100 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUEIST. 
[Aug. 1, 1899. 
MATTE TEA. 
Brazil.— Cmityha is the centre of the " mattg " 
industry, which employs nineteen mills iu the town 
and aubui/js. The preparation, though simple, ia all 
done by machinery. Ihe raw material arrives iu 
sacks of about 1 cwt. from the interior. At the mill the 
leaves and finer sterna are separuttdand ground to dust 
of variona linenesa. The tiiickei stems serve as fuel. 
The Argentines prefer dust " matte," and as they 
suck it through a " bombilU " are not inconvenienced 
by the floating particles ; but there is no reason why 
it shouid iios be prepared in the leaf like tea. The 
decoction has a ^^reeniah colour. The taste is agree- 
able, but not so arumatic as tea. It ia stated that 
" matte " is peculiarly sustaining ; that it is a diges- 
tive nerve tonic and care for sleeplessness. The 
"Crauchos" of Rio Grande, Uruguay, and Argentina 
ate the chief consumers, and will do a hard day's work 
with no other nourishment. Mr. David Carneiro, 
whose mill we visited, employs about thirty men, and 
when in full work the daily output is between eighty 
and ninety barrels of about 250 lb. The dried leaves 
and twigs, a? they arrive unprepared from the iuterior, 
cost on an average 13 milreis, or 8s. 8d. a cwt,, and 
the price prepared Gurityba averages 23 milreis, 
or about los; 6d a cwt. The retail price at Buenos 
Ayres varies from 20s to 50s. a cwt. Mr. Carneiro 
is endeavouring to create a market for " matte " in 
Europe, and stated that duties, freight, &c., paid, it 
can be sold in France at 1 fr. a kilo. An agent has 
airea ly been secured at Paris, and another in Loudon. 
It matte " drinking ever becomes popular in Europe, 
it will be more probably among the labouring classes, 
on account of its cheapness and sustaining qualities. — 
British Leqation Ilevort from Bio de Janeiro. 
PRODUCE AND PLANTING. 
The Demand for Ceylon Tea in Russia.— The 
British Consul at Odessa, in his official report, had 
something very encouraging to say about Ceylon tea. 
He refers to the increasing consumption, and points 
out that it ia only a few years since it was introduced 
iuto Russia, and last year nearly two and three- 
quarter million pounds of tea were shipped from 
Ceylon direct to Odessa, against less than half a mil- 
lion pounds in 1897. He points out that teas from 
China and Ceylon are imported in vessels of the Rus- 
sian volunteer fleet, which, owing to the low freights 
charged by these vessels on the homeward voyages, 
have now practically a monopoly of the tea-carrying 
tcadefromthe tea ports of China and from Colombo, 
more especially as now tea imported from the Far 
East in Russian bottoms has preferential railway 
rites between Odessa and Moscow, On the other 
hand, there is a growing purchase by Ceylon of Rus- 
Bian petroleum; in 1897 and 1898 Colombo took 
over one and a quarter million gallons each year. 
The Acting Consul-General suggests that Australian 
firms might avail themselves of the low rates of freight 
in order to introduce tin, tallow, copra, &c., into 
Russia. It is said that if these commodities were 
shipped by Singapore the local agency of the volunteer 
flaet would undertake their transhipment into Russian 
vessels on moderate terms, 
Draft on Tea Sales. — The following is a copy of 
a protest signed by practically all the leading whole- 
sale tea firms and many country dealers against the 
proposals of the Indian and Ceylon Tea Associations in 
London. Clearly there is to be a strong stand against 
tho abolition of the draft allowance: — "The Secretary, 
Indian Tea Association, London, May 23, 1899- — Dear 
Sir, — Out attention has been called to a circular and 
memorandum, issued by your Association, in conjunc- 
tion with the Ceylon Association in London, to pro- 
ducers and importers of tea, containing a propoap.l to 
aoolish the draft allo-.vauce on teas sold by public 
auction in London, and inviting aupport. In the 
Memorandum it ia fstated that it would be to the 
intereat of producers and importers that the proposal 
should be cjirricd into effect, and that it has the un- 
animous approval of the committee of the two aeaocia- 
tions named. As this is a matter affecting, in a very 
serious way, the interests of the entire wholesale 
and retail tea trades, we feel that we canno 
allow the circular to pass without entering a 
stroog protest agair.st the proposal which it con- 
tains. In opposition to the very trifling reasoHB 
advanced for the suggested alteration may be set a 
host of loijg- standing grievances under which those 
engaged in the tea trade in tbis country have been 
labouring for yea*s, without being able to obtain the 
slightest satisfaction, mainly owing to the most un- 
reasonable conditions of public sale. With regard 
to parjgrgph No. 8 in the memorandum, we submit 
that it is no argument to compare a duty-paid article 
like tea with bacon and cheese, as in the case of 
the former there is a very serious loss in the process 
of handling, sampling, and blending, and then again 
an additional waste iu weighing in ordinary balk form 
for general trade. This is accentuated when the re- 
tailer requires teas weighed out in amall quantities, the 
total loss being much greater than the trifling and 
inadequate overdraft which it has hitherto been 
the custom from time immemorial to allow. Again, 
there is a regular loss through bad cooperage and 
broken, inferior lead, the latter resulting in the 
mixing of chips of wood with the tea, and the loss 
by percolation in transit. Another ever-present difS- 
culty is that of extracting extraneous matter from 
teas, more especially nails, which results in consider- 
able loss and inconvenience to dealers. What with 
cheesy teas, mouldy teas, badly bulked teas, teas smel- 
ling strongly of indiarubber, apples, and other foreign 
substances, inferior returns in sample packages, and 
various other complaints with which the members of 
your association must be well acquainted, if the sug- 
gestion to remove the last crumb of comfort ia carried 
it will be the duty o£ the undersigned to take steps to 
protect their interests in a way which will very much 
out-balance any benefit which might be gained by the 
merchants in the abolition of the pound draft, viz., by 
taking stringent measures to see that the conditions 
of sale are in every case followed to the letter especi- 
ally as regards bulking, so as to ensure teas being in 
everyway equal to ss,le sample. United action will 
also be taken in an eSective way to deal with Claase 
5 of the conditions of sale, which in its present form 
is an utter impossibility to buyers. We reqnejt that 
yon will place this letter before your committee for 
their kind attention, and we remain, yoara faithfully," 
(Here follow the signatures.) 
Tea in France. — Following the desire to be np to 
date as in London, the Parisians are taking rather 
slowly, it must be admitted, to tea, not as a decoction 
for invalids, but as a drink to be taken with food. Con- 
fectioners are inviting their customers to afternoon 
tea, and there is at length some prospect of tea 
becoming popular. Now is the time for developing 
the French taste for tea, and pushing the Ceylon and 
Indian product, for most of the tea sold at present in 
France is indescribably bad and very dear. 
Public Sales of Coffee. — The '"Grocer" calls 
attention to a congestion of public sales in coffee, 
which tends, it points out, to throw everything out of 
gear, and threatens to bring business in Liudecl parcels 
of coffee to a deadlockj Complaints, though for the 
momeut suppressed, are not the less urgent and 
strongly made against the defective arrangements, as 
they now exist, for disposing of coffee by auction ; 
and the evils resulting from the prevailing system in 
occasioning delays, loss of time, and postponements of 
sales, have caused such widespread inconvenience 
to importers, exporters, and wholesale dealers, that 
it is admitted by all parties that " something shotild 
be done" to remedy the exiscing state of affairs as 
speadily aa may be, or a complete break-down must 
o.'car in the whole commsrcial machinery for supp'y- 
i g the article to the public. Already this year 
public sales of coffee m Mincing Lane have been post- 
poned more frequently than ever, entirely because 
gf the excessive quantities put forward on certaio 
