Aug. 1, 1899.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST^ 
113 
intervention of a middle man. We sent our men to 
work the roads under our own supervision. Tlie 
system hitherto has been to let the rubber roads to ten- 
ants at a rent which the tenant pays; but if you send 
your men to the estates, you have, first of all, to 
keep them supplied with food and necessaries, and 
then they are debited with the amount of the stores 
which you provide, and they have to pay that back 
in rubber. All the rubber which they collect has to 
be sold to this company, and it is invoiced to you at 
a price between which and the price at Para there 
is a c^r.^i'-'erable difference; the exact amount of 
difference 1 will not now venture to state, but I will 
say that it is in your favour. Some of our roads are 
still let to tenants; but we reckon that we still have 
about 750 men working on that property ^ besides our 
manager and the accountant, and the five inspectors. 
We are in process of negotiation for a steam launch 
for our estate. I do not like to say too much about 
the profits which we are likely to make on the season, 
but I hope that something like the gross product 
foreshadowed iu our circular may be realised. You 
must remember that this is a new business; it is a 
thing that has never been tried by anybody before, 
and with the actual number of irees in Para, what 
the number of trees per road may be, &o., is more or 
less an unknown quantity. Therefore, I will not 
commit myself to more than this— I will say that 
from the returns which we have had we may expect 
a, profit at the end of the year. One important 
Eoiut which I am reminded of is that we believe we 
ave now plenty of working capital to carry us to a 
successful issue in the operations of the company. 
(Applause.) 
Mr. WooDROW moved a vote of thanks to the 
chairman, which wa.s seconded by Mr. Gillingham, 
and agreed to unanimously. 
The Chairman having briefly acknowledged the 
yOte, the proceedings terminated.— i/ome paper. 
INDI.A.N AND CEYLON TEA. 
ANNUAL REVIEW. 
.S8, Mincing Lane, June 5th, 1899. 
We take the opportunity offered by the publication 
of the figures covering the twelvemonths ending May 
31st, to review the events of the season now concluded, 
and to print some statistics which may be of general 
interfest. 
The season has been memorable for the illustration 
it has afforded of the vicissitudes of fortune awaiting 
those who devote their energies and capital to the 
business of tea planting ; and of the rapid transition 
from a state of discouragement to one of hope possible 
under the conditions which regulate trade in our 
times. It will also be remembered as the year iu 
which the policy of striving to cultivate new markets, 
80 long pursued with tenacity, at length met with an 
adequate reward. 
Through a combination of circumstances, the posi- 
tion of Tea has, indeed, undergone since the autumn 
of 1898 a change so conspicuous as to claim very careful 
attention — placing in the background, for the time 
being, topics of minor importance. 
As a preliminary to consideration of the question of 
deepest concern, " Is this change merely a temporary 
incident, or likely to be permanent in its effect?", it 
will be well to recall the position a year ago. We were 
then suffering from the loss to producers entailed by 
the rise in exchange and freight ; from deterioration 
in the quality of the Indian crop ; from a temporary 
check to the increase of consumption at home ; and 
from disappointment at the slow development of trade 
with other countries. 
At the opening ol the season came estimates of a large 
supply from India — destined not to be realized, as has 
not infrequent y been the case, but harmful through 
the fear of over-production which they created. Only 
for those estates capable ol p oducing fine teas could 
the outlook be deemed hopeful ; for it seemed that 
while values for these would be maintained, quotations 
for other sorts might fall even lowsr than before. 
Eventually this proved to be the case, and towards the 
end of 1898 prices fcr all but the best qualities fell 
to a point which has rarely before been louched, to 
the serious disadvantage of selleis everywhere, but 
especially to those who had hurriedly sold in Cal- 
cutta. 
In the meantime, movements resulting from the 
low value of produce were in progress. At home, con- 
sumption received a stimulus froia the keen competi- 
tion among Distributers, which led them to offer to 
the public cheaper tea than bad ever before been sold ; 
while trade in general received an impetus from the 
renewed industrial activity which followed ihe settle- 
ment of the labour troubles of 1897, thus augmenting 
the purchasing power of the WHge-earners. Abroad, 
from nearly all quarters came, by degrees, the larger 
demand for which long and careful preparation had 
been made ; mainly due, without doubt, to the low 
quotations at which the kinds wanted by foreign 
buyers could be secured, but partly in consequence of 
diminished exportation from China ; and as regards 
the United States, it is said, owing to stringent 
measures taken there to prohibit the admission of 
certain common kinds of Chinese tea. 
As the months passed it began to be evident that* 
the supply from India would be curtailed by the 
drought in Sylhet and (Jachar ; that the heavy yield 
once obtained from certain parts of Ceylon and India 
might not be kept up ; ami that a good deal of un. 
profitable and immature acreage wag here and there 
being quietly abandoned. Everywhere the work of 
extension was so far suspended as to make seed 
practically unsaleable ; while if the limit of Ceylon's 
producing power had not yet been reached, it was 
evident that we should probably receive from that 
quarter less than hitherto instead of more. 
All these points were duly noted here, and their 
bearing upon the future was pointed out. But the 
Trade, long accustomed to abundant supplies and low 
quotations, were slow to believe that a change was 
impending, and being quite unprepared for it were 
eventually compelled to operate at advancing prices. 
They had, indeed, no option, for the modern system 
of business had left the country bare of the reserve 
stocks upon which in former times retailers could 
fall back, and so resist a rise in price. It had long 
been foreseen that whenever the position should justify 
a rise on its merits, and apart from the action of 
speculators (from which we have been fortunately free) 
the small stocks on which the Trade had accustomed 
themselves to work would make an upward movement 
sudden and pronounced : — and it must not be forgotten 
that when something o'^curs to ireaJcen the position, 
re-action on the same lines may follow. 
But whether that be so or not, we have now to 
deal with the fact that the unprecedented ii creaae 
in the use of Indian Tea at home and the larger 
demand for both Indian and Ceylon Teas abroad 
have raised prices for the lower qualities to a point 
which has enabled those who had not the misfortune 
of a short crop to reap a better result of the year's 
work than at one time seemed possible, while opening 
to all who make them a brighter prospect for the 
coming year. For producers of the fiuer qualities, 
however, the effect has not been quite so beneficial 
— advance in the value of the cheaper sorts being 
generally prejudicial to the value of fine — but as a 
large portion of the fine crops were sold in the putumn 
at high prices, those who made them would have 
shown as good results as usual, if it had not been 
for the abnormally high freights and an exchange 
of Is 4d or Is 4id for the rupee. 
We have now to consider how the near future will 
be affected by what has occurred. It is only reason- 
able to assume that many growers, tempted by the 
prospect of a good profit on a large crop laid down 
at a low cost, will make all the tea they can: — and 
because such a policy has not usually proved suc- 
cessful in the past, it does not follow that it may 
not be the beat course for some to take now. The 
short Deliveries in May show that the need of the 
moment is a plentiful supply of low-priced Indian 
and Ceylon tea quickly brought to market, in oi&ex 
