August  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AQRTCTULTU HIST. 
123 
THE  TEA  SEASONS  OF  INDIA 
AND  CHINA. 
A correspondent  asks: — “Can  you  let  m3  know 
when  the  Indian  and  China  tea  seasons  oommenoe 
and  end  respectively  ? ” In  a recent  article  we 
indicated  that  the  tea  seasons  for  India  and 
China  ran  from  1st  June  of  one  year  to  31st 
May  of  the  succeeding  year.  On  that  occasion 
we  noticed  the  figures  for  total  deiveries  of  tea 
fn  Loudon.  Deliveries  for  exp  rt  were  included; 
and  as  by  far  the  larger  proportion  of  tea 
exported  from  London  is  China,  that  country 
was  in  total  deliveries  slightly  in  advanoe  of 
Ceylon.  When  it  oomes  to  deliveries  for  home 
consumption,  however,  we  find  the  case3  reversed. 
The  figures  and  the  percentages,  for  India, 
Ceylon  and  China,  are  given  in  Gow,  Wilson  & 
Stanton’s  circular  issued  with  the  Observer  after 
the  arrival  of  last  mail.  The  relative  positions 
of  the  tea  from  each  country  consumed  in 
Britain  for  the  twelve  months  between  1st  June 
1891  and  3 1st  May  1892  were  as  follows:  — 
Indian  tea  lb.  105,356,293  51  per  cent. 
Ceylon  „ „ 58,299,737  28  ,, 
China  &c.,„  „ 43,584,433  21 
In  the  previous  season  the  percentage  of  China 
was  29  agaiost  20  for  Oeyion,  so  that  now  tor  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  tea  consumption  in  Britain 
the  produot  of  Ceylon  has  been  used  more  largely 
than  that  of  China.  CeyloD,  in  truth,  is  gaining 
even  on  India  ; for  whereas  the  percentage  of  Indian 
tea  consumed  was  53  in  1889-90,  it  was  only  51 
in  the  past  two  year3  Ceylon  rising  in  the  three 
years  from  16  to  28  per  cent,  and  China  goiog 
down  from  31  per  cent  to  21.  Meantime,  increas- 
iug  proportions  of  Indian  and  Ceylon  tea  are 
competing  with  China  in  the  export  trade  as  well, 
the  figures  iu  last  season  being  for  Indian  tea 
4,141,000  1b-;  Ceylon  2,998,000  ' b.  or  very  nearly  3 
millions;  China  29,541  0001b.  While  China  has  been 
stationary  in  the  past  two  seasons,  the  increase 
in  Indian  has  been  from  2,327,000  lb.  and  in  Oeylou 
from  1,426,000  lb.,  the  export  in  this  case  having 
doubled. 
Our  local  tea  season  is  coincident  with  the 
oalendar  year,  as  we  have  no  such  close  winter 
seasons  as  influence  growth  in  India  and  China; 
but  it  is  convenient  that  the  figures  for  Ceylon  tea 
should  be  compared  with  those  for  Indian  and 
China,  not  only  for  the  years  ending  31st  December 
but  for  the  seasons  closing  on  31st  May. 
THE  AMSTERDAM  CINCHONA  AUCTIONS. 
Amsterdam,  June  9. 
Of  the  Java  bark  offered  at  today’s  auotion3  1,753 
packages  sold  at  somewhat  lower  values,  the  unit 
not  averaging  over  6 cents,  or  Id  to  1 l-16ths  d.  per 
lb.  Manufacturers’  stem  and  branch  barks,  original 
anil  renewed,  bought  11  to  82  cents  (equal  to  2d  to  Is 
2Jd  per  lb.)  ; ditto  root  15  to  43  cents  (equal  to  2jd 
to  7Jd  per  lb.) ; druggists’  bark  in  quills,  broken  quills 
and  chips  11  to  52  cents  (equal  to  23  to  9£d  per  lb  ); 
and  ditto  root,  12  to  19  cents  (equal  to  2d  to  3jd 
per  lb.)  The  largest  bnyer  was  the  Auerbach  faotory, 
then  followed  Gustav  Briegleb  and  Matthes  & Bor- 
meester. — Chemist  and  Druggist. 
CONSULAR  REPORTS. 
HANKOW. 
Consular  Christopher  T.  Gardener  addresses  his 
report  on  Hankow  trade  in  1891  to  the  Marqnis  of 
Salisbury  on  March  14th.  Mr.  Gardner  reports : — 
EXPORTS. 
The  exports  that  show  an  increase  over  1890  are 
native  cloth,  musk,  nut-galls,  wood-oil,  opium,  black 
tea,  brick  tea,  and  sundries.  The  exports  that  show 
a decrease  are  coal,  fungus,  gypsum,  hemp,  bides, 
mediciner,  tea- oil,,  rice,  rhubarb,  silk,  vegetable  tallow, 
tia-tablets,  tea-dust,  tobacco,  varnish,  white  wax. 
Black  Tea. — The  export  of  Black  Tea  shows  a slight 
increase  in  quantity  of  1,181,669  lb.  over  lv90,  snd 
the  larger  proportionate  increase  in  value  of  £550,976. 
Th9  increase  is  due  to  an  increased  consumption  of 
tea  in  Russia,  and  to  the  home  markets  being  more 
fully  stocked  at  the  end  of  1891  than  »t  the  close  of 
1890.  At  home  there  was  undoubtedly  a diminished 
consumption  of  China  tea,  owing  to  the  competition  of 
India  and  Ceylon. 
The  export  of  Black  Tea  during  the  last  six  years 
has  been  as  follows  : — 
1891 68.590,451  1888 77,452,441 
’90 67,342,334  ’87 84,566,084 
’89 75,740,133  ’86 .90,232,956 
The  following  table  shows  the  destination  of  the 
aas  exported  from  this  durine  the  last  six  years: — 
Chinese  Ports 
for  Abroad, 
lb. 
33,659,985 
30,012,603 
43,032,792 
40,693,012 
50,675,030 
41,121.585 
Year. 
London. 
Odessa. 
lb. 
lb. 
1891 
10,463,466 
24,467,000 
’90 
11,314,300 
22  742,241 
’89 
16.051,022 
16,797  177 
’88 
21,857,360 
16,002,057 
’87 
22,742,233 
11,148,487 
’86 
39,545,472 
9,898,867 
The  prosperity  of  Russia,  which  up  to  this  summer 
bad  been  proceeding  by  leaps  and  bounds,  led  to  tea 
purchasers  here  competing  with  great  eagerness  for 
tbe  firot  fine  crops  of  tea  for  tbo  Russian  market. 
It  was  further  believed  that  the  crops  of  finest  tea 
were  extraordinarily  good  in  quality  and  also  short 
in  quantity.  This  led  to  unheard  of  prices  being  paid, 
as  much  even  as  TIs.  90  per  picul,  or  about 
3s  6d  per  1 lb.  The  high  prioes  paid  at 
the  beginning  of  the  oeason  increased  the  average 
value  of  all  the  tea  exported,  though  the  prices  ranged 
very  low  at  the  end  of  tbe  season,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  probability  of  there  being  a bad  harvest  in 
Russia  began  to  be  known,  the  demand  in  Russia 
for  tea  having  in  1891,  even  more  than  in  previous  years, 
fixed  the  market  selling  price.  Much  of  i he  tea  sent  to 
London  was  for  the  Russian  market,  and  tbo  fall  in  value 
of  the  paper  rouble  from  2s  4d  in  June  to  Is  lOd  in 
November  caused  the  teas  rent  later  in  the  season,  in 
spite  oftheir  lower  price,  to  be  an  unfortunate  specula, 
tion  for  those  who  exported  them. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  a slight  inorease  in 
1891  of  Black  Tea  sent  to  China  ports  over  that  in 
1890.  Part  of  this  inorease  is  accounted  for  by  the  faot 
that  much  of  the  tea  that  used  (o  reaoh  lJussiau  Siberia 
from  this  by  way  of  the  Han  River,  Fauoh’eng,  and 
Ninghsia,  not  appearing  in  the  returns  of  the  maritime 
customs,  now  goes  to  its  destination  by  the  longer  but 
easier  route  of  Tientsin  and  Kalgan,  to  do  which  it  is 
oarried  to  Tientsin  from  this  in  steamers,  and  is  entered 
in  the  books  of  the  martime  customs.  New  fisoal  arrange- 
ments in  Siberia  have  added  to  the  effect  of  an  easier 
route  to  transfer  the  trade  away  from  that  by  Fanch’eng 
to  that  by  Tientsin- 
Odessa  is  becoming  more  and  more  the  depot  of  the 
Kussim  tea  trade,  and  a certain  quantity  of  tea  that 
used  to  reach  Russia  through  Tientsin  and  Mongolia 
now  finds  its  way  to  Russia  by  Odessa.  This  will  be 
more  and  more  the  case  as  the  internal  communica- 
tions from  Odessa  are  improved.  Russian  transport 
vessels  carrying  the  Russian  reliefs  to  Wladiwostook 
and  the  time-expired  men  from  Eastern  Siberia 
(Primorsk)  to  Russia  visit  Hankow  on  their  way  back 
and  fill  up  their  holdB  with  tea;  but  British  vessels 
hove  also  succeeded  in  obtaining  charters  to  oarry  tea 
from  this  to  Odessa. 
The  increase  in  brick  tea  of  3,000,000  lb.  is  pro- 
bably due  partly  to  toa  being  sent  by  way  of  Tientsin 
(iu  which  oase  it  appears  in  the  returns),  instead  of 
by  way  of  Fanch’eng  (when  it  does  not  appear  in  the 
returns),  and  partly  by  mere  fluctuation  of  trade. 
Log  tea,  and  inferior  tea  with  stalks,  paoked  iu  the 
shape  of  logs,  weighing  from  8 lb.  to  80  lb.  each, 
wrapped  in  the  leaves  of  the  “ bambusa  latifolia,’’  and 
