July  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
37 
Decrease  to 
Great  Britain 
from  Hankow 
and  S’liai 
„ Fpcciiow 
„ Canton 
,,  Amoy 
25.600.000  lb.  All  Congou 
24,000,000  ,,  Mostly  ,, 
6.300.000  „ 
500,000  „ Oolong 
l 56,400,000  lb. 
Decrease  to  Colonies  (from 
Fcocbow)  7,600,000  nearly  all  ,, 
„ „ Continent  of 
Europe  ex- 
cluding Rus- 
sia) 
,,  „ Russia  (over- 
lb  nil) 
2,000,000  „ „ „ „ 
4,000,000  ,,  „ all  „ 
Increase  to  Russia  (By  sea  via 
Odessa) 
70.0. 0.100  lb. 
13.000. 000  „ 
Total  decrease  57,0(0,000 
As  was  to  be  expected,  it  is  to  England  8nd  her 
colonies  that  the  falling  off  is  mainly  confined  ; 
fortunately  for  China  the  Russians  1 ave  not  yet 
learnt  to  appreciate  the  pungent  produce  of  India 
and  Ceylon  and  may  be  relitd  on  to  keep  to 
their  “ old  friend  ” for  some  time  to  eome.  Fashion 
and  taste  are  proverbially  fickle,  but  India  and 
Ceylon  teas  have  gained  such  a hold  on  the  BiitFh 
public,  as  those  who  have  recently  been  in  England 
testify,  that  it  will  be  difficult,  I had  a'most  said 
imp  ssible,  for  China  to  regain  her  former  position  ; 
if  Mr.  Awai  t hi < ks  he  h s solved  the  problem  and 
can  oust  bis  riv»ls  by  flooding  tha  London  market 
with  cheap  and  good  (Query,  How  cheap  ? How  good?) 
China  tea,  by  all  meonr  let  him  try  the  experiment, 
methinks  it  will  prevein  verity  tube  “ a game  he  did 
net  understand.” 
“ The  instability  of  industries  is  veil  known;  any 
industry  maj  be  killed,  aa  it  wee  by  encbuDtment, 
in  an  old  country,  by  the  dit-covey  of  new  means  o! 
cheaper  production  in  another  part  of  the  world 
as  a proof  of  this,  it  was  slated  by  some  Ceylon  tea 
planters  who  recently  visited  Shanghai,  that  their 
gardens  could  produce  tea  to  srll  in  London  at  an 
average  price  of  6d.  per  lb,,  and  give  a fair  return 
at  that,  a result  att  uned,  pirtly  by  personal  super- 
intendence, partly  by  the  use  of  machinery,  partly 
because  the  ters  went  from  the  gardens  “ dirret”  to 
London.  Few  merchants  doing  business  in  China 
have  auv  true  idea  of  the  number  of  hands  produce 
of  all  kinds  pastes  through  before  it  reaches  them 
ready  for  export;  these  middlemen  all  take  their 
little  “equeize”  and  when  in  addi’i-  n likitr  has  to 
be  paid,  us  well  as  export  duty,  no  wonder  China  teas 
cannot  compete  with  Ceylo  i.  Furthermore  it  is  evident 
that  China  Coi  gous  have  been  deteriorating  in  quality, 
be  it  from  exhaustion  of  the  soil,  or  indifferent  pre- 
paration, or  both  tbe^  causes  combined,  1 knew  not, 
the  fact  remains  that  though  last  teatoa  at  Hankow 
a few  chops  showed  improvement,  the  bulk  of  fho 
teas  have  no  louver  any  keeping  power  and  in  a few 
months  loose  both  their  flavour  and  strength.  The 
opinion  expressed  by  Sir  Robert  Hart  in  1887,  "that 
when  consumption  decreases  at  one  point  will  be 
found  to  increa-e  at  another,”  proves  unfortunately 
for  China,  as  the  figures  I have  given  show,  not  to 
have  been  correct;  whether  any  redueti  n of  the 
duties  levied  would  now  revive  the  trade  can  on’y 
be  ascertained  by  experiment;  it  is  doubtful,  an! 
knowing  tho  procrastinating  proclivities  o!  the  Chinese 
aud  their  dislike  of  change,  I scarcely  expect  to  see 
anything  done  by  the  authorities. 
Heaven  helps  those  who  help  themselves  is  an  old 
saying  ; greater  care  in  the  cultivation,  lees  haste  in 
the  preparation,  the  erection  of  weathe1 -proof  go- 
downs  for  storing  the  leaf,  and  the  use  of  rnachii  e-v, 
would  be  steps  iu  the  right  direction.  Advertising  is  a 
great  aid  now-a  days  to  success  iu  bu-iness,  of  this  Ihe 
Indian  aud  Ceylon  planters  hive  largely  and  wi.-eiy 
availed,  hence  their  pre.-ent strong  footle  Id  in  Eng'ard. 
They  are  pushing  their  teas  into  notice  in  every  country 
mid  will  be  well  represented  at  the  coming  Chicago 
Exhibition.  Is  China  to  bo  couspicious  by  her 
fibscnco  ? 
One  word  in  conclusion  of  this  already  lengthy 
letter  ; buyers,  in  my  opinion,  are  partially  to 
blame  for  the  present  unsatisfactory  state  of  the 
China  tea  trade,  tin  re  l as  always  been  keen  com- 
petition, occasionally  reckless  haste  in  the  buying, 
and  shipments,  aggregating  three  or  four  months’ 
consumption,  have  been  forced  on  the  home  market 
in  about  as  many  weeks,  with  the  inevitable  result. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  severe  lesson  of  last 
season’s  losses  will  induce  a more  prudent  courie  of 
action  this  season,  though  we  shall  doubtless  hear 
later  on  that  the  wily  Awai  has  again  successfully 
planted  on  his  friends,  at  Hankow,  several  of  his 
“ cheap  chops.”— I am,  &c.,  Scolopax  Vernalis. 
29. h April. 
— A.-C.  Herald' 
ENGLISH-GROWN  TEA. 
The  St.  James's  Budget  of  20th  May  says  : — 
We  understand  that  during  tbeir  visit  to  Exeter 
Hall  on  Monday,  Princes  Louise  and  the  Marquess  of 
Lome  were  rrgaled  with  tea  made  from  leaf  grown 
in  this  country  and  prepared  by  Mr.  John  Roger, 
who  was  formerly  a tea  planter  in  Ceylon.  The 
plants  from  which  the  leaf  was  obtained  were  reared 
in  Mr.  W.  Ieeton’s  Palm  Nursaries  at  Putney.  Mr. 
Roger  had  some  of  the  plants  on  view  at  the  ball,  ami 
also  a quantity  of  tho  prepared  tea.  He  believes  that 
tips  is  the  first  occasion  on  which  a cup  of  tea  bas  been 
made  from  English-grown  leaf. 
Mr.  Roger’s  letter  on  this  subjeot  is  as  follows  : — 
Sip.,— With  reference  to  your  paragraph  under 
the  above  heading  in  today's  issue,  will  you  favour 
me  with  a little  of  your  valuable  space  to  say  that 
I am — not  unnaturally,  I think — rather  curious  to 
know  whether  I may  justly  claim  to  be  the  first 
who  has  made  any  quantity  of  drinkable  tea  in  this 
country  from  leaf  plucked  from  plants  or  bushes  grown 
from  seed  imported  from  Ceylon  or  India  ? 
There  are  some  details  in  connection  with  the 
making  of  this  tea  which  would,  I think,  interest 
some  of  your  readers.  For  example,  to  the  practi- 
cal tea-planter  or  tea-maker  it  will  seem  rather  a 
curious  fact  that  I plucked  the  green  leaf  in  the 
morning,  and  it  was  withered,  rolled,  fermented, 
p.nd  fired  before  night,  or  converted  into  drinkable 
tea  within  the  limits  of  a working  day  of  eight 
hours.  The  plants  are,  I am  informed,  not  yet  quite 
twelve  months  old : this,  and  the  forcing  treatment 
they  have  lately  undergone,  may  account  for  a 
lack  of  the  true  Ceylon  or  Indian  flavour  in  the  tea 
made  ; which,  however,  did  not  appear  to  be  noticed 
by  H.  R.  H.  the  Princess  Louise  and  the  distin- 
guished party  at  Exeter  Hall  who  were  kind  enough 
to  try  it  in  cup,  and  who  seemed  much  interested 
in  its  history  and  in  the  plants  which  were  shown 
jo  them.— I am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 
John  Roger. 
20,  Guilford-street,  Russell- square,  W.C.,May  17. 
SCOTTISH  CEYLON  TEA  COMPANY, 
LIMITED. 
The  third  annual  ordinary  meeting  of  the  Scottish 
Ceylon  Tea  Company,  Limited,  was  held  at  the  Com- 
pany’s office,  16,  Philpot  Lane,  E.C.,  on  Monday, 
Mr.  H.  L.  Forbes  in  the  chair. 
The  Secretary  read  the  notice  convening  the 
meeting,  and  the  report  and  accounts  were  taken  as 
read. 
The  Chairman  said  : I have  again  a very  pleasing 
report  to  lay  before  the  meeting,  which  leaves  little  for 
me  to  say  by  way  of  supplement  or  explanation, 
except  to  congratulate  the  shareholders  on  the  highly 
satisfactory  results  of  the  past  year's  working.  I trust 
that  the  report  may  not  be  considered  a monotonous 
i one  ; but  it  is  a monotony  which  I hope  may  be  long 
