542 
THE TROPICAT- AGRICULTURIST. [Fee. 1, 1899. 
seed will be neces'^aiy. But unless vij^orous 
measures are ailoiiled to extei iniuate the disease, 
tlie.se proposals for improved cultivation will 
lose a great deal of their value, and ilie Planters' 
Association should at once call upon the (jovern- 
ni9nt to lend its .support. 
TEA AND TEA-DRTNKEKS. 
EXTEACT FROM " A CHItlSTMAS CUP OF TEA " IN TUB 
FIllKSlDE CHUISTMAS NUMIiEU. 
One of the first trade.^meu in London to publicly 
advertise the sale of tea was one Garraway, whose 
coffee-house, at the close of the seventeenth century, 
was in the neighbourhood of the Exchange. His wares 
included tea, coffee, tobacco, and — as usual then in 
coffee houses— many quack medicines. Garraway 
issued a handbill in praise of his tea, which is a 
cuiiosity of early commercial ndvertisinf?. It ran 
thus: -'"Tea in England hath been sold in the leaf 
for six pounds, and sometimes for ten pounds the 
pound weight, and in respect of iU former scarce- 
ness and dearness it hath been only used as a rega- 
lia in high treatments and entertainments, and pre- 
sents made theieof to princes and grandees till the 
year 1657. The said Garraway did purchase a quan- 
tity thereof, and liist publicly sold the said tea in 
leaf or ihiak, made according to the directions of 
most knowing merchants into those Eastern countries. 
On the knowledge of the said Garraway's continued 
care and iuduslry in obtaining iho best tea, and 
making drink thereof, very many noblemen, physi- 
cians, merchants, &c., have ever since scut to him 
for the said leaf, aud daily resort to his house to 
drink the drink thereof. t'e sells tea from Ids to 
503 a pound." Mr. Garraway understood the art of 
puffery almost as well as a modern manufactnrer of 
soap and pills. It is to be feared that the allusion to 
the inany noblemr n ai:d gentlemen who patronised his 
house in order to drink tea was something of a llourish. 
Coffee was a masculine drink long before tea was nmch 
used by men. Henry, Earl of Clarendon, noted in 
his diary of 1087 that " Pere Couplet supped with 
me, and after supper we had tea, which he said was 
really as good as any he had drank in China." liut, 
as the elder Disraeli long ago remarked, if his lord- 
ship had .been in the habit of drinking tea, he would 
hardly have noticed this particular occasion in his 
diary. We can but admire the courage cf the two 
men in drinking tea after supper. lusomnia had 
not been heard of in those days. 
The seductions of tea gradually conquered masculine 
prejudice. Men began to brave the cry of "milksop," 
and to realise that a cup of tea was an excellent 
thing. OoUey Gibber, early in the last century, talks 
of tea as an innocent pretence for bringing men 
and women together ia a morning. The fragrant 
beverage evidently promoted sociality, and then, as 
now, checked excess. Some tea-drinkers, however, in 
their love for tlie infusion developed new e.xcesses.' 
Dr. Johnson is the familiar example of the excessive 
tea-drinker. He was a sliameless bibber of tea. When 
.Jonas Hanway — the man who first had the courage 
to carry an unfurled umbrella in the streets of the 
metropolis — published an attack on tea, in which ha 
deuoimced it as a dangerous custom — pernicious to 
health, obstructing industry, and impoverishing the 
nation — both Goldsmith and Johnson entered the 
lists against him. The author of " The Deserted 
Village " made fan of Jonas in the pages of the 
Montkhi lievieti}, while the doctor hit him heavy blows in 
the Literart/ Magazine. In the course of his trenchant 
review, Johnson described himself as "a hardened 
and shameless tea-drinker, who has for mauy years 
diluted bis meals with only the infusion of this 
fascinating plant ; whose kettle has scarcely time to 
cool; who with tea amuses the evening, with tea 
sojaoes the midnight, and with tea welcomes the 
morning." One stands amazed at the doctor's powers 
of digestion; though the tea doubtless had some- 
thing to do with his hypochondriacal troubles. Yet 
the tea-drinking hero lived to the age of seventy-five, 
There were gianta in those days! 
THE INDIAN TEA ASSOCIATION. 
THE GREV BLIGHT IN TEA. 
The London Secretary forwarded, for the opinion 
of the Committee, copy of a letter addressed to 
his Committee by Metsrs. Alex. Lawrie aud Co., 
on the subject of tea blights, in which they 
referred to " The Petts ard Blights of the Tea 
Plant " by Dr. Geo. Watt. They specially drew 
attention to a blight named • •' The grey blight " 
which, according to Dr. Watt, is one of the most 
destructive aud dangerous of blights to which the 
tea plant is liable. As there was no good remedy 
known (or this disease, Messrs. Alex. Lawrie & Co. 
had suggested that the Calcutta Association should 
take up the question of appointing a scientific expert 
to invtbtigate blights. It was decided by ihe Com- 
mittee that a communication should be addretsed to 
the Assam Administration on the subject, euquiriu^ 
if Government could see their way to assist the 
Association with funds, wi'h a view to the appoint- 
mout of such an officer. 
At the first meeting of the Joint Committee of 
members of the Indian Tea Association and the 
Ceylon AshO< i*tion to consider tlie subject of duty 
on lea in England which was held in London, the 
question ofaieduction of duty on tea was thoroughly 
considered. Considerable difference of opinion was 
expressed as to the advisability of any action being 
taken, as it was pointed out that the present tax of 
4d per pound on tea constituted a heavier imposi- 
tion on China than on British-grown teas. It was 
ultimately resolved that, as the Ceylon representa- 
tives had received no instructions on the subject 
from Ceylon, I was inadvisable to take any action at 
present in the matter. 
Mr. Blechyuden, who advised bis arrival in New 
Yoik, reported that business so far as tea was con- 
cerned, appeared to be absolutely dead for the present. 
The reason was owing to the nncertainty as to the 
duty question, an agitation being on foot to remove 
the war fax now that peace had been proclaimed. 
He considered that until something dtfiuite was 
known there was small chance of revivifying the 
business. Mr. Blechynden again bronght forward the 
uestion of the manufacture of "Oolong" teas in 
udia, as several enquiries had been made on the 
subject. He urged that systematic experiments should 
ba made with teas of different districts, so that the 
Indian Tea Association could get some of the trade 
that Ceylon was pioneering. He considered that 
" Oolong " teas would be used as substitutes for 
higher priced Japan teas, and would go in blends 
with China teas ; and he thonghr. that although these 
teas might not sell use for by themselves at first ihat 
might come after -fxperieiice, and the gradual educa- 
tion of taste, by the blenders increasiug the use of 
these teas. The General Con:mitiee, after considering 
this subject, were of opinion that it would not nay 
the great majority of gardens to go in for " Ouloiig " 
teas. One firm had sent samples to New York, 
which were approved, but-wben rolling with machines 
was tried the quality w.is much inferior to the 
sample made by hind. This firm had, however, 
sent a shipment to America. It was gener.'-.lly agreed 
that " Oolong" teas might be satisfactorily manu- 
factured with hill teas, but it was irapossitle wi;h 
teas grown on the plains. Apparentlv Mr. Bucking- 
ham's green teas, and the reports the; eon by local 
brokers and by Messrs. Gow, Wilson and Stanton 
were ignored or forgotten. Mr. Buckingham has 
certainly made " Oolong" in the plains— at Amguri. 
Some firms were making expsriments with a view 
to see if they would De likely to succeed in ihe 
manufacture of this class of tea. The Secretary was 
instructed to inform the S cretary of the London 
Association that one or two h nu were trying to make 
Oolong teas, aud th.-.t a few small shipnie ta had 
already been sent heme. ^ 
The Secretary reported that the amount of contri- 
butions promised to the American Maiket Fund was 
El,02,03l-13-6. 
