Il6 THE TROPICAL AGEICULTUPJST. [Aug. 1, 1902, 
TEA SALES AND AVERAGES. 
We direct attention to the letter of "A 
I'Janter" on this siibject and especially the 
attention of the Brokers both here and in 
London. We fear the labour involved in 
woi'king out the fuller information desired 
by our correspondent Tvould be deemed 
prohibitory of the adoption of the plan. 
As matters stand, the detailed lists of each 
sale are open to each reader, showing how 
many grades are included, and of course 
no merchant, agent, proprietor, or practical 
planter is deceived by the high averages 
reported when only the highest grades have 
been offered for sale. At the same time 
no doubt the impression left on the mind 
of the ordinary reader is an unfair one, 
by the selection in our local paragraphs, 
or on the front page of London circulars, of 
the estates securing the highest averages 
without specifying the grades included in 
each case. So far as we are concerned, we 
must in future confine ourselves to the 
highest prices obtained for the same grade 
— thus the highest price for Orange Pekoe 
at yesterday's sale was 54 cts. for St. John's 
estate; for Broken Orange Pekoe, Devonford, 
78 ; and for Broken Pekoe, Poon;igalla, 56 ; 
and so on through all the gr;i,des. In 
this we suppose there will be much less 
unfairness, although even then comparisons 
can never be quite equitable ; because an 
estate may pay special attention to a verv 
few. grades ; while another Manager is bound 
by orders to do Justice to all grades. In 
fact, only a rough approximation to fairness 
{by way of comparison) can be attained in 
any system of quoting prices or averages 
for our tea sales. 
THE PROSPECTS OF " INDIA RUBBER." 
Very full and interesting is the informa- 
tion which we this month receive from 
America, regarding the enormous Rubber in? 
dustry and its several developments along the 
great Amazon river and its many affluents 
through Brazilian, Bolivian and Peruvian 
territory. We must quote in full in our 
Tropical Afjriculiurist some very interesting 
reports as to the different modes of treating 
forests of Hevea (Para) and of Caniilloa EUwtica 
respectively. But, in the meantime, we may 
mention that in the back valleys of Peru- 
near the region reported on by Messrs. A. 
Sinclair, the late Alex. Hoss and P. D. G. 
Clark— the latter tree is said to grow pro- 
fusely and " it is invariably cut down as it 
yields milk from the wliole of the trunk ; 
While the Hevea is only tapped, .as it only yields 
juice from between the Ijark and stem." Again 
here is an astonishing statement in the same 
report : — " ;«.lthough entire forests of C. Ela.s- 
tica (Caucho) have lieen destrgyed, the ground 
is quickly covered again with the trees from 
the roots or seeds left in the soil and in six 
years are fit to be again felled, so rajiid is the 
geowth." This fact— if fact it be— coupled 
with the accounts of the vast Kubher-growing 
regions still to be exploited, is not very en- 
couraging to Eastern planters of rubber. On 
the other hand a botanical authority has 
pronounced that there are at least three kinds 
of (Jastilloa and that one of them is valueless, 
so that grave doubts .^re expressed if all the 
iMstilloa plantations formed in Mexico will 
prove prortuefci^e. It is generally con- 
sidered that Hcve.a is the safer tree to culti- 
vate. Here is another kind of warning from 
Mexico :— 
JaiTies Maunder write.s from San Juan Evaai:;e- 
lista, Vera Cruz, to The India Eubber Journal 
(London) : " I know of the disasters whicli befell 
some of our people who purchased a going concern 
■ — rubber— in this country ; there is another con- 
cern going to be ofi'ered in London pretty soon, 
but take Ptt?i.c7i's advice, 'Don't.' There is good 
wild land here to be had, near rail and river, for 
from 21 sliillings per acre, and lots of money to be 
made, bub the mannger should be a man of expe- 
rience in tropical agriculture" 
The very extensive Acre (Rubber) concession 
granted by Bolivia to an Anglo American 
Syndicate is likely to cause trouble with Brazil 
which is preparing to jirevent access to the 
territory, if necessary, by force. 
Finally, we draw the special attention of out 
Rubber planters to the article we reproduce 
on our sixth page from the India Rubber World 
of New York, as affording practical informa- 
tion on the difference between Para rubber 
produced in the Straits Settlements and 
that got from Brazil. In the editorial 
remarks, however, we fail to find dis- 
couragement to rubber planters, whether 
in Perak or Ceylon— quite the contrary. 
We do not think that London Brokers 
would give so good a price for the " clean. y- 
prepared" Para rubber from the East unless 
they were well .assured of its appreciation by 
manufactiu^ers. 
TEA AND COFFEE IN INDIA IN 1901-2. 
An elaborate review of the Trade of India 
for 1901-2 by Mr. J. B. O'Conor, c.i.E., 
Director-General of Statistics to the Govern- 
ment of India, has just come to hand, and 
we may at once quote the remarks made on 
our staple. First, as to its importation to the 
value of Rl, 603,936 in 1901-2, we are told :- 
The importations of Tea declined to about the 
level of 1899-1900, the fall indicating a diminislied 
use of Bombay as a depot for the shipment of teas 
to the regions served from the Persian Gulf and 
Afghanistan. Moreover, the piices of tea in the 
Indian market ranged on too low a level last year 
to oifer an inducement for importation on an 
extensive scale for local consumption. The 
operations at present in hand for extending the 
consumption of Indian tea in India should have 
some eflect presently on the importations ot 
China tea. 
But on the Export trade the report is 
naturally much fuller and more varied. Let 
us first quote some figures :— 
1898-9y. 1899- 190O. 1900 01 1901-02. 
Tea 8,04,48,038 9,09,21,120 9,50,09,301 8,14,94 893 
Coffee 1,74,98,242 1,48,47,146 1,22,84,498 1,25,02,200 
This IS what Mr. O'Conor has to say as to 
the Cess, improved cultivatiou and cbn^olid- 
