55G 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb. 1, 1899. 
tlie cause of Cejl'-n tea. I mean us a grocer. 
I, Jiusy us lie wan, aiul )jrecio:i8 a^s time iimst 
lia\'e liPtn, lie fo'iml it convenient to speuJ .'i 
forciKion in my dtlicc trt,=tinpr Ceylon teas and 
e.Nijeiinieiitint; ^^i''' l'lenrl>. Withoui any (jui-)^- 
lion as to liiice lie loii^lit oi n:e, 1 o!li iti p^icU- 
ets and in ch nt'^, a)td it was (-at^f-ctory lo me 
10 advei t-se ]» etiy freely f tie iMt ttliat tlie "Krolie" 
15r,ind was iiandlcd ly I'inlay Atkfr. 
Soon, liowcvtr, there apficared an "Acker's 
Csylon l^lend ;" and in Iii.-; nionllily mapazin^j 
'■'I'able Talk " his refiT'iices to ar: article 
Aviitten l.y "your Inimb'e sei\ant" a real 
planter from (Jeylon, &c. He did not make men- 
tion of tin; " Koolie" IJriiiid in this connection, 
but llic skilful blendinf; of tea which had so 
my.stificd the world at iarf,'e— outside the holy 
of holies at Acker's was to becoiue more myste- 
rious still by the introducticn of a »icio element, 
tiie ell'ects of which could only be appreciated 
by takiii},' adviinla^e of his oiler to sell a piound at 
tiie nominal cost of 75c cash. Now, while the ol<l 
Professor starts his little store in Uermantown, 
humbly cravint.' the iiatronajio of e\ erj' Tom, Dick 
and Harry that he may meet, and wonderin;,' how 
ho will stand when the little stock he has, gives out, 
Finlay Acker is i)ropiietor of 
ACJCKR'.S CKVLON lil.END 
he helpeil to make for him ai.d of which )uo- 
bnliiy a few thousand pounds ;u c shii)|)ed by the 
said Acker every week or ju'rhaps din/ for all that 
/ know. I saw Finlay Acker a few weeks ago, 
and had some 15 or 2(1 minutes' interesting con- 
versation with him. Does he sell Acker's Pure 
Ceylon.^ No ?— Why ? Is his name not attached to 
almost every line of Groceries on the market, and 
is he not successful in tumin;,' civ r// 6»c of them 
into money '! I have just hunted up one of bis 
catalogues which J will probably send you with 
this letter. Fifty-eij,'ht pages. Do you wish say 
\A'ilburs cocoa — certainly there it is, 'out Acker's 
lieads the list, Chocolate, CoU'ees, Teas, (Ceylon 
Teas rcfiresented by Acker's C IJlend only) — Jjever- 
ages of every kind — Jjoh lions and Confections 
ot every kind and make— IJakiiig Powders. 
Methods of baking, fruits canu'd. j;uiis and pre- 
serves of cvenj brand- vegetables and every brand 
of every kind of eatable under the sun. Toilet 
utensils and all articles sold by chemists outside 
medicines in a straight unpiepaied form, cigars 
and what not ? All are catalogued under every 
brand sutliciently advertised to recei\ e attention, 
but what is the use of mention at all when 
AcLxr's heads the list as far and away the best. 
But where is the packet labelled " Pure Ceylon 
Tea " ?— Is it rot a significant omission Were 
the demand lor this article likclij in his opinion 
to ever become popular, do you not think he 
would honor it with that distinctive tille of 
AeJcer's in some shaue or ft)rm, I have Jtis opinion 
also, and I do not think ant/one, who has Avatched 
his career and the unprecedented growth of his 
business as a grocer, wuU dispute his integrity or 
the good judgment he has displayed, and of which 
his palatial store is positive evidence. " No, 
Mr. Murray, I'm afraid Ceylon Tea in itself will 
never become palatable to our Anieiican people. 
What may be the reason it is hard to state, un- 
less it is ihat the climate is such that people are 
affected by it in their taste for food. However 
that may be, the fact remains that Americans 
do not like heavy leas, but sliew almost an uni- 
versal lueterence for the lighter kinds. Only those 
who arrive comparatively fresh fiom England 
apiireciate the merits of that class of tsa 
trenerally characterized as English Breakfast.'^ 
And considering the excellenije or snper-ex- 
cellence of Ceylon tea, the HiPaix'st of lliPin iill. Is 
not iiKinri/ 6(ircil by tiiLiD i i^iuy foi tl;e calikloguc, 
soiiiHt it may be read as '■A< k<-i"s \\'ee]ily " by 
f, •<"/•// I ody, ami no more cxhiliiiioim of f<>ol:i-h<>x- 
trava;jance iiMlul;;<d in by the .Ameiican )>«M»ple 
who i'ure;iase ihe-e inferior BrHuds we hee bo clearly 
shewn up in ''Ackert.' Weekly'"? 
Well, Acker may overeviimnte tli« extent of 
KUperiority wljicli >-eeni» lo atrcuiupiiny hi(< name 
on everything lie deals in, but it i» irue without 
<loubt that he is one of the n/osi far->-eeiiig busincM 
men America lias ever produced. 
JOHN WANAMAKER 
is supjwed to stand first in the list of fiuceesfful 
merchant' — but with lliit? exception J (hink that 
Finlay Acker is wjcond to none. . From a «»in- 
parativcly small Hlore on eighili stieel in my 
lime, he hais elected a huisis of Lniidiogs in the 
most densely (topulaled centre of the city, the 
value of which in vejy rrtit room mut>l be 
enormous. Mostly all Rrticlc- of a proj>ric'ary 
nature, put un in cans or otherwise, caudic*! and 
other mannfactnred article*, are fnanufacUire<l 
atid put up on the premises, an AiAcrs. Wliat 
others can accomplish in specialties of tlii« kind 
can be ilone by him, under his own eye on bin 
own premises, and in his own name. 
Tills is in eflect what I'inlny Acker thinLa 
and says, and his method of introducing <'ey- 
<in 'J'ea through bis well established channels, is, 
and always has been, after a ItKli experience 
in the business, the only feaMble one when 
look'il at from a business standpoint. 
To recommend Americans to tlie ui>eof 
CKVIX3N' IT. A VVRF. 
is absolutely suicidal to the man wl o does so, if 
he is d3|iendent on the lea bui^iness for a livioe. 
Would it not be foolish ou my part, for instance, 
with all my jiast experience fresh in n»y memory, 
to ignore facts which now stare me in the face, 
and discourage nine out of ten wouhl l>e custo- 
mers from i>atronizing me, and force them to give 
their money to my competitors who aie obliging 
enough to sell them what ihey ask for without 
informing them that their taste is 1 ad, requires 
to be educated and that the wortiij' citizens they 
may have dealt with and kitown personally m 
good friends and honest men arc and have all 
along been victimizing them ; selling poisonous 
herbs, and passing off adulterated stuff as pure 
tea, &c. In the first place they don't, in their 
hearts, believe you. Thej' know enough to 
know that the case is exaggerated and that they 
are, as a matter of fact, in wonderfully good 
health after using these horrible tea-s from China 
or Japan for so many years. They take .some 
Ceylon tea home, making the family expec- 
tant and jireparing them for a tieat. Bat 
how depict the " facial contortion.s" indulged 
in after tasting? "Herbs," says one, "Oh! the 
very smell makes me sick" says another. "Avoid 
ihat store in future," says another, "and don't 
forget to call 'Ackers' wagon as it passes. 
Mamma, for goodness sake make us some coffee. 
It can't do more than keep us awake, and the 
smell of that tea would keep me awake for a 
night. As for drbikiug it, I would be sick to my 
stomach till I died. ' 
Such is the general reception given to Ceylon 
Tea by an American family of the middle class — 
representing "the people" on whom a retailer 
of Tea and CofTee depends for his custom and 
his bread and butter. Acker appreciates the fact, 
and does not like his name associated with what 
he looks upon as distinctly unpopular. 
