78 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Avawt t, 1887. 
Rio crop is estimated at about 2 to 2§ millions 
of bags, and the figures of the Java crop are 
becoming smaller every day. — L. & C. Exvress, 
June 10th. 
PARCHMENT COFFEE. 
Shevarot Planters' Association. 
Coffee : — Read letter from Messrs. Patry and Pas- 
teur, dated 15th April, giving equivalents in cwts. of the 
various packages of coffee as follows : — Casks average 8 
cwt. tierces and barrels together 4 cwt., bags and piculs 
lj cwt. Read the following letter from Mr. H. Pas- 
teur, dated London, 4th April, re curing of coffee in 
London. Dear Sir. — I have duly received your letter 
of Feb. 25th and am extremely obliged to you for 
the kind manner in which you allude to what I may 
have been able to do for the planting community in 
India whose interests have and will always command 
my warmest sympathy. The question of preparing 
parchment coffee in London is a very difficult one, as 
we have to fight here against great drawbacks, not 
to speak of vested interests abroad, which certainly 
will not facilitate matters when it is a question of 
the possibility of their losing business. As regards 
Ceylon and to some extent India, I have always ex- 
pressed the opinion that the coffee was so well and 
carefully prepared under existing arrangements, that 
preparation in London was not likely to show such 
promising results as in the case of central America, 
for example, where local preparation was more prim- 
itive, and where coffee once peeled was liable, from 
length of journey and other causes, to lose so much 
colour before it could reach our market. To mention 
some of the drawbacks and difficulties thrown in the 
way of the London curing I may mention that the 
freight charged for parchment by the "Elyde"at 
Malabar coast is at the rate of 10 cwt. for a ton 
instead of 18 cwt. for a ton of cleaned coffee ! We 
have also had some shipments this season of which 
the parchment appeared to have been overdried, being 
much broken. Two marks of E. I. coffee, peeled in 
London, were sold by us at auction last week and 
realised 85-9 and 85-1 ; whilst the same marks at the 
same sale cured in India realised 86-9 and 86-9 : whilst 
a third mark was sold at 2-6 per cwt. more for the 
London peeled than for the Indian cured portion. 
The cost of peeling, sizing and preparing for sale 
parchment coffee in London is 2-6 per cwt. as against 
lOd per cwt. for landing and preparing for sale clean 
coffee, The weight of a parcel of 129 bags parch- 
ment was cwt. 119-3-24 nett, and the nett weight 
after husking and sizing was cwt. 100-3-2 nett, show- 
ing a loss in the operation of cwt. 19-0-22 or 1(1 per 
cent. In the case of Costa Rica, Guatemala and 
other Central American coffees, shipmen s of parch- 
ment to London continue to give splendid results. A 
parcel of Costa Rica last week sold at auction at 92-6 
per cwt. a price unheard of for Costa Rica, the coffee 
came out here fine bright deep blue ; the highest price 
realised so far for Costa Rica cured abroad was 85 
per cwt. This shows conclusively that London peeling 
does not spoil coffee, on the contrary, and that my 
contention that parchment preserves the colour of the 
coffee is correct. But for this, parchment must be 
dried properly, neither too much nor too little, and 
that is a point which planters or experts on your side 
can alone decide. I may say that the colour of the 
Shevaroy coffee is better this season than 1 have seen 
it yet, and as a consequence it sells as well as Coorg. 
I am much at your service for any further inform- 
ation you may wish to have. —M. Mail, 
. 4. 
INDIAN TEA. 
38, Mincinu Lane, June, 1887. 
ANNUAL REVIEW.— The events which hive marked 
the courHe of the season now coucluded will make it 
a memorable one in the history of the Industry. 
The features which attract attention are — (1), the 
great increase in production; (2), the still lirger in- 
crease in consumption ; (3), a range of price for much 
fit the crop unprecedcutedly low; (4), the ability which 
producers hive shown to cope with conditions whih 
at first si^hb seemed most discouraging. 
In many respects the features of 1884-5 have been re- 
produced. In that season there was a large supply of 
low grade tea, cheap prices for these leading to a great 
advance in consumption; while fine teas maintained 
high values. This was followed by the finer crop of 
1885; higher prices for the low grades; a marked re- 
duction in the value of fine ; and an apparent check to 
consumption. The narrow range between the price of 
fine and common which marked that year, undoubtedly 
led a number of producers to aim at large rather than 
fine crops, which resulted in the total production of 
1886 exceeding by four or five million lb. the estimate 
of the Calcutta authorities. In view of such a policy 
being adopted we wrote a year ago, with reference to 
the comparatively low rates which had been ruling for 
fine tea "to what extent conditions so unfavourable to 
high prices may be modified in the future it is difficult 
to foresee — but in any case we cannot recommend pro- 
ducers to pursue any policy but that of making the 
finest quality possible consistent with a fair yield ; " the 
result has justified the opinion then expressed. 
References to the past, however, are only useful to 
the extent of the guidance which they afford to the 
future, and from all we hear the effect of the past 
season's experience will be to check the tendency to 
make a large yield irrespective of quality.- the result 
will be a finer crop, showing little more than the natural 
iucrease due to higher cultivation, or derivable from 
fresh acreage bearing; which view is consistent with 
the Calcutta estimate of 82 million lb. as the probable 
total of this year's supply. Assuming this to be the 
case, the values of flue and common may again 
come nearer together ; and the increasing supplies from 
Ceylon will operate in this direction, as the policy mainly 
pursued iu the Island — wisely, as we think — is to make 
tea of such quality that it is valued by the Trade above 
the level of common, and up to that of medium and fine 
Indian, although no tea has yet been produced which has 
the special characteristics of the finest Assam and 
Darjeeling tea. We doubt whether the increased quant- 
ity of fine tea which we shall probably receive will have 
so marked an effect upon prices as would have been the 
case a few years ago: as the reported inferiority of the 
new China crop will lessen the supply of tea over 
Is. per lb. and enable the Trade to absorb a larger 
quantity of Indian and Ceylon. Consumers also are 
becoming more alive to the merits of " good " as 
opp ised to " cheap " tea —whether China or Indian 
and their appreciation of the superior value from an 
economical point of view of Indian — to which Mr. Gos- 
chen alluded in his Budget speech — largely accounts for 
its increased consumption. 
Another year's operations being entered upon, a 
close analysis of the past crop is unnecessary, the judg- 
ment of the Trade having been shown ere this by the 
prices paid. Assam gardens generally speaking, have 
maintained their reputation ; but other districts, espe- 
cially Oichar, Sylhet and Dooars, have not been so suc- 
cessful, and the very unsatisfactory prices which have 
ruled for most of their tea is attributable to the large 
proportion made of tea not actually of common quality 
but wanting distinctive character in cup, and of low 
grade in leaf. The large consumption may be attributed 
not only to the increased supply of tea sellin % at very 
cheap prices, but to the fact that this tea, comparatively 
inferior as it was to the finer crop of 1885, was suffi- 
ciently superior in cup to the China Teas obtain- 
able at the same quotations to displace them. 
Whether this turning of the scale in favour of Indian 
would have occurred if prices for China had been 
materially lowered earlier in the season is an open 
question; and it is necessary to consider what may bo 
the effect upon inferior kinds of Indian should China 
senl ns during the coming season heavy supplies laid 
down at a low cost, as some anticipate. 
Taking the general average of the Toa of the pre- 
sent day, and comparing it as well as memory per- 
mits wit'i the crops of ten years ago, a marked and 
general change iu character is noticeable in the 
direction of lighter fermentation combined with mora 
flavour and aroma; and this we take to be due to 
