THE 
MONTHLY. 
Vol. VIII. I 
COLOMBO, JUNE ist, 1889. 
,No. 12. 
THE PROSPECTS OF TEA IN CEYLON, 
INDIA AND CHINA. 
EOPRIETOR of Tea Plant- 
ation" in his letter on page 
813, indulges in some rather 
lugubrious reflections, more 
or less justified however by 
the out look which he pio- 
tures. In addition to the news 
of splendid " flushes " in Ceylon, we are bound to admit 
the fact that the tea^naking season has begun under 
very favourable circumstances in many of the North 
Indian districts, while our latest report from South 
India shows that in Wynaad tea cultivation is 
rapidly extending. When in addition we know that 
in Java, planters are busy adding to the area 
under tea, while superseding China by Assam plants, 
and that the prospects in China are decidedly 
in favour of a larger quantity of tea being 
available for export than in 1888, it is impossible 
not to feel the seriousness of the position as 
regards the immediate future of the chief planting 
industry in Ceylon. 
The key of the position our correspondent 
rightly judges will be found in the movements of 
•'China" teas, and in this connection he asks 
some pointed questions. Sir Robert Hart's Report, 
taken by itself, — it will be found in full elsewhere 
— does not at all lead to the conclusion that the 
China tea growers are about to make any new 
departure. On the contrary, as already mentioned, 
Sir Robert instead of taking up that part of the 
question peculiarly within his province and urging 
the Chinese authorities to abate some of the 
" squeezes " at present sadly interfering with fairplay 
to China tea exports, launches out into the ques- 
tion of how to improve the production and manu- 
facture after the fashion adopted by the Indian 
and Ceylon planters. To use a homely expression 
common in Scotland, Sir Robert Hart might have 
Bpared his breath to " cool his parritch." He 
gives some exoellent advice of course which, how- 
ever, will be quite thrown away on the conser- 
vative upoountry Chinaman, but he also writes 
egregious nonsense as when in one of his proposed 
remedies for existing defects, he says : — 
All the leaves should not be removed from the same 
shrub at the same time, bub only such us are ready for 
gathering. The leaves whicn are ready ought to be 
picked from all the trees ia the plantation at the 
same time, and each picking ought to form a sepa- 
rate chop. The leaf ought not to be picked too soon or 
too late : although a 10 davs' overgrowth ^ives an in- 
crease of 25 per cent in weight, it causes a decrease of 
35 per cent in value. In India thtre are as many as 
16 pickings; that is, each shrub contributes to 16 chops. 
The part we have italicized reads like a piece of 
sarcasm at the expense of John Chinaman, or else 
it shows gross ignorance on the part of Sir Robert 
Hart. 
His report has not passed scatheless of criti- 
cism through the hands of Anglo-China editors 
and merchants. These gentlemen oan scarcely 
speak with authority on the subject of improved 
culture, but on other points they ake the I speoto 
General of Customs severely to task, His state- 
ment to the " Y arn en " that China tea is superior 
in fluVjur to aii other teas is challenged in ne 
face of "Ceylon" superior kinds; and his figure 
ol 9d a lb. as the lowest for which Chit.e.^ tea 
can be sold at a profit in England is con emaed 
by a merchant who says that it is well-known that 
the commonest kinds can be laid down in Eng- 
land at 5§d and ordinary sound common about 
6d (2d to 2Jd of which aoout 40 per cent con- 
sists of the Chinese taxes). Sir Robert argued 
that as Indian tea could be sold profitably in England 
at 6d and China only at 9d, it was no use taking 
even 2d a lb. off the latter ! One thing is ceriain 
now, namely that the Chinese Yamen will not take 
off any taxation — a policy they have been at all. 
times disinclined to— in view of fcjir Robert dart's 
opinion that a reduction wouid not benefit the 
producers or people of China. Two of the In- 
spector-General's lieutenants — Mr. Hannen at Poo- 
chow and Mr. Chalmers at Tamsui — recommend 
the opening of model plantations on the Indian 
fashion ; but as an experienced mercantile resident 
writes: — "The idea of inducing the innumerable 
peasant proprietors of China to change their 
ancient methods of cultivation in favour of In- 
dian methods (involving large gardens, machi- 
nery, &c.) is too stupendous to come within 
the region of practical politics " (? economics). 
Nevertheless as mentioned above, the latest ac- 
counts from the China tea districts through the 
shipping ports seem to indicate a more abundant 
supply this coming season of good quality teas 
than came forward last year. But all agree that 
the lookout for "China" teas in the markets 
