May i, 1889.1 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 781 
Japanese Teas pay only a fourth of what Chinese pay, 
Indian Teas pay no Export Duty whatever. 
(/;) India's Teas are more economically prepared. — In 
India the work of a large plantation is managed by one 
head from first to last, but it is not so in China ; Tea 
growers on the hill-aide own only a few shrubs each, 
— the pickers sell to the collectors, — the collectors to 
Chinese traders,— and the Litter, again, to Foreign 
merchants ; thus, expenses are greater, and Tea there- 
fore dearer. 
3. — The merchants' recommendations are that tax- 
ation ought to be reconsidered and defects remedied, 
but they are not all in accord respecting taxation. Some 
assert that if Likin and Duties are not entirely re- 
pealed, the Tea trade will be destroyed ; while others 
are of opinion that to lighten taxation will be of no 
advantage to trade. A comparison of these views 
shows that while to lighten taxation would be of certain 
and immediate disadvantage to revenue, to do so would 
be, at best, of^but uncertain advantage to trade. In 
the case of the Indian competition, for example, In- 
dian Tea can be sjld in England, and at a profit, for 
about 6d a pound, whereas Chinese Tea canuot even 
be sold at a profit for 9d ; then-fore, supposing the 
tax on Chinese Tea, viz., about 2d a pound, entirely 
abolished, Indian Tea would still undersell it Id a 
pound. I am therefore of opinion it is useless to touch 
either Export Duty or ordinary Likin. But the Han- 
kow Commissioner suggests that a certain tax named 
the Shan-li, or ' hill tax,' collected from the owner; 
of the Tea plants, might be remitted with advantages 
it amounts to 760 cash, or Tl. 0.4.6,0 a picul, and its 
removal would encourage peasant growers and help 
them to take more care of their plants. I think it 
would be well to give effect to this suggestion ; 
nationnl revenue will not feel the loss, and the abo- 
lition of the tax will encourage that carefulness in 
tending the plant which is demanded at the very 
starting-point of any effective attempt to remove de- 
fects. 
The opinion just expressed about taxation refers 
mainly to the Black Teas which go to Eng- 
land. As regards the Green Teas which go to 
America, the Amoy merchants point out that 
during the last ten years, although Chinese Green 
Teas have not gone forward in less quantity, 
there has beeu no increase ; while, on the other 
hand, Japanese Teas have increased during the same 
period from 25,000,000 lb. to 42,000,000 lb. The Japan- 
ese duty on t';a, they say, is only $1 a picul, while the 
Chinese amounts to as much as 34 per cent, acl valorem ; 
and they add that if the Chinese duty were made some- 
thing like the Japanese, or, say, about 7i per cent, ad 
valorem the Ohiuese green teas they refer to would be 
sold in great quantities. The merchants are presumably 
quite right in their statistics; but as to the change 
they propose in the duty, I think the consideration of 
it may be deferred without danger, although I do not 
deny that it might result in larger sales. 
4. — As regards what merchants allege respecting 
defects to be eradicated, British merchants point out 
that less tea is sold in London than formerly, and ex- 
plain that the cause of that is deterioration in quality. 
It does not appear to me that this explanation can be 
accepted. Changes have taken place in the trade ; for 
instance, the Russians used to buy in London but now 
buy in Hankow, and the result of the opening up of a 
sea route is not only that tea goes to Russia direct, in- 
stead of through Loudon, but Russian buyers compet- 
ing for tea have raised prices at Hankow and, disap- 
pearing from competition, have brought down prices in 
Loudon, and thus English merchants, buying in a rising 
market while they send their tea to be sold in a falling 
one, naturally find also that their business is not 
what it was ; but this falling off in quantity and its 
attendant baduess of business result not so much from 
any deterioration in the quality of tea as from changes 
in the trade. Less tea arrives — less tex passes through 
England ; but the cause of that is not that Chinese tei 
has deteriorated. And it must be remembered, too, 
that although a less quantity passes through England, 
the total quantity which loaves China has gone on in- 
creasing, and cannot yet be said to be decreasing. 
5. — Quality, however, is a very important factor, and 
all that is said about it merits serious consideration. 
Although quality necessarily differs from year to year 
and with the producing localities, it is nevertheles true 
that preparation has much to do with it: care in pre- 
paration may possibly convert indifferent material into 
reasonably good tea, but carelessness will assuredly 
spoil the very best leaf. Compariug the tea of present 
and former times, the defects the merchants complain 
of are these : — 
(a) Too long an interval is allowed to elapse be- 
tween picking and firing; the firing is inadequate; and 
while the Tea is deficient in strength and loses its 
flavour, it also does not keep. 
(b.) Spoiled leaves are not rejected but are packed 
with the good, and the eonsequeuco is that the good 
aro also damaged. Too much Dust is put in each 
box, and the whole is sometimes further adulterated 
by the intermixture of the leaves of other plants. 
(c.) The boxes iu which Tea is pacKed are not strong 
enough or well enough made for its protection. 
(d.) The Tea when delivered is often not up tomuRter. 
6. — The remedies recommended are as follows: — 
(a.) There ought to be a sufficient depth of soil 
where the Tea 6hrub is planted, and the ground ought 
to be weeded and manured. 
(J.) The Tea shrub ought tj be well cared for ; 
pruning ought not to be neglected ; aged shrubs ought 
to be removed, and young ones planted instead. 
(c.) All the leaves should not be removed from the 
same shrub at the same time, but only such as are 
ready f >r gathering. The loaves which are ready ought 
to be picked from all the trees in the plantation at tho 
same time, and each picking ought to forma separate 
chop. The leaf ought not to be picked too soon or too 
late: although a 10 days' overgrowth gives an increase 
of 25 per ceut in weight, it causes a decrease of 35 per 
cent in value. In India there are as many as 16 pickings; 
that is, each shrub contributes to 16 chops. 
(d.) After the leaves are picked, the subsequent pro- 
cesses — withering, rolling, fermentation, firing- — ought 
to be at once proceeded with. The greatest care should 
be exercised at each step, and the leaf ought to be well 
protected from the weather, especially just after pick- 
ing and while awaiti-ig the other processes. 
(e.) The inner and outer cases in which tea is packed 
ought to bo more solidly made and more securely 
closed. 
(/.) Musters ought not to be sent on ahead of tho 
ohops. 
In this connection merchants add that Indian tei 
owes its success to the fact that the exact and faith- 
ful performance of all that these recommeudations 
involve is there the rule, aud that this is easy for India, 
where a single tea plantation means thousands of 
shrubs on the same pi -it, where picking, withering, 
rolling, firing, packing, aud despatching are all proceed- 
ed with at once and under the same supervision and 
management, and whence the teas are forwarded to and 
sold in the London market, so that proper attention is 
given to each leaf at each stage, and while the tea 
produced is first-class tea, expenses are reduced to a 
minimum — only one profit is looked for, and consumers 
can purchase cheaply ; whereas in China it is just the 
opposite that takes place, aud the result is inferiority 
of quality and c-levaticu of price. 
The merchants further recommend the appoiutment 
of a joint C Jmmissiou of intelligent experts to spend 
one season in Chinese tea districts and another among 
Indian tea plantations, to study iu person the processes, 
practice and custom of each, and, after a proper com- 
parison, advise as to what China ought to charge or drop 
or adopt. 
It is also recommended that China should either 
open a Tea School, or establish a Model Plantation, 
or place a given Tea district under the supervision of 
properly appointed Government experts, or charter 
a Company to conduct the business of a Tea planta- 
tion on the Indiau plan. I am of opinion that any 
or all of these would be beneficial to both trade and 
commodity ; the idea is, of course, to provide a fitting 
pattern for all to study and imitate. Iu this connec- 
tion the attention of the Yamen is more especially 
i 
