THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
(Feb. 1, 1902. 
TEA IN THE CAUCASUS, 
Our Consul at Batoum, Mr. Stevens, in his 
last report, has something; Lo say about tea 
cultivation in the Caucasus, which bears out the 
vievvs formed by practical people of this budding 
industry, about which there has been so much 
optimistic talk. He points out that possibly the 
climate of Batoum and its environs is all that can 
be desired for the growth of tea, but there are 
other local conditions whieli stand in the way, 
and accordingly the area under the plant is not 
increasing as might be anticipated in the case of a 
promising industry. The two chief tea growers 
are the Imperial Domains and Messrs Popoff, 
and both have added to the area of their gardens, 
but hardly any other growers of importance exist 
in the neighbourhood of Batum. The landholders 
are reluctant to put their land under tea because 
the results hitherto obtained are so uncer- 
tian that they jtiefer to await further ex- 
perience. Thus, during the present year, the 
total crop, wliich was the largest ever 
obtained in the Caucasus, was only 1.3} tons, 
although ten years have elapsed since the first 
experiments weie made, and neither money nor 
pains have been spared by the two pioneer growers 
to produce tea that will be commercially success- 
ful. In the estates of the Imperial Domains the 
crop was gathered this year from 102 acres, the 
quality being chiefly that of the Ivangra Valley and 
the system of harvesting being that prevailing 
in Ceylon, Messrs. Popofl's gardens extend to 
312 acres, and the leaf produced is stronger than 
Chinese, and is gathered on the Chinese system. 
But, as has been said, the whole industry has 
not yet emerged from the experimental stage. 
Last season 117,000 lb. of silkworm eggs were 
imported from the Caucasus through Batum, about 
a sixth of which went to Persia and Central Asia ; 
but the Russian papers are clamouring against this 
trade on the ground that it injures the silkworm 
rearers of the Caucasus, and makes the industry 
dependent on foreigners. The silk, except what 
is used locally, goes for the most part to Prance. 
Bu*) the industry is not of great comniercial mi- 
portance, nor is cattle-rearing, which is carried on 
mostly to supply local needs,— H. and C. Mail, 
Deo. 20. 
A LONDON OPINION ON THE 
INCREASED TEA CESS. 
THE CHANGE NOT APPROVED. 
We learn that the following reply has been 
forwarded to the Secretary of the Ceylon 
Association in London in answer to his letter 
sent with that of Mr. Rosling's askirfg for 
votes relative to the increase of the Tea 
Cess : — 
17th Dec, 1901. 
The Secretary, Ceylon Association in Lon- 
don, 62, Gracechurch Street, E.G. 
Dear Sir,— We are in receipt of your 
circular of 13th inst., relative to the Ceylon 
Tea Cess, and we have to say in reply that 
we are not prepared to agree to the pro- 
posed increase, but on the other hand, are 
willing to join in any movement to abolish 
tbe existing Cess. 
We consider that no adequate result has. 
from the beginning, come from the work 
and expenditure of the Commissioners in 
America and in Europe, and that the ex- 
isting channels of distribution in the tea trade 
are amply sufficient to dispose of all the pro- 
duction. The appointment of Commissioners 
who are inexperienced in the regular busi- 
ness of tea distribution, merely gives offence 
to regular traders, and the unfairness with 
whicti grants are made tends to retard, 
rather than to advance, the efforts to extend 
the use of Ceylon tea. 
We think that, in all j)robability, the con- 
sumption of black teas of Ceylon production 
would have been as large in the United States 
and Canada today, had your Commissioner 
never been sent there. In any case, we do 
do not attribute to his efforts the develop- 
ment in demand. The constant lowermg in 
prices of Ceylon tea has displaced China tea 
in most of the markets of the world, until 
there is comparatively little trade left in black 
China teas to be displaced. 
We point out to you, as significant proof 
of our argument that Special Commissioners 
do little good, the fact, that for very many 
years no special effoi-ts have been made by 
Ceylon producers in Australia, and none at 
all, mitil recently, in Russia, and yet those 
two countries show very large increases in 
the volume of consumption, the reason being 
that the extreme lowness of price for Ceylon 
tea has rendered it impossible that China 
tea could be shipped in competition. Pro- 
gress of the same ch.aracter has been obser- 
vable in Gre.at Britain. The place where the 
greatest effort has been made, has shown the 
least return, viz : the American Continent, 
the reason being that there was a compara- 
tively limited black tea market to be changed 
from China to Indian or Ceylon teas. 
The business of tea distribution through- 
out the world is one that is carried on under 
vei'y keen competition, and tea merchants 
are so thoroughly alive to their own inter- 
ests that they have been most willing, 
wherever possible, to substitute a better 
for an inferior tea, and consequently 
black China tea has given way before Indian 
and Ceylon, the process of substitution hav- 
ing been greatly accelerated of recent years 
by the fall in the value of the latter. 
Some credit is due to your American Co'n- 
missioner for the suggestion that part of the 
Ceylon growth should be made into green 
tea, and if your Association were to direct 
their efforts to the production of green teas 
of such a character and at such prices that 
they would compete with Japan green tea, 
some good might result. 
We have just had furnished to us, through a 
private channel, the official figures of the 
Canadian Government for the last completed 
trade year of tea importation, which go to 
bear out the opinions we have expressed. 
They are as follows : — 
China 
Japan 
Ceylon 
Indian 
Black Teas, 
3.629,286 lbs. 
831.307 „ 
. 6,250,963 ., 
. 3,996,544 „ 
Green Teas 
862,379 lbs. 
«,619,296 .. 
335,815 „ 
81,578 „ 
