38 
THE TROPICAL 
AGKICULTURIST. [July 1, 1899. 
TEA IN AMERICA. 
Niiw YouK, April 26, 
Invoice trading quiet and jobbing demind light- 
Low grades — in fact, all grades — rule steady, with 
greatest firmness in the lower qnalides. 
The English mai k.-t is very fiini, and all teat under 
9d are in active dem ind, while better grados of Indian 
and Ceyion are ir' egular. The London deliveries in 
March were 13,149,228 pounds Indian, 7,310,602 pounds 
Geylon, 352,170 pounds Java, and 2,558,122 pounds 
Chiua— a total of 23,370,212 pounds, against 22 807 802 
pjunds in 189:^. Piom June i to March 31 the deliveries 
were 224,008,936 pounds, against 213,197,969 pounds 
iu 1897-98. Stock, April 1, 84,769,343 pounds, against 
94,580,1)33 pounds at siime date last year. — American 
Grace}-. 
DR. JOHNSON AND TEA DRINKING. 
The followiii» inte-osting note appears in a 
recent number of " Notes .and Queries " : — The 
use of tea being restrictel by its costliness (gener- 
ally from 31. to 6^. a pound) to a limited number 
of persons, it became a very fasiiionable drink in 
the times of the later Stuarts,* and .some of this 
feeling remained in the Doctor's time. Tea was 
then virtually a monopoly of the East India Com- 
pany, and the tax upon it varied from 50 per cent, 
upwards. Hence the loss of our great American 
colony ; hence coo, from the exigencies of its price, 
the minute size of the Johnson teacups still to l)e 
seen at Liclilield. Neither was .loiinson remark- 
able for his capacity in tea-drinking. Bishop Gil- 
bert Burnet drank twenty-live cups in a morning, 
and the poetCowper was als i addicted to frequent 
libations of tea, in and one of his letters to Hill i)Uts 
on record an adroit serving-man 
'■ raising the teapDttothe ceiling with his right hand 
while in his left the teacup, descending almost to the 
ground, received a limpid stream, frothing and foam- 
ing on reaching its destination into a roatjng sylla- 
bub,"— 
evidently a waiter, who would have regirded with 
contempt a modern (air-valve) self-pouring or mo- 
tionless teapot. — R. B. Upton. 
CONDITION OF THE BALATA MARKET. 
The output of Balata in Venezuela is on the 
increase, while that in the Guianas is declining. 
As an indication, the following comparison may 
be made of the total arrivals at Rotterdam lor 
the past t vo years. Though the totals do not 
vary much for 1897 and 1898, but the i>ercentage 
received from Venezuela in the latter year was 
more than double that of the former. The figures 
denote p unds : 
Surinam Venezuela 
sheet. block. 
Total. 
Arrivals, 1897 337,370 160,600 497,970 
Arrivals, 1898 168,960 349,360 518,320 
The United States minister to Venezuela re- 
ports to his government that up to date Balata 
has been the main product from the lands of the 
Orinoco Co., Limited, an American corporation 
with $30,001,000 capital, who have begun the 
development of Venezuela, having headquarters 
at Santa Catalina, on a tributary of the Orinoco. 
The Deutsche Gummi-Industrie (Dresden) in its 
issue of Marcii 20 printed this report from Rot- 
terdam : " Wo would call your attention to the 
fact that tiie price of Balata, which has been 
very low for the past two years, threatens 
to rise to a very high point. The pro- 
duction in Snritiau) during the p.ast seaflon 
was, as is well-known, materially lessened, and 
\yill be still more lessened during this season. Re- 
liable reports inform us that the principal con- 
cessionaires have engaged only one-half of their 
former em|)loyes for tiiis season, and that the 
smaller producers have been compelled to stop 
altogether, owing to unprofitable prices. The 
arrivals of sheet Balata [Surinam], which showed a 
decrease already in the past year, do not promise 
any increase for this year. The producrioa 
of block Baiata, on account of tiie fav.)rable 
weather conditions in Venezuela during the last 
season, was very good ; how it will fare in the 
present season and h')w it will be alFected by 
I)rices, can at present not even be conjecturecf. 
The consumption of Balata, like that of India- 
rubber and Gutta-percha, is continually increasing; 
its cheapness and easy working qualities have in 
a great measure led to the invention of new 
compounds likely to create additional fields for 
its usefulness. Stocks are at pre.sent very small. 
As regular imports cannot be expected until the 
middle of April or the beginning of May, it would 
be advisable to secure the needs for the present 
season without delay." 
* Fepys first partoek of it 25 Sept., 1660 : see also 
an article on ' Tea-drinkinR ' in Temple B*r of April, 
18»8. 
LIPTON, LIMITED. 
THli FIR.ST REPORT TO THE .SH ARKHOLDKR.S. 
The report of the directors of Lipton, Limited, 
for the period en Jed March 11 last states that 
the profit earned by the company since its in- 
corporation amounts to £217,620, from which has 
to be deducted the following amounts already 
appropriated : Interest on debenture stock to 
March 11, £17,795 ; interim dividend on prefer- 
ence shares up to September 30, 1898, £22,063 ; 
interim dividend on onlinary shares for first half- 
year, at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum, 
paid October 15, 1898, £44,013; dividend on pre- 
ference shares for half-year ended March 31, 
£2.5,000 ; total, £108,877; leaving a balance of 
£108,74-3. The directors recommend this balance 
should be dealt with as lollows : To reserve fund, 
£45,000; in payment of a further dividend on the 
ordinary shares for the second half-year ended 
March 11, 1899, at the rate of 12 per cent, per 
annum (making, with the interim dividend, 11 
per cent, for the year), £59„351 leaving a balance 
10 be caiTied to next account of £4,391. The sum 
of £44,261, being profits, le.ss interest to vendor, 
earned prior to the incorporation of the company, 
has been placed to capital reserve account. The 
trade done by the company during the past year 
has been very satisfactory and progressive. The 
shareholders will have observed that the sale of 
wines and spirits has been added to the busi- 
ness. This new department has involved very 
considerable expenditure, which has been charged 
to revenue. Many impediments and ditliculties 
had to be overcome ; but the directors are pleased 
to be able to report that the department is now 
in full working order, and they have every con- 
fidence it will become one of the largest and 
most important branches of the business. The 
directors have obtained 220 licenses in connection 
with the company's branches throughout the 
country. The extension of the cocoa factory 
has now been built, and is being fitted up with 
the requisite mehinery. The additional factory 
connection with the preserve works is also nearing 
completion, and the directors anticipate it will 
