August i, 1893.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
97 
To ihe Editor. 
PLANTERS AND EXCHANGE. 
Sir, — The renoRrkiible reisoniiig put forth by 
the Hon. P. Plajfair in the letter, copied by the 
Ceylon Press, which he has recently BCdreeted to 
the lEclian Currency AEsooibtion with the object 
of proving that low exchange has been the reverse 
of a bent fit to the producers of tea, should not 
be allowed to pass without comment, 
Mr. Playtair seems to have a pleasant simple 
idea that the value of a concern is what it 
has cost, and that a tea garden which cost, 
say, £40 s'erling to crfate would today, 
whether, profitable or unprofitable be worth that 
sum, but for th? fall in tbe sterling value 
of the ruijee. Of course it is not so ; 
the govertjiog factor in fixirg the capital 
value of a concern being its profit-earning capacity. 
Generally, the tea gardens of India are profitable 
and therefore, they have a large capital value. 
Were the rupee raised to, say 1/9 they would cease 
to be profitable, and with the cessation of profit, 
1 opine Mr. Playfair would see a shrinkage, if not 
a total loss of capital value even if the rupee 
stood at par. 
Every European engaged in business or owning 
property in the East would, I have no doubt, like 
to see tbe rupee rise to its old value, if he could 
make sure that his present scale of rupee inoome 
would continue, but, of all others, it would indeed 
be fatuity for tbe producer of tea to believe that. 
For him (and I believe for many otherf) there 
oould be no prospect of a permanent compensating 
rise in the value of his produce following a rise in 
the value of the rupee. With the increasing area 
of production in Oeylon and India, with the stand- 
ing menace of a resumption of the China tea ex- 
ports and with tbe certainty that consumption 
would diminish immediately, high tea prices would 
assuredly not follow high rupees. 
Ic would not be difficult to refute Mr. Playfair'a 
calculations on his own bases assuming for tbe 
moment that they were correct. The depreciation 
in capital value only happens once, while the 
benefit at present is annual (probably permanent) 
and not on the profits but on the gross value of 
each year's produce. As an estate would give quite 
one-third ot its capital value in annual produce, 
the benefit in 3 years would wipe out the loss of 
capital and thereafter be gain. 
I am, your obedient servant, 
THOS. NORTH CHRISTIE. 
8(. Andrews, Maskeliya, 23rd June 1893. 
THE FUTURE OF TEA, 
Guildford, June 1893. 
Dear Sir,— -In your Overland of Uth ultimo 
I have read a paragraph headed " The Future of 
Tea " the same being acknowledged as taken from 
London Cor. looal "Times." It speaks of a "great 
gathering " of Cejlon men at a residence here. 
Tbe gathering apparently consisted of three, so 
where its greatness came in I don't know I There 
has been no other gaiheiiog here that I know of ; 
had there been, 1 daresay 1 should have heard of 
it and should have had tha pleasure ot reporting 
proceedings to my old friend the Observer. 
I write to contradict the statement that any 
«uch great gathering has taken place here, and 
more eepecially to contradict the aEscrtiou that I 
u 
joined in the theory that the days of high-priced 
teas are numbered. Such is not my belief ; more- 
over were it so, I have too many friends and 
interests in Ceylon to admit such at a " great 
gathering !" 
The London Cor. of your contemporary the 
" Times" speaks ol my adverse opinion as 
" gaining grouod on all sides." It is the first I 
have heard of it, and I am occationally in the 
way of hearing good (sometimes bad) BUthorities on 
tbe future of tea. 
Ceylon we all know has suffered much and 
suffered quietly during the last fifteen years, but 
much of its suflering has been caused by thought- 
less writing, thoughtless estimates and thougbtleaa 
men. Were it not for the indomitable pluok of 
the Ceylon planter, I believe long ere this one of the 
finest specimens of the human race would have been 
crushed out of existence by sceptical, wet-blan- 
keted men. 
At this moment we are doubtless passing through 
a very bad time, but we must keep our spirits 
up, and not run our future down, — The tea market 
is about as depressing «s depressing can be, but 
there are reasons for such, and what market is 
buoyant at present? Have you Mr, Editor ever 
seen good commercial times under a Radical Go- 
vernment ? You will differ from me I know, but 
never mind 1 Look at Ireland and its stagnant 
trade ; Ireland that but a short time ago bought 
largely of our fine teas, now it feeds but hand to 
mouth and finds such hard too. The pretent 
stagnant state of all trades can be put down, in 
nine oases out of ten, to tie unsettled state 
of the country, and tbe unsettled s ate of the 
country is due to the present Government. 
" Home Rule," which however, thank God will 
never pass the Lords, is but the thin edge of the 
wedge applied to ruin not only Great Britain bat 
her Colonies. We Oeylon men must do our best 
to fight the tea market throughout the world, lend 
less stuff to it, and of better quality ; do our best 
to oonvinoe the shippers of worthless rubbish, 
that they merely ruin their own prospects, and 
out the throats of their neighbours. One hope, 
and a good one, with heavy shipments and low 
prices, China must succumb. Of our many mil- 
lions shipped, how many are worthy of being sold 
in the greatest market in the world, and bow many 
barely fit to hawk on barrows in the streets of oar 
greatest oity ? 
Fight as we have fought, and there are good 
times for us yet.— Yours H. L. FORBliS. 
TEA CULTURE. 
SiK,— The following platitudes have been gleaned 
from two old planters upcountry. — Yours, 
DEBILIT.^TED TEA BUSH. 
Placid Joe. — Hallo Tom ! glad to find you in. A 
drink, old man ? That bill of yours has given me 
a healthy thirst. Ah I thanks, and how's the factory, 
totum and things in general treating yon ? 
Tom. -Bad I very bad, P.J. Do what I will my 
tea instead of improving is deteriorating and that in 
spite of my almost lining in the factory. 
p. J. — Just so, you old fossil, while you are in 
your factory nursing your liver and making all bandi 
unhappy there, your kanganiea and coolies are play- 
ing "old gooseberry" with your bushes in the lieid. 
Y^ou surely don't expect to put strength and flavour 
into your leaves in the factory ? No Tom, the field 
is the place for that and the sooner yon pay mor« 
attention to the latter and less to the former the better 
for von. , 
T."— Why, bless my soul! My conductor and heaQ 
kangani are m«n to b« trusted and to do txaetly 
