Nov. J, 1894.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
3'7 
at nu distant date. Mr. Blechyndeu's plau lias been 
to divide New Yo k and Brooklyn into districts, 
plaoing his native atsi-Unts, for abouS a we -k at 
a time, at diff. rant store; win re they are advertised 
to serve Indian t a, ft tree cup bsi g giveu to all 
purchasers. This system has had the r< su t of'ot'r ct- 
lag largo crowds of p. ople to the different stores i - 
which the dem nstra ions have taken place, end in 
c n-eq.:ejce very wide advertisement has b<e • giv«< 
to Indian tea. 
Soon after hisar.iial in N'wYork Mr. Bechyn'en 
wrote that, although bu-ii es, wan v. ry dub, and m 
coti'equence of the hot weather meny he ids if firms 
were away »t the seaside aud e'sewbere, yet he was 
quite sati-fied t':at Indian tea was making a reputa- 
tion, and the received eonsidtr.bly moto at- 
tention than when ho fi st visited. New Y rk 
two y.a:s age. Mr. B ec .yndeu haa thought 
it beat to devots ell hi< tnergies, fir the present, to 
the chorough wo kiug o: New York and Brooklyn, 
haviigthe W< stern States, where business haB not 
yet quite resumed its normal position siuo the great 
railwav strike, 'o a la'ter date. He reports that not 
only does he find no difficulty whatever iu getting 
grocers to allow him to exbib t in their stores, 
but that, on the contrary, he is being invited on 
all sides. He selects the stores at which he ex- 
hibits on a regular nittiod, with a view of cover- 
ing all quarters of the city without creating ill-feeling 
by ouu-ing rivalry. fUi writts that he considers the 
results extremely satisfactory, the great end ot 
advertising causing the article to he t .l<ed about, is 
being gin ed, and it is also a direct incentive to the 
grocers to stock the tea. He is constancy ss-iurm 
that he is on the right track, and 'hit iu all the 
unaller towns his By-tern will make a spUndid 
a Ivt rtiBemeut. In one store in lirooslyu where a 
very succesi-ful show had h. eu given the propr etor 
subsequently informed Mr. Ble^hynden th t sithougfj 
he bad hardly sold a pound ot unmixed Indian 'ea 
before, he had since bocu sel'-in^ regularly 31 me 
20 lb. a day. Mr. Biecbynden i:, coi fident ttat I uimi 
tea is getting an excellent adve rtiseuceut, ancl the 
exhibi ions alre.dv giveu have t.pi eale 1 to a very 
lar^e number of prop e. Several grocers have also 
idstribnti-d large nuuibeis of ban Ibillp, and Mr. 
Blechyndeu write) that the result of these efforts 
is becoming apparent in the creation of a peruia-eut 
drmand. which forces tho growers to stock the, tea. 
Although he has made a p. int of only exhibiting »t 
one s'.ore iu eac'i bloc'* or district, the demand created 
has caused the neighbouring grooord toliy in stocks 
of 'ndiau tea. 
Mr. Bieohynden also writes that, while he issa'isfi d 
that the New Yorkers readily nppreciata a good :ea, 
tlv high profits demu ded by grocers msks it desirable 
to d at in t( a which can he landed iu Now i'ork at 
about IS cents per lb. 
Mr. Blochyt d' n protose-i lecturing on the cultivation 
and manufacture of lea whenever he ran find a good 
opportunity, and has had a number ot sides prepared 
from photogr iplis for the p irpos ; of illustrating the 
lectures. Ho npp ars to bo workipg wi'.h hia usual 
energy and th 1 o'lghuess, and ttio General Committee 
loekforwar! with interest to the further reports 
which they 1 xp.-ct to receive fiOin him. 
Twj hundred and two gardens hav.- now contributed 
to ttie Ameiioau M.iket fuod, ». d tetil sum paid 
and promised amounts to £166,564. Tnis includes 
substantial contributions from too A'sam Branch 
of ihe Association and frnn the Travancore Plant is' 
Asicialiou. The genoral Committee) npp, a- foi tunher- 
help, as thev cou>id< r it importvit ih.t Mr. BlVchyn 
pen's efforts should extent over three >eais, .f possi- 
ble, but this cai.n t be accomplished within; an 
espouui uro ot about a lakh of rup es. — 'limes of India. 
* 
Kola. -nut j aro reported iu the Home paper 
by this mail to bo g ttmg tcaroe. In Liverpool, 
(rjtnOd to SJd per lb. ia the price for West 
African. • eylon planters in suitahle districts 
should lcok after kola and coca among t' eir minor 
produotc 
THE COFFEE TRADE: PRODUCTION 
AND PRICES. 
Brazil contributes about thre = -fiflhs of the 
quanti y cf coffee required for the world's consump- 
tion unle s crop cotdi'ions happen to have b> en 
exceptionally unfavourable. With a more stable 
government and be tr faciliths for labour the is 
capable of do n^ even n o.e. Her p-sirion in the 
colfee trad. is. therefore, a c mrnaoding one, and ii is 
1 he price of Brazil coffee which more or 1 ss regulates 
the value of other d- scr.ptions of c ffee. 
In ti e term markets of the Con inent the nrincipal 
standard is Santos coffee of good averas e quality, in 
tho-eofth- U.-ited St -.tes and the United K-ng omit 
is Rio coffee of a lower quality, known as No. 7 in New 
York a- dFa. r Chaun>" i Lou on. Now, it it) orv oua 
t 1 a- the rir-t thinii requisite i- to know the cost of pro- 
duction. This necetsarily varies parti v owing to 
.•ia;a. ce from shipping pons and partly t 0 cost of 
plant. ti us. Three ytars ago the avenge cost of 
prolactin. 1 in thn province a S o Paulo wa9 35s per 
cwt. It may now be a lit'.l-i more, but it may be 
tf-k n for granted that Brezil eoff«e equal to 'Fair 
Oban' el can be laid down in Loodon at 40s per cwt. 
without loi-s. The price at present i-i 67a 61 per 
cwt. tor dd'very in Septeml er, 62s 9d per cwt. 
in Decembor, and 61s per cwt. iu March. It 
will be seen that thee is ample room for a 
heavy decline, end jet leaving a fair profit to the 
grower and lull commissions to shippers and inter- 
medisri s. I call special at'ent'oo t.> the cct of pro- 
duction, because it is (he principal factor to de terinine 
what is a fair price tor a lar:e ai-ticle. ot commercj 
like cotie j . If it sinks below cost of production it is 
ouiy a question of time when a hssened output will 
rectify t i«t anomaly ; if, on the otl er hand, it rises 
to a pHce considerably over cost, it is equally only 
a quesnon of time wheu ii creased supplies will lower 
pi ices. Ic requires, however, a long time <o lriu» 
about tho fatter result in the, ras*; of coffee 
as it takes four years b fore the coffee 
tree begins to yield. If we Leir io mi d that eoffee 
costing 40s percvi. for j e.-.is has h en seiling at from 
60* to 80s cer cwt. it is not surprieicaj that great 
efforts should have b. en na< e tveiywhers to extend 
the cultivation of coff=e. The time b'as at last arrived 
when the r< soli of such effor s ou'side of Bivz 1 has 
b come a fait accompli, and wheu as a matier of 
fact, supp.ies coming forward are iu excess of actual 
consumption. 
The season 1S01-1S92 was in many respects a re- 
markab'e one, aud I believe that a b ief summary of 
the principal events will bo useful just now, when we 
have started on a to son which presents at 01 cs both 
v. ry similar and dissimilar features. Then, as now 
tho Btatht cal position was strong. The visible supply 
of coffee on the 1st Ju y, 1891, according to Mes-rs. G. 
Duuring and Zjou, amounted to 113,328 ton*. Oil ite 
1st July this year it was 1£8,770 tons, sotie 16,000 toes 
larger, but still a small supply. 
Invisible stocks had theu as now abnost d^app'-red 
Wo were then <x[C3tiug about the same supp iea 
which we look for now, when increased supplies of 
oilier kin Is will make up for .1 pos'ibla shortage 
ef Ki 1 and Santos asc-rnp'.red with 1891-2. Then, as 
now, there was a disposition to pooh-pooh msten lly 
iov.er O' ffee trees, and this t.ss no'ably the case 
iu the Un teJ States, wbero pe p e East and West 
had been goaded on to buy c< ffee on rpecuiation. This 
is not no now, and here w» have a ve:y important 
dissimilar feature. In spite of tbi • strong sentiment 
in America, price* broke in June, 1891, aud a die ire 
of about 8s tb IO per cwt. na< establi-he i. 
A leading New York ope-ator, at that lime res'dicg 
iu Europe, now came to the rescue — as he stat d, 
for the purposo of helping his friei ds— and through 
[ hia a id tin ir mfthipulaitions the term m .riets reoovered 
I very rearly the lo t groun t in Augmt, but only to 
I drop lower than ever before iu September and Octo- 
| ber, owing to large receipt* at ltio aud Santos. On 
the 15 October, 1891 Kio Fair Channel iu Loudon was 
I quoted at 49j per cwt. lor delivery and mouth from 
