196 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [September i, i3* 7 
London Charges. 
Private. Public, 
s. d. s. d. 
Landing housing 2 3 or 2 9 
Taring 16 „ 16 
Bulking 16 „ 1 G 
Kent per week 0 1 „ 0 1 
5 4 5 10 
Glasgow Charges. 
s. d. 
Olyde dues . 0 2£ 
Cartage to warehouse 0 2J 
Receiving 0 1 
Taring 0 3 
Bulking 0 3 
Rent per week 0 0J 
1 0| 
The London charges have now been reduced by 40 per 
cent. Before the reduction took place, the dues on tea 
imported into London were not infrequently equal 
to the freight paid for bringing this commodity all 
the way from Calcutta. Such a surprising state of 
matters was no doubt partly due to the low rate of 
freights which have recently been ruling, but in any 
case it seems absurd that the warehouse dues should 
be at least two-thirds of a reasonable freight from 
India. 
The reduction already mentioned large though it 
is, but slightly affects the relative proportion of the 
Glasgow and London dues. We do not propose to 
enter too curiously into the probable cause of this 
reduction. Competition among the various docks in 
London may have something to do with the modi- 
fication, but it is not unlikely that the fear of Scot- 
tish competition has had some influence in bringing 
about this result. If the competition from Scotland 
should become severe, doubtless the London charges 
will be further reduced, but in point of cheapness 
it is impossible for London to compete with Glasgow. 
The saving effected will naturally go to the planters, 
and a gain of, say, two shillings per chest would 
amount to something very considerable on the total 
produce of a tea garden, and might make all the 
difference between failure and moderate success. This 
feature will naturally commend Glasgow as a market 
to the tea-planters of India and Ceylon. 
Even those who deride, the idea of attempting to 
establish a tea market in Glasgow admit that ware- 
house dues would be much more moderate in that 
city, but they contend that there is some special 
fitness in London as a tea-distributing centre, not only 
for the United Kingdom, but for other parts of the 
world. Anyone may see from the Board of Trade 
returns that London does a large tea trade with 
Germany, and a considerable trade with Russia, 
British North America, and Other countries not enu- 
merated. In the matter of teas different countries 
have doubtless different tastes, and all have in 
the meantime a chance of suiting themselves, 
m the London market. This, however is no 
reason why teas suitable for the district of 
country which can be most conveniently sup- 
plied from Glasgow should not be brought direct 
to the Olyde. Indian teas arc already regarded with 
great favour in Scotland. In proof of this, we may 
mention that the Indian Planters Gazette of the 14th 
June, commeuting on the quietness of the London 
tea market, assigned the occurrence of a bank holiday 
in Scotland as the reason for the "quiet week so far 
as Darjeeling and the rlavoury kinds of tea were con- 
cerned." In London there are trained tea-tasters, who 
give independent reports, and purchasers who are 
doubtful of their own judgment can make their selec- 
tions in accordance with skilled neutral opinions. This 
is urged as a reason for retaining the headquarters of 
the tea trade in London, but the same tiling could 
easily be done in Glasgow, if necessary, when the trade 
develops. The strong point in the London argument 
is that there only is the mystery of blending correctly 
understood. The promoters of the Glasgow scheme 
admit this. ' Their contention, however, is that 
teas from India and Ceylon require no blending, 
and in this they have the support of skilled op- 
inion in India, as shown in a letter recently sent to 
Messrs. Hastings & Co.. of Bothwell Street, Glasgow, 
by Messrs. Moran & Co-, of Calcutta. The public must 
be the ultimate judge of this, and they will have 
suitable opportunities for making up their mind, as 
part of the tea brought to Glasgow will be sold from 
the garden-packed chests. 
Glasgow in itself affords a market in which a large 
quantity of strong Indian and Ceylon teas might easily 
be placed, and there is no reason why it should not 
be sent direct. That city has also great facilities as 
a distributing centre for other parts of Scotland, and 
for the North of England and the North of Ireland. 
Mr. A. Erskine Muirhead, who is the organiser of the 
import scheme, is sparing no efforts to make it a 
success. We have no doubt that, from the advant- 
ages which it seems to promise both to the Indian 
and Ceylon tea-plauters and to the Scottish public, 
it will have a fair trial ; and in the commercial interests 
of Scotland it is to be hoped that it will achieve a 
large measure of success. — Scotsman, July 25th. 
German Sugar Companies. — We give the results 
of the working of sixteen German Companies for 
the year 1886-87, which we have tabulated from 
the particulars published in the Deutsche Zucker- 
industrie. About one half show losses, in three 
others the profits have gone to reduce or wipe off 
the losses of previous years. Only two declare 
dividends, although a third Company (Gandersheim) 
shows a net profit equal to 25 per cent upon the 
returns, which is certainly a remarkable showing 
when we consider the low price of sugar during 
this period. — Sugar Cane. 
The Calcutta Syndicate and Indian Tea..— 
The success which appears to have attended the 
efforts of the Calcutta syndicate formed four or five 
years ago to promote a trade in Indian tea in Austra- 
lia has induced the Calcutta merchants to turn their 
attention now to the United States and Canada, 
markets which have hitherto been mainly supplied 
with tea from Japan. A scheme has lately been 
proposed for stimulating the sale of Indian tea on 
the other side of the Atlantic by enabling consumers 
to buy direct from the producers, and it is said that 
there is already a prospect of practical results. Mean- 
while it has been pointed out that as India imports 
for its own consumption about 4,000,0001b of tea per 
annum from China, something might well be done 
to promote the consumption of Indian tea in India 
itself. It is admitted that the natives of India enjoy 
tea as a beverage, and it is urged that it might easily 
be made the national drink. A correspondent of a 
Calcutta paper suggests that au association should be 
formed, with a capital to begin with of say R300,000 
and that all tea shareholders, proprietors, companies, 
agents, managers, and garden assistants should be 
invited to take shares. These would be made as small 
as R10 each, and should be allotted among as many 
persons interested in the trade as possible, so that 
the earning of a large dividend would become an object 
of secondary importance to the fostering of the Indian 
tea industry itself. It is then proposed that the 
commercial association thus formed should buy up 
common and broken teas at the weekly auctions in 
Oalcutta, and should make them up in loz, 2oz, and 
4 oz. lead packets, with the weight and prices printed 
on neat labels on each side of the packet in English, 
Urdu, and the different vernaculars, so that pur- 
chasers could read for themselves what they were 
buying. Agents for the sale of these packets would 
then be appointed in every town and bazaar of im- 
portance throughout the country. These various move- 
ments and the remarkable success of the tea industry 
in Ceylon give good promise that tea will before long 
be one of the. most extensive branches of Indian trade. 
— Manchester Courier , 
