8 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [June i, 1881. 
awards for Ceylon tea are so favourable as they stand. 
Of course the previous verdicts of tea-tasters and 
analysts will not be forgotten. 
Next to Mr. Hjlphinstone conies Mr. A. J. Stork 
with two. awards, one of which is First Class for pekoe 
and one Third Class for the same kind of tea, ! hey 
evidently know how to prepare fine tea on Black- 
stone estate. 
Messrs. Leechman & Co. are the recipients of two 
Third class awards, one for pekoe-souchong, and one 
for souchong, regarding which my remarks already 
made as to the standard insisted on should be noted. 
Windsor Forest, Gallebodde, Agrawaite, and Black- 
stone, are all situated in the old and rainy districts 
of Dolosbage and Ambagamuwa. 
Mr. P. B. Shand received two awards, one of which 
was Second Class for pekoe-souchong, and one Third 
for pekoe. 
The other Ceylon exhibitors on the list obtained 
each one award, that against the name of Calsay 
estate in Dimbula (Messrs. Haldane and Anton) being 
First Class for pekoe. 
Mr. C. S. Armstrong obtained a Third order 
of merit for broken pekoe. This gentleman must 
have learned the secret of having made the 
kind of tea which pleases the eye of the typ- 
ical Melbourne broker, for I heard but one 
chorus of admiration of the appearance and especi- 
ally the packing of a consignment of Eookwood 
tea sold on the 8th of this month by Greig & 
Murray. The verdict was that the packing was 
greatly superior to Indian. Whether the prices will 
satisfy Mr. Armstrong's expectations, I do not know, 
but they are considered good with reference to the 
present state of the market. I believe the bulk 
was purchased by Mr. Walker a dealer who has laid 
himself out to sell Indian and Ceylon tea. He most 
strongly believes in the superior quality of the latter. 
He has asked permission to distribute specimens in 
the Ceylon Court, permission which of course, I 
shall be only too happy to grant. I enclose the 
leaf of the catalogue in which the Eookwood teas are 
described and the prices at which they sold are noted. 
Sale of Ceylon Tma. 
Under instructions from the Importers. Ex R M. 
Steamer, from Ceylon, Season 1880-81 — Rook wood : 
44 quarter-chests Ceylon pekoe souchong 201b., 
blackish well made wiry leaf, very brisk strong rich 
malty flavor 
40 quarter-chests Ceylon pekoe souchong 20 lb*, 
even twisted blackish even leaf, strong ripe rich malty 
pekoe flavor 1/ l£. 
20 half-chests Ceylon broken pekoe 44 lb , hand- 
lome small very even leaf pekoe tips, rich and full 
ripe brisk pekoe flavor l/3£. 
7 quarter-chests Ceylon broken pekoe 25 lb., small 
even handsome wiry leaf pekoe tips, rich full strong 
and pungent pekoe flavor 1/5. 
6 half-chests Ceylon broken tea 21 lb., fairly twisted 
brownish black leaf, strong brisk full flavory 1 /2. 
44 quarter-chests Ceylon pekoe 21 lb., wiry small 
handsome pekoe leaf, choice full ripe strong malty 
pekoe 1/6. 
11 half-chests Ct-ylon fannings 44 lb., small even 
reddish brown open broken leaf, pungent strong brisk 
flavory /9$. 
On the 1st of this month occurred a sale of Cey- 
lon tea by no means so eucouraging :— 
01 half-chests of pekoe-souchong sold at Is Id per lb. 
19 ,, souchong lid ,, 
1 ,', congou 7d ,, 
Mr. Moody shewed me a specimen of the tea which 
realized only 7d and he predicted a low price. The 
leaves resembled beans with loose t>seue. 1 said : 
' It ie very hard : that te^ is made from goorl Assam 
hybrid, the flush of which is large. The liquor is 
probably good." The reply was: "No matter: tea of | 
this appearance will not *uit this market." I have 
little doubt the tea will be sold at a large profit by 
the cutters and mixers. 
Mr. J. A. Smith of Lonmay estate, it will be seen, 
obtained a Thi d award for congou. 
Mr. T. C. Owen obtained a similar award for what 
the jurors have classed as "mixed teas." Whether 
Mr. Owen's tea was really a mixture of different teas, 
or meiely a "one kind" tea, I do not know, but one 
day it was remarked to me : — "The more teas are 
mixed the better. If several teas, each of which 
may have an objectionable flavour, are blended, the 
result is a tea which takes greatly with consumers." 
It has, therefore, been recommended that persons or 
firms in Ceylon should lay themselves out to pur- 
chase and mix high and low grown teas and teas 
of different flavours and i|ua!itiea. One of the brokers 
controverted this view an ( said the mixing could be 
much better doDe here. But the motive for this 
opinion is obvious and 1 agree with Mr. Moody. I 
have no doubt some of our merchants will soon try 
the experiment of buying and blending teas. Brokers 
and dealers in London and Melbourne may offer objec- 
tions, but the taste of the consumers must rule in the 
end. As tea grows in Ceylon from sea-level to 7,000 
feet, there must be large scope for a judicious mix- 
ing of the delicate mountain teas with the ranker 
produce of lower levels. 
The general result is that for 78 exhibits of tea 
Cevlon has received 36 awards, or not far short of 50 
per cent. Of the awards 11 were First Class, in- 
cluding 1 collective award ; 3 were Second Class, 
including 1 collective award; while 22 were Third Class. 
JQ course the fact will be noticed that the majority 
of the awards are Third Class, but that still means, 
according to a member of the jury, a high order of 
merit in the tea. Considering that tea manufacture 
has been carried on in India for well nigh half a 
century, while our enterprise, as a serious matter, 
does not date back more than a fifth of that period, 
and considering also that on this occasion India from 
the Brahmapulra to Cape Comorin, sent the best speci- 
mens of her produce, I think we ought to be if not 
contented yet encouraged by our "good second" 
position. 
India sent no fewer than 339 samples of her best 
tpas to the Exhibition and the awards were 216, in 
the proportions of First Order of Merit 35 
Second ,, 77 
Third „ 104 
For First Class awards in proportion to total samples, 
Ceylon is considerably ahead for India :— one-seventh 
against less than one-tenth. In Second Class awards 
India scores victor. In the proportion of Third 
Class awards to total exhibits, the two countries 
are about equal. Ceylon, therefore, considering her com- 
parative youth, has come in a very good second to India. 
The total exhibits of tea you will see, was 507, 
China not being directly represented at this Exhibition. 
Japan is and very efficiently by my good friend Mr. 
Tokio. Japan tea ("Oolongs") seems to be as much 
appreciated in Melbourne as in the United States, judg- 
ing by the awards, which are in the proportion of 16 to 
35 exhibits. But of the awards only one was First Class 
and one Second, while 13 were Third Class. 
The China teas were, I believe, shewn by Mr. Glad- 
stone of the Oriental Tea Company, which Company 
obtained First and Second Class awards for "blending 
and packing." The unmixed China teas ("pure and 
simple") seem to have been shut out because not ex- 
hib'ted by any one directly connected with China. Mr. 
Gladstone is to protest, and I do not see why his pro- 
tost should not. be successful. If so, according to his 
information, five of the China teas will be classed for 
first awards. * You will see that Melbourne blended 
*15th March : See remarks in to-day's Argus. 
