7G4 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [May 1, 1899. 
BLENDED TEAS. 
( Curnniuiiicatcd. ) 
A few months ago one of the chief subjects 
before the British pubHc was the vohune of 
the exports of theh' manufactures ; and which 
statistics, in spite of all the promises of 
Cobclen and his party, are proved without 
doubt to be rapidly decreasing. Instead of 
bacojuing the manufacturers of the world, 
the world is gradually becoming the manu- 
facturers of Great Britain. This may be some- 
what strongly put, but as a matter of fact, 
if Britain loses as much of its foreign trade 
in the next fifteen yeai\s, as it has in the ptust, 
the accomi)lishment will be proved beyond 
doubt. The investigations this nas occasioned, 
have resulted in a somewhat unanimous 
opinion that the British pro.lucer is too 
prone to supply what lie chooseH ; while tlie 
chief aim of the German and foreigner is to 
supply what the customer wants. Time was 
when such discrimination of goods and pro- 
duce did not exist — when sound and strong 
calico and drinkable tea autl cotfee would 
bs taken without comment. Whether through 
the art movement or from wiiat cause— 
everybody has become a man of taste ; for 
now ditt'erentiation is extreme. Everything 
is retpiired to the closest degree of indivi- 
dual fancy ; consequently, the wholesale Bri- 
tish deliveries are complained of, and the 
more painstaking and patient foreigner i.s 
gradually but certainly making himself felt. 
I have always maintained that America 
should l)e Ceylon and India's chief objective, 
and thiit black and not green teas should 
be poured in, although we are told America 
only asks for the latter. 
My reason for this one exception to my 
main contention, is that America is practi- 
cally a coffee and not a tea drinking coun- 
try ; and that we can never expect its peoj^le 
to become tea drinkers — in green teas alone, 
These are all very well in theii' way, but 
they will never induce people to leave off 
drinkinp- coffee and take to tea. Judicious 
lalends with their own teas, will in time 
overcome the partiality for green ; and as 
black predominates the coffee drinkers will 
come in. Such has been the' experience else- 
where, and what happens elsewhere will most 
likely happen again in America. The blend- 
ing art is a wonderful means of persuasion 
as to what is best ; and it also produces 
drinkable tea, to the public taste, at the 
lowest price, even though we grumble there at 
to our hearts' content ; yet the consumer is 
the man we have to please ; and as I have 
before stated, he toill have ivlu it he likes and 
not lohat we ivant. He has distinctly evinced 
a preference for blended teas, so there is an 
end of the matter as far as we are concerned. 
It is practically impossible to send any 
continuous standard of tea from any one es- 
tate in Ceylon or India, without the aid of 
blending. The character of tea made would 
be different in the South-west, to Avhat it 
would be in the North-east, monsoon ; prun- 
ing, tipping, exceedingly wet or exceedmgly 
dry weather would prevent equal standards 
being maintained. These causes are ac- 
couubable for many of the shipwrecked hopes 
and aspirations of many tea planters who 
have imagined they have discovered a special, 
direct and permanent uaarket for their own 
particular gardens' produce in the Mauritiu8, 
the Cape, Aiisti-alia, New Zealand or else- 
where. The demand doubtless contin\ied until 
it came into competition witli the bleudwl 
article, when it had to give way to s<Jiiie- 
thiug more stable in character and so more 
acceptable. 
It must not be considei-ed that I, nidiri- 
dually, am advocating blended against jnire 
teas. The little "I" h;is little Ui do with 
tlie matter; for poor "1" drink perhai>s six 
lb. of tea a year; while those who will have 
flic blend drink perhaps nearly M) millions. 
Personally, I am prepared to say I pi-efei' a 
judicious blend my.self, althougli 1 am jn-epared 
to admit that I have seen some awful mix- 
tures ; yet as a rule the consumer prefers 
the l)lend, the British isles fii-st and now 
Russia and America without doul)t are of 
the same opinion. The (juestiou now r.'solves 
Itself into whether in the face of all the 
evidence, the gioweis in Ceylon ai'e deter- 
nnned to stand by their resolve .ind u<tt 
allow Ceylon to take its chance of lx^c^»ming 
the centre of the world's tea industry;' If 
it desires to become this, the sf>oner it re- 
moves the restrictions upon l)lending teas, 
the better. It should give every inducement 
for Colombo to become in the East, what 
London is in the West, a centre of the tea- 
trade. It could blend better, pack better 
and tlo all far cheaper than could be ac- 
complished in London ; but all obsta<;les 
should be lemoved, even to the abolition of 
Customs duties on the importation of foi'eign 
teas. This would enable many estates near 
Coloml)o where tea.s ai-e grx)wn, not of t'le 
highest price, to do a little judicious flavour- 
ing on their own accoimt. 
« _ 
A SEASON FOR MANURING. 
We hear on all sides of the wonderful 
effects of judicious manuring, more especi- 
ally in respect of tea grown on old coffee 
fields as well as in regard to coconut i)ahns 
in the lowcouutry. The old veteran palm 
planter, "AV.B.L."", long ago declared that no 
plant was more greedy of manure, or re- 
sponded more readily to its application, than 
the coco-palm. For every rupee judiciously 
spent in fertilizers, he calculated that under 
ordinary circumstances, the return ought to 
be tenfold. So, in respect of tea. The way 
in which fields yielding under 3!X» lb. of made 
tea per acre have been worked up to a sub- 
stantial yield, and the bushes invigorated, 
in some of our older districts, forms a striking 
testimony to the value of experimental if 
not scientific manuring. We are promised, 
for publiciition, some "facts and figru'es " 
giving actual results in this connection, which 
cannot fail to be of interest. Meantime, it is 
evident that the present season is going to 
bs a busy one in the market for maniu'es. 
The Yataderiva Company.— We are in- 
terested to learu ia coDnection with the 
recent paragraph in tlie Observer re an offer 
nmde to the Directors for the purchase of 
Yataderiya, that a considerable spring has been 
made on the original price offered ; but that the 
Company's Directors do nob sea their way to con- 
sider anytiiing under £50,000 sterling— or over 
E400 per share. 
