H 
THE  TROHCAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[July  i,  1892 
then  ran  from  $45  to  §100  per  picul.  Tuis  year,  on 
aocount  of  the  superior  quality,  tbe  prices  range  a little 
higher.  Tbe  third  crop,  now  coming  in.  will,  from 
the  present  enormous  yield,  go  as  high  ns  150  000 
and  possibly  to  200,000  half-. heats.  The  three 
crops,  or  annual  output  of  Formosa  for  the  season  of 
1891,  may  be  figured  between  400,000  and  450,000 
half. cheats,  or,  in  weight,  between  19,000,000  and 
20,000,000  pounds.  This,  in  value,  will  figure  up  to 
$5, 000, 000.  It  pajs  an  internal  revenue  to  the  Chinese 
government  of  an  equally  largo  amouut 
The  packing  and  transportation  from  Formosa  to 
Amoy  and  Hong  Kong,  from  whence  it  is  exported 
to  the  United  Slates  and  Great  Britain,  cost  from 
SB 500, 000  to  $2, 000, 000. 
TheOhice'e  merchants  and  officials  with  whom  I 
li'.ve  conversed  state  that  the  crops  this  season  are 
larger  and  very  much  finer  than  ever  before  in  the 
history  of  Formosa.  This  will  be  good  news  t:>  Ameri- 
cans. Formosa  tea  is,  without  doubt,  the  beet  in 
the  world,  end  Americans  almost  monopolize  its  use, 
consuming  95  per  ceot.  of  the  total  output.  It  is  so 
superior  at,d  popular  that  unscrupulous  dealers  in 
JapaD,  Corean,  and  especially  Indian  and  Ceylon  teas 
have  been  doing  a large  business  in  sending  to  the 
American  market  their  o»n  goods  put  up  iu  imitation 
of  the  Formosa  article.  The  new  law  compelling  impor- 
ters to  brand  eachpickage  with  the  name  of  the  place  it 
comes  from  has  struck  a blow  at  the  evil  and  given 
much  satisfaction  to  merchants  in  China.  It  may  be 
questioned,  however,  if  the  statute  goes  fur  enough, 
and  if  further  legislation  is  not  n -ccssary.  I have  had 
the  opportunity  of  studying  tea  culture  in  Ceylon  and 
Formosa,  rnd  finel  there  is  great  room  here  for  the 
improvement  and  cheapening  of  the  curing  prrcce.-es. 
The  Chinese  still  cure  the  leaf  in  small  bamboo  bskets 
over  charcoal  fires  in  tbe  same  way  as  did  their 
ancestors  thirty  centuries  ago.  The  new  processes 
invented  chiefly  if  not  solely,  by  Eoglishmeo,  nse  cop- 
per, iron,  or  porcelain  plates,  hot  sir,  arid  more  or 
lees  labor-saving  machinery.  The  result  is  great  saving 
in  time  and  labor,  and  the  production  of  a very 
nniform  article.  The  Chinese  ohy  ct  to  the  processes 
on  the  ground  that  they  destroy  the  bouquet  of  the 
fine  leaf  and  add  unpleasant  metallic  flavor  to  the 
tea.  They  make  the  further  objection  that  tho 
new  system  would  throw  thousands  out  of  employ- 
ment, and  so  injure  the  nation. 
Amoy  teas  are  still  ou  the  downward  path.  Lest 
year  (1890)  the  output  was  50  OCO  half-chests,  aud 
tho  average  price  §13  per  picul,  or  10  cents  per 
pound.  Tula  year  (1891)  it  will  not  exceed  48,000 
holt-chests  iu  quantity,  or  §12-50  per  picul.  When  it 
is  remembered  that  Amoy  at  one  time  was  the  greatest 
tea  country  in  tbe  world,  and  exported  as  high  as 
5i‘0,000  half-chesls  (1C  tim^s  its  pretent  production), 
the  decay  of  tho  industry  is  easily  realized.  This 
tremendous  change  is  due,  I regret  to  say,  almost 
entirely  (o  dishonesty  and  rapacity  on  the  part  of 
the  trade,  native  and  foreign,  and  especially  the 
European  hongs  At  ono  t-me  the  Amoy  teas  were 
excellent  and  the  tea  districts  correspondingly  pros- 
perous. Tbe  tea  planters  fell  into  debt  to  the 
usurers  and  merchants,  aud  were  so  fleeced  that  they 
lost  all  interest  iu  their  calling.  The  quality  of  the 
leaf  fell  off,  as  did  the  quantity.  Then,  to  carry  out 
contracts  as  to  specific  amounts,  the  leaf  was  adul- 
ter ited  with  other  leaves,  with  BweepingB,  and  even 
in  some  instances  with  dirt.  By  degrees  its  reputa- 
tion fell  until  it  became  known  as  the  vilest  and 
filthiest  compound  in  the  market.  Today  no  tea 
drinker  knowingly  uses  it. 
In  thoso  days  Formofa  did  a business  of  26,C00 
to  50,000  half-chests  per  annum,  when  Amoy  was 
doing 400,000.  Now  the  figures  are  exaotly  reversed. 
The  decadenci  of  the  Amoy  industry  has  taught 
one  good  le3sou.  It  showed  the  usurers  that  Amoy 
did  not  and  could  not  monopolize  tho  culture  of  tea. 
Today  they  are  afraid  to  apply  the  screws  to  the 
full  limit  to  the  Formosa  planters,  knowing  that,  if 
they  do  the  trade  will  die  off  as  it  did  in  Amoy  and 
will  revert  to  Japan,  Corea,  Ceylon  and  India. 
Further  than  this,  the  countries  named  aro  eneroach- 
ng  every  year  upon  the  China  tea  export  trade. 
Thus,  for  (simple,  in  1878  the  exportation  of  tea 
tram  Cey'on  was  25,000  pounds;  this  year  (1S91)  the 
estimate  is  61.000,000  pounds  ; while  the  consumption 
of  Cl -inn  tea  in  E ngland  fell  from  125,000,000  pounds 
in  1879  to  61,000,000  pounds  in  1889. 
Such  a change  in  trale  so  alarmed  the  Chinese 
merchants  that  five  years  ago  the  Chamber  cf 
Commerce  at  Shanghai  sent  a commission  to  Cey- 
1 n and  Iadia  to  investigate.  The  commissioners  re- 
turned, reporting  that  if  China  did  not  6eud  better 
tea  from  her  shores  and  open  her  gates  to  the  for- 
eigner with  his  machinery,  slio  must  eventually  lose 
her  export  trade. 
The  same  state  of  affairs,  th  ugh  not  upon  so  large 
a scale,  exists  in  revard  to  India,  Assam  aud  Japan. 
Eaoh  of  these  is  competing  with  this  empire,  aud  is 
depriving  it  by  degrees  of  its  commerce.  The  condi- 
tion of  affairs  is  well  illustrated  by  two  grocery  circulars 
that  lio  before  me.  One  is  of  New  York,  in  1868, 
aud  auuouucea  the  merits  of  Hyson,  Oolong,  Souchong, 
Gunpowder  aud  Engli-h  Breakfast.  The  othor  is  of 
Philadelph  a,  in  189L,  and  reftrs  in  similar  language 
to  Ceylon,  India,  Assam,  Chinese  aod  Japanese  teas. 
There  could  hardly  bo  a bet'er  praoticr.l  commentary 
upon  the  decadence  of  a great  industry. — American 
Grocer. 
NOTES  FROM  OUR  LONDON  LETTER. 
London,  May  13tb. 
MR.  J.  l.  shand's  strictures  on  tea  plucking  in 
CEYLON. 
The  letters  which  you  have  publiebed  from  several 
planting  correspondents  complaining  of  Mr.  J.  L. 
Shand’s  strictures  upon  the  system  .pursued  iu 
Ceylon  cf  constant  tea  pluckiDg  have  awakened 
much  of  interest  htrp,  and  it  has  been  my  en- 
deavour, whenever  opportunity  has  ofRred,  to  learn 
how  far  the  experience  of  gentlemen  for- 
meily  resident  in  Ceylon  inclines  them  to 
lean  to  one  sielo  or  other  of  the  argument.  So 
far  ns  I am  able  to  judge,  it  is  undoubtedly 
the  fact  that  by  far  the  greatvr  majority  of  those 
who  have  discussed  this  topic  with  me  adhere  to 
the  views  expressed  by  Mr.  Shand,  and  they  think 
that  in  menrioning  these  he  has  tendered  very  useful 
advice  to  your  planters.  The  total  ignorance  of 
tho  subject,  and  my  entire  want  of  personal  in- 
terest in  planting  matters,  fit  me,  it  may  be 
believed,  to  receive  and  decide  upon  tbe  opinions 
expressed  to  me  with  full  impartiality,  and  my 
record  of  the  conclusion  forced  upon  me  may  there- 
fore Lg  j ossessad  of  a value  it  would  not  otherwise 
have.  It  was  only  within  tho  last  day  or  two 
that  I conversed  on  this  topic  with  a 
former  planter  rf  very  large  experienoe,  my  re- 
mark to  him  being  that  there  was  every  reason  to 
think  that  the  prosperity  now  attending  Ceylon 
might  bo  reckoned  upon  as  certain  to  bo  continu- 
ous. He  observed  in  reply  : — “ I wish  1 oould 
adopt  that  view,  hut  candidly  I don’t  and  cannot. 
It  is  true  that  apparently  t'co  tea  bu3h  is  far 
better  suited  to  the  soil  of  Ceylon  than  was  the 
ooffee  tree  ; but  to  my  mind  man  seems  hastening 
to  undo  all  that  might  be  secured  by  natural 
advantages  I don’t  believe  that  any  course  whioh 
is  diametrically  opposed  to  the  natural  habits  of 
any  growth  can  tend  to  its  perpetuity,  and  I en- 
tirely concur  in  what  Mr.  8band  has  said  about 
the  ill-effects  of  too  constant  pluoking.  My  belief 
ia  that,  if  it  is  persevered  in  to  the  extent  that 
is  at  present  practised,  we  shall  witness  with 
regard  to  tea  quite  as  great  and  as  ruinous  a 
fiasco  as  we  had  to  face  with  regard  to  coffee.  How 
oan  it  go  on  ? Direotly  a bud  makes  its  appearance 
it  is  nipped  off,  and  never  allowed  even  to  open. 
It  is  absurd  to  tell  mo  that  anything  in  nature 
