Dec; 2, 1901.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
4i9 
rally speaking, much more likely to be comprehensive 
and reliable than those obtainable by the Association. 
For these reasons they considered tliat, at the next 
Annual General Meeting of the Association, a resolu- 
tion to discontinue the existinR system of preparing 
and publishing crop statements shoiild be pvoposed. 
These views were to be conveyed to the London Com- 
mittee. 
(d) Regulation of S.^les. — In the letter dated 18th 
October, it was stated that the Liondon Committee liad 
resolved to resume the regulating of sales until the 
3Ist •Januaryi902, on the linos of the regulation of 
1S9S-99. A circular hail accordingly been issued to all 
Companies and Proprietors, explaining the impirtance 
of the matter and inviting support. The Gaylon 
Association had also been asked to co-operate. 
The General Committee noted this annouucemnnt 
with satisfaction, and hoped that the regulation 
would be successfully carried out. 
In the proceedings of the meating held on the 20th 
September, reference was made to correjpondence 
with Messrs. Aitken Spence & Co. of Colombo re- 
garding the shipment of teas from Calcutta to Black 
Sea ports. The letter which it was then decided 
to write to Messrs Aitken Sperc and Co., had been 
forwarded in due course; and the Committee now had 
before them a further communication, dated 18th 
October, from tha'' fi-ra. la thisitwks stated that 
the owners of a line of Russian steamers were willing 
to establish a regular service between the East and 
Odessa, provided sufficient inducement were offered. 
Calcutta might possibly be included in the itinerary 
although it was feared that the stringency of the 
Russian quarantine regulations would be a serious 
obstacle. But even if this proved to be tlis case, 
shipments might be arranged on speial terms via 
Colombo. And in order that the owners might have 
some idea of the probable extent of the trade, Messrs. 
Aitken Spence and Co., asked for information as to 
the quantity of tea which would be likely to go for- 
ward to Odessa. They also enquired whether, in the 
event of special terms being arranged, Calcutta ship- 
pers would be prepared to enter into an agreement to 
ship by the line, which was run under the Russian flag. 
The Committee noted this letter with interest. 
They were not, however quite clear as to whether the 
reduced tariff on Russian railways applied to all 
steamers flying the Russian flag, or whether if was 
restricted to the vessels of the Volunteer Fleet. 
Messrs Aitken Spence & Co. were accordingly to be 
asked to furnish information upon this point. If the 
reduced tariff did apply, the Committee were inclined 
to think that the Russian line in question might, 
by offering sufficient inducement, secure the bulk of 
the trade between Calcutta and Odessa. It was diffi- 
cult to estimate the quantity of Indian tea which 
■ would be likely to go forward; but they mticed that 
the shipments to Odessa from Ist January 1901 to 30th 
September amounted to 560,000 lb. They were not at 
present prepared to enter into the question of an 
agreement, but they thought that if ample notice of 
the arrival of a steamer were given, and if the rates 
of freight quoted were favourable, practically all the 
cargo available would be secured. A reply in these 
terms was to be sent to Messrs. Aitken Spence & Co. 
10. Considered a letter dated 29th October, from 
the Director-General of Statistics, enquiring as 'o 
whetlier there is recognised tare for tea chests. In 
the case of most of the tea imported into Calcutta by rail 
the gross weight of the packages was registex'ed, and 
a deduction of 231 per cent was made as representing 
the average weight cf the chests. The opinion of the 
Association was asked whether this rate — which had 
been adopted twenty years ago — was still correct. 
The Committee were of opinion that the principal 
changes during the last twenty years were (et) a re- 
duction in the number of half chests, and (h) the 
introduction — since 1S96— of patent che'^ts of metal 
and veneor. These weighed from about 20 lb to 22 lb 
each, as against wooden chests at about 28 lb; and 
the average weight of tea per chest micht be taken as 
301b, The use of patent Qheats had fluotuatea ; but 
the Committee thought that by leferring to the 
statistics of the imports of such chests, ths Director- 
General would be able to form a fairly accurate idea 
ot the extent to which they were used. With the 
information thus obtained it would be possible to de- 
termine what correction, if any, in the deduction of 
•-'3i per cent from the gross weight, was needed. A 
reply in these terms was to be sent to ths Direotor- 
G^uet-al. H S AsHTox, Chairman. 
H ii Haywood, Assistant Secretary. 
STATE OP THE TEA TRADE. 
The recent rise in the market value of Tea 
which in some cases is very eaniiderable, has 
lightened the previous deep depression, it; nii^ht 
almost be said the despair, which has for so"me 
months existed anions; the growers and importer^ 
No one will t,'rudn;e this pieci of comfort, comin".' 
at a time wlien th-^re seemed 8o small a chance 
of improvement. iJut a bad crop in some or ail 
of the Indian districts is, after all, only a matter 
of one season. It remains to be seen, even this 
year, how much ot the deficiency in the older 
gardens will be filled from new land now oomino' 
into bearing, and wliich it has been said will 
yield many millions of extra lb. for several years 
to come. We are certain that the home trade 
cordially wish for renewed and continuous pro- 
spentyiathe Indian and Ceylon industry. Bnter 
times however, if they happily come, will alFord 
an excellent opportunity for considering; how far 
the recent extraordinary depression (due, of course 
mainly to the production outstrippint,' the consumu- 
tion) may have been added to by tiie obsolete 
and costly organisation of the tea trade. 
Wearecalled on by every hoarding to remember 
the delicious teas of thirty years ago, but it la 
not added that the average price in bond at that 
time was Is 91 per lb. wliile at the present time 
to probably only averages something like a third 
of that amount. Yet, notwithstanding thii fall 
to something like one-third of the old price the 
expenses connected with the import, sale and di'? 
tribution of a chest of tea are, if anything, higher 
than they were a generation ago. In tlie Interval 
every other avticle of consumption sold throudi 
grocers has had the expsnsas connectcl with it 
rijduced to a minimum, and the organisation ot 
the trade has been modernised, so much so 
indeed, that our predecessors, if they could come 
to life again, would hardly recognise their 
husmesaei. In tea they would be quite at home 
for as It was in the days of the East India Coin 
pany, so it is now, and many are so conser- 
vative as to believe that so it will ever 
be. lhat It costs ten or more times 
to sell a chest of Tea than to sell a hundred 
weight of Sugar is in the minds of such peoole a 
perfectly natural and inevitable state of thin!?s 
Dock charges four times what they are in Cofffa 
and immensely greater than in any other crmcerv 
intricate weight notes and warrants of an acrcrra 
vatingly useless and costly character-are sonfa 
of the marks of antiquity which hallow the tradp 
in the mind ot some of its member.. Unneces! 
sarily long prompts, coupled with a systpm ot de 
posits abandoned in all other commodities in 
Mincing Lane make matters worse. Then we liavH 
a system of public sales, well suited for potatoes 
or onions, but one mam ellect of which is to 
depress tiie price of medium and One Teas. These 
points mainly affect the growers and impoi ters of 
lea,_ but they appear to accept the disastrous 
position as tiesirable, unavoidable, and iuevitable 
