804 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[May 1, 1899. 
See the enclosed cutting. (Given below. — Ed. CO.) 
It is astouiKhing how the dealers liere are stickin g 
out agaiiiHt the ride in the London tea market for 
lo vei- grades. 
The importers had Calcutta and Colombo teas on 
hand — liought before the ria^i which beg in two monlhu 
ago. The.se teas hiive boeu uriiviiig during thu 1 ->t 
three weeks baling their prices on the recent ri-^' , the 
Importers have been loudly boaBtin!» t lal they w juld 
not sell under piesonl London values. But one after 
another h 'S been welling his teau one-half per cent, 
under Loudon value to please the trade, and steal 
his neighbour's customers. 
The trade has for years been getting China blacks 
(Congous) at 6d. and under, and last year got our P. 
Souchong at y|d to oAd. With another year of low 
prices, we would, I think, have entirely killed the 
China blacks. But the rise has driven importers to 
enquire for these again. 
During my trip to the West, I had chiefly in view, 
an enquiry into the success or otherwise of the demons- 
trations scheme I started last November-December 
re Fiitsbury, Detroit, Buftala and Bo.stou. I had been 
getting wi-ekly returns of those sales since we began 
demonstrating. I sent yon sonic of those before 
leaving, England. I was shown tliose of past four 
weelis nil txhibiling a steady increase. 
Feb. 18'.h Feb. 2.5th March 4th March lllh 
Detroit 702 lb. 673 lb. 584 lb. 711 lb. 
Buffalo 01? 737 7W 804 
Pittsburg 649 773 617 934 
Boston* 460 1,210 1.440 1,685 
2,128 3,393 3,390 4,334 
* A snow-storm stopped deliveries. 
Those demonstrations were in connection with 
tea. He had previous to last October been 
pushing his tea in those cities some for 12 mouths, 
some for two years. He at first met with great en- 
couragement, as the grocers took small quantities 
to 20 lb. on the strength of his pi'omise to advertise 
the tea. This he did splendidly, and at a great ex- 
pense, spiindiug in Boston alone £20 to ^30 a week in 
the best p ipers. His sales however gradually fell off 
— but perhaps because his advertising roused U.S. 
firms to make a pu^'^ with similar teas. Grocers 
returned his teas instead of paying for them — he be- 
came disheartened, and was gradually reducing his 
advertising. I was afraid he would retire from the 
States, in which case his U.S. rivals would revert to 
their first loves. Chinos and Japans. I proposed 
substituting demonstrations for advertising and 
offered to contribute : so far the success has exceeded 
expectations and when I put it to his Managers in all 
four cities, " whether they would have advertising or 
continue the demonstrations," they with one accord 
answered "Let us have both, but if one must go, let 
it be the ' advertising.' " 
One of the travellers selling the tea in Boston 
said, what I have often urged : — '' I have been selling 
those teas since started in Boston. I failed 
miserably with the advertising. I have succeeded 
splendidly since the demonstrations were started. 
Every packet bought from advertisements, makes enemies, 
because of the way the teais made. 
The demonstralors shoi': the people hon: to malceit — and 
make friends for us." 
I have been interrupted by several callers. Mr 
Blechynden has returned. It is not quite certain yet 
what the Indian Comuiittee are to do. I shall not 
know till I see them in Loudoa, which I hope to do 
within ft fortnight. 
The last week for which I gave you the sales here 
(we are having demonstrations) ended March 11th. For 
week ending 18th, I have, so far, had the return 
from Boston only — it is the largest on our record, 
1,740 lb. 
About Chicago, and the West, I have much to say; 
but must postpone it. All goes w<sll, however, so far 
as the packet business is concerned, but bulk teas 
are too dear in London for the market, as it is, low 
grades may take. 
Greens.— la Mr. Blechyndeu's report to bis comniittef> 
he eayi- about unfcrmcnttd teat :— • Some faDiplec of 
these Oolong tc Ms m.ide !u In iia, were a -iv ma early 
thi y ar. They were (ound so sui able for the 
ma ket, and firms wt-re so ready to giv* iiutnedi iie 
larj^.: nd. ri-, th it I h:ive h'.id fo revi-erny opinion. 
I now belieiu .,ba4i there nre certain di»tiici8 in 
Indiii, wh' re Oblong tt-.is of a cbarattc-r to command a 
ready na\e cm be made, and if buch tens ure pro- 
duced Ihrve in prouctically no limit to the buiintst that 
cotild beJone" i^c. 
Those Indi m greens I mentioned in uiv letter of 
14th were packed np at once. Unfortunately there 
were only a few hundred cases, whereas tliouBiuids 
could be sold. These could be sold easily, wherea 
oar blacks /or i>rice are unsaleable bsing too dear. 
An Importer bought some Ceylon greens lately. 
He has twice told ine the people to whom he sold 
them, could not get rid of them— &8 they were good 
and pretty, but different from the kior-s used here. 
These people have now wired to him to reserve for 
th^m any other similar Cevloc greens he could get. 
— T urs truly, (Signed) Wm Macke.szie. 
PLANTING NOTEP. 
Brazil ("ofkke Notbs.— The committee i»f collee 
factors of Klo de .Janeiro, in its report jire-^ented 
on last Friday, maintains its previous esli nal-e of 
3,000,00(1 h&iiB for the crop of 1899-19tt0. The couj- 
niittee ^nys that the cio|(, as well as the trees, Iia8 
been injured by drought, but that it is not yet pos- 
sible toe-tiniate the amount of damage tliu.s caused. 
It is e.vpecterl liiat the early maturing; of the coffee 
will eau.se an increaBe of 20 per cent, in the recf ijits 
at Rio de J meiro before the 30th of June.— J/io 
Netis, Marcli 28. 
Hookicr's "Ico.MvS Plan't\kum." Part IV. 
of the sixth volume (March 189-). of Hooker's 
Iconcjs, edited lor the Benthani Truhteeii by Sir 
W T Thi.seltoii-lJ>er, contains iilu-strations of 
several plants of botanical intt re.st. Among iheiu 
various specie« of the Euphorbiaceous genus Hevea 
are given. The Horal details of some of these are 
siufiularly like some of the Mai vales or Sterculiads- 
OJontosperinuui pygin.-eum, t. 2563, is a desert 
Composite, shrivelling in dry weather, but expand- 
ing when the rain comes, hence it has been (with 
others) called the Rose of Jericho. Mr Heinsley 
contributes further details relating to the extraor- 
dina-'y Pandanad named by him Sararanga sinnosa, 
— Gardeners' Chronicle, April 1. 
Ceylon Tea at Manil.v.— At the cb.se of some 
interesting notes on afi'airs at the Philippnes 
forwarded to us by a resi-Ient, at Manila, 
we learn that there is likely to be a considerable 
opening for the sale of Ceylon tea at the Philip- 
pine capital. At present it is quite unknown there 
The price at present paid there lor China 
tea is 2^ dollars, or rather over 4s a pound. With 
the increasing traffic which passes through 
Colombo ou its way to Manila there should be no 
difSculty for the transport of tlie article, and 
the sooner an experiment is made at Manila, 
the more likely is the Ceylon product to get a 
footing too firm to suffer aiipreciabiy by any con- 
tinuing impnrtations of Cliina teas." Ahlioiigh the 
troops are reported to be discontented and eager 
to rcruro home, there is little doubt that once 
the islands .are subdued a considerable number of 
colonists will pass over from America to sfttie in 
these fertile co'onies. In this connection we may 
mention we have received some dailv notes 
from a private on board the U S transport "Sheri- 
dan" from which we liope shortly to publish 
extracts. 
