Sept,  i,  1S92.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
199 
in  America,  an  ample  supply  of  funds  must  be  found 
or  the  attempt  to  make  a ma'ket  for  India  will  be 
useless.  As  an  instance  of  the  modus  operandi  adopted 
by  the  C 'ylen  representatives,  we  nave  received  a 
New  York  paper,  the  whole  of  the  bark  page  of  winch 
is  taken  up  and  advertisement  of  Ceylon  tta,  with 
testimonials  from  leading  Americans  and  beir  wives 
who  have  tried  it.  Mr.  Elviood  May  is  evidently  on 
the  war  path, 
Tea  in  German?.— The  movement  for  popularising 
Indian  tea  in  Germany,  which  we  have  referred  to 
from  time  to  time,  is  gaining  strength.  Tta  is  win- 
ning favour  both  in  North  and  South  German),  and 
there  is  every  prospect  that  before  long  Germany 
will  beoome  a large  consumer  of  tea.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  official  report  on  the  trade  of 
Germany  shows  that  owrng  to  the  annually  diminish- 
ing production  of  coffee  in  Oeyloo,  the  busi- 
ness between  England  and  Germany  has  greatly 
decrease  1,  and  a substitute  for  such  finer  descriptions 
of  coffee  has  had  to  be  sought  for  elsewhere.  The 
market  has  discovered  this  substitute  in  some  kinds  of 
Java  coffee,  and  in  some  Central  Amerio  n growths — 
those  from  Salvador  and  Guatemala,  countries  that 
are  greatly  improving  their  crops  in  point  of  quality. 
As  regards  these  last-named  descriptions  for  which 
London  was  formerly  also  the  chief  market,  business 
has  now  been  transferred  elsewhere.  Part  of  the  Ger- 
man demand  is  at  present  supplied  via  Havre  arid  Ham- 
burg, from  whiohports  exports  to  Central  America  have 
increased  considerably,  and  part  is  covered  by  direct 
purchases  in  the  coffee-producing  countries,  so  that  the 
coffee  trade  between  Germany  and  England,  in  com- 
parison to  former  times,  has  become  reduced  to  a 
minimum. 
The  Ceylon  Tea  Industry. — A correspondent,  sign- 
ing himself  “ Tropical  Rustic,”  contributes  a long 
letter  to  the  Financial  News,  in  continuation  of  the 
controversy  on  the  subject  of  Ceylon  tea.  He  says, 
in  the  course  of  his  comments  : “ Mr.  John  Ferguson’s 
letter  to  you  of  May  19  has  put  the  matter  fairly 
before  you  ; he  has  grasped  the  subject  with 
great  clearness.  I venture  now  to  make  a few  com- 
ments, beoause  there  is  not  a little,  but  a very  great, 
misconception  of  the  matter  of  tea  growing  and  its 
manufacture  existing  in  London,  and  I,  and  a good 
many  other  planters,  have  suffered  from  the  position 
of  knowledge  wrongly  assumed  by  non-practical  men 
at  home,  who  invariably  cry  for  quality,  quality,  with- 
out in  the  least  knowing  how  this  speciality  is  attained 
on  the  majority  of  estates.  In  the  first  place,  it  is 
no  doubt,  a well-established  fact  that  the  Ceylon  climate 
is  the  best  known  for  the  vigorous  growth  of  the  tea 
bush  and  consequent  flushing.  Rain  falls  in  every 
month  of  the  year ; the  soil  never  becomes  parched, 
and  bushes  in  mauy  districts  are  ready  for  tipping 
from  seven  to  eight  weeks  after  pruning.  Compare 
this  condition  with  Indian  seasons,  where  they  have 
two  months  drought,  and  the  plucking  is  done  in  about 
six  months  of  the  year.  So  much  for  our  climate ; a 
few  words  now  about  the  soil.  None  of  your  corre- 
spondents appear  to  have  laid  stress  on  the  fact 
the  great  majority  of  estates  are  not  opened  out 
on  virgin  soil,  but  on  coffee  estates  from  twenty 
to  fifty  years  of  age.  This  fact  must  influence 
the  quality  according  to  the  circumstances  of  eaoh 
estate,  its  particular  distriot,  and  the  lay  of  the  land 
and  the  number  of  years  the  land  has  been  exposed 
to  the  sun  and  washed  by  heavy  storms.  How  often 
has  it  been  noticed  that  estates,  after  getting  strength 
and  a little  flavour,  go  off  into  medium  and  common 
teas  directly  the  bushes  approach  the  full-bearing 
stage  1 Brokers  at  once  compare  the  quality  with 
the  earlier  shipment,  and  the  proprietors  and  "others 
assume  it  is  the  fault  of  the  manager  who  does  not 
give  the  close  attention  with  which  he  was  oredited 
at  first ; the  novelty  of  manufacture  has  evidently 
worn  off!  Then  follows  trouble,  because  the  brokers 
and  the  proprietors  have  steadily  opposed  his  plea  of 
quantity.  Now,  suppose  a manager  has  strict  orders 
to  produce  quality  from  old  coffee  land— at,  say  3,000 
ft.  elevation — only  the  finest  plucking  can  possibly 
give  him  the  desired  result  ; but  the  quantity  per  acre 
is  wofully  small  and  the'  cost  of  production  so  much 
increased,  that  it  does  not  pay.  I could  name  one 
estate  which  headed  the  list  of  averages,  and  was 
the  pride  and  glory  of  the  proprietors  at  home,  and 
the  envy  of  others  not  getting  half  the  price  for  their 
teas  in  Mincing  Lane.  But  what  happened?  This 
estate,  which  got  an  average  of  Is.  10*d  , has  had  to 
drop  its  pride  of  place,  and  come  down  to  the  hard  facts 
of  profit  and  loss,  i.  e.,  quantity  versus  quality.  Asa 
matter  of  fact,  the  estate  was  being  strained  to  com- 
pete with  those  at  a high  elevation,  whose  soil  was  never 
exhausted  by  coffee ; estates,  too,  which  have  all  the 
natural  advantages  of  rich  soil  and  great  elevation — a 
combination  only  which  can  produce  the  class  of  tea 
with  fine  flavour,  and  for  which  a high  price  will  always 
be  paid  in  England.  Such  also,  has  been  the  case  with 
other  estates,  more  or  less.  It  is  also  found,  withmore 
ripened  experience,  that  the  yield  from  estates  at  a 
high  altitude  and  in  good  soil  is  much  greater  than 
was  anticipated  in  the  earlier  days  of  tea  planting. 
Finally,  to  show  what,  in  my  opinion,  is  the 
common  mistake  at  home — viz.,  the  quality  and 
quantity  theory— presuming  the  desired  end  is  to 
make  an  estate  yield  a goo  1 civiaend,  and  that  estates 
favourably  situated  as  regards  elevation,  aud  soil  only 
can  prouuoe  high-clase  teas  to  pay,  those  old  (coffee 
laud)  estates  at  lower  elevatioo  should  not  bo  forced 
by  proprietors  to  oompete  for  high  priors;  they 
should  be  satisfied  with  prices  even  lower  than  the 
average  for  all  Ceylon.  And  rest  assured  that,  with 
cheap  working  and  high  yields  per  acre,  it  is  the 
only  way  to  make  estates  60  situated  remunerative; 
the  opposite  result  will  inevitably  occur  it  fine 
plucking  is  adopted,  1 do  not  go  into  the  question 
o£‘  the  survival  of  the  fittest,’— when  the  struggle 
cum. s we  shall  naturally  know  more  than  we  do  now; 
but, so  far  us  Ceylon  tea  lasting  and  its  stability  being 
in  danger  I have  no  fear.” 
Tea  in  Morocco. — From  statistics  p spared  by  Sir 
C.  Euan  Smith,  British  Minister  io  Morocco,  it  ap- 
pears that  tea  to  the  value  ot  £75,000  was  sent  from 
Great  Britain  to  Morocco  iu  1890. 
English  Grown  Tea. — Last  Saturday  week  their 
Royal  Highnesses  Prince  and  Princess  Henry  of  Batten- 
berg  aud  the  Princess  Victoria  of  Schleswig-Holsteiu 
visited  the  tea  gardens  at  the  International  Horticul- 
tural Exhibition,  and  were  much  interest  d in  seeing 
the  tea  plants  growing  iu  England,  and  tie  manu- 
facture of  tea  in  all  its  various  stages,  as  shown  by 
Mr.  Macgregor.  Their  Royal  Highnesses  tasted  the  tea 
and  prououncod  it  delicious.  Many  tea  planters  from 
India,  Ceylon,  &o.,  have  visitad  the  tea  gardens,  aDd 
are  agreeably  surprised  to  see  their  old  friend,  the 
tea  plant,  flourishing  in  London  in  the  open. 
Paraguayan  Tea. — In  the  new  number  oftheKew 
Bulletin  there  are  some  interesting  particulars  of 
this  important  shrub,  which  is  extensively  used  by 
the  entire  population  of  South  America.  Strictly 
speaking,  it  is  not  a tea  plant,  but  a species  of  the 
Paraguayan  ilex;  but  the  active  principle  in  its 
leaves  is  caffein,  identical  with  that  which  is 
found  in  tea  and  coffee.  Though  closely  allied 
with  coffee,  it  is  stated  to  be  slower  in  yield- 
ing up  its  principles  to  boiling  water.  In  preparing 
it  the  leaves  are  scorched  and  dried  while  st  11 
attached  to  the  branches  brought  iu  by  the  col- 
lectors. They  are  then  beateD,  separated,  coarsely 
ground  by  rude  mills,  and  packed  iu  skins  and 
leather  bags.  The  leaves  are  infused  in  small  tea- 
pots, and  the  tea  is  sucked  with  a bombilla  or  tube 
with  wire  net-wo  k or  perforations  at  the  bottom. 
Specimens  of  the  shrub  have  loeg  been  in  oultiva. 
tion  at  Kew. — II.  fy  C.  Mail,  July  22. 
Bananas  seem  to  have  been  imported  in  great 
quantities  into  England  this  year.  Of  all  the 
vegetables  whioh  furnish  food  to  man  this  fruit 
is  the  most  prolific.  A single  duster  often  con- 
tains from  160  to  180  pods,  and  weighs  from  60 
to  80  lb.  Humboldt  says  that  a pieoe  of  land  of 
120  square  yards  will  produoe  4,000  1b.  weight  of 
fruit,  while  the  same  area  will  rarely  produoe 
more  than  30  lb.  weight  of  wheat  or  80  lb.  of  potatoes, 
— Sugar  Journal  and  Tropical  Cultivator , June  15, 
