744 
THFj TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
(Mav I, \H94. 
THE AMERICAN MAi?KET iOB. BRITISH 
GROWN TEAS. 
That iDdisn tea will obtain eveataally • firm footing 
both in Oanadi and tbe States, we feel con&dent, 
bot aa it will be eome years before presect coosumers 
will consent to give up an acquired taste, onr teas 
for the Amerioan markets may chiefly be nsed for 
mixing, as for nigh twenty years they were eo in 
the United Kingdom. Indian tea of the present day 
ba(>, any unprejodiced and middle-aged planter or 
broker will admit, not the rame flavour that it bad 
between the eras of tbu famous aaod tables 
and the sirooco!'. Tme, to deal with the pro- 
duce of our pret^ent gardens by tbe old fafchioned 
cystem of b»mboo or ev«n pukka dboles — bow many 
are there left who recollect them ?— wonld be a re- 
trogressioa not to be thoagbt of, but we aae no 
reason why Boent''d teas shoald not be turned cut 
by the present drying apparatus, though saoh 
might entail the purnhaae of an extra coutrivance to 
be devoted wholly and soluly to the " pukka battymg " 
of scented teas for blending with that part of the 
bulk destinid lor those who bavu been acouotomufl 
♦o them. Whether our planters will feel ihenjfelvi s 
justified in entering upon this inuoratiou, must be 
left to their conf)idorat>ou, but if they wish to seenre 
a market thtt hits hitherto bncn supplied with a cer- 
tain class of tea, thoy riiiial " pander to the publio 
taste" existing tbereiu, or be coutent to unilergu the 
same difficulties that weie t't r many years eucouu- 
tered, ere Ind aiv tea, pure and simple, eatablishud 
itself io the position it now holds in the United 
Ein(>dom. From tbe prices current iiublished In the 
American Grocer, under date 17th January last, we 
find Indian quoted at 1^ to 3U cents per pound, but 
presume the latter is line kinds for misini^, and the 
low quotstion for household pnrpi s"s. If our surrui-e 
is correct, the lower price is < xceeded iu almost every 
instance by Ohini scented varieties, the favourite 
apparently being Am y gonpowder anii oaperx ; it 
therefore seems lolrraldy certain that these have as 
firm hold at preRent, auJ it is unlikely that any 
great impression wiil be made ntilets some such ooo- 
cesfion, as we allude to above, is vouchsafed. 
It mu4t be confessed that with the plautfng extei.- 
6ioD, now being made, the dislocation of all traJr, and 
general depression with the rererije of a prouii-^ing 
market in Europe, vre run considerable risk of over- 
production, similar to the oris s in the cinchona iu- 
fioatry in Oeylon, that led to the destruction of iarj^e 
qaantities of bark by the planters there a few jears 
back, and it is time that a conference should be 
held to consider the important subject as to wbeiher 
we are not preparing goodr< ere we have est&blisbed 
a certain market for their disposal. Certainly tea 
improves by keeping, but how long can it ba deld ? 
Or will financiers consent to hok; until better 
times arrive? Frum private aouroeu we learn that 
Mr. Hayter ii doing well in Australia, iu regard 
to pushing the Indian article, bat the adverse trade 
conditions the colonies are passing through, are against 
too sanguine expectations of disposing of any very 
large quantity at present. Even there China has 
almost HS firm a footing aa in Americi. W« have firm 
faith in the eventual prosperity of our tsa indufctry, 
but write aR we do in hope of awakening those engogid 
in it to pay more attention to tbe vital matter 
of supply and demi^nd. Tea is jnst as stibjeet 
to overproduc i'-n nu any otiier public requirement, and 
the planter, like most of the rest oMarge employers 
of labour, cannot ran his bu8iji»88on abort time, as h > 
people must be pai'l whetber their labour be remnu a- 
tive ornot. — Indian Planters' Gazette. 
TEA. SHARES. 
Some interesting changes hive taken i/la.a in the 
market for te* ehares since we last coaeidexed tha 
position, The season of 1892 produced sach good 
reaaits that in May of last year the prices of mtuy 
ahsrea rosa to an abnoxmally high level and 
then pointeJ out that lomn reftctioa wae probable 
Thi« proved to be tho c«b , ai d in tl o lalt«r part 
of 1893 tea sharrh withered and c(<niract<;(i, dtv>- 
lopmeiits wh'ch were rather aided by the general 
situation of the market iu<<uoiu< ealta. Tea ifiteif 
commanded lower prices for a time which had the 
inevitable effect of stimuUting tbe trade demarid. 
As tbe greater part of tiie companies etill have 
about one-tbird of the 1893 crops yet unrealised, 
and as prices are tendicg upwards— tboufth as jei 
to an almost imperceptible degree— it seema to bo 
not improbable that, when the whole results of 1893 
rorce to be reckoned with, it may be found that they 
will pan out letter than was autioipaiei altboogb 
it cannot be expected that they will compare favour 
ably with tho«eof 1892. 
A certain number of the better known shares have 
already beoetited ill price by the improvement in tbt; 
prospect, iKitBbly As;amf>, whicb have ri»e i from 24 
to 29, Jorehauts from abo it 30 to 35, LiebonKa from 
about 8^ to 10, while most ol the preference shaieti 
have Bi^o imrnaBid tbeir quolali' ns. Oihem have 
not y.. t re ponded to the brigl ter pn bii(x't!i, and to 
these exptotant ejes ;i(e beiu^ turned. For instai.ce, 
Dooars ordinary shares now Hla'.d at aboat 13, agaiii»i 
15 of six muutha ago ; Doom Uoumaa are la ag.-tiutit 
I lA ; Jokai nhart!ii, poihaps tin- beht known <.f uU, 
stand at llj in»t( ot l;'>i. We aiti moiitiou'ng 
only the quoted Khitrei', but many of tbe non-qiiuiea 
shares am iu ranch the same condition. It appears 
that there is a much Una difficult uisrket 
In tea tharrs thsn was furnierly the cat«, partly 
owing to the p.il.l oity given to the aubject, 
ami partly o*iug U the growing iiler. st v>ilh 
which investors are seircbinij out auitablu s>:cutite<i 
for then fattening money-baga. Dealing* have teen 
recently repoited in such cut-of.tbt-way thin^,8 as 
Assam Frontier debentures, Brahmapooira share', 
Djom Dooma A and B, Jhanzins, and .^cottiat Assams. 
It it worth notii g that, while in 1892 certiin dis- 
tricts yielded large crops and other diiincts but tmall 
cr.'P'), during tha past seafon ihis hHS been alamet 
reversed, tbe better yie'ds in 1893 coming from th< se 
districts which returned tbe poor, r re^alts in ls92. 
Although it cannot be doniiteJ ihiit tbe silver ard 
exchange questions have had a certain bearing upon 
the tea industry, there is now a growing belief in 
well-informed qaartern that whichever way exchanjje 
may go in the near future, it will not eeri<>u«ly affect 
the p)eition of the planting couipsnies; even though 
it cannt't bo cou'end^d tliat a low^r eachange, in 
the main, wonM r ot act for the benefit < i the t<a 
industry , — J'amty Fair. 
PATLiGAMA CINCHONA COMPANY, LTD. 
The twelfth annaal report of this Gompiaw in 
as follows : — 
Directors :— O. E. Symons, Esq. and W. Croaa 
Buchanan, Esq. Agents and Shareholders Measn. 
Bois, Brothers and Company. 
The Directors herewith bog to submit their Twelfth 
Annual Keport, and they regret that it is not to 
favaurable as was hoped might be the case at the 
commencement of the teason. 
The eeiiLQHte of tea for the past year was 70,000 
lb. ; but the actual orop has fallen short of tins 
quantity bei. g only 68.870 lb. which was BOld in Co- 
lombo at a . average rate of over 44 oeuts per lb. 
Ob a rei. reuce to the annexed account it will ■ 
seen that the actual working of the year shews a 
sm^l margin of El,263-28. The Directors recommend 
that the total balance now at credit of Profit and Lo« 
ftocount, say R9,123-15, shoulJ be appropriated in 
reductii^D of suspense account, which rtpr- set ts the 
loss incurred in workirg th" Estate previous to 1890 
whdst the tea was coming into bearing; and (hey trust 
the Shareholders will approve of this recommen laiion 
The Shareholders have 10 sr P'int a Dir. ct- r iq 
place of W. Cross Budia m-, whose term of oUi e 
bas expufcd ; and it will ai^o l.e necessary to apiioint 
cii A'-ditof for 1894.— By orJer, 
Boi^ Buo 1 & Co., Agents er c} Secret iric-s. 
i 
