6 1 4 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March t, 1895. 
tribution that has been going on for ten or fifteen 
years. Formerly, grocers bought ahead for three, 
four, or six months' requirements, and their shops 
were full of duty-paid stock all over the kingdom. 
AH that has changed. Few hold such stocks now. 
The " blenders having taught them the advantage 
of taking their weekly supply fresh from London, 
and the wholesale dealers are rapidly accommodat- 
ing themselves to the new and healthier system. 
This has created continuous and sustained de- 
mand ; has made the market sensitive to a tem- 
porary short supply to a degree unknown ten 
years ago ; and has freed us from those sudden 
and unwarranted collapses in price which used to 
occur whenever it suited the London dealers to hold 
off and let down prices. 
No tea producer is ever told now by his brokers 
that " there are no buyers, for there are always 
buyers ready to take advantage of a fractional turn 
in the price. This alone is a factor of the greatest 
importance, as the modern system finds more ad- 
herents every month, and will eventually enable us to 
regulate supplies with reliance on buyers every week 
in the year, instead of spoiling a good market, as 
importers are now doing by their hurry to sell. 
A recent telegram from China states that the 
Le-kin dues (internal taxes), on movement of tea, 
are to be raised 20 per cent. This is indeed good news 
for India. 
Our real danger seems to be lest the profit on pro- 
duction during the next two or three years should be 
so large as to stimulate the planting of new areas 
unduly, for which we shall suffer in times to come. 
— Yours, &c, Anon. 
TANNIN IN INDIAN TEA. 
Jan. 31. 
To the Editor, Journal of the Society of Arts. 
Sir, — I was vex-y sorry not to be able to attend the 
delivery of Mr. A. G. Stanton's valuable paper on 
tea, and have read the report of it and of the general 
discussion which ensued as given in your last issue 
with very great interest. 
I cannot help noticing a most important point 
which was unaccountably overlooked by all the 
speakers on the subject of the relative quantities 
of tannin contained in Indian and China teas. 
Sir Henry Peek appeared to think that China tea 
is more beneficial to health because it contains less 
tannin than Indian tea, and while various speakers 
who followed him endeavoured to palliate this asser- 
tion, it does not seem to have occurred to any of 
them to assert that a cup of Indian tea contains 
less tannin than a cup of China tea. Yet the 
figures brought forward that evening — figures that I 
have not heard disputed — show this conclusively. 
The analyses quoted by Mr. John Hughes are : — 
Assam tea, five minutes' infusion, tannin 1035 
China „ „ „ „ 7'80 
but the customs authorities, whose verdict was 
quoted by the lecturer, endorsed by him, and, 
according to him, by the British housewife, shows 
that 1 lb. of Indian tea makes half as much again of 
liquid tea as 1 lb. of China tea — say, 7£ gallons against 
5 gallons. 
If, then, you divide 1035 by 7}=l-38 
and „ „ „ „ 7-80 by 5 =1-56 
it is evident that a cup of China tea infused five 
minutes contains 18 per cent, more tannin than a 
cup of Indian. — I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
(Signed) R. Gordon Shaw. 
[Our correspondent refers to a point raised by Sir 
Henry Peek during the discussion which followed 
Mr. Stanton's paper. Sir Henry referred to the large 
proportion of tannin in Indian and Ceylon teas as 
compared with China tea.— Ed. H. & C. M.] 
CEYLON TEA TRADERS ASSOCIATION. 
A General Meeting of the Tea Traders' Asso- 
ciation was held this afternoon at the Chamber 
of Commerce. Mr. J. H. Renton the Chairman 
presided an4 the others present were. — Messrs. 
F. Duplock, \V. Seale, H. Tarrant, P, Street, 
W. H, Pige, P. M. Mackwood, M. D. Cockbum, 
Leefe, A. (>. Pigg, Gordon Frazer, \V. Hatdam, 
ami C. E. H. Symons, Secretary. 
On t lie motion of the Chairman seconded by 
Mr. Fk;g the minutes of the last General Meet- 
ing, and of the special general meeting held for 
the consideration of the cess, were taken as read, 
and they were confirmed. 
The Chairman then said that the only bu«i- 
iiesw before the meeting was to confirm the ballot 
for the Committee. He stated that accordingly to 
rule 8 of die Association, the Committee had to be 
elected by ballot, and accordingly voting cards had 
l>een circulated amongst the members of t he 
Association ten days ago, and when the cards 
were filled up and returned, two members were 
appointed to scrutinize the votes, and the result 
was the ballot of t lie following as the general 
t 'ommittee : — 
BUYERS.— Meears. F. F. Street, H. Tarrant, and 
F. Duplock. 
SELLERS. — Messrs. Whittall & Co., Darley 
Butler & Co., and J. M. Robertuon & Co. 
BROKERS. — Messrs. Somervflle A: Co., E. John 
and Forbes and Walker. 
He then moved the election of the above 
named gentlemen and firms as the General Com- 
mittee for the year 189o. 
Mr. DlJPLOGK pointed out that it would be 
far better to elect a member of each of the firms 
named, instead of electing the firms. 
The Chairman replied that according to the 
ballot it was the firm that is elected and it 
was left to the firm, to appoint a member of 
that firm ,to represent them and in the case 
of his absence to nominate another. 
Mr. Duplock could not see how a firm could 
appoint one of their partners to represent them 
in the Committee, and pointed out rule 9 of the 
Association which was as follows ; — "All vacancies 
created by the absence from the colony for three 
months, the departure for Europe, or the death 
of any of the members of the general Committee, 
shall be forthwith filled up by selection by the 
Committee in accordance with rule 8." 
Messrs. Gordon Frazer, and Mackwood also 
desired that individuals be elected instead of firms, 
and that these firms should be asked to name 
their representatives whose names should be put 
in the Committee. 
The Chairman then proposed that the Secre- 
tary in intimating to the firms their election, 
should request them to nominate one of the 
members of their firm to represent them in the 
Committee during the year. Mr. Figg then 
seconded the motion of the Chairman for the 
election of those named, as the Committee, and 
the motion was unanimously carried. 
The Chairman then stated that the only other 
business before the meeting was to lay the accounts 
on the table, according to which the receipts were: — 
R. 
Subscriptions . . 330 
Entrance fees . . 330 
Total . . 600 
The expenses were Rl44 - 25 leaving a balance 
of R51574 to the credit of the Association which 
With the R20, subscription outstanding amounts 
to R535"7o. 
With a vote of thanks to the Chair proposed by 
Mr. FlGG the meeting then terminated. 
A meeting of the Committee of the Association 
was held previous to the general meeting, presided 
over by Mr. Renton, when the voting cards were scru- 
tinised and some other business was transacted, 
