JULV I, 1902. J THE TROPICAL AGRICULIURISt. 
THE CEYLON COMMISSIONER FOR 
EUROPE 
EPORT FOR 1901, 
I do not suppose it will be considered necessary 
that I should recount in my report for last year 
the impressions I have received, the information I 
have obtained, and the details of the methods adop- 
ted in the various countries which I have visited, to 
introduce and push Ceylon tea. All these details 
have been given in the numerous letters I have 
written from time to time to the Chairman of the 
Committee. I shall therefore give only as brief a 
summary as x^ossible of the work done. 
Travelling. — In the early part of the year I visited 
the West and South of Germany, Austria-Hungary, 
Northern Italy, South and West of Prance, and 
Paris. In the Spring I went to Saxony, and Central 
Germany ; in the Summer to Northern Germany, 
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark : in the Autumn 
Switzerland, Paris, and a few towns in the North of 
France, and in the Winter to St. Petersburg and 
Moscow. 
Mode of Operations. — I have presumed that the 
object of my mission is (I) to make Ceylon Tea 
known on the Continent, that is, to let the Public 
on the Continent know that Ceylon produces tea 
in large quantities, that Ceylon Tea is superior in 
every way to China, and any other tea; (2) to 
get the Public to taste the tea, and to show 
the Public how the tea should be prepared. With 
these ends in view I have confined my work entirely 
to the Trade. I have not been successful in 
Prance and Germany in inducing the oldest and 
largest first-hand Importing Houses to interest them- 
selves sufiiciently in Ceylon Tea to push it with 
their retail clients, or make a speciality of it. How- 
ever, one Bremen Commission House has interested 
itself very considerably in the article. The reason 
of the abstinence of the large firms is obvious. They 
have an established trade in China Tea, and see no 
reason why they should act as missionaries in intro- 
ducing a new article to their clients, especially when 
the profits on the nevv article are smaller than on 
the old. However, all the tea-importing firms in 
France, Germany, and Scandinavia import our Tea 
now, and I know of only two exceptions, one firm in 
France and one in Sweden, 'vhich refuse to have 
anything to do with it. I have worked mainly 
with the smaller importing firms, the dealers in the 
inland towns, the agents of London firms, and of 
Continental firms established in Ceylon. I have 
acquiesced in these firms carrying on the propaganda 
in the way in which they consider they will be most 
successful. No retail firm has received any support 
with the exception of one in Vienna, one in Florence, 
one in Naples, but these firms have for some years 
drawn their supplies of tea direct from Colombo. 
I Inve paid for no general advertising, and none 
has been done. 
Gernutny. — Work in Germany has been carried on 
by three more or less different methods : 
(1) By the help of a Bremen importing firm, 
which has endeavoured through their clients to 
estaolish depots for the retail sale of Ceylon Tea. 
(2) By subsidies to other dealers in the inland 
towns, who in their turn have carried on the cam- 
paign by newspaper advertisements on behalf of their 
clients, or by distribution of advertisuig material, 
post cards, circulars, leaflets, etc., and free samples 
of tea. 
(S) By distribution of itio pamphlet " Tea Culti- 
vation in Ceylon" and other circulars to all the 
Trade and numerous Hotels. 
As regards the first method, the firm in question 
has tried to induce its clients in Germany, Austria, 
and Scandinavia to take up and push our tea. So 
far they have eftablished only three agencies in 
Germany, one with its centre in the Rhine Pro- 
vinces, one in Breslau, one in Holstein. The first- 
named is a large coffee-distributing firm with 700 
branches all over Germany ; it possesses therefore 
special facilities for distributing the article. But in 
addition to these special agencies, this Bremen 
firm has induced several of their clients in Cologne, 
Baden, Strasburg, Leipsic, and Frankfort — who 
had never hitherto imported Ceylon Tea— to pass 
orders for and stock it. It has imported in 1901, 
120,000 lbs. Caylon Tea against 20,000 lbs. in 1900, 
but part of this increased import has been for Austria 
and Scandinavia. 
Prom their appendixes A. 0. D. & C. it will be 
seen that their clients had up to the end of the year 
p 901) established in Germany 756, in Austria 600, 
in Denmark 180, and in Switzerland 20 depOts for 
the sale of Ceylon Tea. The expenditure by these 
agencies in Germany has been confined entirely to 
illustrated circulars, and window placards. This 
scheme was discussed and form alated early in 1901, 
but it was only in the last three months of the year 
that the bulk of the circulars and placards were 
issued. I hope for good results but they will not be 
apparent for months yet. As I write, I hear that 
several new agencies have been started, and it is 
anticipated that at the end of 1902 all the Provinces 
in Germany wiU be assigned to agents. 
2. In addition to these I have continued grants 
to the three firms who, induced by their Ceylon 
connections, have already been at work for some 
years pushing our tea. One of these is in the neigh- 
bourhood of Frankfurt, and draws its supplies of 
tea from the only estates which are owned by 
Germans in Ceylon ; the second is in Stuttgart, and 
the third in Munich. They have all carried on a 
very active Propaganda, the Frankfurt people mainly, 
on the lines of distributing their circulars as a 
supplement of various special monthlies and week- 
lies. The papers they have chosen are some illus- 
trated papers, and special papers for the Army, Navy, 
doctors, clergj-men, railway employees, etc. In this 
v^ay they have distributed 6ii0,000 of their special 
circulars, and 100,000 of various other publications, 
and they have advertised in some 24 different news- 
papers. Their denunciation of China tea in their 
leading pamphlet is perhaps a little too forcible. 
Our object is not to make tea drinkers disgusted 
with tea generally. 
Our Stuttgart and Munich friends have worked 
liy means of newspaper advertisements, circulars, 
leaflets, photos, calendars, with views of Ceylon, 
and advertisements in special Ladies' Magazines 
and periodicals. They have also inserted one or two 
loading articles in a couple of newspapers. Stutt- 
gart is able to report an increase of sales in 1901 
over 1900 of 12,300 lbs., Munich of 800. 
In addition to these three firms I have been 
successful in getting other three firms, one in 
Frankfurt, one in Berlin, and one in Konigsberg, to 
interest themselves in our tea. The Frankfurt and 
Berlin people have advertised it freely, and have 
brought out special labels for pure Ceylon tea in 
packets. The Konigsberg people have increased 
the proportion of Ceylon largely m their blends, 
none of which is now without a mixture of Cey* 
