30 
THE TROPICAL 
AGKICULTUKIST. 
[July 1, lfc)98. 
and overcome Uie present crisis similar to that 
effected a dozen or fifteen yeai« ago. The trouble 
is now that, while Ceylon and Indian teas com- 
mand the United Kingdom and the people are 
willing to pay a fair price for a good tea, their 
taste i« heini; gradually spoilt by very inferior 
mixtures, while, on the various grades sold, the 
enormous prolit goes nearly all into the pockets 
of middlemen, and the producers see only a 
fraction which, year by year, is growing le.-*>i. 
How is this to be met and remedied? The hrst 
thought and answer is,- by the formation of a 
powerful Syndicate of planters and their friends 
to establish a " Direct Supply Tea Association" 
and compete with the big tea distributing Houses 
on their own ground. This, we arc assured, has been 
thou"ht of by Ceylon men settled in the Metropolis 
with^the command of capital and experience in 
business ; but after full cor.sideration, they have 
shrunk back from an enterprise which they de- 
clare would be attended with immense ditti- 
culty and risk and might eventuate, through 
failure, in doing more harm than good to the 
producer. This is a first decision and we do 
not accei)t it as final, if the evil complained 
of continues as ba<l as at present. JJut, tliere 
is a .sinipler, preliminary mode of proceeding 
open to the Ceylon planter and his friends at 
this time wnich ought to be tried. It is well 
known that teas, advertised as the finest and 
retailed as high as 2$ and more per lb. by the 
bi" Houses, are bought in the Lane at not more 
than M per lb. We can imagine what the 
medium teas must be like if these are the linest 
sold in this way, and how the public taste is 
being gradually lowered. Now, it is suggested 
that the 1,600 planters now in Ceylon shomd 
once more send home good or superior samples, 
half-chests or chests, to their relatives and friends 
with instructions that they are to demand and 
require of their grocers, a better class of tea, a 
tea up to the sample produced which can be 
got for sucli and such a price. In many cases 
where there is opportunity, leisure, and inclina- 
tion, this may, of course, lead to a little 
•'direct trading," and every little helps. But, 
in any case, the simultaneous demand all over 
the United Kingdom for a better class of tea 
than that now sold ar 1* %d and and the 
demonstration to grocers that a far superior tea 
can be laid down in his ,«tore, with an ample 
profit to himself, for that money, could not fail 
to work a change ; to cause a fluttering at 
headquarters among distributing Houses and a 
re-arrangement and improvement in their grades 
of tea sold — all of which must tend, to some 
extent, to benefit the producer by giving abetter 
price for his tea. It depends on the planters 
themselves then for the crusade to begin. 
COFFEE PROSPECTS IN BRAZIL. 
The following has been received from the 
British Consulate at Santos Brazil in reply to a 
communication sent by the Singapore Chamber of 
Commerce asking for information. The letter is 
bein<' circulated to all members of the Chamber :— 
I, "Actual prices in Brazilian currency are still 
remunerative for the smaller part of production 
in the State of San Paulo. The greater part, say 
about 2-3rds, however, depend on heavy interests 
on mortgages and excessive expenses, the more so, 
•8 daring the times of high coffee— prices and 
nroaperity— the majority of these estates were bonght 
»ad laid out to culture at double and triple of 
actaal valaa. Sbonld carrencv rise and prioM in 
the consnming quarters not follow accordingly on 
accoant of the pressure of the extriiordinary l&rg^ 
stocks, a great portion of the culture woiiiil be 
voted lo misery, piiucipallv in the more dirtaut 
coffee growing districts, where the expeni-ive cost 
of transport and higher railway-taiiffs interfere ae- 
rioasly with the resalt. 
2. The cultivation ie not dependent to acy ap- 
preciable extent on Earopeao Capital and only a 
small nomber of Estates or Plantations are worked 
under European roHna^ement. 
3. There are no prospects of cheaper labonr than 
that furni^'bed by the Italian imioiKrants. Several 
attempts have been made with other immigrautR 
(Siberian, Russian) but failed complele!y. Jupaocbe 
labour is not being employed, although there ap- 
ear periodically strong endeavoara to attract the 
apanese Immigration. Under the actual critical 
circumstances and the heavy crisis the conutry it 
undergoing, there is no probability oi any propa- 
ganda for other immigration than Italian pioving 
aaccessful. 
4. As stated under item 1 many estates wonld 
have to be abandoned, if actual critical cuuditious 
were to last and bring about lower prices. Even 
with actual value of coffee production ia moat 
probably to be curtailed by the fact of many 
planters not being able to give their plantationa 
sufficient care as to cleaning the ground and even- 
tually manuring. 
5. The reason of foreign capital not having 
been invested in Brazilian estates to a more con- 
siderable extent was in first place the slavery up 
to 1888 and since then political uncertaicty and 
the everlasting republican troubles. 
THE PRUNING OF TEA. 
SOME SUGGK.STIONS FOB AN IMPHOVKD 
.SYSTEM. 
(By a Planter in IndUx of Twenty-four Yeart' 
Experience. ) 
After a long experience I venture to give some of 
my ideas about pruning. I want to show that cutting 
doion is a serious mistake and to propo^^e a system by 
which this cruel operation can be stopped entirely. 
If any one will take the trouble to examine a bush 
which is about to be sacrificed, be will see by marks 
and signs that the great stems are of various ages. 
Some of the branches will show the scar of a previoas 
cutting low down near the ground, other branches 
will be found with a clean stem almost level with the 
top of the bush, and the marks of the annual prunings 
will be found at intervals on all the stems. This will 
prove that some of the branches grew up from the 
ground or out of the old branches after the last cutting 
down. The theory which I have evolved from this 
fact is that branches should be eradicated only when 
they cease to yield well, and that the bush ictll con- 
stantly renew itself with fresh vigorous branches. 
I have for many years been working patiently to 
bring the garden in my charge into gool growth, and 
I have succeeded, and I am confident that lean now 
keep my bushes at a constant level and in fall vigo- 
rous growth, without " cutting down" a single bush, 
and in course of time I expect to get all the bushes 
to be one height, and of equal bearing surface. Daring 
the last four years I have succeeded in getting the 
height and surface more uniform, but when I began 
I had bushes of all sizes; the biggest are three feet 
up to the pruning point, and I refuse to cut down 
even these which are rather too high. 
At each pruning I cut ofi the new wood close to the 
last pruning on any bush over two feet in height, 
leaving only about one inch of new wood ; on the 
lower bushes I leave from four to eight inches of new 
wood so that in course of time the smaller bashes 
will reach the height of the best. In course of time 
I shall reduce the height of the bashes which are too 
high, Any new wood found growing from low dowa 
