782 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
!^5Ay 1, 1899. 
TEA IN AMERICA. 
New York, Marsh 8. 
The followiug United Statea Treasury circular re- 
fers to Foochow and Amoy tens : — 
TuKAsuRY Dei'Akt.mbnt, Feb. 27, 1899. 
To Collectors and oilier ofjicers of the Cuitonis : — 
III accordance witli the recommendation of the 
board of tea experts, Department's regulations under 
the tea Act of March 2, 1897 (Synopses 17895 and 
189.".?', are supplemented as follows : 
All Foocliovv and Ainoy tcis will hereafter be com- 
pared with both the Focchow and Amoy slaudards. 
and, if found equal in itrawing quality and iiifnsea 
leaf to either, the tea may be admitted. It uliould 
be understood, however, that the tea need not be of 
the same character as to drawing qualities aa either 
standard, ko long as it Is equal in general swootnea?. 
This rule will be followed until the adoption of new 
standards to be prepared by the present board of tea 
experts,— RospcctfuUy yours, 
W. B. HowKLr,, Assistant Secj. 
The 1 test London Circular, February 24, reports a 
strong demand for tea under about 8:i, which ad- 
vanced J to ^d per pound. The average price of 
Ceylon lor the week wj,8 8-6Gd, against 7-23d, same 
week in 189S. Indiaa tea Bold, averaged 9-42d, 
against 8 15d in 1698. 
Philadelphia, March 4, 189a. 
Editor, Ameiican Groctr: 
gir^ — Since the effects of the blizzard have passed 
away it is gratifying to note the very large iiunibjr 
of inquiries that are bting received from all over the 
country for " teas for price,' but particularly so from 
the WeBt and South. From the tenor of the letters 
we note that interior supplies of teas nnist be veiy 
low indeed, as the requests for a prompt mailing of 
samples suggest that tact very plainly. Country 
greens and I oochowa, with liure and there an in- 
quiry for Jupans, are mostly in demand. Dealers 
here expect a very lively trade from now until the 
middle of April, when it is hclievud that no teas of 
any kind, green or black, will be obtainable under 
25 oeutf. 
Thomas Maktindale. 
Some of the worst rubbish that ever bore the name 
of tea is being sold in a jobbing way at 22 cents 
per pound ; one dealer says it's poison. The Tea 
Act has made a fine market for all the trash and 
accumulations of years. Good low-priced tea is 
in light supply and very firm. The character of the 
market will be developed at the regular monthly 
auction sale, at noon today, held by the Montgomery 
Auction Company and comprising 9,801 packages, 
tIz: 503 half-chests Moyune ; 50 boxes Pingsuey ; 97 
half-chests Japan, basket-fired and Sundried ; 493 
packages Congou, a varied assortment, including 
small boxes; 'l93 packages India and Ceylon Pekoe; 
1,099 half-chests and boxes Amoy ; 529 half-chests 
Foochow. 
INDIAN TEA. 
Although we are not one of those who advo- 
cate " whistlinr; ere we are out of tiie wood," it 
must be conceiled that both the tea and indigo 
seasons are commencing under more than usually 
favourable auspices. Not only are stocks of both 
being depleted in the home markets, hut puveliasers 
here are diverting no incon.siderable quantity 
direct to foreii/n centres of consumption, or, at any 
rate, of distribut on. Direct shipments of tea fioni 
Ceylon to America and Russia, coupled with the 
expansion of the (julf trade via Bombay, ought 
to have a hardening tendency on London prices 
that should more than compensate for the pos.si- 
bility of exchange coming up another halfpenny. 
Still the markets need careful watching, and we 
hope our remarks as to the undesirability of 
sending forward coarse teas, at all events in the 
early part of the season will not be unheeded. 
As yet we regret being unable to record that any 
unanimous decision has been arrived at on this 
point and would urge iqion the lieails of the agency 
houses '.he advisability of coming to bonie mutual 
understanding with as little delay as posMble for al- 
ready there are opinions expreisseii in the tlistricts ot 
healing la.st year's outturn in ^(/a/j/iYy, this imen- 
tion being aUo apparent in the estimate* plaLeU 
before the shareholders at several recent meet- 
ings. Almost ail anticipate an excens over the 
p.Lst year, and the early storms seem to justify 
the realization of such. With reference to ( Vy- 
lon'.s crop, there would apjicar little dilliculiy 
in disposing of it to advantage, as for some un- 
ex|jlained reason our compel itot's le.iK hue ac- 
quired a greater popularity in the Colonies and 
Canada than our own, and niLcli the same may 
be said as to the Uassian deuiaad.— /Van^ 
en' Gazette. 
COOLIES AND TEA PLANTING IN 
ASSAM. 
The number of adult coolies per 100 acres of 
tea in Assam is now nearly double what it waa 
sixteen years agi, the actual number now eiu- 
ployed per 100 acres being 129. Piarters m a 
rule are now well aware that a strong hi hour 
f irce ensures the health and c ontent inent o( their 
coolies, as well as th-iroughness of cultivation, 
and they liave pr )rued by the fanliiy of lecruit- 
ment during the lajit two or three years to t-ecure 
tills, 'i'here is also a considerable increauein the 
land cultivaied by time-expiied coolifs. Sixteen 
years ago only 4,58 1 acrei* were held by ex tea 
garden cooiien, and there is now nearly 7u,oOO 
acres under such cultivation; even this hgure 
does not adequately represent the land held by 
emigrants, as in the Assam Valley many coolies 
rent land from the gardens on wliich ihey are 
employed, or from Assamese ryots, while the 
land rented from the zemindars of Sylhet and 
the rairasdars of Cacliar amounts to many thou- 
sands of a^ies.— Indian rlantcrs' Gazette. 
Cardamoms.— The long list of sales in London 
of Ceylon cardamoms, published by us lately 
shews the growing importance of this in- 
dustry. We notice that the exports up to 28th 
March last compare as follows : — 
1st Janaary-28th March 1899 158,361 lb. 
„ 1898 134,116 „ 
Mr. T. N. Christie has something to say about 
cardamoms in an interview which will be found 
fully rapoited on page 776, 
Messrs. I. A. Kucker & BKNCRAFTreport on 
cofFeeMarch 23rd :—" Since the commencement of 
December lost little progre.*s has been made in the 
relative position of receipts. Then we were 1,500,000 
bags behind, and were talking of an 8,000,000 
crop, today we are 1,650,000 bags behind, and are 
looking for a crop of 8,750.000 bags. Last year 
at this time values of Kio and Santos were about 
what they are today. Exchange was However e^tl 
and went decidedly lower, today it is 7d, and 
expected to go higher. The sentiment ot the 
market is languid, because in the notable ab- 
83! C3 of estimates the worst is anticipated. Two 
factors however, continue, which some day will 
alter things, viz., the steadily increasing con- 
sumption, and the steadily decreasing inclination to 
produce. Term absolutely unchanged on the week, 
cost and freight steady, but more inclination to sell 
forward shipments." 
