August i, 1881.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
207 
The season generally opens here in June or July, 
and sales by auction are frequent from that period 
till the close of the year, or say for 6 months. After 
this time, buying as a rule is reduced to supplying 
immediate wants. Tea dealers keep their stocks low and 
trying to clear out before the new comes in, in June. 
For many years past buyers have found China teas 
keep badly, and when new season's musters are shown 
old stock is reduced in value fully 2d to 4d per lb. 
on teas above Is per lb. in bond and proportionately 
on lower priced grades, whilst, frequently teas selling 
at Is 9d to Is lOd in April-May may realize only Is 
2d to Is 4d in July-August. The cause is due entirely 
to the old teas being flat and stale when compared 
with even common chops of new congous. 
The usual course of Melbourne Trade is to buy 
sparingly of medium to fine teas early in the season, 
or say during July to August, and such teas are 
almost entirely used for mixing and to freshen up old 
stock, therefore only a limited quantity is sold and 
generally the best quality of the year. Very little of 
this new tea is sold straight to consumers, because 
it is considered by them to have no strength and too 
much flavor. The fact is Victorians have been edu- 
cated up* to a bad standard of tea. 
First crop China teas are always the best in liquor, 
though not in leaf. The bulk of these teas come for- 
ward in July-August, and most of them are sold 
privately. The heaviest sales and cheapest prices 
usually rule during September-October, and very little 
business is done from January to May.t Buyers often 
find their purchases made early in the season have 
gone off in quality, so a brisk demand is experienced 
late in the season for scented teas and other mixers. 
Last season 1879-80 was exceptional owing to a heavy 
rise in prices in London reacting on our market here 
and causing shipments of tea from this to England, 
and unusual profits were obtained on sales made late 
in the season. This sudden expansion of trade is 
evidently the cause of the heavy shipments of tea, 
advised this season from China to Australia, and we 
learn by telegram of 22 million pounds weight shipped 
as against 15 million pounds weight shipped same 
time ' in season 1879-80. The fact of this large export 
has had a depressing effect on our market, and prices 
may go still lower, though for the first 6 months of 
the season rates have been well maintained. 
The quality now coming forward is very low, and 
it may be that China is clearing out all _ the rubbish 
accumulated for some time past, in which case our 
bonded stores are likely to be the gainers in rent, 
unless the London market again comes to the rescue, 
as it did last season, taking from us some very old 
friends. 
For your information I give the following synopsis 
of sales by Public Auction of China Teas only, for six 
months ending 31st December 1S80 :- 
lb. per lb. 
67,000 sold at 7|d to 8d 
106,000 
135,000 
370,000 
376,000 
308,000 
235,000 
209,000 
199,000 
245,000 
170,000 
163,000 
84 
8| 
9* 
9| 
IGi 
10| 
114 
HI 
1/04 
1/03 
1/14 
10 
101 
11 
Hi 
1/ 
1/04 
i/i 
l/ii 
lb. per lb. 
128,000 sold at 1/lf to 1/2 
185,000 
135,000 
132,000 
44,000 
50,000 
46,000 
46,000 
38,000 
4,000 
m 
1/2| „ 
i;- ! 
1/4J „ 
1/54 „ 
1/64 .. 
1/74 „ 
1/84 „ 
1/2.', 
1/3 
1/4 
1/5 
1/6 
1/7 
1/8 
1/9 
1/94,, 1/10 
3,391,000 lb.t total. 
* Query down 1 — A. M. F. 
f It would seem as if the present season were to 
be exceptional, for a large sale is to take place to- 
morrow, aud heavy cargoes are en route. — A. M. F. 
t Of course this refers to Melbourne only, and takes 
no account of private sales. — A. M. F. 
From this statement you will see that 2,005,000 
pounds weight sold at and under Is per lb. in bond 
and L386,000 do do 1/0J to 1/10 do 
This gives no idea of the sales of fine tea, which is 
usually disposed of privately, for it is found diffi- 
cult to obtain over Is Sd per lb. publicly for any 
class of tea. 
The sales of tea outside of the Auction Room for 
the six months. ending 30th Dec. 1880, will probably 
amount to 2% million pounds more, bringing up the 
total sales of China teas to not far short of six mil- 
lion pounds weight. 
Hayter's Statistics for Victoria shew increased pro- 
sperity for the country, and we have increased returns 
for our staples : — Gold, wool, wheat, &c, money is 
now very cheap here, and all this means larger con- 
sumption of tea which we cannot produce. 
Our market closes to-day with a full supply of 
common to medium grades of tea and prices lower for 
same, but with a small stock of good and a scarcity 
of fine qualities of Congous, and rates ruling higher 
for these sorts. 
A large proportion of tea consumed in Victoria is 
sold in half-chests 3Slb., boxes 111b., with a few 
quarter-chests 20 lb. weight. These packages are gener- 
ally taken by the squatters, selectors, farmers, &c, 
just as received without any mixing and price gener- 
ally guides the buyer, but he won't liave posts and 
rails (viz. large leaf and stalky samples) or dusty 
teas. A small quantity of finest quality is taken at 
any fair price by the wealthy classes, other balance 
of consumption consitts of the trade of towns and 
retailers generally. Most of this class of tea is mixed, 
and therefore the weight of packages is not of so 
much importance, though the small retailers object to 
lay out too much money on heavy packages. A con- 
siderable amount of the mixing is primitive and varies 
with seasons. First the gentle and long-suffering pub- 
lic is treated to Canton gunpowder, &c, which has 
its day, then Canton scented caper has a turn, fol- 
lowed by Canton long leaf scented Pekoe. Now, 
Canton short leaf scenied Pekoe and Kooloo teas are 
the fashion. When the consumer has been educated 
up to this standard of Canton nastiness, no wonder 
it is difficult to get a delicate pure tea appreciated, 
and we see at once why so many doctors generally 
denounce tea as injurious ; but why don't these gen- 
tlemen discriminate between good and bad tea? 
Our retail grocer looks to tea to recoup the whole 
expenses of his shop and give him a profit beside. 
The public know nothing about tea, but competition 
forces the prices down of all things that can be easily 
judged ; so Brown cuts his sugar, Jones sells jam 
below cost, Robinson follows suit with butter, Smith 
pushes his pickles, and so on ;— but Brown, Jones, 
Robinson and Smith all get good profits out of ten. 
The Chinese hawkers are found in all our cities. 
" John " (our pet name for a Chinaman) sells a com- 
pound of nastmess by the packet, and be ("John") 
is a judge of human nature. He calls at a house on 
his rounds, sees children in the garden and gives each 
some lollies, and so finds his way to the heart of the 
mother who cannot refuse to take a packet of tea 
from " John," and so gradually the taste of the family 
is spoilt. The grocer complains that the Chinese 
hawker is cutting him out and he must have tea 
with more "grip." I know what he wants aud ex- 
postulate with him— no good — so get him some Can- 
ton nastiness; next time he tells me his customers 
like the new mixture. 
As a stranger in the land and only biassed in favour 
of Ceylon tea, tell me who is to blame for the above 
state of affairs? Is it the molher : then would you 
crush out the maternal feeling that delights in the 
happiness of her children ? Work the problem out 
for me. — Yours sincerely, J. O. Moodt. 
P.S.— From Hayter's Statistics just published, it 
