Nov. I, 1893.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
349 
I have heard that a reut of £2,500 a yf ar is beiiiR 
cootensp1»ted in connexion with the contir ustice, after 
the Exhibition is closed, of the sale of Ceylon tea. 
I should be sorry to be connected with any Oompany 
saddled with such an enormons expenditure. In these 
days the profit upon tea is " cul" very considerably, 
and it would take a very handsome sale of tea to 
secure the rent alone. Whatever is done, take the 
place only for one year. I should venture to predict 
that the second year would see the lessfes less aLxioua 
to renew that tenancy than when they entered into 
posaessiou. Where is Hei ry S. King & Go. 's shop in 
Gracechuroh Street, today, which wag started on a 
precisely similar cccneiion, and for a precisely similar 
reason, except that they had the advantage of (elliog 
Indian as well as Oejlon tea ? The idea of shops 
at Ohicago, Nev7 York Montreal, and other places 
that Mr. Grinlinton nent'ons as the way to 
continue the sale ol \ our tea reads very well 
on paper. But when you eet it into aotual prac- 
tice who is going io manage these sJtops. Emplojes 
are all very well when they are looked after. But 
they want looking after daily. So do (he esperse?. 
So does the cash. You cannot compete against shop- 
keerers unless you have the same advantages. I should 
like to know what Yankee grocer would like to have 
the enormous distances, ae contemplated by jour 
Oommifsione r, betwten bis branches. It is this eketohed 
ide» of Mr. Griulinton that convinces me that, how- 
erer good he mriy beat doirg ihe talbee.talkee per- 
fectly nectEsnry at euoh an Exhibition, and however 
good an organiser he may be (with £30,000 to spend), 
he knows nolhingwhatever about the conditions rercs- 
eary to successlnlly run a fhop, and that I e will lose 
bis money and that of sritscnlers to such a tchtme 
if le carries it out. So wi 1 the Cejlipn Tea Companj 
Limited. That Compfiny will soon find a branch al 
Chicago is a veritable "while ele^hent," and the 
shareholders will rue the day «hen they decided, if 
they do decide, to launch out to far away frcm their 
base. 
« 
TEA PLANTINC4 IN INDIA AND CEYLON. 
AN ASSA5I PLANTING VISITOR. 
We have had a very experienced ABBam planter 
in our midst in Mr. John Stewart wtoee experience 
ol tea in India goes back thirty years and to tie 
days when averages were 4s to 5s the lb. — an ex- 
perience, alas ! not likely to reluin. Mr. Stewart 
bas had a wide and varied experience during Ecme 
27 years of almoet continued work as manager 
and managing proprietor of large concernB in 
several divisions of AsEBm. He bas been at home 
for the psBt four years and is now on bis way out 
(with Mrs. Stewart) to inspect properties in 
which he is intereeted, and he bas taken Ceylon, 
where be has relatives and friends among the 
planters, on the way. Mr. Stewart has spent some 
days in Dikoya, Bogawantalawa, Dimbula and on 
to Haputale where be has been with Mr. Morison 
of Dambetenne, whofe large clearicgs of young tea 
at G,0CO feet altitude and over were of special 
interest to him. He was also pleased with the 
tea on Norwood ard parts, ol Bogawantalawa: 
the best cover of tea he has seen was Mr. Hill's 
Harrington, Several things astoniEhed Mr, Stewart 
hfler his AsEam experience : among the rest to 
Fee tea growii.g among slcnes and rede, to note 
the close planting even cn old ctffee Itno — (ihe 
pcoier the land he would say, the wider apart !) — 
the style of trauEpIanting from nursery to field 
without any large ball of earth round each plant 
Eucb as they are careful to have in Aesam not- 
withEtandiug their rich soil, Ibe cbcapneES oi the 
labrur (though be takes a serious view of the 
advances " liabilitieE) and finally tbe long time 
givin to rolling the tea — If, to 2 hours against 
lets than an hour in AjEam. The large area 
of young tea— seme thoueande ol aoicc— be psBBed 
through has strongly impressed Mr. Stewart end 
he wonders what is to bfccme of the inoreaeed 
produttion both here and in India where planting 
is a'so extending every year. Mr. Stewart would 
he a strong advocate for India raising a Tea 
Fund— by a Customs cess after tbe fashion of 
Ceylon if possible — atd the two bodies of planters 
(India and Ceylon) working shoulder to shoulder to 
drive cut China tea frcm KuEsia as well as America 
and Australia, while exploiting fresh fields for 
conEumption elEewbere,— Of all the enemies of tea, 
Mr. Stewart thinks " moEquito blight " most 
troublescme, the insects, very Eimilar to moequitoea, 
multiply EC rapidly tnd are too Email and numerous 
and too quick in their mischief to be dealt with 
effectively. In his experience, badly planted, weak 
poor jftt fields have always been the first to 
eufier ; and he thinks there is room for improved 
jai in Ceylon and for an improved style of plant- 
icg. As for the country and life in the hills of 
Ceylon — in climate, scenery, means of transport, &o. 
— Mr. Stewart was charmed, and thinks tea planters 
alove 4,000 feet here ought to be thankful for tbeir 
let, BO long as tea continues to pay t 
A CEYLON PLANTER IN BRAZIL. 
[We have received a long communication from Mr. 
A. S. Blacklaw on the siege, which will appear in our 
next Mondav morning's issue. Meantime we give the 
following.— Ed. T.^.] 
Eio, 23rd Sept. 1893. 
Dear Observer,— As I mentioned in my last com- 
munication, public curiosity was centred in Santos, 
which one may call tbe second city of the Republic 
68 regards the value of Imports and Exports, being 
the port of export of the greater part of the coffee 
which leave s Brazil for Europe end the United States 
The news is confirmed that tbe " Eepublica " and 
one of the prizes taken in Rio harbour — these are two 
of the five which had forced the bar of Eio on the 
morning of Monday the 18tb— had appeared at 
Santos. Tbeir appearance there has created a panic, 
Telegraphic communication being stopped, the Santos 
newspapers (come by private means) give details. 
Tbe most important to note is that the two vessels 
do not show any damage from the firing of the three 
forts as they passed out of Rio harbour. 
Shots were exchanged between the " Eepublica" 
the armed vessel — and the fort at Santos, but no 
damage was done, unless knocking in some old 
walls and wounding some two soldiers out of the 140 
defending it. It seemed — on the part of the two ships 
—to be a look-in to let the people of Santos know that 
they bad passed the strorigh/ fortified harhmir of Eio 
without damage. 
A regular exodus commenced from Santos in two 
days. 2,700 passengers left by the English railway 
for the interior and others who could not get 
by rail fled to the outskirts of the town. This 
is foolish, for tbe insurgents do not show a 
disposition to attack innocent peop'e. or places 
that are undefended in Rio. Yesterday afternoon 
one of tbe vessels, taking a position right under the 
nose of one of the fortified places, tempted tbe land 
batteries to fire which was responded to. The result 
as usual was killing innocent people — a poor woman 
who was leaving the town from fear of the firing, 
atd pu advoeate who was prccppdicg to his home 
cn the outsHrts. The la 1 — il !s f i ppof ed— had misfed 
tl,e CBBtle liill battery. >nd landing far leyond it 
bappcLed to land iu the part of the town where 
these petple happened lobe. 
Tbe two ^aper8, tbe Pniz and the Troupe, are, ol 
cour e, very tent mi nlal ovi r tbe alTa-r, and it is no 
doul t lamentable that icncccrt people buve to suffer 
for tbe fake of these iuaighificant political fqiiabbles — 
for ( ue can call the whole "ucgocio" notl.icK tlee. 
Place-bi'nt'Dg and military dffpoliFm a:o at the 
bottom of it all. Tutil Ibey can get lid of tbi lutler, 
these outburfta cf ievoluticn« will iilwaje bapptn. 
The people have thimselvee to blame, for they will 
