December i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
413 
trado in Ceylon tea with Kussia. This same house 
— one of the best known in produco trade — is 
very hopeful of the prospects of good teas such 
as Indian and Ceylon in America. 
But is it not almost premature to be anxious 
about pushing Ceylon te^s in other countries when 
it is well-known that even now twice if not three 
times the quantity of tea produced by Ceylon 
during the past season has been consumed as 
"Ceylon tea" within the United Kingdom ! Such 
is acknowledged to bo the case by all the LaTe 
brokers, and I havo it from the leading men 
in the trade — among whom I have been going 
up and down this week — that the very name of 
•' Ceylon," apart from intrinsic quality, is worth 
•' twopence " a pound to a tea in the present 
universal demand for " Ceylon." At last sales, 
our island teas freely sold 2d to 3d per lb. above 
values as coniparod with Indian, in consequence 
of the widespread popularity of our produce and 
name. Of course, thoie is an immense quantity 
mixed and distributed by middlemen and grocers, 
under the name of " Ceylon," which never 
grew in the colony, and a great deal still of 
inferior, adulterated stuff of which the sellers 
may well be ashamed. Samples of the latter under 
new brands havo been given to mo by Sir Graeme 
Elphinstone, to whom the colony and our tea 
planters are indebted for untiring efforts both in 
England and Scotland to make a demand for the 
product in circles whero its goodnoss was likely 
to be appie dated. Perhaps tho first; redit for 
making a nurket lor Ceylon teas at a time when 
few or no ordinary buyers would look at them 
is due to Mr. t'igg of Messrs. \V. J. & H. 
Thompson, who in tho early days spared no 
ofl'ort, in placing the limit- d quantities that 
reached the London market. Altogether, the plant- 
ers have go id friends in the Brokers of tho Lane, 
and much good advico has come from the latter 
in respect of preparation which has borne fruit. 
" Keep up quality," is the one universal bit of 
counsel tendered to Ceylon mon now. The ball 
is at their feet, bo long as they do justice to th?ir 
leaf in manufacture, and so the name having 
been thoroughly established, when 20, 30, or even 
40 millions of "Ceylons" oome forward, whatever 
may bo tho fate of " China " or " Irdia," tl ere 
would be a good market for all our produoe There 
is not muoh fear of consumers, who have become 
aooustomed to a really good tea, going back to 
common stuff ; and as regards the sellers of 
adulterated or false " Ceylons," it is quite ex- 
pected that under the new Act prompt steps 
can bo ti.ken for tho punishment of offenders. 
To Mr. TaBieur (from members of whose firm, 
Messrs. Patry & Pasteur, I have got much use- 
ful information) I am indebted for a copy of the 
following circulur issued by ono of the largo Co- 
operative Stores to show tho penalties incurred 
now-a-daj-H by making up or selling any food article 
which is not in reality what it professes to bo : — 
Thb Merchandise Marks Act 1887.— By this Act. 
which only received the Royal Assent on' the 23rd 
Augiut, 1887, after tho grenter part of tho September 
Price List nnd Store* Circular wis in print, penalties 
are imposed upon nil persons who npply " nny false 
trado description " to the goods sold by them, and n 
" trade description " include-, any direct or indirect 
statement as to the place or country where the (foods 
are made, or the miiterints of which they nrc compos, d. 
In ndditinti to this, tho seller is deemed to warrant 
that the dewi IptlttD t* not "false" within the mean- 
ing I tho Act, unless the contrnrv it ccprc.-iod in some 
wrHiiiff signer) by, or on helinlf of the seller nnd de- 
livered nt the time of side to, nnd ncoep'ed by, the por- 
ch >«r. Moreover, even if s trade description is now 
lawfully nu I generally applied to nnv goods, to indi- 
cate the class or mythod of manufacture, the A -it applies 
where it includes the name of h place or cou itry, aud 
is calculated to mislead as to the placo or country whero 
they were made, or produced, unless they bear an equally 
conspicuous notice of the place or country where they 
were made or iroduced. 
As many articles sold by the Society are known by the 
name of some place or country (c. a., Windsor Soap, 
Vienna Baking Powder, 13 u gal Ohutneo, Turkish 
Towels), and it is impossible to predict iu what cases 
this description would bo held " calculated to mislead 
customers as to the place or country where tho goods 
are made or produced," members ordering any such 
articles from this list are hereby informed that the So- 
ciety does not give any warranty that they are made or 
produced in the place or country after which they are 
named. 
By Order, 
Secretary and Assistant Manager. 
1st September. 1887. 
Mr. Pasteur thinks it is much more important now 
to check tea than coffee adulteration — although he 
has not abandoned tho latter, but thinks that in 
the present state of the market, with high prices 
and general scarcity, there would be some risk 
of throwing out coffee altogether from consump- 
tion ! As it is, the old experience holds true, 
that, even for the sake of a few shillings, buyers 
are eager after the very commonest qualities of 
coffee, rather than the pure qualities. This is 
always the case when prices are high ; while alone 
low rates prevail, common qualities are soaroely 
looked at. Tho colouring of Central and somo 
South American coffees to imitate that bloom pecu- 
liar to Blue Mountain Jamaica or highgrown Ceylon 
has now become quite an art, and I was aston- 
ished to find that finelooking Guatomala, which I 
admired alongside of Gononmtava and others of 
our Ceylon coffees, was all artificially coloured. 
The practice is now so well-known as to be appre- 
ciated at its proper value, which is very little, 
Mexico is bosoming quite an important coffee coun- 
try, now, no doubt near the borders of the Central 
American States. What a difference the fal ing-nff 
in our Ceylon orops and the diversion of trade 
following in the opening of the Suez Canal has 
made to Mincing Lane! In 18G9-70, Ceylon coffee 
in the one per oent commission alone was worth 
£10.0 0 to the Lane brokers: now, £5,000 would prob- 
ably cover the commission. As a consequence and in 
view of the rise of tea, s me of the old coffee firms 
a>e adding a tea department to their broking. 
Through their connection with India and Java as 
well as Ceylon, Messrs. Gow, Wilson & Stanton pay 
as much attention as any others, perhaps, to tea of 
the three countries, and Ob*en<er readers will shortly 
have the special benefit, I hope, of information 
provided through this firm, so well-known in 
Ceylon through Mr. Gow's interest in our industry. 
This gentleman, I am glad to learn, returns almost 
immediately to take up the management of his 
Kelebokka property for at least some years, so 
that wo mny count on Mrs. Gow and himse.f be- 
coming comparatively permanent residents. 
To turn to "coffeo" ogam, it was instructive to 
note the depressed tone of buyers whom I remem- 
ber very buoyant a few yoars ago. "Thank 
goodness," says my Continental buying friend, "I 
have but very few barrels in my hands; bat look 
at that group over the way ; among them are very 
large holders of your fragrant berry, and they 
hive but a poor prospect of realizing profit at 
present rates. Let ns ask what is tho latest 
news. "Hallo what 's in from New York?" (mak- 
ing a dash into the centre of a dozen or so broking 
and buying mon discussing the situation ) "TwsntJ 
cents down" is the reply, which is at once accepted 
as evidence of the unsound, speculative situation 
