Ms 
tHE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Uor. 1, 1900. 
joiued figures ^ive appioxiinotely ilie quantity 
of tea consumed in India, the lit,'uve.s representing 
the average of tlie last Jive years : — 
lb. 
fProauced .. 160 643,992 
Indian tea < Exported .. 16r),474,4i6 
iLeft ill India .. 5109,576 
( Imported . . 6,210,615 
Foreign tea < Re-exported .. 3,4S7.6:-iO 
{Left in. India .. 2.r.!Zpsr, 
Thus approxiuiattjly 8 million pouiuls were left 
in India on tlie average ot vi'liieh 517 millions 
Ijidian and 2'7'2 mi I lions foreign, I lie hulk of 
the foreij^n tea hzin^ Ciiinese, though a subs- 
tantial quantity consists of Ceylon tea. More 
tliau a million pounds are purchased annually for 
the British Army, and a larger (|iiantiiy must 
be eon'iumed by the Eurojiean an<l iiurasian civil 
population, anci by natives who, in some of the 
larger towns, are, adopting the tea drinking habit. 
• The principal markets for Indian tea are stated 
hereunder, with the quantity exported (in lb) to 
each country in the last five years :— 
By Sea :— 
,„,1895-96. 1896-97. 1897-93. 1893-99. 18,)9-!900. 
Uniteil Kingdom. 
123,947,369 135,450,884 137,GE)5,857 139,245,995 154,161,492 
6,774,652 6,155,895 6,792,654 6,306.135 8,362,797 
United States and Canada. 
989,065 1,607,731 1.523,236 2,457,880 4,677,797 
3,188,099 1,993,823 ] ,464,394 3,456,791 1,953 900 
, , Russia. 
486,255 457,634 689,271 500,889 467,451 
^IlBANS-i'BONTIER : 
Kabul, Kashmir, and other cooutries on the 
North-Western Frontier. 
1,195,264 1,499,120 868,560 1,042,160 2,100,.560 
Other trans-frontier countries. 
6,048 13,664 18,144 23,963 25,312 
PUICES 
'^'■'The prices of tea in Calcutta fluctuate greatly. 
Taking the price in March 1873 to be represented 
l)y 100. it appears that until 1885 the level was 
'well above that point, varying from 110 to 148. 
In that year, coincident ly with the great fall in 
eschanga and in general prices, the level fell to 
90, and a low level was maintained in the fol- 
lowing years until 1895 when there was a rise 
again to a high level. In 1897 prices again fell 
and they have remained at a low level since, as the 
consequence of the extremely rapid increase of pro- 
duction in India and Ceylon. 
These figures all represent the course of prices 
of fine Pekoe in January ot each year as given by 
tlie Bengal Chamber of Commerce. The level for 
each year from 1873 is stated below : 
1873 .. 100 1887 .. 77 
1874 .. 1.2:i 1888 .. 84 
1875 .. 123 1839 .. 77 
1876 .. 136 1890 .. 03 
1.177 .. 148 1891 .. 81 
1878 .. 135 1892 .. 71 
1879 .. 129 1893 .. 87 
1880 126 1894 .. 52 
1881 .. 135 1895 .. 97 
1882 .. 126 1896 ... 81 
1883 .. 110 1897 „, 64 
1884 .. 116 1898 .. 61 
1885 .. 90 1899 .. 53 
1HH6 .. 90 1900 ... 64 
In the .Statistical Depai tment the average prices 
of the various descriptions of te;x sold at the 
■'jinblic sales held in Calcutta during the tea 
■'season have biicn computed for some years i ast. 
J'Vqiu thys'i iicuouuls the liguiei below are taken, 
being the prices in annas and ))ies per pound of 
ihe three descriptions which furm the lar^/e^t pro- 
portion of tlie lea sold and '.hr; vari ili ms in the 
prices, the average price of lbi8 being reorasented 
by 100 : 
Brjken Pekoe. Pekjg. Pekoe SDuchong. 
Price Villi itiou Price V 
Lir 
As. Pie. 
1338 10 
liS9 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
18;)4 
1895 
1896 
1897 
18.)8 
1899 
9 
7A 
2 4-5 
a 
inj 
9.^ 
87 
85 
110 
90 
114 
S5 
5 5-7 'i 
— ( 
Aug. 14, 1903. 
As. Pi 
8 
7 
7 
7 
8 
7 
9 
6 
0 
itioa Price Variation 
As. Pie. 
6 
1 100 
5 92 
2 89 
(t* 87 
\i 108 
-> r. 9 ) 
4 4-5 116 
34 7 01 
9 9-10 85 
Oi 75 
8 7.) 
83 71 
J. E. 
10^ 
89 
91 
84 
103 
87 
11 
5i 
iniJ 
7 
0' Co sou, 
3 
7 
8} 
5i 
4 4-5 
2 5-7 116 
95 
88 
79 
73 
81 
Direcror-(ieneral of Statistics. 
CEYLON TREES: 
.SECTION.S AV ANTED. 
We ;iia glad to iearn I'roiii Mr. Hei-liert 
Wright (.Scientific Assi.staut at Fer;ideniy;i) 
that he does not want Calainauder or Ebony 
in particular, and that it does not matter 
whether the, trees are native or otherwise. 
Mr. Wright wants sections of (diij tree, of 
known age, providing it has been subject, 
throughout its life, to a (Ceylon climate. For 
instance, a section of stem oi' C.ic.ao, Erythrina, 
Bombax, (jrevillea, etc., would,— providing 
the age was known, — alTord data on which to 
l)as« general conclusions. The greater the 
variety of s|)ecimens forwarded, the Ijetter 
it will be. This being the case, we feel sure 
that not a few planters and others will 
endeavour to oblige Mr. Wright. Sections of 
Grevillea from Upper (or Lower) Dimbula, to 
compare witli sections of the same ti'ee grown 
at 2,0110, y.OOO and even 1,000 feet lower down, 
could not fail to be of iiitere.st. Of course, 
Hakgalla Gai'dens, New Galway, Nuwar.i 
Eliya and Uva, as v,'ell as the Western 
districts, can give a variety of tree sections, 
of Grevilleas, Eucalypti, and Acacias ; while 
any planter uprooting or cutting down an 
old cacao tree should not forget Mr. Vv^right.. 
Wkst Indl-vn Lime Juice,— Mr Algernon E 
Asjiinall, secretary of the West India Committee, 
Billiter Square Buildings, writes to Xi\\q TUncs :— 
"The attention of the West India Con.-niittee 
has been CAlled to the fact that at the present 
tinie leinrm juice is being largely mixed with 
lime juice in this country, and the compound is 
being sokl as ' lime juice,' to the detriment of 
the buyer and of those British West Indian colo- 
nies, such as Montserrat and Dominica, where the 
lime fruit is extensively grown. The West India 
Coinniittpe, therefore, confidently appeals to the 
British public to further the interests of those 
colonies by insisting upon ' pure West Indian lime 
juice' and 'cordials' being sold in bottles marked 
as such or so described in tlie invoices. By this 
])recaution every buyer will secure for himself 
the benelic of the iVlerchandise Marks Act (1887), 
which forbids any false trade description, and 
thus secures the buyers in obtaining the goods 
they have asked ioi." —Brit'.nh and Colonial 
Drugijist, Aug. 24, 
