THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [Sept. i, 1893. 
quality Ceylon oan Bend in tbe commou, medium, 
aud fine grtdee. For the gre >ter part of tbe seaBoo tbe 
importaiioD of these teag wMatteot^ed nith satisfaotorj 
result*, but for the last five moniha prices paid in 
Colombo were very high, and consequently those 
who held over etook for covering rstog met with 
loBees of 15 to 30 per cent, upon purcLases made 
during the height of the excitement. Present rates 
are, howefer, reasonable, and should tbe> oootiuue 
there must be a large increase o' sbiproeDt* from 
Colombo to Aastralia. China, as tupplying us with 
lesf acd less, is now the leist imporisut, alihongh up 
to the present we receive Iho greatest weight of leaf 
from it. Hardly a chop oomcs from Hankow. Canton 
and Macao stnd bnt little congoD, thoogh still a 
coniderable quantity of scented kooloos eomes from 
those ports to meet the present reqairemsnta of 
the lovftr tirade blends. Fofcbow is rapidly losing 
its trade in good soente^s and aleo in buds, and the 
cboioo teas of the earlier dHvs are not now grown, 
or, if they are, the valued flavonr and quality upon 
which thcsir reputation was built no longer exi%t. 
The percentage of fine and choioe kinds imported has 
rapidly diminished, tbe supply being mainly confined 
to teas for price, and common kinds upon the one 
hand, and fair flavoary to good medium panjong 
kinds on the other. The good old-fashioned kai^owf', 
souchongs, saryunes, end padraes are ^hicgs of tie 
part 06 far as these markets are concernec*." 
80, poor " Ceylon's" — poor, both in make and 
quality — have been finding their way to Australia, 
and muoh barm, — let the planiere note this— has 
been done to tbe reputation of, and trade in, our 
teas. Then again here is what is eaid about " fine 
teas " and improvements in tbe mode of doing 
business : — 
" One change that has gradually taken place, and 
this season is more particularly marked, is the falling- 
o£E in the demand for fine tea. Tbe public, appare n 1; , 
will not pay its value, and couecqnenlly really fine 
tea ia praotioally unknown in tbe markets of 
Aastralia. The whole of tbe choice growths of 
Hankow go to Russia, with a small percentage to 
London, and tbe whole of the choice breaks of ludia 
and Ceylon go to London. Here, however, wo may 
look for a change as tbe poorer a nation becomes the 
greater is tbe demand for excellence of quality in 
" tbe cup that cheers." Another change of moment is 
in relation to the terms of trade. Nominally they are 
tbe same as in the part, bnt actually tbey are getting 
closer and closer to the requirements of legitimate 
trade, tbe greater bulk of local letllements being now 
made npon a cash less dieeount ba^is in 14 or 30 
days, as against extended terms without any cover. 
This is an immense advantage to all, and it seems 
possible that in tbe near future our traders may 
enjoy the benefit ofpaying net eash npon delivery 
of doenmeBts, and so avoid the necessary eharges 
where a credit bacia exists. These charges are at 
present a tax npon oonsignments and inflict an injury 
to tbe trade as a whole." 
Let it not be overlooked that " fine teas " are 
again expected to be in demand. Finally bare 
ara tbe trade statistics for the year : — 
The importations have been : — 
— 1892 3. 1891-2. 1890-1. 1889-90. 
To all the Colo- 
nies, lb. lb. lb. lb. 
From China. .14913613 16038403 15378142 21050332 
India... 8982998 6165109 i716827 3600000 
Ceylon. ..6000000 8750000 2812892 1532440 
Total.. 34846511 24963512 22906861 26182772 
To Melbourne 
FrvHi China.. 7668738 9032519 9448331 12137400 
India.. 2274060 3650518 8106201 2750000 
Ceylon... 3520000 2812000 1827000 1125000 
The apparently large oonsuroption of last season 
was due to heavy cloarances in anticipation of sn 
ircr(a°e in fiwty, tlie accumulation of there stoohs 
and tbe rec nt deprrsaion sccouDting for the falling-eff 
in duty payments this season.. 
It will be observed that in round nomfcers tbe 
supply of the past twelve moctbe was made up 
of 6 millions Ceylon and about 4 of Icdian to 
abcut 15 millions of China. In 1693-4, it is espeetcd 
to be say 13 millions China to 7j Ceylon and 5^ 
Indian ? Bat with a special (Sort on the part 
of our Tea Fund Committee, we do not see woy 
even before tbe middle of 1894, we sbculd not be 
supplying at the avertge rate of a million lb. of 
tea a month, leaving room only for half-a-million lb. 
of China tea in the market eaeb month. We reed 
Ecarcely say that to have 12 million lb. of 
Ceylon tea taken off by Australia in 1893-4 would 
be of very special advantage to our planters.'' 
Total imports 13257788 149950S7 
Total exports 7020145 7680000 
Total borne 
consumption 6442248 11937372 
14471632 
6720000 
16012400 
6770872 
8872000 8356800 
CBYLOX TEA HAS NOT DETEEIORATED. 
MB. I>OKAI,U KACIjIT'B OPIMIOR. 
" I have seen as much as I could in tbe ten days 
I have been here. I went all over Maxiawatta, and 
the condition of the place greatly pleased and even 
astonished me. Of course, I had Known the place 
intimately when in charge of all Beid's and Ruther- 
ford's places before they were converted into the 
Ceylon Tea Plantations Company, and I can safely 
Bay that the estate looks, if possible, more healthy, 
and the trees more vigorous, than when I knew it. 
I also went over East Hoiywood, the bcrnbs, and 
Tillyrie, and a few other places besides. In all 
I /ound tea looking astonishingly strong and 
vigorous. To maintain in face of this fact that the 
quality of .the tea in the cup is deteriorating ia 
hardly poBsible. Any one cotud see that the soil 
of all these and many other estates that I saw 
was admirably suited to the growth of healthy 
and promising tea bashed, and I cannot believe ihK 
the splendid Teat I raw plucked from tbeae t-stales 
has fallen o& in any respect from that wbirh tLey 
yielded in their earlier stages of growth. 
TBA A PEBMANK.NCX IN CEYLOM. 
My visit convinces cue of one thing, namely, tbat 
tea is, for all practical purpoeep, a permanency in 
Ceylon. I raw a large nnmber of oar best ktown 
and most practical plant<re, and none of tbem 
wonld admit that there was any dtteiioration in 
the leaf now obtained. I did not have time to 
visit the Kelaoi 'Valley as I had wished, but, from 
what I learnt here, estates in that district and 
in tbe low-oouotry generally are as bealtby and 
as yigorouB as they were when I left tbe conn- 
try some years ago. Altogether, therefore, I am 
very pleased with what I have Keen, and am more 
convinced than ever of the stability and foture pros, 
parity of the tea enterprise in Ceylon. It may be 
that when the market is slack and in times of com- 
mercial depression, such as tbe proeent, complaints 
may be beard as to some deterioration in quality ; 
bat I do cot think the planters need be alarmed 
in this respect. Wherever I went I found well- 
equipped factories possessing abundance of withering- 
space where years ago insufficient machinery, cramped 
accommodation, and other drawbacks were tbe rale ; 
and it is impossible to believe that with all these 
advantages, with a superior knowledge of the rtqnire. 
ments of tea manufacture, of the necessities of tbe 
market, and with leaf plucked from trees in no way 
deteriorated in growth, a deterioration in tbe quality 
Of the liquor has taken place." — Local "Times." 
Cetlok iMPoETma Coftee ! — That we should come 
to this — it is hardly conceivable I A eorrespondent 
writes: — " A pretty large consignment of native coffee 
has been imported from Tillichery by a local firm for 
a native dealer. From Singapore a few bags of 
Liberiau cofiee have been sent to a European firm. 
The price of coffee has gone down considerably the 
last few monthB.— Cor., local Times." 
