April i, 1889.J 
THE, TROPICAL AGmOULTUmST. 
673 
To the Editor. 
CEYLON TEA IN THE UNITED STATES. 
Philadelphia, 29th Jan. 1839. 
Dear Sib, — I am awaiting reply to my letter 
to the Secretary of the Planters' Association re 
Dr. Duke's scheme. 
In the meantime I am considering the matter 
in case I am asked to carry out the project. 
I have come to the conclusion that hotels, 
that is the largest and most fashionable hotels, 
ought to be presented with a caddy of tea, pro- 
vided they agree to put the tea on their bill of 
fare. I have been speaking to several managers 
lately, and not without success, but a special 
effort should be made when pamphlets are circulated 
and tea given away. I hope this suggestion will 
be considered by the Association. 
I enclose two or three views of my store. It 
is very deep and rather dark, which makes it 
rather hard to take, but it will suffice to show 
that I am in harness. Mr. Vere Millington, 
late planter of Ceylon, sits in the foreground. 
Two outdoor salesmen and the young lady who 
sells over the counter are represented. I think 
these photos will interest you as being exact re- 
presentations of what was going on when the 
photographer piit in his appearance. 
About the end of February a great Pure Food 
exposition takes place. I have taken one . of the 
best spaces in the hill, and will endeavour to 
bring Ceylon tea prominently before the public. 
I have written for an extra supply of samples 
from London and will put in a good show. 
A shipment of Ceylon oolong and green tea has 
arrived from Mr. Martin, through Messrs. Darley, 
Butler & Co. I have seen samples and sent them 
to New York, and am having them taken to the 
leading firms of Philadelphia. A full report will 
be sent later. I may say of them that they are 
fair teas resembling an oolong and a moyune with 
retaining their individuality as Ceylons. The 
green appears to me to be like a moyune with 
a little Ceylon pekoe added ; the oolong like a 
Ceylon souchong with a pretty liberal dash of 
oolong. Both teas good blenders, and, if not a 
great success, certainly not a failure, considering 
it is a first experiment. I shall send reports 
from different brokers etc. to Messrs. Darley, 
Butler & Co., who will no doubt show them to you. 
As I will be exhibiting a good deal next year, 
I wonder if it would be possible to secure a per- 
fect model of a Ceylon tea store. Anything like 
this would attract attention. I am going to lecture 
in St. George's Hall next month on Ceylon, and 
if I had such means of illustration, I could make 
it doubly interesting. As long as I remember, 
would you mind asking Messrs. Skeen & Co. to 
send me one of their large photographs of the wild 
elephants in the kraal, and I will remit whatever 
may be the cost. They used to have them in 
very large size as an advertisement, and I would 
like one to attract attention here. 
I have a young man from Galle working with 
me. His name is Wouiers, son of Deputy Fiscal, a 
nice steady young fellow. He does not appear in 
the photo, as he was out at the time. I received 
the Observer with Mr. Shand's and my own letters. 
Mr. Shand is of course quite right in a way. I have 
hope of making a living, and, if possible, a 
fortune in Ceylon tea. If I do so I will have 
succeeded in doing good service to myself and to 
Ceylon as well. If money was my only object I 
would not make Ceylon tea my business. Had I 
taken the advice of 99 out of 100 advisers, and 
100 out of 100 of such as are in the trade, I 
would have put Ceylon tea out of sight until it 
had made its own way and was marketable. As 
I did not do that, but for nearly two years put 
every other tea out of sight, I consider, I did 
justice to Ceylon at the risk of ruining myself. 
I have lost money and made a name, which, if 
I hold out, will be capital to me. As for the 
little assistance I ask, I will certainly not forget 
it, and if I am fortunate in making my business 
(which, if made at all, must eventually be very 
large), I will most assuredly lend others the aid 
which has been afforded me. 
I am inquiring about Denver, and will try and 
make some arrangement for the representation of 
Ceylon tea there. I have never been there myself, 
but I cannot get anyone to recommend the South 
and West for Ceylon tea. If I have asked one 
I have asked twenty who have travelled south and 
west, and they all tell me the same thing. I do 
not mean to be a clam however. I am willing 
to send teas there if I can get any one to sell 
them. I never refuse a willing hand a case or two 
of tea and as much advertizing matter as they 
want, and never require returns until the goods 
are sold, if I have their assurance that they will 
push the sale of the teas. I can do no more, but 
\vhat I can do I do willingly. 
I had sent the following advertisement to the 
leading newspaper of Denver : — " Wanted to corre- 
spond with gentlemen of business with regard to 
pushing Ceylon tea in Denver as sole agent for 
the Ceylon Pure Tea & Coffee Co., Philadelphia, 
Pa. Best references required." 
Will let you know if I am successful in forming 
good connexions there. 
No winter here as yet. Scarcely seen snow. 
Weather quite mild. This is, I understand, un- 
precedented and inexplicable, We will no doubt 
have it pretty severe when winter does come. 
I do hope Ceylon will turn its attention to 
America in real earnest. I would be glad to see 
two or three planters with a little capital come 
over here and join me, or a good, substantial 
company formed in Ceylon. Any man with £5,000 
can establish a big business now, for Ceylon tea 
is now becoming a subject of interest. Send a 
few such over and you will hear of great things. 
—Yours very truly, J. McCOMBIE MUBBAY. 
[The photos, which can be seen at our office, 
are very interesting, especially that which repre- 
sents a gentleman apparently taking advantage of a 
notice which is prominent, thus : " Free! Sample 
Cup of Ceylon Kootee Tea."] 
TOBACCO AND OTHEB PBODUCTS IN 
CEYLON: PAST AND PKESENT. 
Ingram House, 165, Fenchurch Street, 
London, 13th Feb. 1889. 
Dear Sir, — As I have read your paper regularly 
for 40 years, your account of Mr. Barber's lecture 
at Matale as detailed in your issue of 19th ult. 
has not escaped me. As the lecturer called on the 
Government to prohibit lands being sold for tobacco 
growing and thus deter capital from going into 
the island for this most profitable cultivation, I 
have thought it my duty to write the Planters' 
Association communicating my views, which are 
not those of Mr. Barber, and I now write you a 
few lines on the same subject. 
Ceylon is a land of fallacies, many of which rise 
up before me. Opening up the " Wilderness of the 
Ptak" with Dunbar estate and 2,U00 acres beyond, 
pronounced a wild venture at the time, and the 
