4M 
THE TROPICXL AGRlCU'.LVRlsr. 
flour, alao soaps and horse feeds. The trade wit 
us in these lines is wholly owing to the island' 
capital, Colombo, heing one of the ports of call fo 
our mail steamers. The trade, however, is very small 
owing to the excessively high freights, which, though 
only half the distance, are the same as from Mel- 
bourne to London. The total population of the 
islaud is 3,000,000, of whom, it is approximated, 12,000 
ara daily consumers of European food. There are 
4,700 Europeans in Ceylon, chiefly British of whom 
1,7J0 are soldiers. In an interview which I had with 
the Governor and Commandant, I was informed that 
th?y would be glad to contract for 
A SUPPLY OF FROZEN MUTTON 
for the troops at about 4Jd per lb. ; but enterprise 
has not yet been forthcoming in Australia to supply 
this demand. 
Freight can be obtained weekly to Colombo by 
the P. & O. or the Orient lines, or monthly by the 
Norddeutscher Lloyds or the Messagerie steamers at 
from 30s to 40s per ton. Other steamers occasion- 
ally run at lesser freights. The fact that a market 
can be obtained in Ceylon for the products men- 
tioned may be taken as a fair criterion of our pos- 
sibilities in other eastern countries. Like the other 
countries bordering upon the equatorial, Ceylon has 
a vary humid climate, and the packing which suits 
Great Britain must not be suitable to this market. 
Butter, preserved and dried fruits, and biscuits may 
bs put up in hermetically sealed tins ; and hams, 
bacon, and cheese must be carefully packed in husks 
ttnd salt. Wines are required of light body, a quality 
of demand peculiar to the whole of the East. Ceylon 
is a limited market, but taken with its near and 
mighty neighbour, India, it is an outlet which should 
not be overlooked. 
I have referred to markets in the East for frozen 
mutton. I am decidedly of opinion that limited 
markets exist both on the south and east coast of 
Asia. There are two routes which particularly struck 
me as offering fair prospects. These are the Bay of 
Bengal circuit and the East Coast route. With regard 
to the former, which chiefly concerns India, I might 
State that Bombay is rather inconveniently situated 
with regard to frozen meat, fresh fruits, and other 
Bapplies from Australia ; but Colombo, Madras, Cal- 
cutta, Rangoon, Penang, Singapore, and Batavia 
present collectively an immediate outlet for from ten 
to twelve thousand 50 lb* oarcases of frozen mutton 
per month. Individually, none of these places is 
worth a second thought as far as Australian supplies 
of frozen meat are concerned. Though the retail 
price of good local mutton averages from 3d to 4d per 
lb. in these places, it is certain that half as much 
again at least would be given for a quality such as 
England or Australia can supply. These seven ports 
are most conveniently situated in and at either ex- 
tremity of the Bay of Bengal. A monthly service of 
steamer, fitted up with, say, seven , refrigerating com- 
partments, could not only do a general cargo trade, 
but might easily, and with no inconvenience, supply 
these ports with frozen meat at least every month 
to stait with. A company undertaking this service 
might establish its own depots, or, what might be 
much preferable, arrange with the present ice com- 
panies to store and manage at this end. The cost of 
ice making and refrigerating in the East is extremely 
cheap compared with Australia. 
NATAL AND OUTSIDE TEAS. 
At the monthly meeting of the Lower Tugela 
Political Association, held in the Duguza Hall, 
Stanger, on October 13th, the transit duty on tea 
was the subject of a lively discussion. Mr. P. 
Brown, J.P., occupied the chair, and there was an 
innovation in political meetings in this district in 
the presence of ladies, who "appeared deeply inter- 
ested in the discourse on their favourite beverage. 
Mr. W. F. Clayton moved the following resolution : — 
That in the opinion of this association the action of 
the Government in reducing the transit duty upon 
teas is not only detrimental to the tea enterprise but 
is a distinct breach of faith and of promises made dur- 
ing the late Session of Parliament. 
They would have a gain to the revenue after the 
alteration of £100, and he asked whether thvt sum 
was sufficient compensation for the extinction of some 
16 or 17 tea-planters. 9C,0O!J lb. of tea going through 
the Colony to the Transvaal must neoessarily exclude 
the Natal teas. He thought that if the matter was 
gone into fully they would find that there would be 
a very small margin of profit, if indeed there were 
not a loss to the Colony. 
Mr. Hindson said that some of them assumed they 
were going to be injured by the reduction. The fact 
of the reduction made no difference in the price of 
tea in the Transvaal. Ii they got the people to cul- 
tivate the taste for Natal teas they would find that 
it would not take long to find consumer*. Those 
that liked Ceylon teas would not take Natal tea at 
any price, and those that liked the latter would drink 
it in preference to other teas. 
There being no seconder to the amendment, the 
Chairman put the resolution to the meeting, which 
was earned — Xatal Mercury. 
WHEAT VALUES. 
In 1800 wheat sold in August at 181s per quarter. 
In 1812 it fetched 180s per quarter. 
In 1855 during the Crimean War at 80a per quarter. 
In 1894 it has sold a6 low as 17a per quarter ! 
. «- 
TEA IN BRAZIL. 
I learn that it is not unlikely that the monopoly 
of tea culture, which has hitherto been almost eu' 
tirely in the hands of India, China and Ceylon, may 
be broken by the appearance of Brazil as a tea pro- 
ducer. Recent experiments in the cultivation of tea 
in the State of Minas Gerals have been so successful 
that the new growth is already on offer in the market 
at Rio, where it is a formidable competitor of the 
imported article. Brazil already holds the first place 
in the World as a coffee producer, and it will be sin- 
gular indeed if she should find herself unable to 
grow tea as well. — Glasgow Herald, Oct. 18. 
TEA-TASTING— BRANDING TEAS-TEA 
COMPANY DEBENTURES. 
TEA-TASTIXG. 
Being in the city this week it chanced to me 
to have the opportunity of watching the opera- 
tion of tea-tasting on an exceedingly large scale. 
About 200 samples were infused. Then came the 
taster, having with him a clerk provided witli a 
sample book. It was astonishing to me to see 
the rapidity with which the work was done. 
The tasting spoon was scarcely out of the mouth, 
and the liquid ejected, before the valuation 
8£d, 7d, 9£d, and so on, were delivered, the 
clerk entering the figures against the particular 
sample! 
BRANDING TEAS. 
This reminds me as to a further conversation 
had by me on the subject of branding teas with 
one of the leading men among your tea agents 
here. He confirmed the opinion previously men- 
tioned to me that there was nothing to complain 
of in affixing the names of owners' estates to out- 
side teas purchased by them. He said the piactice 
was a common one, and had always been fol- 
lowed. His defence of it was that teas are in- 
variably purchased on their merits, and that the 
place of growth did not affect prices. I can 
hardly believe this to be the case, and still adhere 
to the view that so deceptive a practice cannot 
"be defended upon any grounds, moral or financial. 
I use these separate classifications because the 
more that is seen by me of trading matters, the 
more assured do I become that the standards in 
the two cases differentiate regretably. 
