Am 1, 1902.1 THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
91 
GREEN TEA FOR ASIATIC MARKETS. 
It is gratifying to find that my last letter on 
the above subject has attiacted tlie atieiitlon of 
so many both in India and Ceylon. I regret 
however to notice that your leader ci iticising my 
remaiks on the trans-frontier markets was based 
on more than one misconception as to niy me m- 
ing. I will therefore feel much oliliged if you will 
kindly allow me to explain and defend the position 
I took np regarding this once valuable trade. 
You state that ".so far from the making of the 
new style green tea being experimental in India, 
it is only following on the lines which proved 
successful in Ceylon." This may be, but why 
slavishly follow Ceylon at all in this matter, when 
India can alrea ly produce the genuine article, 
which proved so successful that it rapidly ousted 
its China rival from the great nif rketsof Afghan- 
istan and Central Asia? The trans-fiontier 
markets are acknowledged to be 
TOTALLY DIFFFKENT FROM THE GREEN TEA 
MARKET OF AMERICA. 
In the former we have to compete against the 
produce of China and in the latter tnat of Japan, 
and the mode of attack in each case must 
necessarily be different. It does not follow that 
because the Ceylon green tea suits America, which 
many experts still doubt, that therefore it is also 
the best for Afghanistan. Strange to say this is 
conceded in your leader,, when you say, "in point 
of fact the American and not the Afghan market 
was aimed at." If this is really tlie case, then why 
is the Association trying to force the Afghan 
market with these new teas when the North-West 
can supply a tea that is already known and 
appreciated by all Asiatics ? You further remark 
"tiiat the three old districts did not make the 
slightest impression on the American . market." 
But I do not believe anybody up here ever 
seriously tried to make any such impression, 
simply because there was no necessity for 
wasting our efforts in America, when we were 
receiving the highest prices in India at our very 
doors. The North- Western planters claim no 
special favours, but they do claim equitable treat- 
ment, and object to being arbitrarily brushed aside 
on behalf of purely Calcutta interests. The Asso- 
ciation ostensibly exists for the benefit of the whole 
Indian tea industry. Why then is it piomoting 
internal competition by artificially aiding Bengil 
tea against the teas of Dehra Dun, Kangra and 
Kumaon, the mirkets legitimately belonging to 
these districts? What would the Bengal planters 
say if the Association withheld its su|)port from 
them in the direction of America, while it deliber- 
ately encouraged the North-West men to exploit 
and capture the American market? Regarding 
THE ACIUAL PRODUCTION OF GREliN TEA 
you say, " but we are of opinion that the ex- 
pense and trouble of making green teas on tlie 
old system will always stand in the way of 
their being turned out in quantity," But the 
argument will not hold, as we have only to 
quote China, with its millions of pounds of green 
tea, every particle of which is made by hand in the 
old style." And nearer home, the much maligned 
"three old districts " also turned out between them 
a million or two of this very tea, and made it 
cheaper than the black teas of the period ; and 
I feel assured tliat even now the same results could 
be easily produced. There is no reason why the 
process of " panning " should be done any longer 
bj hand. I had not much difficulty even in thQ 
12 
old days, in erecting a rough but workable hand 
apparatus by which one man did the paiming of 
a dozan or more. Something on similar linesi 
a'iapted to steam-power would, with a atten- 
dants, do the work of tl.e whole fai-tory. So we 
need not fear any ditKcnlty abouty the cheap me'tlia- 
nical production of tlie old style green tea. What 
is really causing serious anxiety'i.s the cii.sual and 
airy way the inexperienced men of Bengal have de- 
cided to discard this tea for a new hybrid green 
which is untiied and wholly unknown to the conser- 
vative Asiatic markets. I will take this oppor- 
tunity of once more reiterating that g'Muiiiie green 
tea, of a greenish hue, can easily be made with- 
out the addition of any foreign colouring matter 
whatsoever. But it is very probable that; our 
Asiatic customers will insist on having a lighter 
green, and this can only be produeeil by " facing" 
the natural green with certain efJ'eciiive and harm- 
less ingredients which cost next to nothing. 
To resume our arguments. You state that 
" after all a style of manufacture which died out 
for want of support on the great markets is 
scarcely worth while making special efforts 
to revive " But it is forgoiiteu that it was not 
the " style of manufacture," that caused the 
loss of our markets ; but on the contraty, it 
was the extinction of these markeb>i by' the 
political and fiscal actions of Russia and Afghanis- 
tan that made it unprofitable to make any rhore 
green tea. Again you say, " by all means let the 
old tea districts revive their green te i trade with 
Afghanistan, but they cannot help us in America or 
elsewhere." I beg leave to doubt this latter 
assertion, but even if we allow it to pass, why 
sliDuld Bengal gooutofits way to foist its new 
imitation green teas on the Afghans, when there 
is already a well-known and suitable article 
available on the spot ? What would be said of our 
Go\ernment if in a trans frontier war, it entirely 
neglected and ignored the splendid native army 
of the Punjab, and deferred taking active measures, 
till it had raised, equipped, and trained a scratch 
lot of raw and untried Bengalis and Cingalese for 
the campaign ! When India first started capturinf^ 
the tea markets of the world from China we 
WISELY DID OUR BUST TO CLOSELY IMITATE OUR 
rival's TEAS 
in make, colour, and even in names. The reason 
we triumphed in the end was because, quality for 
quality, we gave our customers better tea for 
their money. We did not, as some still seeni to 
imagine, manufacture an entirely new kind of 
tea with fancy names of our own concoction. 
Likewise when the North-Western planters made 
up their minds to oust China from the trans- 
frontiet. markets, they did not waste their time 
and money in trying to force a wholly unknown 
commodity on the suspicious and extremely con- 
servative natives. They took the more businesslike 
course of first obtaining approved samples of 
green teas from the great China entrepot^s at 
Kabul, Kandahar, Mashed, Bokhara, and Samar- 
kand, and then manufactured up to these finalities. 
And as they were not above consulting the people 
and meeting their wishes, they very rapidly .=ecured 
a firm foothold in the desired markets. Had the 
Russians and Afghans not deliberately closed 
these markets to us, we would — long ere this — have 
secured the entire monopoly of tea in that direc- 
tion, and could efisily have defied competition 
from elsewhere. We lost this lucrative trade not 
because our teas were unsuitable, but because of 
the antagonism of Russia and Afghanistan, au4 
