Auo. 1, 1899.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 117 
poit of his contention " A Tea Dealer" states 
that the average saving to be effected by with- 
holding the draft pound would only amount to 
8d per average chest, whilst, according to his 
estimate, Calcutta Agency Commission amounts 
to Is 6d, and London Agency Commission to Is 
9d per average chest. 
I do not know how " A Tea Dealer " has ar- 
rived at these comparative figures, but I am in 
a position to supply some actual figures, extracted 
from the 1898 accounts of a company in which I 
am interested. 
The company in question made in 1898 a total 
crop of 1,956,825 lb. of tea. The number of pack- 
ages was 22,930, and the average gross sale price 
was 11 23-32d per lb. The 1 lb. per package draft 
was therefore 11 23-32d per lb. on 22,930 lb. or, 
say, £1,119 12s 7d. The Calcutta Agency Com- 
mission for the year was £474 13s Id. The com- 
parison in the case of the company in question is 
therefore not Is 6d for Calcutta Agency against 8d 
for the pound draft, but 4 31-32d for the Calcutta 
Agency against 11 23-32d for the pound draft. 
The company in question does not pay any 
London Agency Commission, but the accounts, 
show an item of £60 for rent of London office 
a moderate sum for office salaries, and auditors' 
fees, and certain other charges, which, as it ap- 
pears to me it would be difficult to reduce. 
On the whole 1 am not convinced by the ar- 
gument that it would be more productive to 
squeeze a little off the Calcutta and London agents 
than to tackle the question of the lib per package 
draft. — Yours faithfully, 
E. G, KoPK, 
1, Great Winchester Street, London, E.C., June 
6, 1899. 
MINOR PRODUCTS REPORT. 
Cinchona, — There was a good demand for the 
small supply offered in auction on Wednesday, 
and the bulk sold at full rates to a alight ad- 
vance, the average unit working out at Ifd to Ifd 
per 11), and 2d for cinchonidine. A parcel of 99 bales 
Bast India was withdrawn upon instructions from 
India. The catalogues offered by the six brokers con* 
sisted of : — 
Packages offered. 
East Indian cinchona.. 290 of which 165 were sold. 
Ceylon cinchona . . 245 do 245 do 
South American cin- 
chona . . 120 do 47 do 
655 457 
The following are the approximate quantities pur* 
chased by the principal buyers : — lb. 
American and Italian factories .. 41,314 
Amsterdam and Mannhaim factories . . 26,663 
Messrs. Howards & Sons . . . . 12,156 
Brunswick factory . . , , 9,344 
Paris factory . . . . , . 3,220 
Druggists, &c. .. 6,060 
Total quantities sold . . 98,757 
Bought in or withdrawn . . 40,041 
Total quantity offered . . 138,978 
Ceylon. — Succirubra, good rich chips, quilly, 7gd to 
5Jd for fair; medium, 4|cl to 4|d ; and fair root chips 
3gd. Officinalis, chips and shavings 5-|d to 6Jd ; 
renewed ditto 4id to 6|d per lb. 
Qdinine has again shown more activity, at 
rising prices, and when the market opened on Tues- 
day small transactions were put through, mostly for 
August delivery, at Is 4|d to Is 4|d> an advance 
of Id on Friday's prices ; October delivery also 
changed hands at Is 5d per ounce, Wednesday 
saw an advance to Is 5d for August, and Is 5id 
for Otober, with a fair business. Today it has been 
in good demand, and as high as la 5d spot has been 
paid ; June Is 43d, and August Is 5d to Is 5jd. 
Vanilla.— The exports from Bordeaux in 1898 
were 741 cwt, as compared with 473 cwt in 1897 ; 
of this quantityJ187 cwt. went to the United Kingdom, 
against 27 csvt in 1897. The stock of vanilla at the 
close of 1898 was 4,255 kilos., against 4,560 kilos 
in 1897, that in first hands being nil.—Chemist and 
Druggist, May 27. 
^ 
THE TEA TRADE. 
After a long and costly struggle, Indian and 
Ceylon teas are fast conquering the whole world 
of consumers by their now recognised superiority. 
Australasian prejudice was the first to succumb ; 
then followed South Africa ; the United States 
and Canada made a harder light, but they, too, 
have given way ; while Russia, the greatest mar- 
ket of all, is largely and continuously increasinsr 
its importations. South America, however, still 
remains faithful to mate or Paraguayan tea, as it 
is sometimes called. The decoction of this herb is 
altogether inferior to the genuine brew, but it has 
the advantage of being very much cheaper. That 
merit is more than counterbalanced, however, by 
its containing a higher percentage of theine, a drug 
which produces violent nervous excitement unless 
consumed in very small quantities, and the smaller 
the better. Possibly, the revolutions, which have 
been so common in South America had their ori- 
gin, to some extent, in mate. The people them- 
selves are sufficiently excitable without any ad- 
ventitious fiid to inflame their passions. Even 
from a purely political point of view, therefore, 
some benefit might come from the substitution of 
Indian and Ceylon teas for the indigenous herb. 
At all events, if that could be managed, gr-eab 
gain would result to our planters from securing 
a footing in an enormous stretch of country where, 
as in Russia, a liking for " the cup that cheers bub 
not inebriates " is already firmly rooted. After 
South America is won over phere will remain no 
more worlds for Anglo-Indian enterprise to conquer 
by tea.— Globe, June 5. 
NEW AREAS OF CULTIVATION IN THE 
NORTHERN PROVINCE IN 1898. 
As stated in my Administration Report for 
1896, there is hardly any scope for extending 
the cultivation in the Jafina peninsula. The fol- 
lowing figures show the extent of the new area 
brought under cultivation as estimated by the 
headmen, and the extent sold during the year : — 
Private Land Extent sold 
estimated at the 
by Headmen. Kachcheri. 
Jafina. Acres. Acres. 
Fit for coconut .. — ... 73 
Fit for paddy . . 9 . . 72 
Fit for garden ... — ... 30 
MuUaittivu. 
Fit for paddy 136 .. 367 
The Assistant Government Agent of Mannar 
states that no new land has been opened in his 
district during 1898, and that there is no likeli- 
hood of any attempts being made to extend the 
cultivated area until after the restoration of the 
Giant's tank. There is a great opening for coco» 
nut cultivation in the MuUaittivu district, where 
the soil and climate are favourable. I refer to 
the remarks of my Assistant regarding this,~Jfr, 
levers's Heport. 
