August i, i888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
Ceylon the tea plants are grown with an amount of 
care and attention which would strike a Chinese tea- 
grower as superfluous, if not ridiculous. In Uhina there 
is an indifference to the selection of proper soil, so that 
in seasons of drought there is a deficiency of sap. Old 
ten bushes art rarely replaced. Manuring, removal of 
undergrowth, and pruning are all done in a happy-go- 
lucy fashion, with no idea that system and method are 
all-essential if the growers wish to get as much tea oft* 
an acre as is produced in India and Ceylon. 
Thero is the same want of caro and system in the 
manipulation of tea leaf in China as there is in the 
growth of the plant. Every operation is done by 
hand only. Instead of bruising the leaves by rolling 
them into balls the Chinese half dry them in the 
sun and then place them in bags, which are trodden 
until a greenish viscid fluid exudes, which no doubt 
contains many of the best elements of the tea-leaf. 
Days may elapse between the time of picking and 
of fermenting the leaf. It often happens, too, that 
the grower, instead of picking the leaves when they 
are fresh and in perfection, will deliberately wait 
for them to grow larger, in order that their weight 
may be increased. Mr. Ringer states that in 1887 
tho lato picking made the crop 20 per cent worse 
than it need have been. Lastly, in China there is 
not the same care in packing that there is in India. 
Ih it, thou, to be wondered at that Indian and Ceylon 
teas are distinctly better than Chinese? 
2nd. That Indian tea is cheaper than Chinese, 
owing to the heavier taxes, expenses, and charges 
of the latter. 
I am told that the produce of a Darjeeliug or 
Assam tea-garden can be sold in Calcutta at 8d per 
lb., the equivalent of 14 taols per picul, to show a 
profit. In Ceylon tea cau be purchased at 5d per 
lb. f. o. b., equivalent to 8 - ">0 taels. The Shanghai 
Chamber of Commerce gives the average price of 
Congou in 1877 as 14 50 taels per picul, duty paid. It 
follows, logically, that inferior tea at 11 ,10 taels per 
picul can scarcely compete with superior at 8"50 
taels to 14 taeh, even leaving out the fact that India 
and Ceylon are nearer England than China is. The 
total duty on Chinese teas including lehin, is esti- 
mated at from 410 taels to 5'40 taels, say 35jj per 
cent of the value of tho tea, or Id to lid per lb. 
Such, is, at present, the unfortunate state of the tea 
market at Hankow. What are the remedies pro- 
i ' They aro three: — 1st. The reduction of sup- 
ply. At first tho proposal that the Chinese should 
bo ordered by their own authorities to put less tea 
on the market struck me as rather an audacious 
interference with the law of supply and demand. 
Hut if the officials were to issue proclamations tell- 
ing the upcountry tea-growers that thero is now no 
demand for inferior tea, and that if any such were 
sont to llaukow it is cortain to bring loss to all 
concerned, it is quite possible that the good result 
desired might follow. 
2nd. The adoption of a better system of cultivation 
and preparation, 
'•trd. The abolition or roductiou of taxation. 
Auother remedy has also been suggested, viz., to 
drive India tea out of the market by sending a lec- 
turer through England to preach a crusade against it, 
• proclaim its uuwholesoiueuess, aud the danger 
of 'I' inking it. Tho gentleman who suggests this would 
choose a very fit and proper person to perform this 
duty, bul 1 eanuot myself think that any result would 
(follow. 
Shanghai Chamber of Commerce proposes that the 
Chinese Coverumeut should throw the country open to 
foreigners, so that those might buy laud in the interior 
and establish ten factories with all the modern improve- 
ments, aud with machinery. It is scarcely likoly that 
thu ( Hduese (iovernmen 1 , or, for the matter of that, so 
long as exterritoriality is in force, the British Govern- 
mout either, would consent to this. But tho following 
scheme is within tho bounds of possibility. Let the 
Chinese Covorument appoint a Commission — a mixed 
one if they wish it— to visit other tea-growing countries, 
and I here learn the best methods of growing aad pre- 
ariug teu. Wliou tho members of the Commission 
are thoroughly made themselves masters of the 
question, let them be stnt to the Chinese tea districts to 
start the necessary reforms. To do this with the leasi 
chance of success they would have to be armed with an 
Imperial edict, and baoked with the whole force at the 
command of the provincial authorities, and even then 
thore would be considerable danger of an outbreak. 
Next comes the question of the reduction or abolition 
of duty. When the tariff was made in 1858 tea was 
supposed to be worth 5,0 taels per picul, and as the 
export duty on all articles was calculated at the rate of 
5 per cent, on the value, the duty on tea was fixed at 
2 -.50 per taels per picul. Now that the value of tea 
has gone down to 10 taels it would seem fair that the 
duty should also be reduced in proportion. Still, 
if we assert this principle we also infer the justice 
of raising the duty on other articles which have in- 
creased in value, notably silk. Englishmen would, 
no doubt, willingly consent to have the silk duty raised 
and the tea duty lowered ; but Frenchmen, who buy 
much silk and no tea, would scarcely view the pro- 
posal in the same light. In my remarks ou the tea 
trade I would point out that I have hitherto entirely 
confined myself to showing how British merchants 
exclusively are affected; hut we must not forget that 
at the tea ports, especially Hankow, there is a large 
and rapidly-developing Russian business. No matter 
how heavy the duty ou tea may be now the Russiau 
tea trade seems well able to stand it though to this 
must be added the Russian import duty of Is 8d. per 
lb. I think, then, that we may not unreasonably ex- 
pect that the Chinese authorities will not care to make 
experiments with their revenue, but will set the in- 
crease in Russian trade against the decrease in British 
and have things as they are. At the same time I 
would gladly find myself mistaken. 
I know little of the details of the Russiau trade in 
leaf tea as distinct from brick tea. I have already given 
the amount exported direct to Odessa. Our Russian 
friends continue to buythebest "chops," and pay the 
highest prices for them, which, however, does not pre- 
vent handsome profits being made in the business, be- 
cause the trade is large, aud in the hands of a limited 
number of individuals. The trade in Russian briok tea 
seems to increase " by leaps and bounds." The "bricks" 
are prepared entirely by steam machinery. The brick- 
tea factories with their tall chimneys are the most 
striking buildings in the European settlement. — L. $ C. 
Express, July 20th. 
A NEW TEA CHEST. 
We suppose most of our planter readers have 
received circulars drawing their attention to the 
advantages which "the Stanley- Wrightson Patent 
Indestructible Tea Chest " possesses over those now 
in use. Messrs. Stanley and Wrightson say : — 
" AVe would incidentally remark, that owing to the 
rapid development of the tea industry in India and 
Ceylon, great difficulty is being experienced at the pre- 
sent time in proouring adequate supplies of suitable 
timber for the manufacture of Tea Chests, and that 
consequently the local supply has to be supplemented 
by wood imported from Japan and elsewhere, at extra 
labour and cost — a matter of considerable importance 
to the tea grower. But undoubtedly an equally, if 
not more momentous question, and one which im- 
mediately concerns the Tea Trade generally, is, and 
has been, tho hitherto insurmountable difficulty ex- 
perienced of securing exact uuiforraity of Gross and 
\,l Weights, in consequence of the inequalities of the 
various woods employed in the manufacture of 
packages. 
"This important consideration," it is asserted, " has 
been at length met, nud in future it will bo quite 
possible to obtain an absolutely accurate aud reliable 
Tare, as the ' S-W ' Chests are so constructed to scale, 
as to permanently ensure any particular size aud 
weight desired, practically iucapable of the slightest 
variation. It is therefore confidently believed that 
this, coupled with the many other advantage*, will 
obtain for the • S-\V ' Chests a most favourable re- 
ception by the Tea Trade, the more n when it beonme- 
