Aug. 1, 1903.J 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
105 
better tea than is in the " common " or 
" low-priced canister for, in this way alone 
can the danger he lessened oi heavy exports 
of common tea from China. The Report 
naturally does not believe in the " starvation 
of the London market " and offers a corre- 
sponding word of warning. The pro.3pect of a 
steadily increasing demand for tea in South, 
as well as middle and Northern Africa, is 
emphasized and both timely and useful hints 
are afforded in regard to green tea, and 
the superiority of both the Indian and Ceylon 
makes over the Far Eastern "greens" is 
dwelt on. The importance of getting a full 
hold of this branch of the trade can only 
be understood when we recall the fact 
that markets exist— of course chiefly in 
America— fo?.' " 48 millions of green tea and 
for 21 millions of uncoloured." We trust the 
day is close at hand when all this will be 
supplied by India and Ceylon. Finally we 
get the average prices realized for Ceylon tea 
sold in London on Garden account, namely, 
season 1899 1900 equalled Tfd ; 1900 01 gave 
65d ; 1901-02 gave 7d and for 1902-03 it was 
7id, Surely for 1903-04 we may expect the 
average to be above that of four years ago, if 
indeed it does not approximate closely to 
eight-pence. 
» 
REJECTION OF TEA IN U. S. A. 
A surprisingly large quantity of tea is reiected 
in the States as beiug under the standard, and 
Indian planters aiming at the Aineiican market 
cannot be too careful in manufacture. The quan- 
tity rejected in ten months immediately past 
amoutued to l,2i8, tOOlb or two per cent of the 
whole. We regret to notice Indian and Ceylons 
figuring in the list, though to a very small extent 
only. The loUowing is the list :— 
Packages. 
lbs. 
Poochow 
.. 15,497 
680,743 
Congou 
... 5.126 
276,260 
PinguBuey 
Country Creen 
... 3,.391 
137,950 
743 
64,400 
Indian and Ceylon 
... 1,459 
48,669 
Japan 
303 
21,660 
Indian and Ceylon 
Dust 
160 
13,168 
„ ,, Green 
.38 
2,500 
Canton 
11 
2,460 
It is creditable to Indian and Ceylon green tea 
makers that so little of the new commodity fell 
below the standard, but what must be said of our 
black tea makers, when our blacks to the extent 
of nearly 1,500 packages were rejected. In blacks 
at least our reputation ought to be safe from such 
rejections.^/ndiaw Planting and Gardening, 
June 27. 
THE TEA TRADE. 
Messrs. Wm. Ja.s. & Hy. Thompson's 
Annual Review. 
38, Mincing Lane, June, 1903. 
I'he season 1902-03 may prove to have marked 
an epoch in the history of the Tea ladustry 
and the events of the last few years will there- 
fore repay careful perusal. Between 1892 and 1902 
(he output in India KOae from 121 to 175 
million pounds and iu Ceylon from 72 to about 
150 millions— with the result that in spite of yearly 
increased coDsnmptiou and export, the Stocks of both 
kinds in this countiy stood at 87 miliionn in 1903 
against 58 millions ten years previously. Causes of 
which most are cognisant led to this state of affiiirs ; 
suitable land was obtainable p-t a moderate price, 
labour was plentiful and the depreciation of silver with 
its concomitant diop in the exchange value of the 
rnpse to about 50 per cent of its nominal value so re- 
duced the cost of labour and supplies that the margin 
of profit was sufficiently great to attract universal 
attention — without a thought of the future extensions 
were pushed forward to a degree unwarrauted by the 
position — 107,01)0 acres iu India and 80,000 in Ceylon 
were planted in the years preceding 1900 — land was 
rushed up in price and much of doubtful vnlue brought 
into cultivation, all aTailable leaf was plucked and 
stimulants usod to force natural yield, already boun- 
teous owing to favourable seasons, gardens in private 
hands were turned over to Companies at inflated 
prict s and the stability and prosperity of the Industry 
were hardly ever called in question. Hailed at the 
time as a blessing events have proved that the large 
profits made were really well nigh disastrous. The usual 
result of txoess in supply followed ; prices steadily 
fell and to add to the difficulty of profitable 
cultivation the rnpee gradually appreciated in 
value until in 1899 it was artificially raised to 
a fixity of Is. 4d. — ^to meet all this, expenses had to be 
curtailed, the poorer lands did not pay for cultivation 
and profits were reduced in many cases to a vanishing 
point ; more than this and most important of all, the 
price of Tea to the Consumer was lowered to a range 
without precedent and a new element was brought 
into the field of distribution, the Blenders who claimed, 
and were able, to supply the Public with 
A GOOD TEA AT AN ABNORMALLY LOW FIXED 
PKICE, 
and Consumers once accustomed to purchase tea of 
fair quality at a very low rate are strongly disinclined 
to follow an advance necessitated by the altered condi- 
tions of the Trade and a quotation, rather than the 
quality of the article remain dominant in their minds — 
how best to combat this is one of the problems of the 
future. On the other hand, this low range of price has 
not been without its advantages, and may be said to 
have served its day — it has checked extensions, 
it has helped to oust China tea almost entirely 
from the United Kingdom and to a great and 
increasing extent from the other markets of the 
world — it has compelled producers of British- 
grown Tea to seek other outlets and it has pro- 
duced solidatory and the cohesion of the two coun- 
tries India and Ceylon who are now working together 
iu one common interest. So much for the past — this 
season we have witnessed the arrest of this downward 
progress ; by climatic causes in part, by a mora 
judicious system of plucking, by smaller yields, the 
causes of which are not yet fully understood, by the 
partial abandonment of inferior land, and last, but by 
no means least, by the manufacture of ^ireen and Un- 
coloured Teas, supplies of Black Tea have been curtailed 
and for the first time for years have balanced the 
needs of the World — the dawn, we trust, of a happier 
era for producers. It may be asked, are the.^^e im- 
proved conditions likely to continue ? The balance of 
probability is iu the affirmative — by 1905 practically 
all extensions in India and Ceylon will be in full 
bearing, in fact the acreage which has been planted 
the last two or three years should be more than 
equalised by the abandonment of unproductive and 
worn-out areas : and supplie.s for 1903 — 4 from the two 
countries ava estimated not to exceed 33G millions, of 
which probably not le^s than 15 millions will be Green 
Tea, leaving 321 million Blacks — of this Australia 
should take 24 milliousi America 10 millions and all 
othei' Countries 40 millions ; or about 240 millions avail- 
