Oct. 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGFtlCULTUEISl:, 
275 
TEA AND THIBET: "GREEN" us. 
BRICK TEA. 
In the absence of any practical experiment it 
is, of course, impossible to say how great a measure 
of success would attend an attempt to create a 
demand for Indian tea in Thibet, but it should 
most certainly be made. Although the proposal 
to manufacture green tea for the American 
market has fallen rather flat with Assam and 
Bengal planters, a proposal to manufacture brick 
tea would probably meet with some response. 
The tea refuse, etc., which Messrs. Barlovv' & Co. 
offer to dispose of, would not in any way affect 
brick tea manufacture, as the latter would be 
made from prunings, etc. It would, of course, 
take some time for the commodity to establish a 
market for itself, and for it to do so at all would 
doubtless prove a matter of much difficulty, but 
as the tea would be manufactured from material, 
which at present is not utilised at all, planters 
in Assam and Bengal would find it to their ad- 
vantage to make it. Mr. A Dalglelsh pointed out 
in 1881 tliat the Thibetan market was "capable 
of taking all the surplus tea for which, in the 
home market, there is no deuiand," and, further 
stated that it was one which "we can supply 
without increase of production, and at the same 
time without withdrawing a single poupd 
of the tea which can find a sale in the London 
market." There were at the time opponents to 
the scheme propounded by Mr. Dalgleish, who 
thought it better to look for a market to America 
and the English Colonies rather than to Thibet, 
but this, we think, was due to a misapprehension 
of Mr. Dalgleish's plans. The trade in brick tea 
with Thibet would not be in preference to, but 
ia addition to, extension in ocher directions. The 
Thibet market and the others are entirely dis- 
tinct, and the kind of tea required for the former 
is an altogether different article to that required 
by the home and foreign markets, and would 
not in any way interfere with our export trade 
with other countries. — Indian Planters' Gazette. 
Sept. 15. 
» 
CHEAP BANANAS ; 
EPF EOT OF THE NEW WEST INDIAN MAIL 
SERVICE. 
Bristol is to be the port, and London the chief 
market for the new West Indian service, which 
Messrs. Elder, Dempster and Company are inau- 
gurating immediately after Christmas next. The 
new service is to carry mails and merchandise as 
well as passengers. It is to help the West Indies 
to forget the iniquities of a foreign sugar bounty 
system, and it is to place West Indian fruits 
and other products on the English markets to an 
extent never before attempted. The start with, 
the English consumer will be invited, on tempt- 
ing terms, to dispose of 500 tons of bananas a 
fortnight. 
Steamers will arrive at Avonimouth and dis- 
charge direct on to the railway alongside. Two 
hours later the boat trains will be at Paddington, 
or, if needs be, Midland trains can be loaded by 
the waterside and sent without loss of time to 
the heart of England. The Bristol Dock author- 
ities have been bestirring themselves to cope 
with the new traffic. Along the Avonmonth 
quayside a passenger station amd fruit store 
are to be provided, as well as other necessary 
accommodation, at a cost of £16,0'tO. The Bristol 
Chamber of Commerce has established a West 
Indian section, and the section is sending out 
a Commissioner who is going to arrange forth- 
with for an exhibition in Jamaica or Bristol 
manufactures. 
^ It is under a ten years' contract with the 
Crown Agents for the Colonies that Elder, Damp- 
ster and Co. are establishing the new service, 
the Government paying a yearly subsidy of 
£40,000. _ For tiie first three years the steamers 
employed must have a carrying capacity of not 
less than 3,000 tons, accommodation for fifty- 
five passengers, and be capable of a speed of 
15 knots an hour ; and another stipulation is 
that every boat shall bring over 20,000 bunches 
of bananas (equal to 500 tons.) After three 
years have elapsed boats capable of carrying 
5,000 tons cargo and 150 passengers will be placed 
on the service. 
The first steamer dispatched from Bristol will 
be the " Port Royal," which will leave on Jan. 
16th She is one of four steamers being specially 
constructed for the line, and has accommodation for 
one hundred first-class passengers, fifty second-class 
passengers and 6,000 tons cargo. It is reckoned 
that she will do the trip to Jamaica in eleven or 
twelve days, and it is likely that Mr. and Mrs. 
Chamberlain will be amongst the party travelling 
by her in January. At all events they have ex- 
pressed a wish to he with the first passengers by 
the new service. The service to Jamaica will be 
fortnightly to begin with ; later it may be weekly; 
and one of its special features will be low tares to 
boys and drls sent from the West Indies for educa- 
tion in England. 
The large quantities of fruit that each steamer 
will bring to England will be conveyed in holds 
specially adapted. In each hold the temperature 
will be kept uniformly low. Bananas will be 
ranged in rows or "streets," and all that science 
and experience can suggest to achieve the best re- 
sults will be done. Experts have already left for 
the West Indies to make arrangements for the 
collection and shipment of fruit, and an expen- 
diture of £30,000 will be incurred on account of 
cooling machinery. It is evident that in Jamaica 
big things are expected of the new service, for the 
report is that already land there has gone up ten 
per cent in xaXxxe.— Daily Chronicle, Aug, 31. 
SCIENCE AND TEA PLANTING 
In your issue of 19th July, page 45, Mr. Stebbing 
aska me how I propose to carry out the nataral 
desire to make tea "pay." He refers to my letter 
in yours of 28th June and in that I said that what we 
want to know ia how to make an unprofitable garden 
pay aud how to improve the tea of that garden 
and the way to do so is to get aach a garden and 
improve it. 
I contend that an experimental garden would be 
of greater value than a scientist. Of course if the 
scientist could be employed »n that garden it would 
become of greater value. 
Mr. Stebbing says that my views are not shared 
by the bulk of planters, but I note .'in yours of 
16th August, page 110) that Mr. H. J. Lawrie, in his 
speech, haa almost repeated what I said about Mr 
Bamber and the value of another scientifio investi- 
gator. If Mr. Blann could be placed in charge of a 
tea garden, witli an experienced aasistaut to teach 
him the rudiments of tea planting, there is no doubt 
that he would do great thinga. He would then in- 
vestigate tea pests, and the question of "fermentation" 
from their proper base, i.e., ia regarij tg "profit." 
