672 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [February i, 1882. 
POSITION YND PR0SP30TS OP INDIAN TEA 
Of the great improvement 'ii the market for Indian 
tea tbe«e c n be no doubt, and the figured statements in 
the article which we today quote from the Indian 
Statesman vividly indicate the rapid change of taste 
in England for Indian in preference to China tea. In 
recently writing on the subject, we attributed much 
of the increased demand for Indian tea to the low 
prices at which the article had been selling for several 
years back. But we suppose the writer in the Statesman 
has authority for his assertion that a great deal of 
the revolution in public taste is due to sustained 
efforts made to place Indian teas within direct reach 
of the consumer, instead of the latter being, as 
previously, dependent on interested middlemen. Both 
causes and others also have, no doubt, contributed 
to a change which in itself and in the present, but 
much more in its promise for the future, is calculated 
to be most cheering to those interested in the strong 
pure teas of India, —and let, us add Ceylou, for our 
turn will come. The change in 11 years in the relative 
consumption in Britain of China and Indian tea is 
very remarkable. In 187' the quantity of Indian 
consumed on an average per month was represented 
by 1,141,000 lb. [In the Statesman the sign £ is used, 
but evidently lb. were intended.] This average monthly 
consumption increased steadily during the whole period 
until, in 1881, the figures rose to 4,052,000 lb. In 
the same period the history of China tea has been 
that in 1871 the monthly consumption was 9,135,000 ; 
in 1879 it had risen to 10,546,000; next year it fell 
by very nearly 1 million pounds per mensem, while 
in 1881 the figures were down to 9,301,000 lb., or 
only a quantity slightly in advance of 1871. Of 
10,294,000 lb. of tea consumed in each month of 1871, 
no less than 9,153,003 was from China, and only 
1,141,000 from India. In 1881 the average monthly 
consumption had increased by more than 3 millions 
of lb., the figures being 13,353,000 ; of which 4,052,000 
lb. were Indian teas, against 9,301,000 lb. China. 
That is to say, while only 11 -5 per cent of the tea 
consumed in 1871 was derived from India, in 1881 
the percentage of this kind had risen to 30 - 2, or not 
far short of one-third, instead of only a decimal over 
11 per cent. The total consumption of tea of all 
kinds in Britain hid gone up, it appears, from 2 600 
lb. per head in 1860, to 4'571 in 1881 : a nearly 
doubled quantity. But, while in I860 Indian tea was 
represented by only the decimal '038 lb., against 2"622 
China, in 1881 the proportion of Indian had risen to 
1-379 lb. as. against 3192 China. Of every pound of 
tea consumed in 1860. the merest fraction (scarcely 
appreciable* was Indian ; in 1881, oat of every pound 
consumed, very n-arly one-third was Indian, and the 
proio"ct is (looking at consumption in 18S2) that this 
propor'ion will now go on increasing until the rela'ive 
positions of the two descriptions of tea are entirely 
reversed, and the old China "thea" which figured so 
largely in the commerce of th" famous Ba»t India 
Companv takes rank below th- produce (mainly) of 
the indigenous plants discovered only half a century 
ago in th ■ jungles of Assam and cultivated there and 
in other par's of fndja, Iudiau tea planters are benefit- 
ing and will benefit by >h« change, and no effort 
should be wanting on the part of Ceylou tea planters 
and manufacturers to derive their full share of the 
favourable crisis. It is not mere faults in preparation 
we have to coniend again-r, but the d termined prejudice 
of a portion of "the trade." But we shall conquer 
all obstacles, including this prejudice. The Indian 
planters have had a hard battle to fight against tradition, 
interest and calumny. But they have persevered to 
see victory crown their efforts. 
NORTH CEYLON (JAFFNA) PRODUCE. 
(C. Patriot.) 
Chillies.— We are glad to find that there is a good 
demand for our Jaffna chilly at the market of Galle 
and Colombo, to which places we are daily exporting it. 
Coppbrah.— This being wet weather we cannot cure 
coconut into copper ih, but we are sending coconuts 
in busks to Akyab ; our vessels that go to ouy grain, 
take out coconuts thither. — Com. 
Colltj or Horse Cram. — This was once very ex- 
tensively cultivated in the Paciichellapally district ; 
but now the owrers of land have found it more ad- 
vantageous to utilize the toil for tobocco, and we ire 
now importing collu from India. 
Gingelly Seed. —There was a time that we grow suffi- 
cient gingelly seed to meet our local demand and we 
exported it to India from Mannar and Ti inconalee to 
meet the demand of some of the adjacent ports of 
India, but this year we are im 01 tiDg a large quan- 
tity from Negapitam for our home consumption. 
Jaffna Grain Market. — As already noticed, on the 
Prince of Wales' birthday four vessels arrived with 
grain from distant ports such as Akyab in Burmah, 
Coconada and Musulipatam. There has been an 
import in that month of nearly sixty-thousand 
bushels of paddy, besides about 6,000 bushels of 
rice, which is just one- tenth of the quantity of piddy 
imported. While almost all the ports in the Northern 
Province are shut up during the monsoon the Jaffna 
ports has earned nearly ten-thousand rupees in Nov- 
ember. Paddy is selling at Rl - 25; the best samba 
rice keeps up its price at K9 per bag. There is not 
the slight fear that we shall run short of grain during 
the wet weather, as we did in former years. There 
is plenty in the market. Chetty traders are hesi'ating 
to impoit largely, lest the market price should fail 
and make them losers. 
Our Tobacco Trade —Notwithstanding the exorbit- 
ant rate of import duty levied upon our tobacco 
sent to th^ Indi n markets, such as Cochin, Quilon, 
and Travancore, yet we should consider it as a 
great boon that our staple article of export sold in 
those markets. There will be no knowing what to 
do with the tobacco we grow if those markets are 
shut to us. There are two sorts cultivated aud grown 
here, that sort from which cigars are made is only 
grown in the Vlannar and Pachchelapally districts; 
and what we grow is not sufficient to mi et the de- 
mand for home consumption and for export coast- 
wise to the Colombo and Galle markets, although the 
extent of land under cultivation of the latter sort of 
tobacco is increasing yearly. This is certainly good 
news. But the other sort is grown all over the 
Peninsula of Jaffna and the several Islands, and is 
sent out in an unmanufactured state to Colombo, 
Galle and Kand\, but since the failure of the coffee 
crop the consumption in those places has been much 
reduced. During this month we have sent out a 
very large quantity of tobacco to the Indian mar- 
kets and coastwise to Colombo and Galle. There was 
a time our own countryman traded very extensively 
in tobacco and made their fortune but now tbey 
are trading on the capital borr wed of chetty traders. 
After deducting interest, discount, and cornponud .11- 
terest there is hardly any margin of protit left. 
Even many of the chetties who carry on this trade 
sustained heavy loss last year. 
