854 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June i, 1889. 
A HINT TO THE TEA FUND COMMITTEE 
AND TO TEA FIRMS. 
May 8th, 1889. 
Dear Me. Editor,— I think the " Tea Fund " 
would do a good thing for Ceylon, if they framed 
a treatise, and send it in a stereotyped form to 
all the provincial papers in England, Scotland, 
and Ireland, showing at what low rates Ceylon 
teas are being sold at present in Mincing Lane, 
and on the other hand the prices that are being 
paid by the consumer. 
It is a wonder that no really large packet trade 
has been opened between Ceylon and the old country. 
What an opening for some firms with capital and 
go.— Yours faithfully, U. S. A. 
THE CEYLON TEA MARKET IN COLOMBO 
AND LONDON. 
Sje, — If what a tea planter writes under the 
above heading in your issue of May 6th be 
correct, one would expect to find prices lowest 
when the tea was made by the votaries of cricket, 
tennis &c. But this is hardly the case, I fancy. 
I would rather say prove " inattention to manu- 
facture" and let the blame and punishment fall 
on the guilty parties ; but don't forget that many 
good men and true, play both cricket and tennis. 
Until your correspondent gives soberer considera- 
tion to the subject and gets nearer the truth of 
the matter, he need not fear " howls of indigna- 
tion." People will just content themselves by 
observing that he is not very wise in his at- 
tempts at solving a difficulty which many feel as 
much as he. T. P. R. 
WEIGHING TEAS IN LONDON. 
Sir, — It seems useless to moralize 1 For years a 
very loose way of conducting business to the dis- 
advantage of the tea producers has been going on 
and now that the shoe begins to pinch, the planter's 
foot is becoming more energetic than the Dock 
people like ! Wait till the ship canal is opened and 
the produce business is started in Manchester for the 
whole of the districts of Lancashire and York, teeming 
with population and wealth beyond any other port 
of the United Kingdom. Then if worked on modern 
principles we shall see a rival to Mincing Lane 
opened up, and it is hoped all these aggravating 
allowances to the trade and d ductions will be 
swept away as relics of a barbarous age 1 CRITIC. 
JAPAN TEA BOXES. 
Kintyre, May 9th, 1889. 
Dear Sir, — Re Japan boxes, I can assure Mr. 
Creasy and your readers that I in no way wish 
to mislead them in their ohoice of Japan tea 
packages, but on the other hand would give them 
the benefit of experience, as I introduced both 
kinds of packages ; in the first place to Mr. Creasy, 
and then to the public, and as I can import either 
kind of wood from my Japan friends, it will 
be obvious to the impartial reader that I have no 
personal interest to serve in declaring in favour 
of one sort or another. 
In writing to Me' 1 b. J. M rray Robertson & Co. on 
15th January I860 (who at that time were my 
agentp) for Japan boxes Messrs. Fraser, Farley, and 
Vernum of Yokohama say : — "We fiod ' Momi ' 
wood brittle and not flirted i n |th boxes." (They 
add also) " We call y jui attention to the fact that 
' Matsn ' or pine is not suitable for boxes; it warps 
and is ruinous and we should advise you not to 
bock any orders of tbis wood," 
After hearing this I decided myself to give 
" Momi " wood a trial only in § inch packages ;~and 
accordingly on 21st May 1886, ordered through 
Messrs. J. Murray Robertson & Co. 1,000 packages 
for Christmas delivery, explaining that I gave the 
order so long beforehand to ensure seasoned wood 
being used. In due course the packages arrived 
and 60,000 lb. of tea was despatched in them, but 
I found the packages cracked and split after they 
were done up, and though I had no serious damage 
done, my London friends advised me they preferred 
the Cryptomeria boxes, and on 1st April 1887, I 
wrote to Messrs. Murray Robertson & Co. as follows : 
— " Kindly order me the following Japan boxes for 
June delivery, 500 chests J inch wood, 200 half-chests 
J inch wood, all of cedar. I find the ' momi ' wood 
very apt to split in this dry weather, bo return to 
the Cryptomeria Japonica.'" 
This then, sir, will prove that I had no 
animus against rival importers ; but it was 
and is a true opinion whatever that may be 
worth, and at the time it was given Mr. Creasy 
was not importing "Momi" packages only as at 
present. Live and let live is a good maxim ; and 
I am sure for my part the more competition there 
is in boxes the better for myself and other planters, 
as it is in the reduction of prices 1 look to for 
my profits and not in the sale of packages — my 
share of profits in which has been some 300 
rupees after nearly five years' work in getting the 
business which gives the tea planter (whether it 
be of "momi" or "cedar" wood) a better and a 
cheaper package than he had before or could have 
at present, and probably gives a regular income to 
those who import them for sale to the public. 
If the public^ are satisfied with the remarks of 
Messrs. Wilson & Smithett in their circulars of 
December 1885 and January 1886 and many other 
favorable notices that from time to time have been 
printed respeeiing boxes made of Cryptomeria 
japonica, then I advise their purchasing boxes 
of that wood, whether from Mr. E. 13. Creasy or 
Messrs. Mackwood & Co. is immaterial, as I believe 
the wood to be tougher and stronger, and to also 
have a value in itself as a handsome wood in 
England ; the small dealer probably getting a better 
price for it than for "momi" which resembles 
deal. 
In conclusion I would ask you to add the notice 
given of the Crypotomeria japonica in the pre- 
face to the Tea Planters' Vade Mecum. a valu- 
able book, compiled by the late editor of the 
Indian Tea Gazette : — 
(Extract from page XX of "Tea Planters' Vade Mecum.") 
It has long been notorious that our heavy and unsightly 
packages meet with much disfavour at home, although the 
trade have had, hitherto, to put up with them ; hut they 
like them none the better for that, and it should be home 
in mind that a reform in this respect is being attempted 
in Ceylon by the use of a new wood obtained from Japan, 
of which tea boxes are now being manufactured. Crypto- 
meria Japonica bids fair to supersede all other woods now 
in use, and we strongly recommend a trial of it being made 
in India. 
And I remain, sir, yours faithfully, 
H. D. DEANE. 
P. S. — In the same valuable work, sir, ooe of 
your articles on the same subject is given at 
length on page 217, 1 >aded Cryptomeria japonica 
as a timbsr for tea bo\es. 
COTTON GROWING NEAR GAMPOLA. 
Dotel Oya, Aranayaka, 11th May 1889. 
Dear Sir, — I enclose copy of Report and Valuation 
of samples of my Jack Tree Hill estate cotton. They 
speak for themselves and must interest a large num- 
