Feb.  i,  1893.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
5°7 
The  price  Mr.  Fraser  has  agreed  to  accept  for  the 
properties  is  £21,000,  payable 
£7,000  in  fully  paid  up  Shares 
7,000  in  Debentures  at  6 per  cent. 
7,000  in  Cash. 
£21,000 
Bandarapoia  is  equipped  with  a complete  Factory 
and  Machinery  sufficient  for  twice  the  present  acreage 
and  has  ample  water  power.  There  are  also  two 
excellent  Bungalows  with  outhouses,  and  permanent 
brick  and  tiled  lines  for  a sufficient  supply  of  cooly 
labourers.  The  Forest  and  Ohena  is  all  available  for 
Tea,  and  it  is  intended  to  open  up  some  600  aores 
as  soon  as  it  can  properly  be  done,  leaving  the 
balance  as  a timber  and  firewood  reserve.  The  faci- 
lities for  transport,  and  the  oheap  and  abundant 
labour,  enable  the  produce  to  be  delivered  in  Colombo 
at  an  exceptionally  low  cost,  and  this  will  be  a mafe- 
rial  factor  in  the  earnings  of  the  Company.  The 
yield  of  the  Tea  in  bearing  was  650  lb.  per  acre  for 
1891,  and  this  yield  will  be  exceeded  for  the  year 
1892.  Mr;  William  Mackenzie,  a recognised  authority 
as  a valuer  of  Ceylon  property,  has  valued  and  re- 
ported on  the  Estates,  and  his  report  is  appended. 
It  is  proposed  to  take  over  the  properties  from  1st 
January,  1893.  No  promotion  money  whatever  has 
been,  nor  will  be  paid,  and  the  Vendor  will  pay  all 
charges  up  to  date  of  allotment  of  the  shares. 
FINE  TEA 
whioh  to  a great  extent  reviews  the  little  pam- 
phlet Theine  vs.  Tannin,  recently  forwarded  to 
you.  The  writer  of  the  article  believes  that  the 
authors  of  the  letters  cited  in  that  pamphlet  had 
reasons  for  being  biassed  in  favour  of  China  tea 
and  is  disposed  therefrom  to  largely  discount  the 
opinions  expressed  in  them.  He  goes  on  to  remark 
that  grocers  have  to  consult  the  public  taste,  and 
that  this  is  pronounced  in  favour  of  Ceylon  and 
Indian  teas.  At  the  same  time  he  thinks  a vigorous 
effort  should  be  made  to  impress  upon  the 
British  publio  that  fine  tea  cannot  be  pur- 
chased “ at  the  absurdly  low  prices  that  one 
now  often  sees  advertised  in  the  general  press. ” 
Owing  to  the  system  of  blending  Indian  with 
China  teas  of  a low  grade,  the  article  declares 
that  a taste  for  the  former  has  superseded  the 
latter,  fine  teas  from  China  being  now  scarcely 
procurable.  The  idea  that  the  public  health  is 
affected  by  the  drinking  of  Brith  h-grown  teas  is 
laughed  at  as  a fallaoy,  the  increase  in  con- 
sumption being  pointed  out  as  a refutation  of  the 
notion.  It  is  argued  that  “if  the  late  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  was  correct  in  thinking  that  one 
pound  of  Indian  tea  when  infused  would  equal 
one  and  a half  or  two  pounds  of  China,  then  the 
weight  of  Indian  tea  referred  to  by  Professor  W. 
Dittmar,  as  containing  2-16  per  oent  tannin, 
would,  in  the  caso  of  an  equal  quantity  of  China 
tea  when  liquored,  be  2-70  per  oent  tannin_.’ 

NOTES  ON  PRODUCE  AND  FINANCE. 
The  Tannin  Bcgey.— The  pamphlet  to  which  we 
referred  some  months  since,  issued  by  a Glasgow  firm, 
calling  atteDtion  to  the  excessive  amount  cf  tannin 
in  Indian  and  Ceylcn  teas,  has  not  been  a success. 
Scarcely  any  notice  bas  been  token  of  it  iu  the  Press, 
and  even  the  Grocer  bas  not  referred  to  it,  unless 
we  may  take  some  remarks  appearing  in  its  last  is^e 
as  reference.  It  says  “ The  attention  of  the  public 
has  recently  been  conspicuously  drawn  to  this  subject, 
several  letters  having  teen  published  and  leading  ar- 
ticles written  in  the  daily  papers,  generally  with 
the  view  of  proving  that  reolly  fine  teas  can  only  be 
grown  in  OhiDa,  while  Indian  and  CeyloD  teas  con- 
tain an  excessive  quantity  of  tanniD,  which  is  not 
only  injurious  but,  as  the  writer  of  a pamphlet  en- 
titled ‘ Theine  versus  Tannin’  contends,  is  aotuslly 
dangerous  to  the  public  health.  The  late  Professor 
W.  Dittmar  gave  an  opinion,  based  upon  the  result? 
of  a number  of  analyses,  that  there  is  larger  amount 
of  theine  in  Indian  than  in  China  tea,  but  this 
advantage  is  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the 
greater  amount  of  tannin  they  contain.  Theexperiments 
upon  time  infusions  were  as  follow s : — China  tea  which 
had  drawn  for  ten  minutes  produoed  1*0  theine  and 
T35  of  tanuin  ; inOeylon  tea  the  figures  were  1-0  theine 
and  2 21  lannin,  while  Indian  tea  produced  l'O  theine 
and  2T6  of  tannin  ; and  the  results  from  five  minutes’ 
infusion  went  to  confirm  the  impression  that  the 
relative  weight  of  tannin  is  less  in  China  lhan  in 
Indian  or  Ceylon  teas.  The  conclusion  to  be  drawn 
from  reading  the  correspondence  is  that  the  writers 
of  some  of  the  letters  are  either  personally  interested 
in  the  importation  of  China  teas,  and  their  minds 
are  biased  to  a certain  extent,  or  that  they  are 
ignorant  of  the  fact  that  grooers  and  other  re- 
tailers of  tea  have  to  study  the  ta'te  and  requirements 
of  the  public.  It  wonld  be  well,  too,  if  a vigorous 
attempt  were  made  to  educate  the  public  to  an  ap- 
preciation of  the  fact  that  fine  tea  oannot  be  pur- 
chased at  the  absurdly  low  prices  that  one  now  often 
sees  advertised  in  the  general  Press. 
The  Economics  of  Indian  Tea — The  teas  from 
China  which  came  to  this  country  fifteen  or  twenty 
years  ago  varied  both  in  strength  and  quality,  and 
grocers,  by  judiciously  blending  certain  kinds,  could 
produce  a delicious  cup  of  tea  at  what  was  con- 
sidered a reasonable  prioe  then ; but  the  circum- 
stances have  entirely  altered  since,  continues  the 
Grocer,  and  grocers  dow  must  be  up  to  date  both 
as  regards  price  aud  the  public  taste.  When  India 
first,  and  Ceylon  of  late  years,  sent  strong,  pungent 
kinds,  which,  when  blended  with  low-priced  China 
teas,  produced  at  a lower  cost  a flavour  whioh  the 
pub.ic  appreciated,  it  was  cot  a matter  of  wonder 
that  the  demand  for  fine,  high-priced  China  teas 
declined,  and  the  bulk  of  the  trade  was  diverted  to 
Russia,  where  the  publio  pay  a good  price,  and 
generally  drink  tea  with  lemon,  whereas  in  Great 
Britain  a deep  colour  is  necessary  to  stand  the  addi- 
tion of  cream  or  milk.  As  regards  the  alleged  injury 
to  health,  previously  alluded  to,  the  case  has,  of 
course,  been  ridiculously  exaggerated,  for  the  con- 
sumption ot  tea  per  head  oi  the  population  has  yearly 
increased  with  rapid  strides,  and  no  evidence  is  pro- 
duced to  show  that  the  community  at  large  are  any 
the  worse  for  using  Indian  and  Ceylon  teas;  more 
over,  despite  the  fact  that  the  oustom  of  drink 
iDg  an  additional  cup  of  tea  in  the  afternoon  had 
become  fashionable,  no  statistics  have  been  cited 
to  indicate  the  slightest  increase  in  diseases  arising 
from  the  consumption  of  tannin,  either  aa 
affecting  the  digestive  organs  or  the  nervous  system. 
It  should  be  noted,  too,  that  Indian  and  Ceylon 
tea  goes  farther  than  Chit. a,  and  if  the  late 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  was  correot  in  think- 
ing that  one  pound  of  Indian  tea,  when  infused, 
would  equal  one  and  a half  or  two  pounds  of  China, 
then  the  weight  of  Indian  tea  referred  to  by  Pro- 
fessor W.  Dittmar  as  containing  2T6  per  oent 
tannin  wcuid,  in  the  case  of  an  equal  quantity  of 
China  tea  when  liquored,  be  27  0 per  cent  tannin. 
Avoid  Infeeiob  Tea.— But,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Grocer,  the  reason  of  the  increase  in  the  use  of 
Indian  and  Ceylon  teas  must  be  traced  to 
other  causes  ; the  first  is  the  relative  cost  of  the 
teas,  and  this  is  most  important,  as  touching  the 
pockets  of  the  public,  more  particularly  as  con. 
Burners  have  been  educated  to  diink  toas  at  prices 
ranging  from  one  to  two  shillings  per  pound,  whereas, 
allowing  for  the  difference  in  the  duty,  they  formerly 
were  content  to  pay  two  or  three  shillings  per  pound. 
Thus  now  the  finest  China  teas  cost  more  than  the 
public  will  generally  pay,  and  consequently  they  are 
neglected  and  attention  is  only  given  to  the  lower 
grades,  which  will  blend  with  strong,  thick  Indian 
or  Ceylon  teas  ; and,  in  many  cases,  China  tea  is 
avoided  altogether.  Another  reason,  is  owing  to  milk 
being  added  to  tea,  it  is  neceesary  to  have  not  only  a 
pungent  flavour,  but  #l6Q  a datk  odour  to  withstand 
