6 
f HE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1887 
Aberfoyie 60 
Agarsland -77 
Hatherleigh 51 
Springwood 81 
Arapolakanda 89 
Crurie 35 
Cullodea 115 
Glenclon 34 
Putupaula 42 
Torwood 36 
f 
abed 
ace 
abc 
ab 
abde 
abce 
ac 
ab 
11. 
l" 
0 
0 
12. 
0 
1 
0 
0 
9 
0 
13. 
0§ to 
i\ to 
9J to 
9J to 
61 & 
6£ to 
6.7 to 
10 tO 
10i & 
2 
0 
1 
1 3i 
1 6J 
1 7 
1 5J 
i n 
i n 
1 0 
7£ 2 1 
9j 0 9 
3 0 11 
1 U 
i e* 
1 2f 
1 0.J 
Camden Hill 9 a ... ... 1 1 
Hayes 265 abede 0 9) to 1 8 1 0 
The letters given refer to the different grades «s fol- 
lows : — " a " ^Pekoe ; " b " = Broken Pekoe ; " c " 
=Pekoe Souchong ; " d " = Broken Tea ; "e " = Dust and 
"f "= Unassorted. 
These figures, confined as they are to sales for 
the month of April only, though interesting to 
everyone connected with our tea industry, do not 
possess the absolute value they would have done 
had they related to the sales of a longer period, 
say six months or a year. One feature of the 
returns, however, is remarkable, that with a 
distinctly inferior market, and with more than double 
the number of packages on offer, the sales in April 
of this year shew an average increase in value of 
a half-penny a pound over that of the same month 
in 188G. 
Taking the figures as they stand, Group No. 6 
exhibits the highest average, viz. Is 4d, and this 
may very easily be explained by its including the 
two favourite marks, Loolcondura and Eookwood 
realizing respectively Is lOjd and Is 6f d. To those 
who feel anxious about the stability of the superi- 
ority of our teas — it must be reassuring to find the 
oldest estate in the island holding out in quality as it 
does, and though giving no very large yield per 
acre maintaining its quality so well. Leanga- 
pella does well for the average of this group at 
Is 4£d and Oodewella Is 3Jd. The second place 
on this list is No. 11, Eatnapura and Kaluganga 
including Balangoda, and consequently Agarsland 
with a sale of 77 packages at 2s ljd. There are 
sales from only four estates in this group, and 
with such a leader as this we should have expected 
the average would have been something over what it 
is, namely Is 3Jd. Group No. 1 Nanuoya and Talawa- 
kelle including Nuwara Eliya comes next with an 
average of Is 2£d, Elbedde helps these figures 
considerably with the fine average of Is 6Jd and 
Glassaugh makes a good second with Is 4Jd, Matta- 
kelly (the great centre of cinchona) Is 3£d. 
Fourth on the list is No. 10 Kelani stretching 
as it does into Dolosbage. The average of 940 
packages from this group is Is ljd, Ernan leading 
with Is 3j, a rocky steep face with fine soil appar- 
ently doing as well for tea in the lowcountry as for 
coffee in the hills, Glenalla Is 3d and Morton the 
same. Dunedin contributes 333 packages, and 
Levant 111 to the 940 from which the averages 
are calculated. Group No. 5, stands also the same 
figure in rate of average — Is 2d. This takes in 
1'unduloya, Pussellawa and Gampola. Sogama leads 
with Is 5£d — most of it, we believe, is patana soil, 
but containing a good deal of limestone ; Dunsinane 
far up at the end of Punduloya follows at Is lfd. 
We then find throe groups averaging the same, namely, 
Is l^d, Nos. 2, 3 and 7, Hatton, Wattewala, Watte- 
gama. In the first of them Ovoca averages Is 4j.d, 
Venture Is 3Jd, Castlereagh and Hardenhuish (with 
Lammerrnoor) Is 3d; in No. 3, Goorookoya and 
Imbulpitiya each give Is 2Jd and K A W sent 
301) packages (out of a total of 600) at Is 2d, and 
in No. 7, Kallebokka gives Is 5d, Nilloornally 
Is 4Jd and Tunisgalla Is 3£d. So that, some of the 
ancient well-known coffee estates seem to prosper as 
tea properties andasnert themselves as no whit behind 
more modern plantations. Group No. 12, Kulutara, 
comes next with only 351 packages averaging Is Id, 
of these Putupaula does best at Is 2£d. Of No. 8 
group, there are sales but from two properties 
Brao and Poengalla and they average the same 
Is OJd with 40 and 33 packages, respectively. 
There will soon be an improvement in this quarter, 
both in quantity and quality of tea, the Batotte dis- 
trict is going to do well. Group No. 4, Nawala- 
pitiya is but a farthing below this average. Galla- 
mudune averages Is 4Jd and Meanagalla Is 3d, 
whilst Windsor Forest with 108 packages stands at 
Is 2d. The last, with an average of the round 
shilling is Galle with sale of two marks only, 
Hayes 2G5 packages at Is and Campden Hill 9 pack- 
ages Is Id— the latter little lot being lost in the 
average of the larger sales of the former. There 
are no figures for group No. 9 — Polgahawela 
and Kurunegala. 
TEA AND THE EFFECT OF EEDUCED 
TAXATION. 
To the Editor of the " Spectator." 
Sib, — In your criticism of Mr. Goschen's Bud- 
get, in the Spectator of April 23rd, there is a 
sentence in relation to the consumption of tea 
which I think is a little misleading Will you al- 
low me to point out in what way ? You say : — 
" The consumption of tea, on the other hand, is 
- nearly double in the thirty years since 1857 ; but 
though the consumption has doubled, the tea re- 
venue has not doubled. Indian tea is so much 
stronger, and so much larger a proportion ef the 
tea now imported is Indian than it was formerly, 
that, reckoned in relation to the increase of the 
population, the tea revenue shows signs'of falling off." 
Now, what are the facts ? In the year 1852, the 
total consumption was 55,092,000 lb. The duty 
then stood at 2s 2Jd a pound, and the total pro- 
duct to the revenue was £0,025,687. In the early 
part of 1853, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
Mr. Gladstone, in his ever-memorable Budget, be- 
gan his great onslaught on the tariffs. He reduced 
the duty on tea at once to Is lOd and provided for 
its further gradual reduction to Is a pound. This 
reduction was interrupted in 1850 by Sir George 
Cornewall Lewis in consequence of the Eussian 
war. The reduction to Is was not reached till 1864 ; 
but in 1865 it was further reduced to 6d, where 
it now stands. I will not trouble you with all the 
figures, but in 1864, the gradual increase in the con- 
sumption of tea had reached a total of 91,296,000 lb, 
and in 1886 it had reached the enormous total of 
181,488,122 1b., producing a revenue of £4,537,203, 
a sum very nearly equal to that produced when the 
duty stood at 2s 2Jd. Think of what that means 
to the producer, to the distributor, and chiefly to 
the consumer ! Think what it means in the homes 
of the poor, where the great consumption of tea 
takes place ! It can now be bought at a fourth 
of its former cost, and all this with very little 
loss to the revenue, 
The export deliveries amounted to rather over 
40,000,000 lb. 
It may be interesting to note that the distribution 
of this great total among the different growths of 
tea is as follows : -China tea, 146,823,504 lb. ; In- 
dian, 68,419,878 lb. ; Ceylon, 0,244,740 lb. It was 
not until the year 1800 that Indian tea was known 
in this country, and the total product for that year 
was only 1,200,000 lb. 
In regard to Mr. Gladstone's beneficent legislation 
in the reduction of duties on other articles, it would 
take pages of your space even to mention them. 
Sugar, for instance, now costs the consumer only 
the amount per pound paid as duty in 1804. The 
duty on soap, which at one time contributed over a 
million to|the revenue, andthe newspaper stamp duties 
also producing a million, have been swept away. 
