762 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST  |[June  j,  1893. 
of  flushing  were  lessened  considerably  ; and  so  the  I 
weight  of  production  will  necessarily  be  greatly 
reduced.  On  this  aeeount,  the  growers  estimate 
that  they  will  be  able  to  pick  no  mors  than  they  did 
last  season  under  the  moat  favourable  conditions  of 
weather.  Our  informants,  interviewed  separately, 
who  by  the  WHy  are  all  natives  of  this  province,  are 
unanimous  in  their  belief  that  the  foregoing  sketch  of 
how  matters  stand  at  the  present  moment  is  substanti- 
ally  correot.  The  orop  is  expected  to  be  better  in  quality 
than  last  seaton,  but  the  yield  will  be  smaller — of 
the  first  crop,  at  any  rate.  There  is  no  doubt  in  our 
informants’  minds  about  the  prospective  greater  com- 
petition up-country  as  compared  with  last  year  ; not 
only  by  the  local  and  Chiu-ohew  men,  but  the  Can- 
tonese. Tbis  is  thought  so  seriously  of  by  one  or  tvro 
of  our  friends  that  they  intend  to  stand  aside  until 
the  first  crop  is  picked;  they  fear  that  prices  may  be 
run  up  too  high,  and  that  they  will  lose  their  money; 
they  will  watch  the  course  of  events  with  a v'ew  to  get  - 
ting  in  on  more  favourable  terms  with  the  second  crop. 
It  will  be  a great  thing  for  the  trade  if  the 
new  orop  shows  a marked  improvement  in  qua- 
lity; but  foreign  buyers  cannot  afford  to  pay  any 
higher  prices  than  they  did  last  s<  ason — indeed, 
to  act  on  lines  of  safety,  they  Bhould  lay  down 
their  teas  lower.  Although  the  first  crop  last 
season  was  laid  down  at  20  to  25  per  oent.  cheaper 
than  the  previous  season,  the  small  pa  fit  which  wa9 
obtained  on  the  average  (for  many  of  the  teas  lost), 
was  really  only  realised  through  the  outside  circum- 
stance of  the  bulb  of  the  Hankow  crop  being  in 
“ weathery”  condition.  If  the  Hankow  crop  is  a good 
one  next  season,  and  in  good  condition,  Foochow 
Congou  can  scarcely  be  expected  to  sell  as  well  as 
they  did  last  season.  The  Canton  men  are  full  of 
there  being  no  stock  of  China  Congou  left  in  London 
on  the  1st  June.  Certainly  it  will  be  small.  It  may 
be  estimated  at  5 to  6 millions  lb.  against  12  millions 
at  the  same  date  in  1892,  but  this  will  be  ample  con- 
sidering the  further  falling-off  there  has  been  in 
deliveries.  Prom  the  1st  June  1891  to  31st  May 
1892  these  were  51,192,000  lb.  or  4,266,000  lb.  per 
month,  while  tbo.-e  for  the  current  twelve 
months  ending  31st  May  may  be  estimated,  at 
the  outside,  at  43  648,500  lb.  or  3,637,875  lb. 
psr  month.  So  that  5 to  6 millions  lb.  stock,  is  in  our 
view  ample.  Those  of  the  Canton  men  who  think 
that  this  stock  will  justify  them  in  being  bolder  than 
they  were  last  year  will  assuredly  lose  their  money. 
Letters  of  caution,  not  to  be  led  away  by  the  results 
of  la«t  year,  are  already  beginning  to  arrive  from 
London;  while  all  the  foreign  buyers  will,  of  their 
own  acoord,  only  aot  on  lines  of  safety,  so  that  those 
teamen  who  are  reckoning  on  higher  prices  being 
paid  in  this  market  than  last  year,  and  buy  in  the 
country  accordingly,  will  find  themselves  greatly 
mistaken.  Of  course  statistically  the  trade  generally 
is  in  a very  soucd  position.  And  there  is  also  a 
talk  of  China  tea  returning  into  public  favour  at 
home  ; but  the  alarming  continuance  of  thefallmg-off 
in  tie' deliveries  of  Congous  must,  or  should,  betaken 
a8  » better  guide  to  shippers  than  talk  ; then 
they  improve,  then  there  will  be  grounds  for 
hope  of  better  times.  Shipper’s  have  fortunately 
made  money  in  the  past  season  but  it  has  been  made 
as  it  were  by  accident,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  season  through  the  bad  condition  of  the 
Hankow  crop,  and  during  the  last  few  mouths 
through  a partial  failure  of  the  Indian  and  Ceylon 
crops  which  prevented  the  estimates  of  supply  being 
reaobed.  Byway  of  emphasising  our  point,  we  would 
ask  how  would  Fowchow  ventures  have  fared  in  the 
t seasoD,  even  at  their  first  low  cost  had 
the  Hankow  orop  been  in  good  condition  and  the 
estimates  of  supply  from  India  and  Ceylon  been 
realised  ? We  repeat,  that  if  the  teamen  expect  a 
higher  range  of  prices  to  rule  in  this  market  for 
first  crop  teas  than  were  current  last  year  they  are 
labouring,  in  our  opinion,  under  a very  great  mistake. 
Although  we  have  m de  no  mention  of  the  Australian 
colouies  being  large  buyers  iu  this  market,  the  teamen 
may  rest  assured  * that  they  will  pay  no  higher  prices 
than  the  buyers  Ut  the  London  market, 
NOTES  ABOUT  COFFEE. 
We  quote  the  following  from  our  Upper  Chatham 
Street  contemporary  : — 
LIBEBIAN  COFFEE  IN  THE  STBAITS. 
The  M.  M.  Steamer  “ Salazie  ” sailed  today  (Mon- 
day) for  Marseilles  with  several  Ceylon  friends. 
AmoDgst  others  who  left  by  her  was  Mr.  V.  R.  Wickwar 
(brother  of  Mr.  J,  Wickwar  of  Nuwara  Eliya),  who 
has  been  spending  a month  of  his  leave  in  Oeylon. 
He  left  here  about  It  years  ago  for  the  Straits, 
einoe  when  he  has  been  planting,  and  is  now  Manager 
of  one  of  the  finest  Liberian  ooffee  estates  in  the 
Peninsula.  Mr.  Wickwar  speaks  in  terms  of  the 
highest  confidence  of  the  future  of  Liberian  oofiee  in 
the  Straits.  Linsim  estate,  of  which  he  has  charge, 
is  one  of  the  show  plaees  of  Sunjei  Ujong.  where  it 
is  situated.  It  bears  about  8 owt.  an  acre  regularly, 
and  the  difficulty  concerning  labor,  which  used  to 
trouble  estates  in  that  part  of  the  world,  is  not  now 
anything  like  so  prominent.  Tamils  are  coming  over 
in  fair  number,  and  although  R20  per  head  has  to 
be  paid  for  freight,  labor  is  fairly  abundant,  if  some- 
what dearer,  than  in  Ceylon.  Mr.  Wiokwar  has  a 
railway  station  within  4 miles  of  bis  eBtate ; so  that 
be  is  in  quite  civilized  and  get-at-able  quarters.  The 
climate,  be  says,  is  good  as  soon  as  the  jungle  is 
oleared,  and  he  is  of  opinion  that  a very  prosperous 
future  is  before  the  planting  iudustry  in  the  Straits’ 
so  far  as  Liberian  coffee  is  concerned.  Mr.  Wickwar, 
goes  home  on  nine  months’  leave,  and  we  hope  he 
will  have  an  enjoyable  holiday. 
Coffee  in  Nyassaland. — Mr.  J.  W.  Moir,  formerly 
manager  of  the  Lakes  Company,  has  purchased  one 
of  their  properties,  and  is  adding  a 40-acre  oleariog 
to  the  200  already  planted.  One  of  the  sons  of  the 
late  James  Imlah  of  Haputale  has  given  up  his  work 
as  marine  engineer,  and  is  hard  at  work  planting  in 
Nyassaland.  The  weather  six  weeks  ago  is  described 
as  similar  to  that  of  Uva  or  Lower  Udapusselawa. 
A nicer  climate  could  not  be  wished  for.  There  is 
a good  deal  of  fever  at  times,  but  it  is  of  a mild 
type.  It  would  seem  to  be  of  no  use  young  men  going 
there  without  money;  but  a few  hundreds  might  be 
very  well  investel  with  every  prospeotof  a good  return. 
— Local  "Times.” 
CEYLON  TEA  IN  LONDON. 
About  the  selling  of  our  teas  by  a Ceylon  Tea  Com- 
pany which  until  vary  recently,  hid  oonfined  its  entire 
attention  to  Oeylon  teas  pure  and  simple  ; and  that  the 
change  had  been  decided  upon  in  self-defence.  To 
confirm  these  words  of  your  correspondent,  let  me 
quote  from  the  Grocer’s  Review  the  prices  offered  by  the 
United  Kingdom  Tea  Company,  Limited,  whiob,  with 
every  other  tea-trading  company,  is  scrambling  for  all 
sorts  of  business,  and  appeals  to  the  grocer  for  order* 
at  the  same  time  that  it  is  advertising  in  the  daily 
papers  for  the  grocers’  customers.  The  advertisement 
above  referred  to  runs  as  follows  : — 
“ Unaltered 
By  the  market  either  in 
Quality  or  Price. 
There  is  no  occasion  for  grocers  to  do  with  a 
fraction  less  profit  on  the  teas  they  retail ; on  the  con- 
trary, they  can  make  more  money  provided  they  place 
their  orders 
in  the  right  direction 
O 
at 
9d 
Duty  paid. 
OO 
»? 
10 
do 
A 
9) 
11 
do 
B 
Hi 
do 
C 
9) 
Is  Id 
do 
D 
» 
Is  2^d 
do 
E 
JJ 
Is  4d 
do 
F 
>5 
Is  5id 
do 
Tea  bags, 
attractive 
window  bills,  and  window  tiok6ts 
gratis.” 
There  is  also  a line  about  “ Orders  of  £3  and  up- 
wards carriage  paid.”  As  it  is  not  quite  certain 
whether  this  refers  to  the  above  blends  or  packed 
Ceylon  teas  in  same  advertisement,  I do  not  remark 
further  on  the  item  of  carriage. 
