August  i,  1892.] 
T Hr  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST 
83 
further  decline,  and  that  planters  cannot  alter  this 
natural  course  of  events,  whatever  may  be  the  cause. 
Mr.  Ferguson’s  arguments  do  not,  I think,  alter 
what  I wrote  on  this  subject.  I did  not  advocate  that 
the  planters  should,  at  any  special  time,  go  by  advice 
from  London,  and  all  set  to  work  at  once  to  make  very 
fine  or  all  common  leaf  at  any  given  time,  and,  by  so 
doing,  by  chance  fall  into  the  troubles,  which  he  re- 
calls, of  1890  and  1891.  I am  sure  I am  supported  in  my 
opinion  by  most  large  operators  in  Ceylon  teas  here, 
that  the  average  good  quality  of  Ceylon  teas  has  gradu- 
ally dropped  off,  and  there  are  less  fine  and  choice  teas 
obtainable,  although  better  teas  have  been  and  are 
wanted,  and  sell  at  good  prices  when  they  do  come, 
It  does  not  do  to  name  them,  but  there  are  many 
gardens,  which  used  to  be  famous  for  the  all-round 
fine  quality  of  their  teas,  which  now  never  show 
anything  but  medium  or  common  qualities.  To  sup- 
port his  argument  that  Ceylon  can  grow  whatever 
tea  is  required,  and  can  maintain  steady  average 
crops  of  fine  or  common  teas,  Mr.  Ferguson  only 
names  two  of  the  older  established  gardens,  cover- 
ing only  about  500  acres  out  of  the  255,000  acres 
under  tea  cultivation ; but  the  produce  of  these  two 
estates  does  not  rank,  in  market  estimation  here, 
amongst  the  fine  tea  group,  and  the  Loolecondera 
estate  undoubtedly  used  to  send  much  finer  average 
quality  than  it  does  now.  There  are  many  more 
gardens  the  quality  of  the  produce  of  which  is  de- 
clining, and  which  decline  would  be  more  marked 
but  for  the  fact  that  there  is  some  newly-planted 
land  continually  coming  into  bearing,  the  leaf  from 
which  is  mixed  with  that  of  the  older-grown  trees, 
and  keeps  up  the  higher  standard.  I have  now 
given  you  a broker’s  and  buyer’s  view  of  the  situation ; 
let  time  prove  whether  the  planter’s  or  broker’s 
views  are  correct.  With  the  large  supplies  of  common 
China  Congous  on  hand  and  further  heavy  arrivals 
during  the  coming  season,  and  a preponderance  of 
common  teas  from  India  and  a fair  share  from 
Ceylon,  the  fine  and  finest  Ceylon  teas,  which  are 
now  wanted,  will  probably  later  be  in  very  strong 
demand,  and  command  high  prices.  We  shall  then 
see  if  they  can  be  produced  at  will  by  the  planters, 
as  Mr.  Ferguson  would  have  us  believe,—  I am,  sir, 
yours,  &c.,  F.  Sutton  Hawns. 
14,  Mincing-lane. 
1 felt  bound  to  send  a few  (final)  words  correct- 
ing his  reference  to  the  two  plantations  “ named,” 
and  accordingly,  the  same  afternoon  from  the 
Colonial  Institute,  sent  a short  final  note.  But 
meantime  there  appeared  yesterday  morning  the 
following  clever  letter  from  our  friend,  Mr.  T.  C- 
Owen  : — 
THE  CEYLON  TEA  INDUSTRY. 
To  the  Editor  of  The  Financial  News. 
Sir, — As  a Ceylon  planter  who  was  one  of  the 
first  to  cultivate  tea  in  that  island,  and  as  the 
writer  of  several  works  on  planting,  I venture  to 
make  a few  remarks  in  connection  with  the  corre- 
spondence on  Ceylon  tea  which  has  recently  ap- 
peared in  your  columns.  Mr.  J.  Ferguson’s  letter 
s a most  exhaustive  and  able  review  of  the  subject, 
n attributing  the  falling  off  in  the  quality  of  the 
bulk  of  Ceylon  teas  to  coarser  plucking  and  to  the 
mpossibility  of  dealing  as  carefully  with  large  as 
with  small  quantities  of  leaf,  he  undoubtedly  ad- 
duces two  very  important  factors  in  the  case ; on 
the  other  hand,  the  loss  of  certain  qualities  which 
leaf  from  new  land  possesses — a point  he  merely 
alludes  to — is,  in  my  opinion  as  a practical  planter, 
a matter  of  great  importance.  For  the  first  few 
years  after  land  comes  into  bearing  the  tea  is 
characterised  by  a delicacy  of  flavour  which,  as  a 
general  rule,  cannot  be  obtained  afterwards.  How 
this  occurs  it  is  difficult  to  sa/ ; probably  certain 
constituents  in  the  soil  on  which  this  special  flavour 
depends  become  quickly  exhausted.  When,  however, 
Mr.  Hawes,  writing  from  a London  office,  speaks  of 
“ the  greed  of  the  average  planter,”  of  the 
deterioration  of  the  plant”  through  “ wholesale 
plucking,”  he  ceases  to  deal  with  facts  within  his 
experience  and  theorises  in  matters  of  which  he  has 
no  personal  knowledge.  I,  and  I fancy  any  other 
practical  planter,  even  after  studying  the  question 
closely  for  years,  would  be  very  sorry  to  dogmatise  on 
the  subjeot  as  your  correspondent  has  done. 
The  effect  of  giving  the  plant  a rest — of  ceasing  to 
pluck  it — is  to  induce  an  abundant  growth  of  shoots, 
which  turn  “ bangy,’’ as  it  is  called,  and  harden  up  to 
the  tip.  I need  scarcely  say  that  the  very  worst  tea 
possible  is  made  from  a growth  of  this  kind.  The 
best  teas  are  made  from  moderately-plucked  bushes, 
excessively-close  plucking  and  too  easy  treatment 
being  equally  avoided.  Such  a system  is  now  being 
followed  almost  universally  in  CeylOD,  and  it  is  one 
which  gives  the  planter  the  maximum  profit  from  his 
estate  consistently  with  a due  regard  to  the  welfare  of 
the  bush. — lam,  sir, yours,  &o.,  T.  O.  Owen. 
92,  Gower-street. 
I do  not  think  it  needful  to  notice  further  the 
point  raised  by  Mr.  Owen,  unless  indeed  it  is 
seized  and  made  too  muoh  of  by  Mr.  Hawes  ; 
for,  assuredly,  in  saying  that  virgin  soil  per  se 
gives  a delicaoy  of  flavour  lasting  over  some  years , 
which  is  afterwards  lost,  Mr.  Owen  seems  to 
concede  a very  great  deal  to  the  oritics.  For,  of 
oourse,  a large  proportion  of  over  250,000  acres 
is  Btill  within  the  “ few  years’  ” limit,  and  when 
it  is  past  are  we  to  understand  that  a flavour  is 
lost  never  to  be  recovered  in  our  teas  ? This 
I have  been  asking  Mr.  Owen  in  a private  note  to 
consider.  For  my  own  part,  I have  always  been 
inolined  to  attribute  much  of  the  “ first  few 
years'”  flavour  and  delicacy  to  the  great  oare 
taken  in  preparing  the  neoessarily  small  crops — 
a condition  whioh  affords  good  reason  to  hope 
for  improved  aroma  when  all  factories  are 
enabled  to  settle  down  to  regular  work  and  the 
utmost  oare  is  taken  at  every  point.  Of  course, 
even  as  Mr.  Owen  puts  it,  we  can  find  room 
for  hope ; because  if  the  virgin  flavour  depend 
on  certain  “ soil  constituents  ” gradually  ab 
straoted,  we  must  erelong  begin  to  analyse 
and  supply  these  used-up  constituents.  But 
is  there  not  more  than  one  plantation  in 
Oeylon,  whioh  (through  the  proprietor  consenting 
possibly  to  prefer  name  and  fame  to  some  additional 
profit)  has  managed,  by  plucking  fine  and  prepar- 
ing with  extra  care,  to  keep  up  the  grade  and 
quality  of  its  teas  ? If  so,  then  the  fact  should 
go  far  to  show  that  very  little  weight,  commercially 
speaking,  should  be  placed  on  the  “ virgin  aroma  ” 
theory.  This  is  a point  on  which,  no  doubt,  you  will 
hear  from  some  of  your  correspondents.  The 
opinions  of  “ Wanderer,”  and  of  such  tea-planters 
as  Messrs.  Armstrong,  Beeves,  Megginson,  Mormon, 
A.  L.  Gross,  Blaokett,  G.  A.  Dick,  and  the  Chairman 
and  leaders  of  the  P.  A.  would  be  of  interest. 
Meantime  here  is  my  letter  from  today’s  Financial 
News  written,  of  course,  before  Mr.  Owen’s  ap- 
peared:— 
THE  CEYLON  TEA  INDUSTRY. 
To  the  Editor  of  The  Financial  News. 
Sir, — I am  quite  content  to  leave  time  to  deoide  the 
point  at  issue  between  the  Oeylon  tea  planter  and  the 
London  broker  and  buyer,  so  far  as  the  latter  may  be 
represented  by  Mr.  Hawes ; but  there  is  one  miscon- 
ception in  his  letter  today  whioh  requires  correction. 
The  two  estates — Loolecondura  and  Mariawatte — named 
by  me  on  the  20th  were  not  brought  forward  to  sup- 
port my  argument  in  regard  to  the  quality  of  Oeylon 
tea,  but  to  show  the  stability  of  the  planting  industry 
in  respect  of  satisfactory,  and  even  heavy,  crops 
gathered  over  a series  of  years  without  any  depreci- 
ation of  the  tea  bushes  or  plantations. 
My  argument  in  reference  to  the  ability  of  our 
planters  to  maintain  quality  was  based  on  acquaint- 
ance with  other  estates,  or  gardens,  not  named  (for 
obvious  reasons),  but  some  of  them  indicated,  which 
had  only  given  up  sending  to  London  the  fine  teas 
for  whioh  they  were  some  years  ago  distinguished 
beoause  their  proprietors  found  it  paid  them  better 
