240 THE TROPICAL AaRlCULTURIST. [Oct. 1, 1903. 
to the consumer at prices at which the buyer 
would talce them, and they are . 
SUBSTITUTING GKEEN CEYLONS AND YOUNG 
HYSONS. 
The former have been taken by the public very 
favourably in the sections where they want light 
liquor Japan teas, because tiie infusion of the green 
Ceylon, at a low cost tea, makes as line a coloured 
liquor as many of the choice Japans, it is a well- 
known fact that when the public get accustomed 
to drinking a kind of tea it takes a great deal of 
infiuenoe to cause them to change, and we think 
the alert Japanese will see at too late a day their 
error, unless they market their teas on the basis of 
other kinds that are their equal, if not their 
superior, in cup quality. The foreign Formosa 
market opened on a basis of 3 to ic. higher than 
last year for early teas, which are thin and 
undesirable. The latter pickings have gradually 
declined to a basis which seems reasonable to 
consider a fair business risk in dealing in them. 
The season is yet too early to give statistics of 
special value to the average grocer 
THE LOSS OF THE STEAMSHIP " HEATIIFOED" 
by fire with 32,000 he. ' 'Formosa" and about 375 he. 
Congou, is likely to liave the same effect upon the 
marke!? as did tbe loss of the " Satsuma " last sea- 
son, and the smaller export to date is bound to 
be felt, owing to the unusually small stock now 
in warehouses. 
The Congou market at Kui Kiang and Han 
Kow, the latter being a district where the finest 
cup teas come from, open at from 3 to 5c. per 
pound higher for the same grade, over last year, 
and maintained this basis for all first crop ship- 
ments to the finish because the Russian and Eng- 
lish merchants were very large buyers, and practi- 
cally swept their markets. The low grades are 
costing at least 2c. over our present market rates. 
The official reports show : July 2, 1902, Export of 
Congou to the United States from Shanghai and 
Han Kow, $3,600,000; July 7, 1903, $2,700,000; 
Export to J uly 7 below last season, 900,000 pounds, 
or 25 per cent. Owing to the 
ADVANCED PKICES IN SHANGHAI AND HANKOW 
this year the American merchant, from careful 
fiq;ures, bought four million pounds less than last 
year up to the present time, which included pur- 
chas es made for future shipments. As the above 
900,003 pounds show, the shipments and the 
balance were for future shipments. The indications 
are such that the United States buyers will not be 
able to make the heavy shipments this year of 
52,000 he. of Congou and Foo Chow to England, 
because the English merchant has bought more 
freely than a year ago, and shippers will be more 
guarded in shipping only what will pas? easily our 
Government standard. The staudard law for 
quality has bee.i maintained by our tea inspec- 
tor, Mr McGay, with as careful judgment 
as the writer believes it could be, although he con- 
sidered it necessary to criticise some of the low 
grade "Formosas" which have been on the 
market. I was informed by him that he was 
careful to admit nothing below the staudard se- 
lected. The writer is free to express his opinion 
that the Commissioners appointed to make the 
standard must have selected 
A TEA THAT DETERIORATED IN CUP QUALITY 
to a great extent, more so than it seems would be 
good judgment to have for a Formosa standard. 
The unfortunate shippers and consignees of 20,000 
Foo Chow, Oolong and Cougou, which were re- 
jected, have suffared a severe loss because of their 
ill-advised selections, but were very fortunate in 
having the English market, which was short of 
Congous, take the same at a slight advance over 
cost, and all the rejected teas now have been as 
the law requires them to be, shipped out of the 
country. The writer takes pleasure in expressing 
his praiseworthy opinion of the careful examination 
the Board of Appraisers gave 
THE APPEAL ON THE REJECTED TEAS, 
and at the suggestion of the National Tea Asso- 
ciation and others submitted the case to the 
Secretary of tlie Treasury and received the 
opinion of the Attorney-General that the request 
for having the rejected teas sifted and that 
portion that was admissible admitted, was in the 
opinion of the Attorney-General impossible to be 
granted. 
The Ping Suey, foreign market opened on 
a basis of cur own which was about 20 per cent, 
higher than last year, and has gradually declined 
to about 10 per cent advance of our present 
market. The Moyuue green market has opened 
at a sharp advance and tbe indications are that it 
will be in a measure sustained because thia 
market is almost entirely bare of desirable 
green teas. Some are unattainable at any price. 
The Oeylon and Assam market here is decidedly 
lower than it is in London, which seems to many 
an impossibility. The native Ceylon and India 
market shows a shortage of two to three million 
pounds for the month of June against the corres- 
ponding month of last year. The finest grades are 
higher, the medium and low grades remain at their 
high standard of price recently attained. Our 
present tea tnaiket has been quiet, although there 
has been a steady demand for good cup grades. 
This proves that 
TRASHY TEAS ARE NOT WANTED, 
and the merchant who buys other than good average 
stock lessens the general use of teas, and loses 
desirable customers, together with carrying dead 
stock. lb is easy to assume that pure edible mer- 
chandise of any kind drives good trade to the- 
merchant who with care selec;s choice drinking 
teas, which only can be had by buying an article 
which has been selected with care at the proper 
season, fired in the proper way, and cared for as 
it should be, because we all know very well that 
tea is a delicate article. If care and judgment 
are used in the purchase of good teas we are 
confident the tea trade will increase and dealers 
will receive the benefit. Duiing the writer's late 
visit to London and Paris he noticed a great many 
tea shops where tea is served by the cup, and 
learned that the tea trade is gradually increasing 
in many sections where he visited. — American 
Grocer, July 22. 
CEYLON RUBBER. 
[REPORT OF MR. W. H. JOHNSON OF THE GOLD 
COAST COLONY.] 
Mr W H Johnson, Head Curator of the Botanic 
Gardens at Aburi, Gold Coast Colony, was recently 
sent on a visit to Ceylon, on behalf of the Gold 
Coast Government, to study the preparation for 
commerce of rubber from the Para rubber tree. 
The following is an extract from his report :— 
As the study of tliis product was the primary 
object of my visit to Ceylon, 1 devoted a considerable 
portion of my time in making myself acquainted with 
