474 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Jan. 1, 1902. 
portant part than hitherto, and we hope that the 
possibility o£ obtaining it now in sufficient qaanlities 
will stimulate new trials. Pare geianiol, such as 
supplied by us, is a magnificent body with an intense 
and pure rose odour. 
Safhol.— When reporting on camphor oil we already 
mentioued the changes which are imminent in_ the 
production of safrol. The Japanese Government is no 
longei' willing to let us make the -'large prohts 
which are siid to have been made here, and it has 
erected at Kobe a safrol factory, which has been 
placed under the management of a Japanese chemist, 
Di Shimoyama, who has made his studies in Germany. 
It is stated that in this factory in future the ao-ca led 
brown camphor oil (in which we discovered satrol in 
188,5) will be worked up into safrol, and placed direct 
upon the market. This industry has alrsariy been 
carried on in Japan for several years by Americans 
but does not seem to have prospered; as a matte- ot 
fact it has been limited to the production of an inferior 
product for the American market. The Japanese 
Governmsnt has now the intention of pla,cing pure 
safrol on the market, and of monopolising the article. 
The future will show whether this project can be 
carried through. , 
Vanillin.— Enormous competition has brought the 
nrice of this product to a level which nobody wou d 
have considered possible. For the price of one k.lo 
of the finest vanilla, one can now obtain the same 
n iantitv of the 60 times stronger vanillin -a fact 
S cans for admiration. In this connection he 
lestion rises involuntarily, what the preaent value 
vanUla would be without the competition of 
ot vanui.1 Whether it is to the interest of the con- 
lumei to t.ke the price as the only criterion is a 
nSon which for this preparation we would de- 
& Iv aniwer in the negative, and we would point 
to the nfany possibilities of adulteration which have 
already made themselves felt in previous years 
Kenzofc acid and acetanilide have been special 
?a?ountes^for this P-P°- ^^.^sT 6^^'^^ °' 
October 1894, p. 79 and October 1898. p. bi.) 
quality of green tea on the market so cheaply that 
Uhioa could not compete, and Chinese growers were 
driven from tlip iiiirket. This is shown by the export 
figures of Foo Choii, the port from v/hioh all the China 
greens come from. Last year 5.000,000 were sent from 
this port. So far this year, and the expoiliog season 
is almost over, 02,001 pounds only have been shipped. 
The .Japanese teas are of higher qn.ility, and were not 
affected to the same e.xtent by the Indian and Ceylon 
invasion. The planters of these two countries, in 
spite of a splendid crop and the driving of Chini fiom 
the market, did not make money. So this year, be- 
fore the planting period, they combined to curtail pro- 
duction. The ai-i'a devoted to tta cultivation was 
materially reduced. Then the unexpected happened. 
This year's crop haa been largely a failure. The. re- 
duced area given up to tea did not produce more than 
half a cup. Now the woi ld's tea supply is away below 
what it should be. Montreal is the great tea town of 
Canada and conditions all over the country can be 
judged pretty well by those here. Last year 
tea was very cheap, and everyone loaded up 
at the beginning of the season with enough to 
last a year. This year, with prices up, the 
trade will probably buy in smaller quantities, and 
watch for a break in the market. The quality of tea 
sold is likely to be inferior. Canadians have f>i!lea 
into the habit of buying teas at a special price. There 
are 25c teas, 30c, -lOc and 50^, which are favourites 
with housekeepers, and they will nut change their 
prices to accommodate any fluctuation in price in Japan. 
The wholesaler and the retailer are not going 
to sacrifice their profits, so a poorer quality of tea 
will be put up in the 25c, 30c, 40o and 50c pack iges 
this year. And everyone will be hanpy. — d d, C JIail, 
Nov. 22. 
CANADIAN TEA TROUBLES. 
The foUowinff appear., in the " New York 
Tea Colfee, and sigar Jonrnal," which quotes 
the "Mon real Herald" as us authority : 
^ will r..n.t more to satisfy Canada s thirst during 
year 
°- IL Will UUOU lii^^J-V/ J - ^, _ T . _ l1 
the next twelve months than it did during the 
iust mst. This increase in expenditure for beverages 
will not be due to the fact that more alcoholic stuff is 
to be consumed-some people say that is never done to 
INDIAN TEA ASSOCIATION'S MEMO- 
RIAL AGAINST THE CEYLON DUTY^ 
(No. 1246-0.— From the Secretary, Indian Tea Asso- 
ciation, to the Secretary to the Government of India, 
Finance and Commerce Department.) 
Royal Exchange Building, Calcutta, 23rd Nov. 1901. 
Sir, — I am directed by the General Committee of 
the IndianTea Association to invite the attention of the 
Government of India to certain matters relating to the 
duty levied upon teas imported into the island of 
Ceylon. 
3. In the first place I am to state the facts con- 
cerning the duty. The most important fact is that 
it is a protective duty ; for it is levied a^ a rate of 4 as. 
per pound on all imported teas of whatever origin. 
tobe consu ^ ^^^^gg^ the price of tea has advanced The consumption of tea in Ceylon is said to be com- 
thelirait uu ^^^^ jj^H gg^y ^i^gjj paratively spaaking insignificant. It is unlikely 
and IS su ^ ggjjfjjtion of the tea market, 'Prices therefore that the duty was imposed for the purpose 
■"'^Irm ' TWs nie^n te.s have advanced from a 
::nt-tnd a ha to two and . half cents a pound 
in ncrease this look like a very amallaffair bu most 
^en would find it very embarrassing to settle the m- 
^rea J tor the whole of Canada. Last year the 
Dominion brewed twenty million pounds of tea 
ThSe wiUbe as much consumed this year. Now 
an inot-lseof two cents a pound m the price amounts 
to four hundred thousand dollars on - -"PP^y- 
General shortage in tea crops of India, Ceylon, 
Janan and reductions in the production in China are 
S causes of the scarcity of tea, whi.h will be 
more slvorely felt in Loudon than elsewhere, as 
Loudon is the greatest of tea towns Half the crop 
of the vo'l'l find; its way into the capital of England 
?n the course of the year, and from there is distributed 
n ever the world. In Japan this year shortage of a 
".,?^.'' ,.mnis anticinated. Prices have 
ire suffer- 
of these 
during the 
\ZT.T^:^ tT,rthey°pr;duc"ed mWtea than the 
last 'fiw yi.o' ,.Vipan labour and favourable 
r£te iilTtt Sn^teif were able to put a fin, 
of conserving the local market for the Ceylon planter. 
But in Colombo the blending of tea.; for exportation, 
forms a considerable trade ; and it was no doubt with 
the view of preventing the admixture of low grade 
China growths with the produce of the island that 
prohibitive taxation was determined UDon. It is, the 
General Committee think, only natural and right that 
Ceylonshould h ivetaken stringent measures in orderto 
preserve the good reputation of its teas. But the duty 
has also the effect of practically excluding from the 
Colombo market all Indian teas which might otherwise 
be sold at the public auctions there. This exclusion 
does not closely concern the industry in Northern 
India ; but it is of very great consequence to those 
Gardens which are situated in the Madras Presidency. 
The cultivation and manufacture of tea in Travan- 
core and the neighbouring districts are assuming laige 
proportions. The extensions of the planted area 
during recent years have been considerable ; and 
the annual production nov/ amounts to about five 
and a half, or six millions of pounds. But the 
planters labour under oue great disadvantage : they 
are -.i^^ present without an accessible market for 
their teas, Calcutta is too remote, and neither Bow- 
