Mav i, 1888./ THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST, 
7S5 
THE EAST INDIA TEA PLANTERS' ASSOOI- 
ATION, LIMITED, FOR UNITED STATES 
AND CANADA. 
Oabital— Fifty Thousand Pounds. 
Id 50,0110 Shares of CI each. First issue £30,000. 
Tho object of the Company is to promote the sale 
of Indian tea in the United States and Canada, and 
it is intended, in the first place, to go direct to the 
consumer, instead of through ordinary trade channels, 
which latter system has hitherto proved futile. 
Although the rapidly increasing production of British 
grown tea has thus far been absorbed, it now bids fair 
to outstrip demand in existing markets, with the results 
of a further dcclino in prices. Hence, the imperative 
necessity of opening out new markets, to relieve this 
pressure. 
The annual consumption of tea in the United Stat ns 
and Canada is 110 million of pounds, increasing at the 
rate of nearly ten millions yearly, of which only a few 
hundred thousand pounds are British grown. 
It is not the interest of the American trader to 
introduce and push the sale of Lilian tea in his mar- 
ket ; this must be done by the producer, and unless 
done by him, the market will probably remain closed. 
Indian tea has never been really placed before the 
American people, who are known, mortover, to be less 
prejudiced than the British, and may accordingly be 
credited with a ready discernment of what is good. 
The retail prices of tea to the consumer in 
America rauge from 30 to 75 cents or Is 3d to 3s a 
lb., and there is no import duty, so that there is 
ample margin to work on, as a good Indian tea can he 
offered at the lower figure. 
It is proposed to appoiut a representative to establish 
depots in one or more of the large centn s, from which 
he would arrange for the sale of tea throughout the 
country by means of agents, by judicious advertise- 
ments, and by suoh othur means as might seem from 
time to time expedient. 
The amount of capital required will depend on the 
development of the business, but during the first 
twelve months a working capital of £10,000 will pro- 
bably luffioe, of which it is estimated one-fourth may 
be spent in providing depots, advertising, &0., leaving 
the balance for stock-in-trade. 
All expenditure under different heads would, of course, 
bo submittod fur the approval, and be entirely under 
the control of tho Directors, with whom the American 
representative would be in close and regular com- 
munication. 
As it is desired to obtain the support of all who are 
interested in tea, whether as Companies, shareholders 
in Companies, individual Proprietors, Managers or 
Agents, it is hoped that everyone so interested will sub- 
scribe in proportion to the stake he has in the Industry. 
It is estimated that 2s fid per acre of cultivation 
would provide the requisite capital, of which Is per 
acre would probably suffice for the first year. 
While those interested in the production of tea in 
India aro invited to participate in this enterprise on 
the ground of the great indirect advantages that will 
accrue to them from the opening up of a largo new 
market like America, there is overy reason to believe 
that this undertaking will, if properly conducted, prove 
in itself a commercial success. 
I idess :it UiBst i'JO.Oiiii is subscribed, no allotment 
will bu made without tho sanction of the .shareholders. 
March, 1888. 
As the above is only a draft ami is subject to all 
sorts of revision at the bunds of the 1. T. D, A., it 
is premature to comment upon it, ns any comment 
in nle here would return home too lata to be ol the 
lensl OOtuenuencc ; and as tho I. T. I* A. may revise 
it past recognition, comments upon it at Ibis stn^v 
would serve no useful purpose in Indil either. It is 
an interesting document enough, however, as showing 
the first serious step towards tin- first s,u,iiis attempt 
at combination, in the Indian tea interest: and is thus 
historic d. 
99 
In my opinion, tho very first step to take by any 
such association, when formed, should be to secure 
samples of the most popular teas consumed in the 
various States. We all know how much the quality 
of tea is affected hy the water used, and that 
teas which are suitable for Liverpool water are 
quite unsuited for London water. "\\ r e all know that 
climate affects taste ; how many have found that 
the cheroots which pleased men in India became 
almost distasteful to them at home in England ? Whis- 
key, on a moor «>r in the Scotch climate, is one thing ; 
whiskey at Marseilles during a touch of the simoon is 
quite another. A country which has become partial to a 
tea having an extremely llavoury, straw-coloured liquonr, 
has to be cajoled into appreciating a tea with a heavy, 
dark, full bodied, rather than flavoury liquours. 
It may be quite possible to make Indian teas 
(either by adding namuna hill teas, or some of the 
up-country greens teas) to come near to the various 
notions on tea held in America, without insisting 
upon dragging Americans over the ditch which 
divides Japan teas from ordinary India teas, at 
one stride. Bit by bit their taste may bo educated 
doubtless; but, I hold that to attempt to force our 
ordinary black, heavy, full bodied teas upon America 
all round and at once, without any educational pro- 
cess — of tasle as well as opinion — is rather too big a 
contract to be run successfully. The samples brought 
to England should be used as guides, of course to 
indicate the best way of preparing Indian teas to 
ensure their receiving the least possible amount of ob- 
struction from local taste prejudice. To send over 
to America, ordinary Indian teas as prepared for the 
English market, is to court failure; as these teas are 
positively distasteful to many Americans, though not 
to all. Where China teas are consumed there, Indiaus 
have the best chance ; where Japan teis are consumed 
the reverse is the case. These views I offer with all 
modesty as they may bo in time to affect the policy 
of the new Association — if it should survive its re- 
quest for so much money from the planting inter- 
est. They are not comments upon the draft pro- 
spectus: they are opinions based upon the personal 
experience of one who has seen tea made in Japan, 
China, Formosa, various parts of India, who has been 
an Indian planter, and who has traversed America 
from one side to the other with part of Canada 
thrown in. — Cor., Iiulia» Planters' Gazette, 
DR; TRIMEN'S REPORTS ON THE CEYLON 
GOVERNMENT GARDENS. 
(tScc Suj>plr»n'nt to this month's Issui.) 
As painters are said to hang up a green cloth on 
which occasionally to rest their eyes, in order to alle- 
viate the effect of intent gazing on glaring colours, so 
does rest come to the brain of the o'er-wearied 
publicist as he turns from the confused kaleidos- 
copo of fierce political strife, lurid with shades 
of " blood and iron" to the greenery of well-kept 
gardens and grassy fields. There is no more 
pathetic and natural scone depicted by England's 
great poet,- the poet of human nature, — than 
that in which Ful stuff on his deathbed is 
represented as " babbling o' green holds," the 
fields in whioh in his days of innocence he 
had wandered. We' do not envy men who take no 
pleasure in the tree and plant and grass and flower 
pobes, in which so large a portion of our globe is 
clothed. For our.telvcB, we always turn with fresh 
relight to the beautiful objects which present 
themselves in gardens, fields, and forests. 1 n patana 
knolls, and beside tanks and swamps and streams. 
Next to such delight is tho interest felt in porusiug 
reports of experiments to acclimativ.o in one portion 
of the earth tho useful and beautiful products of 
other and distant portions, suoh as are described 
in the luteal Reports ol the Ceylon Director ol 
