30 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [July 1, 1902. 
sion and the very mild winter, the tea trade ia 
Austria und Germany was bad last year, yet they 
think there is a decided future for Ceylon tea, pro- 
vided quality be miiintained, and if possible im- 
proved, 1 reserve my opinion as to what should 
be done in Kussia till after the Exhibition is 
over, but 1 do not advocate the spending of 
any large sum to make a "splash" either in 
one or in all the other countries. The expenditure 
should be confliied to induce the trade to push 
the article, and to demonstrations, and we should 
keep steadily and quickly at the work for some 
years. It must not be forgotten that, owing 
to the enormous increase in the world's coffee 
production, coffee has become very cheap, Coffee 
growers are doing what they can to And 
new outlets for their produce, Brazil has sent 
a delegate to Europe to see what can be done 
to develope the trade, and special efforts are 
being made to induce the Eussiaus to drink 
more coffee, 
I want to take this opportunity to acknowlerlge 
aratefuUy the kindness, help, and informiition 
given to me by Mr. Bennett of thg British 
Embassy in Yienna, by Mr. Austin Lee of the 
British Embassy in Paris, and by the British 
Consuls in Stockholm, Christiania, Copenhagen 
and Stettin. ^^.^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ 
Hamburg, 10th March, 1902. 
C Letter from the Ceylon Commissioner 
in Europe to Chairmxtn, P. A.) 
TEA IN ANNAM. 
Buckebnrg, 16th March, 1902. 
Dear Mr. Kingsfurd,— Since forwarding my 
report I have received tiirough the kindness of 
the British Embassy in Paris the following 
comnianication from the French authoritias as 
per translation herewith. . , , 
" According to information received rrom the 
Administration in Indo Ghina tlie figures given, 
viz • 71i hectares as representing the extent of 
acreage under tea in Annam, must not be 
considered correct. It is difficult to estimate 
the acreage exactly, but it is for all that 
sufficiently large to explain the production 
announced in the statistics (Note :-about 450 
af.rf8) In the Province alone of Bhin Bmii 
tlieie are 147 hectares and ge i^rally the culti- 
vation of tea in Annam is developing rapidly. 
The local customs watches the exports to 
France with the greatest care, and grants no 
certificates of origin (of growth) without having 
obtained all information as to the exact source 
of the teas intende.l for export." My supposi- 
tion that other teas from Ciiina were being 
exDorted as Annam teas is therefore wrong,, 
but I think excusable, when according to the 
official figures the total acreage under team Annam 
was given as 71i hectares. If my report is 
published, this letter should be published as 
well.— Yours sincerely, 
(Signed) J. Hj RenTON, 
A., 0. Kingaford, Esq., Rookwood|i 
OVER PRODUCTION. 
It is wonderful in how many directions 
the evils of " Overpi'oduction " are realized ! 
We have just received the "semi-annual 
report," April 1902, of Messrs. Schiramel & Co. 
of Miltitz, nearLeipsic and of London and New 
York, dealing with "Essential Oils," and this is 
what we read in re.jyard to " Eucalyptus Oil ": 
— " The trade in this product suffers from 
excessive overproduction, which, in spite of 
every warning, is carried on unflinchingly at 
the two principal sources of supply — Aus- 
tralia and Algiers -and which will lead to 
unpleasant consequences, if the production is 
not soon carried on in a more rational 
way." It cannot be very easy— however 
desirable— to bring producers, situated so 
far apart as Algeria and Austi^alia, 
into line or to get them to combine to 
reduce their output of a product which de- 
pends so largely on epidemics of " influenza " 
to secure a profitable market. Still more 
surprising is the case of the French " wine 
crop" as we learn from a copy kindlv sent 
us of a very able and interesting Report 
by Mr. Consul General Hertslet on the 
District of Havre for 1901, and lately pub- 
lished. It seems that last year the yield of 
the French vineyards was much above the 
averas'e. But so far from this being a sub- 
ject for congratulation, the Consui-Greneral 
declares that the excessive production has 
proved to be a source of disastrous losses 
to the wine-growers and from them has 
reacted with bad results on the whole trade 
of France. Here is the explanation as given 
in the Report before us : — 
Consnmpiion of wine, as a result of low prices 
and the removal of octroi duties, has undoubtedly 
increased, but it still falls far short of the immense 
production of t!i3 past two seasons. Stocks have 
accumulated, and as the poorer qualities, of which 
there was an unusually large production during 
the past year, will not stand keepinjr, prices 
have fallen to such a low figure as to yield the 
grower in many cases practically nothing. In 
view of the enormous extent of the wine industry 
in this country, the crisis has had far-reachiug 
effects on the trade of the whole of France, and 
has contributed to a large extent to the general 
feeling jf uneasiness and depression, even at places 
so far removed from the wine-growing districts 
as Havre and the ports of Northern France. 
The tea planters of Ceylon and India have, 
therefore, many to sympathise with them 
in different countries, in their experience 
of the evils of over production ; for, to get 
a further illustration we have only to go 
to Mr. Hertslet's next paragraph dealing with 
" coffee," the tirade in which with iRLavre 
had reached anixnprecedented figure last year 
The Brazil coffee crop of 1901 2 is now known, 
to be by far the largest on record ; but 
nevertheless speculation became active on 
unfavoui^able reports of the prospect of the 
succeeding crop coining to hand, and prices 
advanced considerably out of such specula- 
tions. At the same time, the stock of 
coffee in Havre was (in January) expected 
very shortly to reach a total of 3 million 
bags, — which is by far the largest quantity 
ever accumulated in one port and is as 
