August i, 1888] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
cable as required, until I havo developed it so that I 
can have tea coming by every steamer. 
" You surely will grant that I am the best judge 
of when and what I require. 
"The samples I require first and also the letter 
as herein stated. If I carry out the plan you have 
suggested all through this scheme I should make a 
dismal failure of it. Tho successful business records 
in the country show that one must be conservative 
and not recklessly go ahead, thus locking up capital 
unnecessarily and ahead of time. This to be sure is a 
very small matter, but I transact my business oncer- 
tain principles and I do not wish to break them. If 
tin; tea planters havo tho confidence in me to permit 
me to follow out my own course, it will not take lung 
to prove to them that they have found a large outlet 
for their production. You must be aware that samples 
that 1 ask for will call for an immediate and large 
expenditure on my part, as soon as received, as 1 would 
at once publish their letter with other matter. This 
alono would amply repay them more than the tea 
would cost them. 
"In conclusion the tea planters havo nothing to lose 
in sending me 0,000 pounds, while lam required to in- 
vest largely in order to gain anything. You will un- 
derstand that the 12,0UO pounds they desire me to 
order X consider a very small matter when taken by 
itself. To bo candid with you it looks as though they 
did not havo much sympathy or confidence in our 
scheme and wanted me to purchase the 12,000 pounds 
to make them as near whole as possible on the tran- 
Buuction." (Signed) T. Ef.woon May. 
THE MAZA.WATTJ3E TEA COMPANY AND 
CEYLON TEA AGAIN. 
A colonist who has just settled for a short stay 
in Worcestershire writes to U3 by last mail as 
follows : — 
1 thought you might bo interested iu the enclosed 
letter which I received this morning from the manager 
of the M.iz iwattee Ceylon Tea Co. in reply to one 
1 sent him a lew days ago. The grocer of this village 
came and a^ked me il 1 kne.v anything ahuut that Co., 
and as 1 did not remember anything about it, 1 
thought perhaps there was some trick iu it, especially 
a it stated on one of the packets (the 2s tea) that " it 
composed principally of teas grown iu the sweat- 
Boented island of Ceylon," so 1 took upon myself to 
write and a»k where the Oo.'b land was, and told them 
of the quantity there would be iu the course of 3 or 
1 yean, and how important I thought it to educate 
the Europeans to-the taste of Ceylon tea, &c. Ac. Their 
letter only bears out tho fact that you havo been press- 
ing on the planters, that it is necessary to keep up the 
quality, but the remark about the last two months shows 
this has not been done. For good Ceylon tea there seems 
a ready sale : all who have tasted the tea (Ulackstone 
and Warwick) 1 brought over with me declare it is 
delicious, yet they buy as Ceylon tea they don't 
like, at least the majority are against it. Lord and 
Lady Forester liked the teas I gave them a sample 
oi -,o much, that they wished to know where they could 
got it, as they desired to he always supplied with it. 
The 2s tid and 3s Mazawattee Co. tea the grocer thinks 
will take horoaud he will order some at once, and 1 
think ho will be able to sell a lot about this locality. 
Tho Company's letter is as follows: — 
London, E. 0., July 3rd, 1888. 
Dear Sir, — Iu reply to your letter we beg to say 
that our Company has no connection whatever with 
auy Ceylou garden or estate. Muzawattee is a corrup- 
tion of tho two eastern words Mazadar- watte, signifying 
luscious growth, and is simply a trade murk, or word 
registered lor the purposes of advertizing. 
With regard to the 2s quality being a blend, we have 
boon tally justified in our judgment that to allow the 
gtOOer a lair profit it would be simply impossible 
to produce n bleud composed entirely of Ceylon aU 
the yt-ar roaud that would have the slightest chance 
of pleasing the public at 2>J and insuring a large pcr- 
uiauimt HUQ, A very large proportion of the lower 
grades of Ceylon pekoe souchongs are poor washy turn 
with an uhter absence of that point and brisknes-i, 
which is necessary to make a blend that the public 
will take to. With regard to the 2s 6d and 3s qualities 
the case is very different, and we have established a 
large demand for these classes of teas, and there has 
never been a single leaf of any other than Ceylon tea 
put in these blends. 
We claim to have done more than any other firm 
for the development of and popularizing a taste for 
Ceylou tea iu England, and if you aro interested in 
Ceylon tea, we shall he only too pleased when you are 
next in town to show you our warehouse and let you 
see what we have done for the Ceylon tea trade in 
England. Ceylon has a woudorful chance how ; but 
there is grave reason to fear that tho planters are 
seriously jeopardizing the reputation of their teas by 
studying quantity rather than quality, There has been 
a serious deterioration in the quality of tho arrivals 
during the last two months, 
We taste and value every sample of Ceylon tea that 
is sold on this market, and at present we mark at least 
thirty per rent as valueless so far as our blends aro 
concerned. This is very ominous, — We are, dear sir, 
yours faithfully, 
pr. Mazawattkk Ceylon Tea Co., S. D. 
Tobacco in Sumatra. — The amusing and in- 
structive account by a correspondent of the North- 
China Herald (given on page lib,) of a visit 
to the Deli tobacco region will be read with interest 
in Ceylon. An export valued at two millions 
sterling on the spot and realizing double 
that amount, so putting £1,000 profit on an average 
into the pockets of each of 500 planters! constitutes 
a big and prosperous concern ; and we can under- 
stand why ex-Ceylon men over there — like Messrs. 
A. Forsyth, Van Cuylenburg and others — should be 
rather reticent, and also why so many in the Kandy 
districts at this time should be anxious to cultivate 
a field of the best paying product of the day. 
There has been a good deal of inquiry lately for 
practical information about tobacco planting and 
curing. It is wonderful how often men overlook 
what is under their noses. In going over the latest 
volume of our Tropical Agriculturist, we have simply 
been astonished at the amount of valuable matter 
in respect of tobaoco and almost every new pro- 
duct that can be mentioned, worthy of attention in 
the tropics. Here for instance are the headings of 
tho several notices in this one volume, of tobacco : — 
Tobacco in Netherlands Iudia, pages 21, 101 ; in 
Manila, page 22; iu India, page 65; in Deli, page 101 ; 
a Deli tobacco plantation, the laud, the coolie, tho 
work, the European staff, pages 120 to 124 ; now use 
for tobacco plant in England page, 260; tobacco in 
Reunion, page 33(3 ; home and colonial tobacco culture, 
page 439 ; tobacco cultivation in Southern Iudia, 
manure, seedbeds, transplanting, outturn, curing, soil, 
irrigation system, pages 451 to 453; tobacco in the 
Straits Settlements, page 509 ; tobacco in Java, page 
519; tobacco in Netherlands India, page 53i>; Indian 
tobacco at home, page 5(iS; tobacco tho coming 
product in Ceylon, pages b'l)5 to 60b* ; tobacco in 
Siak, page 028 ; tobacco planting in Ceylou, page 
029 ; home-grown tobacco, pages 03' > to 031; tobacco 
:u Borneo, pages 0b"0 to 661 j tobacco cultivation 
in the I luted ICingd"tii, page 717; tobacco in .Natal, 
page 7»0 to 731 ; tobacco cultivation in Uva; page 759; 
tobacco cultivation in Sumatra, pages 703 to 704; 
tobacco cultivation iu Ceylon, page 707 ; tobacco 
cultivation in Western and North- Western Provinces, 
page 775 ; tobacco cultivation in llambantota, page 811 ; 
tobacco cultivation iu Uva, pages 829 to 830; tobacco 
cultivation in Jalfnn, page 832. 
I( the seven volumes were gone over, we venturo to 
say a would-bo tobacco planter would tiud every 
poBsiblo question ho could ask fitly answered, 
