326 
To the Editor. 
INDIAN AND CEYLON TEA IN NEW 
MARKETS. 
Dbab Sir, — In the week'y edit ; on for Au^. 30th 
to Sept. 5tb, I note, tha' yru think th»t em u2h has 
been said regarding proposals for the opening of 
new markets. This I take 10 be only iouc< ruing the 
actnal operations to be ui drrtakeo, auct not as to 
general remarks on what wi 1 benefit or prejudice 
the Tea Indus' ry. 
You qu"?e the remarks of a correspondent who 
Bent you a cample of green tea, (in case you bid 
forgotten the taste of it) aid as yon remark his 
letter comec too li'e t> ieflueuce the ceursc of action, 
but I rio hope t' at yon do rot consider it too late 
to advocate the only course, which, to the corres- 
pondent quoted, and in my opiuion, U the on y one 
which can put our iudustry on a belt r footing. 
Your London letter coutain interviews with leadi; g 
men on tea subjeots, and these contain, more valuable 
information on the subjects than I ever remember 
having seen in print ; they give information on the 
subject of Tea selling, whereas up to date the 
planter is quite in tbe dark as to all that lelatcst'i 
this, — the most important branch of the Industry. 
We see that there is a wide d.versi'y of opinion 
even amontr experts; on some points; the plantei 
would g've infr.rmati >p, snch 1 s lie u. e < f tin 
change noticed in tra, jud-;ii g by reports in \otir 
local market and the re-nlt ot tasting the :au-e tea 
later on in th'? London market. 
The " Plmter" Aug. 24 'b P. 12., gives aniuftaiee 
of a tea taster being so t out to irap-ove the teas 
of certain properties, bot when he arrhed h<i s*'d 
that he would not have known the fresh s ufT to le 
tea at all, although ho had tasted th« teas of those 
estates for several year- 1 . He gave up the attempt to 
improve the tea with the amount of knowli d = e be 
possessed- There is in fact a want ot knowledge 
between the various departments of the Tea Industry 
and each one sieks only its own advantage. 
In your No. 36, wo see from tbe interview with 
Mr. Webster, that be has a good line of ac- 
tion, and that it pays tbe C iiupauy for which 
he wcrks. Here then we Lave one means of getting 
better results, and I fancy that before long we shall 
see many Co-operaiive tea concerns employing 
agents of their own. This is what I take m oe Ehe 
meaning of what your correspondent said who advo- 
cated the pushing ot teas by private enterprise ; and 
I cannot but think that men of Mr. Webster's btimp 
will do more for our tea than can be done by any 
such means as advocated by the three prize Essays' 
I apologize for reverting to the forbidden subject,', 
but any suggestion which will induce proprietors to 
Co-operate, (or as we usually s-.y to '■ Associate ') 
must be of value. Without some schemes for be- 
teriug our condition the t?a Industry rnu>t pass from 
the hands of the present proprietors into those of 
lsrge oompanies, and tbe struggle to come is to 
decide the point whether the revenues from tea 
planting are to be gained by piivate owners or 
to be gained by shareholders in Companies. 
My view is that it is advisable that the present 
owners of tea property ebail continue to profit 
by their properties, and that the present b'-dy of 
(active) Planters shall continue to gain their living 
by working in tea in^tvai of wan 'er ng so ot i er 
employments. And so the present proprietors and 
tea planters should combine to find out all tbey can 
about their tea after it leaves t lie factory, even going 
so far as to employ a dealer of th-ir own if they 
find that the present body of dealeis cannot give 
them a pay ing pi ice for their tea. 
It would bi) bard to po ut to any determined en- 
deavour to sell tea at a profit, which has fjiled, and 
it has even succeeded with private individuals. 
As to America, you regret to note that the amount 
exported to that ocuntry was less in 1893 than in 
1892. It cant be said that tbe Americans returned 
s.iy tea sent to 'hero, bot it is pro' abU that there 
was net sufficient er con agemet t t A c lotiuue MufHiig 
te», 60 tbat the individuals who sent t«-a in 1892 
where choked off. Th ; s wou'd not happen to any 
large Aseociatiou, they would see the harm done by not 
keepn g up'he supply, and they «ronld be able to bear 
a email lots without beirg ruined. In 1893 tb price 
of comm' nest teas tta< actually hotter <iu London 
tb»n in 1892. Were these tbe teas that wtnt t ) 
America * if so th cau'e of the fa'ling off. wb'ch 
ycu ice, is explained. Since Lipton fcc, Ac. wanted 
teas, common tea bag risen, ti at also may kirp it 
tr.m going to America, a; d we piubably see *lfihe 
t'ft which should now be educating the Americaie, 
heaped np rn our /ndta,, railwny platforms. 
I should fay that any falling off in supply must 
rnin tb** ch'nceg of gaiu ng a uew market : I d< n't 
ppesk of Tea only. In jour Etircrtale I note the con- 
tinue! ass rti' n of the » up< riority of ' cur ' Tei, but 
you c»n ha-dly say tint y n nd your cuperiOr teas 
10 any country bui England. If you will consent to 
seud a pn portion of your tea cop of oil qoa'ities to 
any market there in little doubt that they would gain 
a footing and 1 11-t any o'her tea?. I suggest tbat 
beyond merely fending what you make yen should 
study tbe requirements of that market, and make ti a 
as near a» p< esib e 1 1 tbe de«ired standards of quality, 
character, and appr aranc. Thi measure of failure 
in att.ini'g any of these, would be* the measure of 
'he sacrifice in price wbich yi u would have to bubrrit 
be until yeur teas got iota favour. Bn* you most 
not dc-ert ycur ni«rket to goin * temiKrary advan- 
tage in some other tempo- stily inflated market. 
I as an Indiau PlmUr woo d do am thing to pet 
you> O ay Ion r, as out of the m-.rk.-t" f 01 which -«•« 
have p&i sodeirly. ¥01 must admit t>»t Indian tea 
is seperii r - .o I eylon tea, and yet with the sarre b.e&ih 
>ou (Ceylou P anters) aay thai Ceylon tea is better 
th»u Ii dian tea. Poth hoviver are too superior f^r 
the new markets, and we are le r t to jostle one 
another.* I think that the superuri'y of ten should 
le recognzed to mean character and not quality, aud 
that we chou'd strive after character oii'h, then tbe 
conditions of good au 1 bad so : l, of good and bad mani- 
pulation &c , ic. will bav» their due valne in influ- 
encing pr ccs, but we shall gain all market* by tbe 
virtue of chi apness. 
It is very evid<nt that our denlers cannot extend 
our marke s without our assistance. Our dealers 
bave by much stu U and const&n* endeavour succe- d,-d 
in Dittoing 193 millions pom d«, nut our supply of one 
tort of tea is exceeding their capsrity for tiling Buy 
more at a prcfit to «s m.o'i b nndonb'edly tbey 
can sell a creat deil more at a profit to them<elvts. 
We must help '.be dealers as planters, and not as 
interlopirs into the denler's domain. We must suit 
our tens to the market, we aloi e can do to, now tbat 
the liinit of mixing ha3 been attiinfd. 
I wish to show my a "miration for the enterprise 
shown by your pr*per in obtaining inUrvicwg from 
leading tea men. 60 far yon have heard only the 
views of thr gieat brokers and dea'ers, perhaps later 
ou you might get the cph ion* of leading planters 
(both proprietors and roan g-ra.) I have certainly 
never b< en able to get so much information on 
planting matters, ar.d particu'arly all concerning tea 
selling has been a sealed book to planting managers. 
" 1874." 
ELECTBIO TRANSMISSION OF POWER. 
Upcountry, Sept. 1894. 
Dear Sib, — We are hearing wi.h increasing fre- 
quency of instances of the application of electricity 
to the transmission of power. The Liverpool 
Chambsr of Oomm:rce Journal re:ently gave a 
c:neise abstracs of the comparative cost of steam 
* We oannot follow this : the fight is against in- 
ferior adulterated Chm-.V and Japau aand in favour of 
pure superior Indian's and Ceylon's. As for our 
tea, Ceylon produces some of tbe best and ale d some 
of the most common of teas. — Ed. T,A. 
