Dec.  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST, 
NOTES  ON  PRODUCE  AND  FINANCE. 
Indian  and  Ceylon  Tea  in  New  York, — There  is  a 
trade  exhibition  held  in  New  York  at  which  the 
agents  of  the  Ceylon  and  Indian  tea  companies  have 
attractive  pavilions.  Natives  are  in  attendance  to 
sound  the  praises  of  Ceylon  tea,  and  to  furnish  visitors 
with  a cup  of  the  beverage.  Of  course,  the  Ceylon 
people  are  pushing  ahead  in  a well-organised  and 
effective  manner. 
Tea  in  Natal.— Natal  tea  planters  are  going  ahead. 
Natal  mail  advices  say  that  the  1892-93  tea  season 
of  that  colony  had  just  been  opened.  The  rains  of 
August  and  September  had  done  a great  amount  of 
good  to  the  crop,  and  the  prospects  of  a good  season 
were  decidedly  satisfactory.  A total  yield  of 
560,0001b.  is  expected.  This  would  show  a consider- 
able advance  on  the  out-turn  for  1890-91. 
Investment  in  Tea  Shares. — As  pointed  out  in 
more  than  one  financial  paper,  investors  might  with 
advantage  to  themselves  turn  their  attention  to  Indian 
tea  companies.  “Wiry  Leaf”  writes  in  the  Financial 
News-.—"  I have  been  reading  Messrs.  Hawes’ report 
on  Indian  and  Ceylon  tea  in  your  Produce  Market 
column  of  the  28th  inst.,  and  it  does  not  take  much 
foresight  to  see  the  effect  such  an  advance  in  prices  as 
is  there  indicated  must  have  on  the  profits  made  this 
season  by  some  of  the  Indian  tea  companies.  Some- 
where about  Christmas,  1891,  I tipped  Eastern  Assam 
Company  Bhares  at  15s.  I am  now  buying  them  at 
£2  12s  6d-  I will  now  tip  British  Indian  Tea  Com- 
pany £1  10s— should  be  worth  £3  in  six  months. 
The  position  of  this  company  is  this : — Formed 
about  twenty-five  years  since  with  a capital  of 
£240,000 : nearly  in  liquidation  about  ten  years  later  ; 
saved  by  the  energy  of  the  present  chairman  and  a 
few  friends  raising  £11,000  debentures  ; £20  shares 
now  reduced  to  £5  value  30s.,  stands— debentures 
about  £11,000 ; shares  at  market  value  £18,000,  or, 
in  all,  £29,000.  A dividend  of  3s,  honestly  earned,  was 
paid  in  1891:  none  last  ; year  debt  after  paying  deben- 
ture interest,  about  £150;  and,  I think,  this  year, 
with  the  market  in  this  strong  position,  a dividend 
of  5s  may  fairly  be  looked  for.  Many  tea  com- 
panies pay  6 per  cent  and  10  per  cent,  as  per  list 
Eublished  by  Mr.  Martin,  27,  Throgmorton  Street  ; 
ut  unfortunately  (for  them)  the  public  seem  to  pre- 
fer building  societies,  mines,  breweries,  &c.,  run 
and  directed  by  fat  guinea-pigs  and  hungry  M.P.’s, 
of  which  none  of  these  companies  that  1 know  of 
can  boast.  The  two  companies  named  and  several 
others,  as  Assam  Company  and  Jorehaut  Company, 
which  are  cheap  at  present  prices,  are  quoted  in 
the  Official  List.”  In  an  article  on  “ Indian  Tea 
Companies,"  in  the  Capitalist,  a London  financial 
paper,  the  writer  says,  referring  to  the  table  published 
by  the  Indian  Share  Exchange,  126,  Bishopsgate 
Street “ The  1892  Indian  crop,  though  of  excellent 
quality,  is  considered  certain  to  give  a short  yield, 
owing  to  unfavourable  weather  conditions,  while  the 
rapid  increase  of  production  in  Ceylon  has  now  come 
to  a standstill.  Prices  for  both  descriptions  of  tea 
have  accordingly  advanced  very  much.  So  far  as  can 
be  foreseen  at  this  moment,  the  working  results  of 
the  1892  crop  are  likely  to  show  a considerable  im- 
provement over  1891.  The  low  prices  ruling  for  the 
past  two  years  in  the  selling  markets  have  given  a 
great  stimulus  to  the  trade  both  in  this  country  and 
especially  abroad,  and  there  is  a tolerable  certainty 
that  consumption  will  go  on  expanding  gradually 
from  year  to  year,  and  that  even  increased  crops  will 
be  readily  absorbed.  All  these  considerations  help 
to  recommend  the  present  time  as  opportune  for 
investments  in  shares,  with  excellent  promise  of 
remunerative  returns.” 
Mieng  or  Lao  Tea. — The  last  number  of  the  Kew 
Bulletin  contains  some  interesting  facts  ahout  the 
“mieng,”  or  chewing  tea  of  Laos,  in  Siam,  which 
has  proved  to  be  the  leaves  of  the  Assam  tea-plant 
( Camellia  theifera).  The  leaves  are  steamed,  then 
tied  in  bundles,  and  buried  in  the  ground  for  about 
fifteen  days.  They  are  chewed  by  men,  especially 
when  hard  at  work  rowing  or  poling  on  the  rivers. 
Mr.  Stringer,  Acting  Vice-Consul  at  Cliiengmai,  in  a 
report  on  the  culture  and  use  of  Mieng  or  Lao 
41* 
tea  says : — “ In  gathering  the  leaves  only  the 
young  ones  are  taken,  and  the  upper  portion  of 
the  leaf  is  nipped  off  with  the  fingers,  about  a 
quarter  of  the  leaf  being  left  attached  to  the  tree. 
If  the  whole  leaf  is  picked,  the  young  branches  from 
which  the  leaves  are  picked  off  die.  Each  handful 
of  leaves  as  it  is  gathered  is  tied  tightly  together. 
The  picking  takes  place  in  the  early  morning,  and 
about  mid-day  the  leaves  are  steamed.  This  process 
take  place  in  a shed  built  for  the  purpose,  and 
provided  with  one  or  more  furnaces.  The  furnace 
consists  of  a hole  in  the  ground,  and  over  this  is 
placed  an  earthen  pot  or  chatty  containing  water. 
The  ‘ mieng,’  tied  in  small  bundles  or  handfuls,  is 
placed  in  a wooden  cylinder,  about  24  in.  in  height 
and  15  in.  in  diameter.  At  the  bottom  of  the 
cylinder  is  a network  of  small  strips  of  bamboo, 
This  cylinder  is  suspended  over  the  earthen  pot, 
and  round  the  edge  of  the  pot  is  placed  a wet  cloth 
so  that  oil  the  steam  may  pass  up  through  the  cyliuder. 
When  the  ‘mieng’  has  been  thoroughly  steamed, 
which  is  ascertained  by  its  having  sunk  down  to  a 
certain  point  in  the  cylinder,  it  is  left  to  cool  and 
then  taken  out  and  retied,  as  the  bundles  have  de- 
creased in  size,  and  it  is  then  ready  for  use.  If,  how- 
ever, the  ‘mieng’  is  to  he  kept  fcr  any  length  of 
time,  it  is  placed  in  small  pits  dug  in  the  ground 
and  lined  with  large  leaves,  and  it  is  then  well 
trodded  down  to  press  out  as  much  of  the  liquor 
as  possible.  It  is  then  covered  up  with  leaves  and 
large  stones  are  placed  in  the  top,  and  it  is  left 
thus  buried  for  ahout  fifteen  days.  I am  informed 
that  ‘miong’  which  has  been  pressed  and  burisd  in 
this  way  will  keep  for  two  years.  If  the  ‘mieng’ 
is  required  for  immediate  consumption  it  is  not 
necessary  to  bury  it,  but  it  is  packeJ  in  large  baskets, 
and  large  stones  are  placed  on  it  to  press  out  the 
liquor.  The  liquor  which  is  left  in  the  pot  after 
steaming  the  ‘ mieDg,’  and  which  is  of  a dark  reddish- 
brown  colour,  is  used  as  an  article  of  food  by  ihe 
Laos  and  Siamese.  The  habit  of  chewing  ‘ mieng  ’ is 
almost  universal  among  the  Laos,  and  to  the  men 
engaged  in  hard  work,  such  as  poling  or  rowing  boats, 
a quid  of  ‘mieng’  seems  to  be  nlmost  %idispensable. 
It  appears  to  have  the  same  effect  upon  the  nerves 
as  that  of  drinking  tea.  The  price  of  the  prepared 
article  at  the  village  which  I visited  was  one  rupee 
(Is  3d)  for  twelve  packages,  a package  containing  ten 
bundles  or  handfuls.  In  Chiengmai  from  seven  to 
ten  packages  are  sold  for  one  rupee.” 
Java  Tea. — Messrs.  Hawes  and  Co.  say  in  their 
report: — It  is  satisfactory  after  so  long  a time  of 
depression  in  this  department  to  be  able  to  report 
an  improvement  both  in  the  quality  and  values  of  Java 
teas.  During  the  past  month  a great  rise  has  taken 
place  in  all  grades  of  Indian  and  Ceylon,  especially 
in  the  common  and  good  common  teas.  Similar 
grades  of  Ohina  have  also  riseD,  but,  like  Javas,  not 
to  the  same  extent  as  their  competitors,  the  two 
latter  haviDg  at  present  marked  advances  of  only 
id  to  Id  per  lb.  No  good  common  Indian  or  Ceylon 
leaf  teas  are  to  be  had  under  7d  to  7^d  per  lb.— and 
little  at  these  fignres — or  of  Chinas  under  63d  per  lb. 
This  fact  made  those  who  are  responsible  for  the  low- 
priced  blends  at  Is  to  Is  2 1 per  lb.  look  about  for 
something  under  these  quotations,  and  the  cheapness 
of  good  common  leaf  Javas,  as  compared  with  similar 
grades  of  other  growths,  was  soon  recognised,  some 
of  which  were  still  hanging  on  the  market,  without 
enquiry,  at  about  5gd  to  5JI  per  lb.  Active  com- 
petition to  secure  these  parcels  made  Bellers  firm, 
aud  there  is  nothing  now  under  6d  to  6£d  per  lb. 
The  quantity  offered  during  the  past  month 
totalled  5,175  packages,  of  which  4,576  paokages 
were  of  “ eireet  import,”  as  against  2,786  packages  in 
September.  The  general  quality  of  the  late  arrivals  has 
showu  improvement,  some  vtry  useful  iuvoices  having 
sold  from  the  Tjibnengoer,  Tjiomas,  I’erbawattoe  and 
Sinagar Estates.  With  the  reduced  exports  from  other 
forts,  and  the  demand  for  lower-priced  teas,  we  may 
pairly  expect  a better  enquiry  and  a firmer  market  for 
Java  teas  for  sometime  forward. 
The  Allynuggeb  Tea  Company,  Limited.— The  pro- 
speotus  has  been  issued  of  the  above  company,  'l'he 
