846 
THE TROPICAL At3HTC3ULTUR!8T. 
[Tune i, 1889- 
CEYLON TEA IN AMERICA. 
The Ceylon-American Tea Company ought to 
have their share lists very quiaklo filled up, if locai 
tea proprietors or their agents realize thd duty 
imposed on them by the present prospect of the 
London market. Everybody is agreed that some- 
thing must be done to relieve the approaching 
pressure, but of all schemes of relief as yet 
started or shadowed forth, the American for the 
time alone " holds the field " and there is 
the strongest inducement for all planters to do 
what they can to see it floated on a full tide. 
Given a fully-subscribed share list, and his own 
interests thoroughly identified with those of the 
Company, Mr. Pineo is not the man we take him 
to be if he does not do justice to the important 
commission confided to him. Some are beginning 
to grumble that Mr. Pineo has not already started 
for New York; but probably he is wise not to 
move until he sees the required capital fully 
subscribed. Impatient proprietors — merchants and 
planters — have the power therefore in their own hands 
to fix the time of his departure, and we trust 
there may be no hesitation in coming to the 
support of the Company. The sooner, of course, 
Mr. Pineo does get away the better ; for he must 
have a good deal of preliminary work in the 
United States, before he can fairly launch Ceylon 
teas on the market or among the dealers in the 
Central and Western States. Nevertheless, we 
trust the day is not far distant when Mr. Pineo 
and the Company may see their way to run a steamer 
regularly between Colombo and New York in the tea 
trade, the saving in duty alone being a considera- 
tion, while a market for American cargoes ought 
to be found between Ceylon and Southern India. 
We suppose Mr. Pineo will be on his guard 
against competing with Mr. McCombie Murray, or 
any other dealer in Ceylon teas now operating in 
America. From the letter of a gentleman specially 
interested in the American people being won over 
to drink Ceylon tea, we quote as follows : — 
" If last Wednesday's local sale, and if the latest 
telegram about tea don't make people take shares in 
the American Tea Company, one would think nothing 
will ! The worst of Ceylon men in matters of this 
kind is that they make an objection to one particular 
item in a scheme an excuse for having nothing to do 
with it. It cannot be sufficiently insisted upon that 
every intending shareholder was asked to assist in 
elaborating the scheme by sending his views iu to 
the first meeting, or by attending it. And it is the 
height of rubbish to complain of the lack of the 
Colombo element on the board of directors, when 
at the time of meeting only one Colombo mer- 
chant had applied for shares, and that fact was not 
known to the meeting, which elected the directors. 
Ceylon will not stand another crisis, and tea is the Old 
Guard which if broken, ' sauve qui peut !' " 
COTTON FOE CEYLON. 
In addition to the interesting account of the 
progress made with the Colombo Cotton Spinning 
and Weaving Factory and the collateral informa- 
tion afforded, — see page 847 — we include special en- 
couragement for the intending Oeylon cotton planter 
in the Liverpool report and valuatioo on Mr. Blauk- 
ett's samples of cotton (page 854). This cotton, it will 
be remembered, was grown on an old estate not far 
from Gampola which Mr. Blackett had cleared 
for tea, and into which in October last year he 
interpersed cotton seed with the tea. The rapidity 
with which the cotton pbtnts appeared and grew 
up was an advantage in i/ffenng temporary shade 
fO the young tea. The cotton was ripe for gather- 
ing in the dry ppring months and Mr. Blackett had 
(he bushes all gut of his clearing before damage could 
be done to the tea — indeed the latter may rather have 
profited by the subsidiary culture. But we suspect 
that the high valuations now afforded through the 
eminent London House of Messrs. Antony Gibbs, 
Sons & Co. will send planters and natives into 
the cultivation of cotton for its own sake as a 
permanent industry, so far as a shrub which is 
not perennial can be so called. There will be as 
much enquiry probably after good cotton — a3 after 
good tobacco — land, with this difference that the 
former is much more readily and widely available. 
There is every prospect in fact that the Ceylon growth 
of cotton will more than supply the demand of the 
local mills before they have been long at work. 
♦ ■ • 
TEA LEAF SELLING AT 7j CENTS PER LB. 1 
" Leaf is being sold freely in the Kelani Valley 
I hear at 7| cents. — Iohabod 1" 
But probably the cause is found in the inability 
to overtake the tremendous "flush ": better to 
sell leaf at 7j cents than to abandon the clear- 
ing for a time for want of means to manufacture ? 
It is pointed out however that 1\ to 8 cents with 
a proper allowance for manufacture is not far short 
of the equivalent of 47 cents per lb. of made tea in 
Colombo, which is rather more than equivalent to 
9£d, the London average for last week. 
♦ 
COTTON, COFFEE AND TEA. 
"Coffee and Cotton." Many besides tea planters 
may not grasp the immensity of the trade done in 
coffee. Well 1 looking at the figures given in the 
Observer of 11th April last, it is there ptated that 
the coffee consuming power of the world in non- 
producing countries is between 1,500,000,000 lb.; and 
1,600,000,000 lb. and now take the figures given in 
your contemporary the local " Times " of 9th 
inst., in the article asking the question " Can 
Ceylon swamp the cotton market ?" and we 
find that the " imports of cotton into Great 
Britain " represent figures only about the same 
as those just given by me — in fact not so large ! 
Truly the coffee trade is immense, viewed in this 
somewhat strange light, which is thrown only that 
we may the better grasp such enormous figures 
and also to show what a formidable opponent we 
have to tea in our once valued ally — coffee. — Cor. 
HOW TO SECURE WELL-MADE TEAS; 
(From a Practical Proprietor.) 
About a year ago at Streatham I met T. 
G. of B., who was then complaining of 
the " drop in tay." I pointed out that many 
proprietors made too often this grand mistake. 
To save an assistant's or a second assistant's salary 
they too often murdered their tea and sacrificed their 
own interests. I said take an estate yielding yearly 
100,000 lb. made tea. If made of a quality the 
dealers liked, it would command, say Id more (more 
often 2d or 3d, but say Id) over the average Lon- 
don price. Well 100,000 pennies meant quite £400 
sterling, or R6.000, enongh to pay for two or three 
extra assistants in the laetory and field and en- 
abling one to have nothing to do with unl- 
iable volunteers. Every man should be well up to his 
work, and one of these may go on a trip in search 
of renewed health and wrinkles — no one overworked. 
The tea selling sharp on arrival at home, and 
if more than Id per lb. extra was got, it went 
into the proprietor's pocket. Of course T. G. 
said good-bye and rather winked bis eye. I hope 
he may see the point now. 
