660 
tWe tropical 
AGRICULTURIST. [Maech 1. 1899. 
Hongkong advicef?, dated January .7th, leport that 
the sales for the previous fortnight awoanted to 
about 300 cases for the Straits Settlements and 
India at well-aiaintnined prices. Stock on the above 
date was 4,''00 cases. The shipments for Hcug- 
kong and Cimton for the 12 months fJanuary to 
December) were : — 
1898. 1897. 1896. 1895. 
U. K 410 134 9.59 6 546 
Continent 18,278 26,421 26,475 21,705 
—Clifniiat. and fJruritjist, Feb. 11. 
TEA CULTIV,ATIUN AND THE PREVEN- 
TIOISr OF TEA PESTS. 
Mr, W. B. .Jackson writes froiu Hauteville 
oil the 2ncl instant : — 
"You have put too strong a construction 
on the few lines I wrote ycni, rc ' Mossing and 
Bugging,' when you suppose the trees are 
rendered proof against any returnuig pests" 
by this treatment ! What I wrote was :— I 
had carried on this treatment for years and 
was still doing so (every time the trees were 
pruned) and I clid not for a moment contend that 
this was a ' perfect cure ' ; but that it was used 
more as a ''preventative" to keep the.se 
pests from spreading. Of course if they were 
not merely the few of us who do this, here and 
there, but if it was generally and thoroughly 
cai'ried out, it would mean more wholesale 
destruction and go to make ' life not worth 
living' to these fungoid pests — under such 
conditions. It goes without saying that it is 
true economy to keep up the general health 
of the tree — not only as regards its life, to-day 
but its future — and the test of the best suc- 
cess should be profit per acre. Slipshod star- 
vation work will never pay," 
MR. BLECHYDEN'S VIEWS ON 
THE AMERICAN TEA MARKET. 
Mr Blechynden writes to the New York Journal oJ 
Co.iimtree and Conunercial Bulletin under date January 
\1, as follows : — 
"I read with interest 'Importer's letter in your 
issue on Monday last commenting upon the pseudo- 
official stati.-tios in an article on tea and coffee drinking 
in America wliich is going the round of the press. 
I had hoped that some one more competent than 
tnyself might take up the parable, but failing this 
I venture to offer m}' feeble support. 
" Importer " has very completely shown that the 
terms 'consumption' and 'importation' have been 
curiously muddled in the mind of the writer of the 
article in question, and that when stocks are taken 
into account the consumption of coffee will be found 
to be about the same as in previius years, although 
the importations are larger, so 1 will leave tbat aspect 
of the subject and will confine myself to the sup- 
posed falling off in the oonsuuiption of tea. Although 
the contrary is asserted, the offi ill figures show aa 
actual increase in the net imparts of tea during the 
flva years ending June 30, 1897. The longer 
the period taken for comparison the more 
raarked is the increase, not only in actual 
imports but the imports per capita. The fact 
that there has been a great reduction in the 
imports during the current season is due to causes 
oilier than a t'ecreise in demand. But apart from 
that fact the comparison of the figures of any two 
selected years is apt to be misleading, as is shown 
■vrhen those for 1896 and 1897 are taken. The im- 
ports ia 1896 were some 93 milliou, and in 1897 i 
112 million pounds. The great increase in import* 
did nut mean a corre^ipondicg increase lu coasump> 
tioii, but was duo to the fact that tiie tea season waa 
an early one, the Governmeut, or fiscal year, not oor- 
reKpondicg with the tea season, and much of 
surplus should bo credited to the following season'* 
account. 
'' The canses which reduced the importation* 
thi^ season are, fii-st, and most iraportaot, the 
sudden imposition of duty ou tea, and, secondly, the 
ptssage of the Tea Act in the previous year ' to 
prevent the importation rf impure and un«bolesome 
teas.' To uud -rstand the present posi^i ju of the 
tea trade these two factors hive to be considered 
together. The ' tea law' has nndoubledly ex.:ludsd 
hiuch of the rubbish which used to be iinporte i and 
which was responsible to a great extent fjr th^ 
comparatively small amount of that article consumed 
in this country. The latter msasure paralysed the 
trade for many montlin, as retailers would not meet 
the cnhaaoed cost of tea by a c jrresponding price. 
The two together placed a premium on the eurplu* 
Stocks of bygone seasons, heretofore unsaleable, some 
of which had been in the country as long as twenty 
years. Such stuff acquired a Gctilious value, as th«r* 
was no other cheap tea in the market and uo more 
could come in. The amount of this antiquated trash 
and the amount jf stock actually held in the country 
has been a surprise to most of the trade and ha* 
been the only obstacle to the development of ba^it 
ness in new teas. What these stocks must have been 
can be gathered from the fact that, although some 
40 million pounds cf tea were imoorted from June 
Ist to Decembpr 1st, 1898, but 12 million p >jnd4 were 
cleared, or paid duty, during, that period. If the con- 
sumption of tea per capita is calculated upon this basis, 
it will be found very low iudeeJ, yet m one in the 
business would admit that people have ceased to 
drink tea. Theactutl facts are now well understood. 
It is now known that there was from eight to nin* 
months' supply in the country, that the-e are gra- 
dually being absorbed and that until thes are absarbed, 
business will remain dull. What stocks remain in band is 
shown by your correspondent, Mr. Martinlale, who*« 
letter you published on the 10th inst., and who stated 
that his broker had been unable to find a single jobber 
in one of our largest cities who had any tea whatever 
to sell in a large way out of bond. There can b* 
little doubt that during the last trying half-year a 
change has been brought about in the trade. Jobbers 
have ceased to hold or lay in stocks, and have shifted 
the burden on to the importers, who by the stress of 
circumstances are being forced to sell as cheaply to 
the small buyer as to the big man. Events will show 
whether the jobber has been wise in his generation 
to play this ' safe game,' and if his clients will for the 
future feel inclined to pay him more than a brokerage, 
when he has voluntarily assumed the role of a broker. 
Pessimistic articles like the one noticed, making sen- 
sational claims, are copied widely by the provincial 
pres.s and must to a certain extent innuanc-^ the minds 
of buyers in the country, yet the actual facts point 
to the tea trade being in a healthier condition now 
than ever. All the rubbish and accumulations of 
previous years have been swept awaj: a-'d thanks to 
the new tea law only fairly good teas' will be admit- 
ted. Stocks are lower than ever and when the de- 
mand from the country begins to come in it must con- 
tinue and be a lasting one. The tea in bond is in strong 
bands. 
Stocks in the London market are lower than they 
have neen for years, as the demand for Ceylon and 
India teas, which constitutes the bulk of the business 
there, is increasing from other countries ; so that 
everything points to a very healthy condition for 
the trade. 
'• With a bbtter class of tea supplied to consumers 
consumption will increase, and if the trade is only 
true to its o ^n interests there seems every prospect 
of an era of prosperity to those who handle this 
staple article in this country."— 2. ^ C. Mail, 
Feb, 17, ^ ' 
