May i, 1888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
739 
far and wide, and its consumption pushed in a 
way that has never been parallelled in the case 
of any other tropical product. No Exhibition has 
been allowed to pass without a special effort at 
representation. The Southern colonies have been 
invaded, and even a small effort made at reaching and 
influencing far-away North Amorica. In proportion 
to the wealth (or rather comparative poverty) of 
our planting and mercantile community during the 
tirao of depression, the expenditure of money, time 
and thought, given to this matter, has been quite 
wonderful, and, if India Tea Companies, Agents 
and planters, had only exerted themselves in the 
same proportion, there would not have been a 
corner of the civilized globe, where the virtues 
of Indian and Ceylon teas had not, by this time, 
becomo as familiar in the mouths of tho people as 
" household words." But it is no use crying over 
a want of energy in tho past. Indian Tea Agencies 
did of course a good deal of work in the United 
Kingdom before Ceylon appeared in the field, and, as 
we have said, new life and vigour have latterly 
been infused into their efforts to promote consump- 
tion in other directions. Notably, are we following 
with much interest, the attempts mado with the 
oountenanoe — nay tho direct support — of the several 
Governments to promote a local consumption of tea 
in India itself. This is a most important movement 
from a sanitary and temperanoe point of view, 
apart from its commercial and planting aspect. 
The people of China and Japan — and more espe- 
cially the overorowded millions of the Celestial 
Kmpire— are very justly supposed to owe their 
comparative immunity from cholera and typhoid 
fover, to their dread of drinking " cold water." In 
other words they have been accustomed for oen- 
turic3 probably, to drink the mildest possible 
deoootion of tea, and to secure this at all times, 
it is the custom to keep the chatty or pot with 
wator all day long on the fire ready to supply the 
needful liquid for infusion of the few leaves which 
they use at a time. In India the virtue of boiling 
the water used for drinking purposes is scarcely, if 
at all, known among the peoplo, much less the in- 
fusion of tea, and as a consequence there is the 
forcible proverb of the British era: "Nothing more 
dangerous to drink in India than brandy, except 
water." Now the; Indian authorities are trying to 
introduoe the Chinese practice, or something 
allied to it, and if they only succeed to the 
extent of getting the 360 millions of people to use a 
quarter of a pound of tea per head per annum, or even 
half thai, it will be seen what a special effect would 
ensue in reference to tho consumption of tho steadily 
increasing Indian tea-crops. Nothing has struck 
us more in glancing over somo thirty to forty reports 
of Indian Toa Companies lately than the uniform 
way in which each speaks of an increase of 
bearing acreago and a largor crop estimated for 
" next year." Tho question of increasing the con- 
sumption of his product is therefore vital to tho 
tea planter. Now in regard to our threo millions 
of pooplo in Ceylon, thore is no reason why wo 
should not encourage tea consumption and antici- 
pate a rate equal to n pound a head at an oarly 
Mte, tho main portion of the supply coming 
perhapi from native gardens, and the broken leaf 
and du.it of plantations. 
Uut all thin is simply preliminary to our roferonoo 
to Mr. Rutherford's letter in another column, and 
we dosiro now to press for aoooptaucu on the Coylon 
planting and meroantilo community, tho now schomo 
— or rather extension of the existing schomo — which 
is there so oloarly formulated. Much as wo prize tho 
elYorU made in tho United Kingdom, in Australia, 
the Continent of liuropo or India, thoro can bo 
no doubt that all ihc.c lidds sink juio UnigBiflQftQM 
when compared with that presented in North 
America. At present the consumption of tea in 
the United States is only equal to 1* lb. per head ; 
in Canada to 2j lb. ; while the United Kingdom 
takes 5 lb. and Australasia 0 lb. per head of 
population per annum. Now we aro quite aware 
that a great portion of tho States will ever be a 
coffeo, rather than a tea, consuming country — the 
Southern States more especially. But at this 
moment, while there are as nearly as possible CO 
millions of people within the United States, only 
one-third or about 20 millions will be found south of 
the line which wo should make as denoting the bound- 
ary between the coffee and tea drinking divisions. 
Among the 40 millions of people in the Northern 
and Western States, precisely the same conditions 
obtain as in the United Kingdom, Australasia or 
Canada, The tea planters of India and Ceylon 
therefore should not rest content until the 45 
millions of the United States and Canadian Do- 
minion (a population, we need scarcely say, yearly 
increasing by leaps and bounds) are drinking tea 
at tho rate of 5 to (i lb. per head per annum. This 
will not be accomplished in a year or in several 
years, but clearly it is the goal to be aimed at 
in tho campaign now opening. The planters of 
India have already taken steps to begin that 
campaign after a systematic fashion, and Mr. 
Rutherford's object now is to secure the assent 
of the Ceylon community to work "shoulder to 
shoulder" with their brethren of India. We feel 
sure that the response will be very generally, if 
not universally, one of approval, and there can 
be no better way of finding the " ways and means " 
than by a general though voluntary contribution, 
in proportion to "made " tea from each plantation. 
We do not see why the rate already fixed by 
Mr. Rutherford should not sullioe, namely, of one 
rupee for each thousand lb. of tea. By the time 
the American scheme is fully developed, wo may 
expect the crops of the two countries concerned 
and the consequent levy to bo represented as fol- 
lows :— 
India .. 90,000,0001b. .. R90.000 
Ceylon.. 30,000,000,, .. 30,000 
Rl'20,000 
The " sinews of war " for fighting suoh a cam- 
paign a3 would come home to every town and vil- 
lage, aye and station in tho Northern, Western and 
Dominion territory might bo properly sustained with 
Rl'20,000 and upwards per annum from 1880 on- 
wards for say tivo years. And when the Ameri- 
can people found out that the article so vigor- 
ously cunvassod was a really sound, pure, desir- 
able product in itself, we may be sure there would 
be no difficulty in turning their taste in the direotion 
required. Meantime let there be unanimity and 
onterpri/,o shown at tho vory next mooting of tho 
Planters' Association in accepting tho proposal now 
formulated by Mr. Ruthorford. 
> 
CUINA AND JAPAN TEA EXPORTS 
1887-1888. 
During tho past two months there has not boon 
any change worth noting in tho China toa trade, and 
wo havo not thoroforo advortod to tho subjoct. When 
wo last wrote about it, tho comparative decrease in 
tho soason's export to tho United Kingdom was, as 
it is now, about 28 million pounds. 
Tho season at all tho treaty ports is over, and 
though tho final r< turns will not bo made up 
until Dext mouth, wo know the result will not differ 
materially from that in tho subjoined figures. 
Tho decrease in thy exports to (iruul Britain 
