June i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
821 
CEYLON Vs. CHINA TEA. 
Ceylon Tea down to an average for the 
week of 9fd per lb., while Fair Pekoe Souchong 
is quoted at 7Jd is not very encouraging tele- 
graphic news received today for our planters. It 
is evident that a big struggle is approaching. The 
China merchants and their London friends have 
already begun to lift their heads and raise a cry 
antagonistic to Indian and Ceylon, as compared 
with their own teas on their merits ! They even 
talk of sending a specially engaged Lecturer all 
over the United Kingdom to teach the people 
the risks they run from drinking teas so 
much stronger in tannin than are the delicate- 
flavoured China product which has hitherto ruled 
the market. The London and China Express as 
the organ of Far East mercantile interests is 
specially loud in declaiming against the China 
merchants doing nothing to protect themselves. 
We quoted an extract on our back page two days 
ago which showed this very clearly and the way 
in which our contemporary goes to work may be 
judged from the following : — 
All the sinister forecasts must be very unpleasant 
for those interested in the China product. But 
before those who stake all oh India and Ceylon are 
satisfied that their cup is getting full, they may have 
to reckon with a force which has not vet been exerted, 
and which may prove potential. We refer to the 
question of medical opinion. For some time the pro- 
fession has been setting its faoe somewhat against 
excessive tea-drinking, and in many ail men s the 
patient is (old to leava off tea altogether. Now. how- 
ever, doctors are bf ginning to discriminate as to the 
class of tea that may be used, and instead of banning 
tea in toto they instruct tbat only China t' a may oe 
taken. This will b^ better exemplified fr m the fol- 
lowing, which recently appeared in a medical coulptn- 
porary : — 
' As there is some doubt as to the quantity of tannin 
extracted from tea by short and long infusion, and 
also as to the percentage of tannin in different teas, 
the following note of the result of some exp»rimtnts 
on three samples, unblended, sent to us by Dr. Hale 
White, of Guy's Houpital will be read with interest. 
A was the finest Asi am; B the finest. China; C com- 
mon Congou ; no green tea of any kind being used : — 
Percentage of tannin Percentage of tannin 
by weight extracted by weight extracted 
by infusion for 3 min- by intusion for 15 
utes. minutes. 
Mark of 
Sample. 
A 11-30 1773 
B 7 77 7 97 
C ... .. 937 1115 
The result, Dr. White adds, is what might have been 
expected, as tannin is very soluble in hot water, and 
nobody who has drunk Assam or any other Indian tea 
and the choicest China, would require any scientific 
analysis to tell birn which would be most likely to 
disorder the stomach and nerves. It is, of course, true 
that any tea which has been infused for some time 
has a more marked effect than tea which has been 
infused a shorter time ; but this difference is due not 
so much to the tannin as to the strength. The moral 
therefore, for persons with weak digestion is to select 
the best China tea they can get, and not to drink it 
strong ; to be satisfied with flavour, and not to desire 
intoxication. They must be particularly careful also 
to see that the tea is not blended. Sample B is worth 
about five shillings a pound retail.' 
To counteract action of the nature described above, 
it will be needful for the Planters' Association 
and the Ceylon Association in London to go to 
work very energetically, and they have ample 
material to enable them to carry the war into the 
enemy's camp. In this connection, good use can 
be made of the Melbourne analyses of China, India 
and Ceylon teas, showing the vast superiority of 
103 
the latter and how the China teas are frequently 
adulterated. We quote one passage as tollows from 
the 'Australian Tea Circular" compiled at this 
office: — 
In total extract, which I take to be the real test of 
tea, the Indian average is 39 42, which is more than 
10 per cent above the China coupons. Our Ceylon 
average, even when lowered by including the congou 
is 42 20, or nearly 3 per cent higher than the Indian 
and 13 p> r cent o»i-r the China. But as no couirou 
was included in the Indian teas, the fair coarse is to 
exclude it, and also the green, and to take the average 
of the teas commjn So both lists. We then get for 
Ceylon teas 42'95, or 3'53 higher than the Indian 
average (39'42), and 13'69 per cent above the China 
congou. 
As to objections to the strength of, or the tannin in, 
our teas English householders can readily be shown 
that they have themselves to blame, first, in using too 
much tea at a time as compared with China, and, 
secondly, in not securing a proper infusion. The 
infusion should not extend over five, — and indeed 
one competent judge says three — minutes and if 
the instructions given on the slip we h ave issued 
as a Supplement are noted, no one ought to be 
ignorant of the best mode of preparing tea. 
^ ' 
CINNAMON PLANTING REPORT FROM THE 
NEGOMBO DISTRICT. 
SPLENDID "WEATHER — FORTHCOMING CINNAMON" CROPS A>'D 
FAIL IN PRICE— PROPOSED COMBINATION OF C'NNA- 
M >N rrR iWKtiS TO DISCONTINUE EXP EP POdlFS — 
t PINION OF A LONDON BROKER — ClNNAM V ,tEU — 
COCONUT LEAF-DISK AS E IN VhY^iNOOO . a£D li. DU.B- 
BERG S EEPORT. 
Neqombo, :9.h Apri' 18:19. 
We are having splendid weather, with hot after- 
noons and wet nights. All vegetation looks as if 
fresh life has been put into them. Cinnamon has a 
splendid flush which wiil give it a good growth. 
Peeling operations will comraance about the 25th of 
May. I do not think the crop this year will be a 
large one. Cinnamon has bardiy grown and the bushes 
look very 6cantyi It will be advantageous to cinua- 
mon planters if crops are small, a:., they may expect 
a rise in price. Mr. Jardine, the veterao planter of 
Goluapokuna, is agi atiug stopping the scraping of 
chips. He thinks that if chips are stopped Irom being 
exported there will be a rise in quills. I f-hall feel 
obliged if Mr. Jardine will get up a meeting of all 
cinnamon planters to discuss the matter. Some say 
that they wiil sell the scrapings to those who distill 
oil. I remember 20 years back old wood used to be 
oat down and dried and then sold as firewood. 
Planters were then so particular that they never sold 
the coarse wood frtsb, as buyers would scrape them. 
The large quantity that swell the market is from the 
new districts. People were not particular as to what 
kind of seed they planted. Seed from coarse wood 
produce coarse, and unpeelable cinuam in, which helps 
to increase the large quantity of chips. There was such 
a demand for cinnamon seedat one time that pe pie paid 
from R10 to R15 per bushel. Mr. Beven of Veyangoda 
should also agitate stopping the sci aping of chips 
in his district, as a very large quantity of coarse 
cinnamon and chips are produced by natives of that 
district. Coconuts are looking its best in the Negnmbo 
district. I hope the disease in Veyangoda has dis- 
appeared after the present heavy rains, and we are 
anxiously waiting for Mr. Drieberg's report on the 
coconut leaf -disease. I hope the report will bo pub- 
lished in the local papers. I enclose a report from 
a leading London broker as regards cinnamon chips. 
I shall feel obliged if you will publish i' with this 
letter.— Yours truly, AGRIOOLA. 
" Regarding the proposed combination of oinnamon 
growers to cease shipping cinnamon chips from Ceylon, 
