Oct. i, 1894. J 
the Tropical agriculturist, 
tiviig my propofals, and I am looking forward to 
other*, (wbo shnre my views even in part only) t> 
give their opinions in favcir of tbn idea of making 
tea similar in character to the teas now selling in 
Amfrha. AnnriciwB go to England: ;( thej iieier/el 
ouf teas they would ren<i for ihem to i nr matke'. 
It is al-suru fcu .-tipp se that a whoie mtiou don't get 
what they went Oeouse it is not 'vrcei on -heir 
view in the shape ot ailveitiBfrjicnt'. It is vn-j 
probable that the nation, as in tie ca^e oi Oat- 
meal Porridge, which is quoted as a parallel, w ill not 
take to in entirely new iorm of food or drink udUbs 
it is brought before tl em pre minently, but bow that 
they have taken to Oatmeal it would take a lot of 
talk to get them to devour some form of Oatmeal 
which differed from what they are used to. 
But I have not begun yet to comment on the piper 
before me, 
I see force prepositions about stopping the 
sale of land for tei extension, also urgent 
appeals not to go on extending ; alfo th»t 121) miles 
of laid are to be taken up acrofs t lie way for the 
purpose of tea extension. Atid it cirtninly points 
to a bad time comii g for Email proprietors unlets 
we can gain all the markets of the world, and then 
the supply of labour will put a stopieron too 
much extension. I have been trying to pout out 
one way by which the new merkctscan be gait. el. 
I have only recommended a trial on a tufficiently 
large scale. Pertaps it wou'd te worthwhile asking 
the American dealers whether such an attempt is 
feasible. Just now when perhaps China tea may 
not be procurable, I feel for the Americans 
who will have to change tbeir testes " willy- 
nilly" and I tbink that if we could cmtioae the 
supply of tei they have now, they would be 
grateful to us. I should like the use of your b g^est 
t/pe io saying that we si all fud it easier and 
cheaper to make light liquoring teas than to continue 
making the h< avy, thick liquoring teas which are 
wanted for our own market." Most of us mako this 
weak tea without an effort, we have only to change its 
character to find that it will be liked by tl e new markets. 
The notes from your London letter (page 809) are 
very interesting. I quite feel with your correspon- 
dent io not following the arguments used by the 
gentleman who has an interest in Ceylon estates, and 
is presumably also aa expert in the tea trade, but 
I have some '■ answers to repel" his views on the 
oauae of low prices. If the buypra know ti o much: 
and refuse to giv-i good prices because a lew con- 
cerns makeover 15 ter cent, profit, they must be a 
" ring." How otherwise cau they coulrol the bidding. 
Later on it is shown that the buyers ara controlled 
by Lipton .and such-like mammoth dealt rs. The 
Jokai Company declared less than 10 per cen f , divi- 
dend for the first time last year ; and a good deal 
of the t°a sold went at below cost price. 
If it is a fact that the buyers hold their bids 
because too much profit is made, it beheves 
the producers to enquire into the profits 
made by the buyers, and it any of them make 5 
per cent, the producers should withold their tea, 
even going so far as to sell it at cost price un'il 
the buyers curtiil their profits down to 3 per cent. 
19 in txcep:ion, the bulk of thim tniy being 
allowed to cover expenses. 
If the bnyere know too much, then w« know too liti Ie. 
The lig buyers, L plon, &c, are said to run down 
prices because they expeot to make only a small 
margin of profit, and because no other dialers dare 
bid bigtur. 
It te rns to me that thoee wbo expect to make 
larger profits cau afford to l>iJ higher, lint let that 
alone, dots Lipton get bis small margin out of the 
producer or out i f the dealeis and rather Imyera ? It 
is shown that he ont-bids the other Luyeis; so it, do:s 
not seem as if t e paid us less. Hut ne sells cheap, 
htnea the small margin. Dots it matter to u- • 
Does it not b> nefit us immensely that the con-uruer 
gets his tea cheaper ? I don't think Lipton tins mu 
down the prices. It strikes me that since 
ho ^o-i #c) began to bid, tbe price of low.c.'ass teas 
has gone up from 4 1 to 6d. and ot the lowest from 3 1 
t.o 5d. It is very bid for the buyers who used to 
get the eheo.p tea, l"t >'t has saved many an ejtki« 
! which wf.s *t tho p~int ot ruin. 
Xo ! no ! we are cot ral'it.g out before we are 
hui-i, the 15-per-,ceat wallas dont cry, but the beiow- 
I 10-per-cent ot es do, and those barely covering ex- 
i pensi-a do fi ry inuen cry oat. L?.fc us thank Lipton 
I who L&3 foicsd the bunds of tho e who krow too 
much. 'Without being ungrateful let as associate to 
forco Leon's hand and see that his Million Pound 
Compuny does not make too moon money, 
I am very inti rested to s-.e the views of other tea, 
experts. I wish some other planter (the man who 
sweats to make the tea, the man who lives iD 
Colonies for tbe best of his li'e, tbe man who oan 
fee no blue sky for hi3 estate, the man who 
wants to live out bis working life as a 
planter) would lake up tbe cudgels for hij 
side, tnd put bis name to his letters. Set 
setup a Planter "General. " Have we got a genra', 
or a captain or a mouthpiece of any sort '? We have 
Associations it is true, hut they don't answer letters, 
they dou't repel attacks from Mr. Ernest Hart, or 
Miss Ell's. TLey don't iuetruct us how to make tea 
or how to sell it; at the most tbey howl out that we 
must pluck fir.e: forgetting that we shall get t) o same 
price for our flue te» as we do for our coarse tea. Go 
back to tie argument about ' knowing too much." 
Say we muke finer tea, finer prices, finer profits, there 
we are, the buyers cut us down to our old level, what 
if tie me of striving agiinst men who can r^u do.vn 
our prices. They are giants, we are pigmies. Ba 
content to live, oh lye pigmies! Too much mouey 
will make y. u bilious in that hot climate. 
Page 815— "China and Japan Tea Exports. We 
suspeot that low exebauge and tbe very cheap rate3 
et which our teas have been selling for some monlba 
past had uoH to do with di-couraging trade in China's 
or Japan's this year fcr tho Loudon Market," Docs 
not this give the clue wanted as to our counein the 
struggle with China and Japan? The secret is that 
we spend too much money in making the low-class 
teas; if we can oniy make tliit low priced tea a 
little cheaper it would piy us to make it, actually 
pay a profit lo make it, and at tho same time 
drive out our rivals. My advice as a planter to 
plauttrs is to make mere Lw-clafs tia, but not to 
epend so much money in making it. If jou have 
any tea which you propose to atnndoD, thea epeud 
the minimum on cultivation. Let the flueh grow 
well and p uck off down to four or five leaves : 
the plucking will ba very cheap. Don't spend muoh 
money or labour, or withering this leaf or iu 
firing it; use the sun as much as possible. Roll 
hanl, that is the oily thing which must be 
thoroughly done. If there is any big red Oongoa 
leaf in the tea, cut it up and puc it back into the 
ro ii ig machine with the fresh leaf. This should 
be done when tbe fre3h rolh d leaf has attained 
sufficient colour (ray 3 hours after the first roiling-.) 
Acid lit tie water when you put in the dry red leaf ; 
it will all get soft ana ge", covered with juice aud 
come out b aok after the firmer, and it will go 
through the sieves with tie rest of the tea. In 
order to sort oat the bi^ ooaiso leaf from the t a 
you should send the whole tea ovtr a No. 3 si-.ve 
before Irtak njj. The big flat leaf wi 1 not gothrouijh. 
It c, n then he broken upseparately aud passed through 
a No. 8 Bieve and te.urneil to the roller w.th the 
fresh leaf, as described nbjve. I guers tl at you 
will find this sort of tea will sell is well ai thit 
made out ot 3 leaves aud a bnl, but it will have 
C0;t you v ry little to make. It member tnat this 
is alt goo i hone,t t< a, no wood-.--haviugs, no sloe 
le ves. Why should we he forced to make on y 
fine tea when our rivals o n seud and be paid for 
rubbish, and our fiue tea is used to brace up that 
ruubiso. No I Lut let us mako the coarse tea: it u 
wanted, it is taken. Ou y lot us make it at a profit. 
1 mako g' ol tea and I get 5o. 1 make baa lea 
and I get SJ. I will nuke worse tea i-n t 1 si aU 
still g^t cough make it pay. 
