March t, 1888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
603 
with the subject, and ny remarks shill be few. The 
tea plant is not indi ,ci ous to Natal, neither d <• . il 
txist to iny kiiowle ge elscwh re in South Africa. 
It was first imported in i860 from Ke«v Gardens, aha 
from seeds other trees wcic raised down to about 1S77. 
This tea was considered to bo the Indian tea, which 
was then comparatively new and experts considered t in- 
produce better than that of the Assam hybrid or the 
iu ligonous Assam. The result of tho experiment 
showing that the climate and soil were suitable for 
the growth of tea, planters thought a better seed 
should be introduced, and consequently some was 
imported direct from India, which proved successful 
to such au extent that tho Planters' Association 
memorialised the Government to bring over in their 
■bartered vessels, freight fiee, any further seeds, 
which the Government agreed to do. Several further 
boxes were imported , und divided iu proportion to 
the guarantees given in 1877. From the first 
batch of seeds about 5,000 plauts were raised, 
but during the first twelve months these were 
reducf-d by more than hall. It was not till 1880 that 
the first real held was planted — afield of about 5 acres 
Containing some 10,000 plants. Iu 1880 the total area 
under cultivation was about (iuO acres, and t he amount 
of tea raised was about 57,000 lb. It was expected last, 
year that the amount raised would be 100,000 or 
120,000 lb., showing that, as in Ceylon, the production 
so far doubled itself in the year. The belt of country 
in Natal in which tea can be grown is, however, very 
small. It is grown at present not more than 12 miles 
inland. Within that limit the country is practically 
free from frost. Au experiment has, however, been 
made upon some laud 40 or 50 miles inland, and so far 
the experiment has proved successful. The great'draw- 
back to tea growing in Natal is the labour difficulty. 
The population at present numbers about 870,000 na- 
tives, 80,000 whites, and ;10,00U coolies from India. The 
Kaffirs are willing enough to work, but they do not 
care to do so for more than three to six months at a 
time, after which they go home for a while, and con- 
sequently the planters cannot rely upon them ; but, 
could they do so, tbey would probably be cheaper than 
the Indians. The labour of coolies, who are inden- 
tured for a term of five jears, is more or less ex- 
pensive. Employers have to pay a sum of M per 
head annually to the Indian Immigration Hoard, be it n s 
other fees, the wages themselves being at the rate of 
from Ids to l^s a month, exclusively of rations. Still, 
tea can be imported into Landon at Is Id per lb. in- 
cluding duty, and the sample is said to be very good. 
These facts, I think, compare favourably with those 
rotating to other Colonics. The tea is not consumed 
vorj largely iu tho Colony itself at present, the greater 
amount used being imported, but the local consump- 
tion is increasing. What was oxpected to bo an ob- 
st' clo to tea cultivation in Natal is the rainfall, which 
varies very considerably. In 1881-85 it was only 
III 0] iuohes, and, in 1885 8'j 42*10 inches, showing a 
very uiueh less fall than other tea-growing countries. 
In Natal, too, the rain all falls between about Sep- 
tember and April, the Other months generally being 
practically without any, and often subjected t6 very 
stroi g hot winds, which dry up vegetation to a great 
extent. Still, the industry is yet iu its infancy, and, 
so f ir ns il has gone, I think you will agree with 
nic, it has been successful. 
Deputy Surg' on -General GO. lltwiN :— I shall be 
unable to give you the eloquent phraseology of our 
worthy lecturer, the prolound statistics of our ex- 
cellent chairman, or the personal reminiscences of 
tho urigiual planter. I nm put up, 1 presume, iu 
contrast to the gentleman who is about tot m'.iit k lor 
Ceylon, fox 1 have just returned from the United 
States. I cannot tell you much about the production 
or cultivation, or the consumption of ten, but I can j 
perhaps claim from you soiuo degree of attention On 
the ground that lam one' of the oldest tea drinkers 
in tho room — one of the oldc„t Indian tea drinkers. 
I have been a drinker o! Indian test for twenty-five 
years. I happened to ho iu liomhay, win ro nobody 
drank anything but China tin, but, being up-country 
wu bad to fall back ou tho uativu article. Wo felt 
the change, or fancied we did ; but, straugo to say, 
on our return wo cou:d drink nothing but Ind:un 
tea. This shows how tastes are influenced by circum- 
stances. With regard to Ceylon tea, I have 
no doubt I have drunk a gnat deal of it, hut 
I refer more particularly to Indian t' a, which, as I 
have said, 1 have drunk for the last 1:5 years, and, as 
I happen to have an interest in that ten, I try to push 
it wherever 1 can. I have had an opportunity of 
studying the tea-drinking habits of other nations than 
the Uritish. I have been a good deal in the United 
Statts, and 1 may say that from the White House — 
where I have taken tea — to the fashionable hotels 
anil private residences, the quality of tea used is vile. 
The Americans generally are not tea drinkers, and 
there is, 1 think, an enormous field for the introduc- 
tion of a really gootl tt a. Tho puro American is a 
very amenable creature ; you can lead him almost 
anywhere. He is iu au eminent degree au admirer of 
British institutions, and is becoming more so every 
day. I believe the American of the future — and of 
the not distant future — will become a confirmed tea 
drinker ; and I have no doubt that a large portion 
of the tea you expect to export from Ceylon will find 
its way into the States. 
The Chairman: — A most agreeable duty now de- 
volves on me. It is on your behalf to Convey to Mr. 
ShaUd a cordial vote of thanks for the eloquent and 
inslructive paper with which he has favoured us this 
eveniog. 
Mr. Shand: — If the duty which has devolved on Sir 
John Coode is agreeable, that which I have to perform 
is still more agreeable, and that is to ask you to join 
with me in passing a vote of tkanks to him for pre- 
siding this evening. His ccuntction with this Insti- 
tute is so well known that it would be impertinent in 
me to refer to it ; but, apart from that, lie has a con- 
nection which, to me, is of very great interest, being, 
as it is, intimately associated with Oejlon. I claim for 
the Ceylon planters that they have built up a great 
enterprise, which is likely to lie a la-ting one. I have 
to'.d you how the Governors of the island have referred 
to the roads, the bridges', and the railway s which that 
enterprise has enabled them to scatter over the country, 
but there is an enterprise of even greater Imperial im- 
portance, and that is the breakwater at Colombo. We 
provided the ihewsand sinews which went to construct 
the work, and Sir John Coode provided the brains. 
It is a monument of our industry and of his skill ; 
aud I do not think that any New Zealandtr will ever 
sit under our trees and sketch its ruins. In regard 
to the discussiou, Sir John Coode thought 1 had not 
laid sufficient stress on the suitability of the Ceylon 
climate to the cultivation of tea. I did mention the 
matter more than once, but I liavo rather a delicacy 
in reft rring to the Ceylou climate, because I have 
lived there for twenty-two years, and I felt, therefore, 
that any detailed remarks on the excellence of the 
climate might become personal. Sir John Coode, after 
tho manner of an engineer, has put hi fore you, in 
a practical form, the facts of the development of 
tht: Co) Ion tea enterprise. He has made the matter 
clear even to those who cannot understand millions. 
To the remarks that have fallen from our friend who 
IS .associated with China — and who has had wlinl to 
me is a most interesting experieuce iu China ami 
Formosa — I attach great importance. I do not 
wish him to think we want te> wipe out any enter- 
prise. We want to live aud let live. We know 
that China consumes nine-tenths of the tea she 
produces, aud our desire is that she fhall so prosper 
that sho will consume the extra tenth she now ex- 
ports. Ho says China will fake up. If he has 
read the consular reports for the last twt ntj venrs ho 
will seo that they nil point to the same fuels — adul- 
teration and the putting into tbe market of hndlv pre- 
pared tea. If with thesu M«lc:nn warning), belerv h. r 
for the lust twenty years China bus not roused licr-clt, 
I wonder when she will. There is, howevur, tuothi r 
factor at work iu the process of deterioration, which 
I have ou very good authority— namely, that (he 
enormously expanding tea market of tho world has occa- 
sioned such a rush ou the part of owners to supply that 
