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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November e, 1888. 
the ventilation of the above subjeot. Tea is now so 
generally used in this country, that its quality is of 
national importance. We have long and earnestly 
protested against the fatal rush after " Tea for price," 
and welcome the souud observations in your admirable 
leading article. 
It is a well-known fact that (so called) cheap tea 
is very dear in the end, for more is needed to be used, 
and no pleasure is derived from the cup which ought 
to cheer. Your correspondent " Mincing Lane's" 
lady friend, -who characterises the 4|d. sample as 
" very good," confirms Mr. Betts's statement, that by 
reason of the puffing of these very common teas, "the 
public taste in the matter of tea is becoming depraved." 
As wholesale dealers in tea, we are grieved to see so 
many really good, wholesome, and pleasant-drinking 
teas at moderate prices neglected largely for the nasty 
stuff which only irritates the drinker, maligns a noble 
industry, and lands the dealer in it in loss. Your cor- 
respondent " Expert " unintentionally lets a flood of 
light upon the quality of this rubbish, when he says, 
" The teas fetch (regardless of prime cost ) what buyers 
consider them worth in open competition." If this 
estimate of value reaches 4|d., it speak volumes. 
We are getting now some very excellent teas from 
Ceylon, and some of the milder-drinking sorts of Indian 
tea are pleasant enough ; but for them no such quo- 
tations as those referred to are kuown. Fine to finest 
Darjeelings— teas to dream about— fetch from 2s 6d to 
3s 6d in. bond, and are cheap at that, as an article of 
diet.— I am, sir, your obedient servant, John Wade. 
St. Dunstan's House, E. O. 
Sir,— Your Correspondent " Mincing Lane " finishes 
up his letter, in The Standard of today, by remark- 
ing that, " whether Ceylon will keep up its character, 
or whether the soil will give out, and thus repeat 
the sad experience many had with Coffee, remains to 
be seen." It appears to me a pity that, in a dis- 
cussion on the quality of Tea supplied to the public, 
an attempt should be made to throw doubt on the 
permanence of an important industry. 
Let me assure him that the soil of Ceylon is not 
at all likely to " give out." The Tea plant is a deep 
feeder, with a long tap root, which touches a soil 
that may be called virgin, and of which there is a 
great depth all through the Tea districts of the Island ; 
and as to quality, that will improve as the bushes 
mature. The finest Tea comes from the oldest gardens. 
There is, I believe, a marked similarity between 
Ceylon Tea and the fine qualities of China which used 
to reach this country ; and it is owing to this that 
Ceylon is in such demand. But " Mincing-lane " is 
wrong in stating that there has been a decided re- 
action lately in favour of the two Teas— it may be so 
in the case of China— but Ceylon has been in favour 
all along. — I am, sir, your obedient servant, O. S. 
September 11th. 
Sir,— Although it is quite right that the attention 
of the public should be drawn to the fact that the 
common tea they buy at one shilling at the shops, is 
very dear at the price, it must at the same time be 
remembered that it is the severe competition that 
has brought the price down so low ; the quality is 
just the same now as it was ten years ago, when the 
wholesale merchants had to pay one shilling per pound 
on the market for the same grade of tea. 
But, sir, the shilling bait is only a sprat to catch 
a mackerel, as the public pay much more for their 
tea than that. For the last four years I have taken 
great interest in the tea imported from Ceylon, and 
have been the means of introducing largely favourite 
brands whieh have met with much appreciation. 
Ceylons are all good quality, similar to what we were 
used to years ago in the era of the old clipper time. 
The average price fetched in public sale for Ceylon 
Tea is one shiljiug and a penny to one shilling and 
fivepence. The public can rely with safety upon the 
purity of Oeylou Tea, as it is grown and prepared 
by Englishmen.— I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
_ „ . Bungalow. 
Laatchcap, Septembor 11th. 
Sir, — As a tea planter, and, consequently, much in- 
terested in the subject, I write to protest against the 
vile rubbish now being sold in London, and all over the 
country, as tea. 1 got a sample from a country town, 
a short time ago, which the grocer was selling at Is 
per lb., and for which he informed me he gave 4jd in 
bond. He then has to pay 6d per lb. duty, and carriage, 
possibly another farthing. This leaves him a profit of 
only a penny per lb. Now, this tea has been sold to him 
by a London merchant at certainly not less than a 
halfpenny per lb. profit, more probably three-farthings, 
or a penny ; say a halfpenny. We thus have this tea 
sold in Mincing-lane at 4| per lb. ; some is sold at a 
lower figure even than that. Out of this, the grower 
has to pay an export duty, in China, of not less than 
ljd per lb. leaving 2Jd to grow the tea, get a profit, 
pay freight, insurance (if he insures), warehousing, and 
other expenses in England, and brokers' charges for sale 
by auction. 
Let the public ask themselves whether this can be 
done, so that they can get a tea fit for a human being 
to drink. Can it even be done at Is 3d or Is 4d per lb. 
retail, for it must be remembered that the more a 
grocer gives for tea, the more profit he expects to get 
out of it? This varies much in different localities, 
ranging from d and 4J per lb. up to 9d and Is. I tried 
the tea in question, and am astonished that people can 
be found to drink such stuff. Before infusion it smelt 
like shoe-leather; after infusion it bad a strong flavour 
of tallow, and the infused leaves had a most unpleasant 
smell. The poorest class, probably, buy this tea. They 
are mistaken, if they think it an economy. Half the 
amount of good tea would make a stronger drink, and, 
certainly, a more palatable one. It is well known that 
spent leaves— that is, leaves once used — are dried and 
rolled, mixed with a little fresh leaf, and resold ; and I 
understand, from men in the trade, that stuff is shipped 
which is not tea at all. This has been proved by 
analysis. I do not believe that two-thirds ef the public 
are aware that fld per lb. has to be paid on all tea in 
England, good or bad. 
My object in writing this letter is to warn people 
against the vile stuff sold at low prices. You may say 
that a demand creates a supply ; but I cannot think 
that the public are acquainted with the few figures I 
place before them. I think I may claim that the sub- 
ject is one that requires ventilation. If you, sir, 
should think the same, pray publish this letter. — I am 
sir, your obedient servant, B. M. 
September 7th. 
A correspondent, whose letter wo print in another 
column, protests against certain rubbish which is 
being extensively sold in this country under the 
name of Tea. It is retailed at one shilling the pound ; 
so that, after paying export duty in China, import 
duty in England, and allowing the most moderate 
profit to the wholesale merchant and the grocer, there 
remains no more than twopence three-farthings to 
meet the cost of growing the stuff, to reimburse 
the planter for his expenditure of capital and labour, 
and to pay freight, insurance, and other expenses, 
including the broker's commission for selling it at 
auction. We are, therefore, not surprised to learn 
that the leaves, before infusion, " smelt like shoe 
leather," and, after infusion, had a " strong flavour 
of tallow," plus " a most unpleasant smell," which, 
if worse than that of last year's tallow, must have 
been a very nasty odour indeed. Our Correspondent 
does well to be angry, though whether his financial 
analysis of this unwholesome product of the Flowery 
Land will have any practical result, is very doubtful. 
The Adulteration Act does not apply to it. In every 
respect it may be unfit for human food ; and it is 
certain that no one would think of knowingly 
drinking such an unattractive beverage. But, butanic- 
ally, the material consists of the leaves of Thea- 
sinensis. Indeed, it is questionable whether any other 
herb at all like it is so much cheaper that it is worth 
seeking out for the purpose of adulteration, though 
endless drugs are employed to "face "these inferior 
Tea leaves, and impart to them a semblance of 
those native merits which either they never possessed, 
