March r, 1895.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
TO CANADA. 
Indian Tea. 
From bonded warehouses 789,065 631,407 
Under transhipment bonds 25,187 154,715 
Total lb. 814,252 836,120 
Ceylon Tent. 
From bonded warehouses 613,817 731,760 
Under transhipment bonds 13,330 19,933 
Total lb. 627,147 751,743 
Russia is also commencing to take a fair propor- 
tion of Ceylon tea. Persia and Turkey consume an 
appreciable amount of Indian tea, but of all the 
markets outside Great Britain the only one of any 
magnitude is Australasia, where some 14.0UO.000 lb. 
of Indian and Ceylon tea are now annually used 
against only 7.000,000 lb. four years since. 
But the total consumption of Indian and Ceylon tea 
outside Great Britain is at present only about 30,000,000 
Lb.; an insignificant figure in comparison with the 
total production ; still, abundant encouragement is to 
be derived from statistics which show that in 1890 the 
quantity used was about 14,000,000 lb. in 1891 about 
20,000,000 lb. in 1802 about 20.000,000 lb. in 1S93 about 
25,00o,000 lb. and in 1894 about 30,000,000 1b. so that 
the advance has been steady, and if the figures are 
not large they are none the less encouraging, as 
proving that a foothold has been gained for British 
grown tea in many of the most important markets 
of the world. There is no reason to anticipate a 
retrograde motion in this all important matter of 
increased consumption in foreign markets ; but quite 
the contrary, for wherever a firm foothold has once 
been gained for Indian and Ceylon tea its inherent 
qualities have proved sufficient to ensure the con- 
tinuance of its use. 
Everything points to a marked and important 
expansion of this vital branch of the trade, the im- 
portance of which it is impossible to overrate, indeed, 
it would be a wise policy on the part of garden 
owners to upend some of their earnings in the 
opening of new markets instead of in the opening 
up of so much fresh land for cultivation. 
The annual consumption of tea in the civi- 
lised world, exclusive of the United King- 
dom, is about 230,00(1.011(1 lb. Of this quantity- 
only about 2.")0,0U0.()00 lb. are Indian and 
Ceylon. How long before the displacement of China 
tea here becomes as great as in the United Kingdom? 
It is this gieat foreign market that producers must 
now hope to conquer. 
Such is the present position of the industry. The 
few millions pounds annual increase in consumption 
in Ike United Kingdom is inadequate to take the 
whole of the probable increases from India and 
Ceylon in the near future. Rut there is hope, and 
great hope, that the efforts to open up new outlets will 
still meet with success, and in time obviate any 
fear of the catastrophe which has overtaken so many 
producing industries when production has ran so 
I n ahead of consumption as to cause a fall in prices 
sufficient to render the industry unprofitable. The 
let in.lnstiy lias hitherto beeni exempt iioui ,u,h 
didXHt4r, :uid with prudence, forethought, and per- 
severing energy =' the direction of opening up new 
markets there seems every probability of continued 
prosperity for the growers. 
Silver. — It must not, however, be forgotten that one 
of the chief factors in the prosperity of the tea trade 
has been the continued fall in the price' of silver. Tea 
is grown in countries with silver currency (with the 
exception of Java) and sold in Great Britain which 
has a gold currency, hence the proceeds of the sale, 
less the profits, are used in the purchase of silver, 
which has declined year by year in value as related 
to gold, and the proceeds are thus remitted to the 
country of production for upkeep of estates, labour, &c. 
But the rupee has fallen so low. that it is much 
nearer the cost of its production than when it stood 
at 2s, and there seems no reason to believe that it will 
fall much lower, the action of the Indian Govern- 
ment in closing the mints to silver having main- 
tained the rupee at a value much above its intrinsic 
worth. The closing of the mints is of some impor- 
tance to the tea enterprise, for it practically places 
a tax o£ nearly Id ppr lb. upon the production of 
Indian and Ceylon tea, as compared with the teas 
of China and Japan, where actual value regulates 
the price of the dollar. This tax may be of little 
importance to a country like England, where the 
trade in Indian and Ceylon tea has become thoroughly 
established ; but it may seriously affect the 
prospects of these teas in countries such as the 
United States of America and Canada, where 
the industry, being in its infancy, price is a 
serious consideration, for China and Japan 
can furnish an abundant supply of very low- 
priced tea of a quality which has hitherto satisfied 
the American palate. Our hope is that as the United 
States only consume annually about 1| lbs. per head 
of population and Canada about 41b., while Great 
Britain takes 5| and Australia nearly S, the establish- 
ment of really good drinking tea in the continent 
of North America will lead to a considerably-increased 
consumption. 
It is, at any rate, most gratifying to notice that 
in the last few years a marked increase in the use 
of British-grown tea occurred in Australia, as well as 
in the United States and Canada, and that 
there is every reason to believe this in- 
crease will proceed continuously in these two im- 
portant markets. The very large market of Russia, 
which was practically closed to all but China tea 
until a few years since, has of late shown signs of 
opening its doors freely to the teas of India and 
Ceylon. 
Unless production be suddenly increased at an 
alarming rate, as did occur on one or two occasions 
during the past 10 or lf> years, there seems now no 
great occasion for anxiety in the near future on the part 
of our tea producer. He is fully alive to his dangers ; 
and he knows that he has a large part of the civi- 
lised world still to conquer, and having alreudv at- 
tacked, with considerable success, two large continents 
— North America and Australia — he is confident that 
he can carry on his operations to final victorv 
He will doubtless remeniber that nearer home there 
is a field for his enterprise, for the main portion 
of the continent of Europe, which is still almost an 
unknown land to him, lias shown signs of willing- 
ness to yield to well-directed effoits. The whole of 
South America is, also, as yet almost untouched, 
and may eventually prove ready to acknowledge the 
merits of Indian and Ceylon tea in preference, not 
only to other kinds of tea, but also to the beverage so 
largely used there, and generally known as ■• Paraguay 
Tea." although not belonging" to the tea family : t 
all. Perhaps, aljo, more determined efforts niighl 
be made by Indian planters to foster a taste for their 
teas among the 280.000,000 of our Indians subje. ts. 
T^'e. 0 foll^wiflg Table shows the principal m.uk.u 
outside i. !»$ P-itajn, with the amount of tea used 
