipped 
by me from Colombo recently to London, and it will 
be seen that the total charges come to £142 8s 5d. or 
a little over If d. per lb. This invoice is no exceptional 
one, as everyone doing this business will see for him- 
self. As it may be of some interest, I add it below : — 
Shipped 206 packages... ... 19,962 lb. 
Sold in London ... ... 19,462 lb. 
Loss in weight and draft 
500 lb. 
Freight 
Warehouse and Rent 
Interest 
Sale expenses 
Fire Insurance 
Brokerage, 1 per cent 
Commission, 2$ per cent ... ... 
Shipping and export duty, J cents R14877 
Marine Insurance, f per cent ... R 57-74 
Commission tor drawing, 1 per cent R 83-67 
11290-18 
Loss in weight 500 lb., @ 40 cents R200-00 
£ 
s. 
d. 
44 
0 
8 
30 
0 
11 
0 
19 
11 
1 
0 
7 
1 
10 
3 
8 
0 
3 
20 
0 
7 
@ 1/6 
R490-18 
36 15 
... 142 8 6 
£142 8 5 + 19,462 = l-75d or say lfd per lb. 
The above I am sure is a fair account of these 
charges which amount to quite V} per lb. and some- 
times more. But does C. T. G. tbink that buyers are 
so blind to their own interests that they do not know 
that tbey may give another cent or so a lb. on a 
certain lot of tea and yet make money on it ! 
To this "O.T.G." replies and offers a correc- 
tion and explanation as follows : — 
I find I made a mistake in the charges of my last 
account sales; you will see from enclosed they come 
to ljd per lb. and not 1 1-lGth. I very much regret 
the error, but at the same time I enclose another 
account sale in which the charges work out fraction- 
ally over Id. But as a rule you may take ljd as a 
minimum. In my last I said, "London charges," 
which do not of course include shipping and export 
107 
duty (about balanced by brokerage in Colombo.) And 
I do not go in for such luxuries as 21 per cent commis- 
sion, not being able to see why the merchant should 
get two and a half times as much as the broker for 
a fifth of the work. 
Of course " C. T. G." must be working under 
exceptional circumstances to be able to save com- 
mission &o. There is no doubt room for the planter 
in a time of brisk competition to profit by local 
sales ; but the Colombo market must be uncer- 
tain from its limited character. Every day however 
is modifying this objection. The number of inde- 
pendent buyers of tea has lately increased and is 
bound to go on increasing ; and the number of outside 
orders for our teas from the Australian and other 
British Colonies and America is steadily on the 
increase, and unless the local market is well sup- 
ported with supplies by the planters, such orders 
must necessarily be discontinued and lost. It is 
from this point of view especially that we have been 
directing attention to the subject and urging the 
owners of fine teas even, to give a fair trial to the 
looal market. In order indeed to encourage direot 
orders from other countries than England to 
Colombo, — a very important matter in the interest 
of producers, — it may be necessary to induce the Tea 
Fund Committee to move with a view to getting a 
certain percentage of most crops allotted for the 
Colombo sales. — Complaint has been raised about 
the dearness of freight from Ceylon to New Zealand 
the rate being as high as B52 (=£4) per ton or 
the equivalent of 5 cents per lb., and nearly three 
times the rate to London. We trust the day will 
come when more than one steamer can be 
chartered and loaded up with Ceylon teas for 
Australia and New Zealand at much lower rates than 
now prevail. — We give on page 474, the latest in- 
formation in reference to the estimated tea crops in 
1890 for India and Ceylon : — the former is put at 115 
miilons lb. and the latter we give at 45 millions 
though it is just possible that Ceylon may not be 
far snort of Assam which is estimated to give 
48,295,344 lb. 
" ANOTHER NEW PEODUCT,"— 
This time from a curious quarter — viz., the qupas 
or upas tree, of evil fame — the very devil, indeed, of 
the vegetable kingdom — long supposed to destroy every 
living thing that came within its reach. Who does 
not remember his granny speak with bated breath of 
how condemned criminals were sent to report upon 
these trees till the ground was strewn with their bones, 
for " man, nor beast, nor bird, nor fish could live for 
twal miles around"? But modern research makes 
sad havoc of our cherished fables. Like its spiritual 
prototype, the upas has been found to be not so black 
as painted ; on the contrary, a closer acquaintance 
revealed the fact that it belongs to a most respectable 
family — a very near relative of the cow tree (Brosiniuni), 
which yields milk as luscious and wholesome as any 
Alderney, and a first cousin, at least, to the famous 
bread-fruit tree (Artocarpus;. In short, the upas has 
been maligued ; it is not the cause of the malaria 
around it, but thecjw c.the seeds being found very beue- 
ficial in both fever and dysentery. Commercially; how- 
ever, the tough bark is the most valuable product. In 
Ceylon this is made into strong ropes. In Western 
India the upas is known as " Backiu tree," the inner 
bark being extensively used as natural saoks for rice. 
And listen, O tailors on strike ! This vegetable sweater 
— heedless of trade unions — works night and day in 
producing ready. made clothes I The felt-like oark 
removed entire, forms splendid seamless suits — the 
trunk furnishing bodies, the branches sleeves or legs, 
as the case may be, If really fine raiment is desired, 
(he material is rolled and dyed, when it is fit for any 
" masher." Costumes of this natural cloth have iv. 
