THE TKOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
12 
■ _On tPa sold for oonsumption in Tuikish Aiauia la^ 
porters for the PerMan^ma i^^^^^ thequota- 
[JuLY 1, 1899. 
""^ro'S.^^. W. S. CiiEsswEL. & Co. 10, Hakb 
^Tuf-In^yto the queries contained in your 
biK3, '-'I'i/ 0 I have to state as follows:— 
^'V''t, 1897 about 168 5001b. of tea were i.*ported 
f^'qmvrna estimated value about £10,900, for local 
fonSv^oL'T..s c^i.nyUe^^^^ tea,.., Oh.oa 
'Staves " rh^country do not drink much tea, 
■coffee bS the beverage consumed i-tead / J. 
demand for%^ is, however, mcreanng every year. Puce 
Jch use, h°U can be procured and seat i£ really 
flctSns Tiand J. These last are imported by the 
^rs.^:'?f s.SFr/oo.^ /o. » 
.*''^he miport duty on tea is 8 per cent. aA valorem. 
6 T thinkTt would be unadvisable to attempt too 
larse a business at first as the country is not a nch one, 
an! as stated above, the national taste is on the side of 
coffee, which is consumed in great q^^^^tit'^.^--^ 
mSn Sir Yaur obedient servant, (Sd.) Jl. A- 
January, la'd'd. , n Cfu 
Dear SiR,-In reply to your enquiry, dated the 6th 
t o^^rp^ised to Tripoli, Arabia, I beg to inform 
vorth'afthe S between £1 0<J0 
IZ i^OOO a yea?, the bulk of which is purchased here 
for exporUo tie Soudan by the trade caravans proceed- 
inrsouthto Wadai, Kano, Sokoto, etc., 
sS^^""^^.rI^cCsiS^0;7France2,0 per kilo. 
Ditto •■■ ■" ■■ 
Young HyEon 
Ditto 
2 0 
Q 11 n,ip,iHtv of Indian tea in chests of 1 0 4 at 
^I'^ id^o L peflb (all sales at 4 months date.) 
pi"/4 -ll^hrv/oode. cases, lined with leadfoil, 
i'a.cj.mg. ^-^'o .g^ing. The caravan trade being 
rtheleci?ue!Tdo not think there is room for further 
T iLr^pnt The local consumption is small ; the 
Sr? d is'^Sper cen^- aA .alorem.-Your. faith- 
fnllv ( Sd ) T. S. Jagg, Consul General. 
*"b'r™ Consulate, Salonica, T.^kkev; Uth 
January, 1899. ^ , 
rv^ Mfssrs W. S. Ckesswbll, & Co., Calcutta^ 
GEN^N.-In^eply to your letter of 5 h December 
c\XuraSyouVe^lUing>forma 
+^ him bv a firm of merchants here. 
The imnortatiU of tea, mainly of Indian origin 
t oiin nr '>00 original oases in the season. The 
re°aL\'raH ofThrsTfof consumption here and some 
^-Thtn^e^oT'iTeat ^ot ler.aramong the pop..ation. 
ineubo u extending with tair rapidity. 
^'I S you separately^our's amples of the qualities 
'""irisXays packed m the original cases. 
The import duty is 8 per cent, as on all goods admit- 
ted into Turkey, and the price is from 2s. 3d. to 23. lOd. 
per lb. according to quality. 
Should you wish for any further information I 
should recommend you to apply to the merchants 
referred to above, Messrs. Jenny and Vock, a Swiss 
firm of Commission Agents occupying a good position 
here, who have expressed their willingness to enter 
into communication with you. — I am. Gentlemen, Your 
obedient servent, (Sd.) W. J. Heathcote, Consular 
Assistant. 
UscuB ; TuEKEY IN Europe ; 22»ii January, 1899. 
To W. T. CAETEa. Esq. 
Dear Siet,— I received your letter of 7th December 
last (as also the one addressed to Mouastis, I being 
in charge of both districts), and I have made some in- 
auiries as to the consumption of tea here. 
' The annual consumption in this Vilayet (Kossova) 
is about 1,500 okes (an oke is 2 l-5b.) 
Except for a small quantity of Russian tea, nearly 
all the tea consumed comes from Asia, Miftor. It 
arrives at Constantinople or Salonica in cases of 50 
kilogrammes each. In those towns it is repacked in 
tins of 1 oke, | oke and J oke sent to Uscub. 
The price at Constantinople or Salonica of the tea 
in general consumption here is 30 piastres the oke (110 
piastres=fst. 1) and it sold here at 50 piastres the oke. 
The Eussian tea is sold in packets of 100 grammes at 
5 piastres the packet. 
I should say that probably the tea' consumed here 
and said to be from Asia Minor is the same as yon 
speak of as sold to Persian Gulf or Trebizonde 
merchants. 
Hoping that this information may be of use to you. — 
lam. Sir, Yours faithfully, (Sd.) Chaelbs S. Sampson. 
R.M. Vice-Consul. 
H.B.M. Vice- Consulate, Van, Tdbkey-in-Asia ; 22n<i 
January, 1899. 
Sir,— In reply to your letter of inquiry regarding 
the sale of tea in province, I beg to inform you that 
all tea imported here comes from Constantinople mer- 
chants. 
It is said that these merchants import in large cases 
from India, but the tea is remixed and packed at 
Constantinople before forwarding into the interior. 
It is packed in small fancy tin boxes contain'n? 
from 25 dirhems to 3 okes each box. 400 (dirhems== 
1 oke=2|lb.) 
One of the small boxes is forwarded as a sample. 
Inferior teas are in small canisters 4 to 6 inches high. 
Occasionally rectangular tin boxes 13 by 9 by 10 inches 
are used. 
It must be remembered that all goods to this 
province must come by pack transport chiefly from 
Trebizonde, sometimes from Alexandria. It might be 
possible, however, to open a more direct trade with Van 
through Bagdad and Mosul ; the caravan distance 
froYn Bagdad and Constantinople is about the same. 
Since ten years ago people, both rich and poor have 
begun to drink more tea, and until three years ago the 
trada was increasing. The disturbances three years 
ago have much impoverished the country and there is 
no money to buy much besides bread and the absolute 
necessaries of life. This year there are fears of a 
partial famine. The import last year to Van was 
3,000 okes or 8,250 lb. 
The present political situation is by no means clear, 
and there is no room at present for any farther develop- 
ment of the trade. 
The import duties are all paid in Constantinople. 
There are none here. 
There are three kinds of tea imported here. — 
(1) 80 paistres an oke ... 6 shillings a. lb- 
(2) 40 „ ... 3 
(3) 20 „ ... Is. 6d. 
Samples of each are enclosed in the sample box. 
As far as I can judge, all these have bat a very 
remote connection with the actual tea plant. 
lea is not usually sold by the oke, but in the 
fancy boxes such as the one I send, which, filled with 
the second quality, is sojd for 12 piastres or 2s. 6d. 
A canister 2i feet diameter and Sg feet high full 
4 
