June l, 1903.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
825 
iiuprovemenb. It will be seen that the m vrket 
value of the share of the toity-tive repre- 
aenbalive companies ehoscii bj' him for particular 
observation has again advanced durino; the past 
month; also that the improvement ha? extended 
nearly " all along the line " : — 
£ 
Face value 45 companies' shares ... 9,500 000 
Market value July 1, 1897 (highest poi-it) 12,000,000 
Do Jan. 1, 1902 .. .. 7,0C0,0U0 
Do April 1,1902 .. .. 6.745,000 
Do Sept. 1, 1902(lowest point). . 6,050,000 
Do Jan. 1, 1903 . . . . 6,600,000 
Do Feb. 1, 1903 (oorrectecl) .. 6,750,000 
Do March 1, 1903 . . ... 7,000,003 
Do April 1, 1903 ... ... 7,175,000 
As tlie grand total of tlie share and debenture 
capital together of tlie 170 (or thereabouts) tea 
companies registered with sterling capital in 
the United Kingdom amounts to about 
£19,000,000. The fluctuations of the entire 
volume, based on these figure', may thus be 
roughly e.stimated : — 
£ 
Face value of (about) 170 companies . . 19,000,000 
Highest market value, July 1, 1897 . . 24,000,000 
Lowest market value, Sept. 1, 1902 .. 12,100.000 
Present market value, April 1, 1903 ,. 14,350,000 
Taking 100 as representing the top value, the lowest 
level would be represented byjusc above 50 and 
the present value by nearly 60. There are indi- 
cations, Mr iSeton further observes, that there will 
now be some pause in the advance until it can 
be clearly seen how the profits for the past year's 
working will pan out, Most of the Ceylon com- 
panies, whose financial year synchronises with the 
calendar year, eitiier have already disclosed, or 
will this month, disclose their results, while the 
greater number of the Indian companies will issue 
their reports before the month of May is out, so 
that onlookers will not now have very long to wait 
for the information desired. 
The following from a correspondent who sighs 
for the old-fashioned 
PROFITS ON TEAS 
appears in the Grocer :—" The great idea 
with retailers nowadays is to obtain every 
article in packet form, so as to save the 
payment of larger salaries than are due to 
those who have not learnt, but merely obtained 
a smattering of the grocery trade. Some thirty to 
forty years since the profits on small goods were 40 
percent, to 50 per cent, on returns, and the grocer 
who blended teas on his own premises to suit his 
customers, could easily obtain from 2d to 3d more 
than his non-blending competitor, though both of 
them obtained from 40 to 50 per cent profit on 
returns. Hence it is no surprise to me that 
failures in the giocery trade are frequent and 
disastrous, because many young men set up for 
themselves who have never learnt the difference 
between putting on 50 per cent, to the cost price 
' and realising 50 per cent, out of the selling price. 
They and older members seem only to de<ire a 
great run of custom, and by keen competition and 
the hatetul policy of the ' nimble ninepence,' 
seek to cut out each his neighbour, overlooking 
the fact that to sell teas from 12^ per cent, lo 
25 per cent, prolit is but to exchange cream for 
skiui milk. The secret of the tea trade docs not 
lie giving one's legitimate prolits to the general 
public indiscriminately by listening to the dictation 
of merchant's and manufacturers as t» the prolits 
they should be open to sell to--, as much of tUeir 
success depends upon annu.al remms. By dictating 
to the retailer the merchant makes a rod for his 
own hick when he finds that failui-e results from 
insufficient profits, esp:^eially on tea." 
ADULTERATION OF TEA. 
Dr Alfred Hill, medical officer of health for 
the Uity of Bii niinghani, has resigned hia pioition 
after a period of forty years' service. Intervie^ved 
by a local ncvvspaper reporter, Dr Hill said jthe 
methods of the food adulterator are daily becoming 
more scientific and his devices more subtle. At 
one time pepper was extensively adulterated, but 
now it is rare to find a case where the quality 
has been wilfully reduced for commercial purpose^. 
Tea which was formerly tre\ted wiili minerals 
rolled up in the leaves and heavily coloured with 
Prussian blue and French chalk, as equ illy i)ui e. 
Cocoa is still capable of being largely adulterated, 
sugar and starch in some instances being finely 
introduced. Under the specious plea 'j'' reod.iiing 
the article soluble it was often robbed of much of 
its virtue.— H ct C Mail, April 10. 
TEA IN A3IERICA IN 1101 
During J 902 the agitation of the rem )val of the 
duty on tea caused dealers to allow stocks out of 
licensed warehouses to run down to the lowest 
possible point and the result was that deliveries 
during the year were lighter than usual. Deliveries 
are accepted as representing consumption, but 
cannot be regarded as actually defining its extent. 
The imports were light and the per capita con- 
sumption smaller tlian for several years. The net 
import in 1902 was 74,275,153 pjun^ls, ,with an 
average import cost plus the duty oi §16,669,704. 
The net imports, assumed to represent consump- 
tion, have for ten years past been as follows : — 
Average Con- 
Net import coat samption 
imports, per pound, per crpital. 
Pounds. Csuts, Pounds. 
1893 .. 88,131,038 16.0 1.33 
1894 .. 91,801,505 15.1 1.36 
1895 ... 96,437,042 13.5 1.40 
1896 .. 93,340,248 13.5 1.33 
1897 ... 112.907,548 13.1 1.58 
1898 ,. 67,697,295 14.2 -93 
1899 ... 72,834,816 12.3 .93 
1900 ... 83,303,177 12.4 1.09 
1901 ... 88,502,554 12.3 1.14 
1902 ... 74,275,153 12.4 .94 
The ToUowing tables show the net m 'ortsand 
yearly consumption : 
pounds. 
Tea iu warehouse, June 30, 1900 ii9,425,3Sl 
Net imports, June 30 1901 ... 8S,5!)2,55l 
Net imports, June 30 1902 .. 74,275,153 
Total supply, two years ., 
Less in warehouse Jane 30, 1902 
192,203.033 
33,635,042 
Net supply, two years . . 158,568,046 
AveriVge yearly consumption . . 79,284,023 
It is conservative to estimate the .".verage retail 
cost pel pound in 1902 at 50 cent,*, and that one 
pound of tea as ordinary brewed will make ii\e 
gallons of beverage, on which basis the consump- 
tion in 1902 W.1S .596,420,115, gallons, at a cost of 
$•'^9,642,011, or 10 oents per gallon — with the duty 
of 10 cents removed we may look for increased use^ 
—Aiiicrkan Gi occr, 
