Nov. ], 1898.] 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTUEIST. 
319 
Ti' the Kdihf 
WEIGHING CEYLON TEAS IN 
LONDON. 
Kandy, l.Stli Sept. 1898. 
Sir, — I enclose for publication copy of a letter 
with enclosure, received from the Metiopolitrin 
Bonded Warehouse, Limited, London.— I r.ni, sir, 
yours faithfully, A. PHILIP, 
Secretary to the Planters' Association of Ceylon. 
The Metropolitan Bonded Warehouses, Limited, 9 
John Street, Crutched Friars, London, 9th August, 
1898. 
Dear Sir, — We invite your attention to tlie en- 
closed piper, copies of which we are .mailing you 
under separate cover, whish we put forth as con- 
taining, in our opinion, instructions in weighing on 
the Ceylon Gardens, which, if carried out, would 
show the minimum loss in conformity with the English 
Customs House Bonded Regulations. 
However carefully we, or others, may carry out 
the weighing-iu the face of these Regulations — there 
may frequently be a larger loss sliown than is neces- 
sary unless the planter understands the same, and 
luakea his weights accordingly. Of course it will bo 
for Lim to decide as to whether le Jen vantla chandelle 
that W)ll depend upon the value of his tea no doubt. 
It ia evident that the Warehouse keeper can in no 
way guarantee weights, we can only deal with the 
packages as they reach us, and very often indeed have 
to record a quite unnecessary "Shortage" upon 
iavoice weights, owicg to the want of a system on 
the gardens. 
Of course superintendents can ascertain from their 
Colombo Agents whether their teas are generally 
rebulked in London or not. We mnst add that our 
reason for thus coming before you and our only 
interest in the matter is the hope of bein^ of some 
service to our planting fiiends in Ceylon, .md we 
would ask you kindly to distribute the circular amcng 
the members of your Association at your next gener.ll 
meeting, and we shall be glad to have the consensus 
of opinion upon the subject. — We are, dear sir, yours 
faithfully. 
The Metropolitan Bonded WAREiiouaEs, Lt. 
(Signed) Leslie Maegetti, Secretary. 
A. Philip Esqie, the Secretary, Ceylon Planters' 
Association, Ceylon. 
THE LONDON CUSTOMS' SYSTEM OF 
WEIGHING CEYLON TEAS, 
(Instructions sJtowinij Jioir. to reduce the Loss to a 
ninintum) 
In order to avoid the loss nsually experienced in 
Ceylon from the system of weighing in vogue by the 
London Customs authorities, viz., to give the turn of 
the scale against the importer, both on gross and 
tare, the following hints will prove of value to Pro- 
prietors and Superintendents of Estates. 
1. The Tare (that is the weight of the empty pack- 
age, complete with lid, lead, hoop iron and nails) 
should in all cases weigh two to lour ounces under the 
pmnd, whbther the package be chest, half-chest, or box. 
2. 'The gross weight of a package must in all cases 
weigh three ounct-s over the pound, whether the pack- 
age be chest, hitlf chest or box. 
3. When a shipment of tea is not to be "Rebalked" 
in London, the Cu:ilom3' iiathorities ' Average Tare 
the break, thn.t i^ to say a small percentage of the 
packiiges are (■pened and their tares ascertair-f d, and 
from these an " aver;(ge tare " for the whole b;eaki3 
Btruek. In this case it is imperative that the t^re of 
eoch package weighs alike. 
4. When a shipment of tea h -.s to he " Rebulked " 
in London, tlie tare of each package in the break may 
vary, provided the tare of eacli package ia 2 oz. under 
the lb. 
Subjoined is an example of the correct method of 
weighing two packages said to contain 100 lb. tea each, 
which have to be rebulked in London. 
Garden Weights, Cevlon 
Tare. Tea Nett. Gross Weight. 
No. 1. 27 lb., 14 ozs. 100 lb., 5 ozs. liS lb., 3 ozs. 
No. 2. 28 „ 12 „ 100 „ 7 „ 129 „ 3 „ 
CubTOMs Weights, Ceylon. 
Gross Weight. Tare. Tea Nett. 
No. 1. 128 lb. 28 lb. 100 lb. 
No. 2. 129 „ 29 „ 100 „ 
The two examples above will demonstrate the point, 
in as much as in No. 1 the loss is 5 oz. only, '.vhich is 
the least possible, while No. 2 shows a loss of 7 oz., 
owing to the slightly lighter tare. 
5. The following is a very usual bat incorrect 
way of v/eighing teas, possibly through faulty scales or 
weights. 
Garden Weight.'=, Cf.ylon. 
Taie. Tea Nett. Gross Weight, 
No. 1. 27 lbs. 3 ozs. 99 lbs. 12 ozs. 126 lbs 15 ozs. 
No. 2. 28 „ 1 „ 100 „ 13 „ 128 „ U ,, 
CtisToais Weights, London, 
Gross Weight. Tare. Tea Nett. 
No. 1. 126 lbs. 28 lbs. 98 lbs. 
No. 2. 128 ,, 29 „ 99 „ 
The Customs do not recognize ounces. With re- 
gard to Example 1, this package- the gross weight 
of which the Superintendent mikes 12(j lb. 15 oz., 
would only be called 126 lb. in London, the tare, 
according to the Superintendent, is 27 lb. 3 oz , over 
here the 3 oz. would be called 1 lb , and the tare is 
called 28 1b. The 28 1b. tare is deducted from ihe 
gross weight of 126 lb., with the result that the 
amount of tea in this package is said to be 96., the 
owner of the estate losing the lib. 12 oz tea, which 
may quite possibly be in the package. 
A still larger loss is to be seen in Example 2. ia 
which the Superintendent has packed 109 lb. 13 oz. 
of tea, but only gets paid over 99 lb., the difference 
going into the pocket of the retailer. 
6. A most important point is to have the weights 
of the weighing machine, used on the estate con- 
stantly checked, and for this purpose a set of test 
weights should be kept. A beam scale is to be pre- 
ferred to a platform one, as the former is the more 
aciurate. 
7 When a Superintendent, to equalize the tares 
of his packages, adds pieces of lead or wood for 
thit purpose, the material so added would be fixed 
inside the package, so as to prevent it falling out 
when ths package !3 opened in London. 
8. A Superintendent may " ti'.re " and pack his 
teas with the greatest Cure, b .t if he afterwards 
permits his carpenter to plaice aw.iy from the top of 
the package before nailing down, all his careful work 
will be wasted. 
The Metropolitan Bonded Warehou:e, Ltd., 
Crntchei Friars, London, June, 189,'5. 
CEVLON TEA IN AMERICA: FAVODl?- 
ABLE REPORT. 
Eljor House, Col petty, Colombo, Sept. IG, LSDS. 
Dio.vi: Sin,— I am m receipt of tlie tabular state- 
iijcnt from the United States Department of Agri- 
culture sec! ions of fni-ei£;n markets, Wa>liinj;toii 
D. C. .showing the tea consuinplion in the United 
States for each fiscal year from ]S60 to ISf)?. 
Knowin-u' the vital interest that te.i is to t!ie 
people of the island in <,'eneral and many in 
piirticnlar, the ap))ended statement cannot be but 
of inteiesb to such, showin<^ the ever-increasing 
demand for tea, particularly from 1896 to 1897, 
ami in liiMtimis point, to a more snrprisiufj state- 
ment for 181)8. Information gleaned from private 
parties who have nseil ('eyion teas is very en- 
couraging. The habit of afternoon tea is not con- 
fined to the wealthy class as in former years, but 
39 
