August i, 1881.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
Tea begins to yield a small return the second year, 
but the yield is very small, as you are then bringing 
your plants into form for future operations. The third 
year the returns will probably be sufficient, not only 
to meet the year's expenses, but aho to leave a small 
th 
jurth year should, 
isaster occurring, 
crops steadily increase 
the plant is considered 
The fifth and sixth 
until the seventh year, 
bo be in full bearing. 
Say the tea garden under cultivation is 200 acres 
in extent, I consider the fifth year's crop should 
reach at least 04,000 lb. of made tea ; this is a low 
average from a hybrid planted garden, for I have 
known the same area to turn out 90,000 lb. of made 
tea. 
Tea, it must be remembered, is a perennial plant, 
and plantations once formed will go on bearing for 
an indefinite period. I do not know to what age the 
plant will continue to bear, but in one instance I 
have seen the age of bearing plants is probably be- 
yond 100 years. A small patch was planted out in 
Chifctagong, and is owned now, I believe, by a Mr. 
Fowler ; these plants have been picked for upwards 
of 40 years, and their yield when I was there some 
time since, was splendid. Once in bearing, the tea 
■ I. inter looks for a crop of 500 1b. to 1.000 lb. made 
tea par acre, but I have put the return of made tea 
at 480 lb. per acre that I may be within the mark. 
Every planter makes his teas that they will fetch 
all rouud 2s per lb., and this a great many people 
will be deceived in, by looking at paper sales, for on 
. very plantation there arc high and low class teas 
made; for instance, our congous fetch say lOd to Is 
per lb., but the others, such as Howery and orange 
pekoe realize 4s to 5s per lb., and the middle tea, 
which is pekoe souchong, gives from 2s to 3s per lb. 
Another thing is that in dry seasons teas are always 
inferior to those made during rains. Within a very 
short time machinery has been introduced for pre- 
paring the leaf or rather rolling, and the plant suit- 
able for a 200 acre factory would cost, with tables 
complete, £300 to £350. 
I would propose in the first place to follow the 
original plan of hand rolling, and the only expenses 
therefore attendant to the preparation of the leaves 
outside plantation work would be boxes, nails, clamp 
and tea-lead. 
Tli is is a small item when the good returns are 
considered. 
Another subject which should be brought to notice 
is, that although some may think to the dividends 
being given on many plantations are low, the reason 
is because they are continually extending, and the 
surplus over goes for that extension. 
Tin' Companies that have stopped extensions are 
paying from 20 per cent to 37 per cent dividends, 
and any one has only to lock over the Tea Com| any's 
accounts when such figures will be found. 
1 have not the least doubt that tea cultivation is 
destined to become one of the mainstays of this 
volony. 
In starting such a romp my as I would proposo, a 
Bfcpita] of £4,000 should be raised. This amount, need 
tiot be called up all at once, hut let a first payment 
provide for the expenses of first year, and some mar- 
gin over, say £1,500, in good time to meet operations 
of second year, aud since third year's crop would not 
!<■• required until currency of fourth year, a final call 
would bo necessary to meet current factory account, 
alter whicli tho factory always pays expenses and 
leaves a handsome yearly prolit to investor. 
This sum there should bo no dillicnlty in raising 
among the merchants and planters of Fiji. 
The following is my estimate of the cost of opening 
out and cultivating a tea garden of 200 acres with 
returns that may be expected from it to seventh 
Outlay. 
£ 
8. 
d. 
1st year, 
Land, 400 acres 
800 
0 
0 
1st ,, 
Expenses 
900 
0 
0 
do. 
3rd " 
do. 
... L,'200 
0 
0 
4 th ,, 
do. 
... 1,000 
0 
0 
5th „ 
do. 
... 1,750 
0 
0 
0th „ 
do. 
... 2,000 
0 
0 
7th „ 
do. 
... 2,400 
0 
0 
Incidental 
... 3.500 
0 
0 
Total... £15, 150 0 0 
1st year, 
2nd „ 
3rd 
4th 
5th 
Gth 
7th 
Income. 
2,000 Lb. made tea 1/i 
32,000 ,, tea @ 1/9 .. 
<& 1/9 .. 
@ 1/9 .. 
@ 1/9 .. 
@ 1/9 .. 
,000 
04,000 
80,000 
80,000 
175 0 0 
2,800 0 0 
4,200 0 0 
5,000 0 0 
7,000 0 0 
7,000 0 0 
Total 
£20,775 
0 
0 
Outlay 
£15, 150 
0 
0 
Balance at end of 
7 th year £11,525 
0 
0 
It will be acknowledged that this is" a very splen- 
did prospect ; altogether too splendid many will say, 
but my estimates have been carefully considered. 
I have calculated expenses as I think at a maximum, 
while the returns are below what I should consider 
a minimum. Tea, it must be remembered, is a very 
hardy plant, much more so thau most tropical plants, 
and there is not much fear of a hurricane doing it 
any damage for more thau a month or so, for its 
limbs are liexible as cane. 
I am confident of success in this industry, and it 
only requires people to conic forward and subscribe 
the necessary capital to start the industry at once 
and secure orders from India of this season's growth 
seed. The capital required for such profits shown is 
so small that many will say such cannot bo accom- 
plished, but whatever is stated is thoroughly correct, 
and if profits are not even larger I shall be greatly 
disappointed. — I am, &c, 
C. S. PEARCE. 
TEA. 
A correspondent of the Indo-European Correspondence 
writes : — 
Tea planting in India must be a prosperous specu- 
lation, since the exportation is increasing yearly. In 
1861 we could only send home 1,250,000 pounds; in 
1864, the double ; in 1807, 6,000,0i 0 ; in 1S70, 
13,500,000; in 1878-79, 33,000,000, worth 30,000,000 
of rupees. Though the whole of this fair exportation 
is nearly concentrated on the L mdon market alone, 
it does not as yet supply more thau 24 per cent of 
the wants of the United Kingdom for tea. 79 per 
cent, i.e., more thau 124,000,0U0 of pounds are still 
to be brought and exported from China. Thcreforo a 
very large field is opened to competition, and if tho 
Indian tea-planters wish to satisfy the wants as well 
as the taste of the mother-country only, they must 
go ahead by improving aud enlarging their tea plant- 
ations. But should Australia, Canada, the other Eng- 
lish Colonies, aud the world at large take a liking 
to Iudian tea, what would our tea market become? 
It would bo enlarged a hundredfold. It i» far from 
being improbable'; Not at all if wo judge from what 
we havo seen of late iu the United Kingdom. How 
