10 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[July i, 1891 
CEYLON PEODUCE SHIPMENTS- 
ESTIMATES— AKD PROBABLE TOTAL 
EXPORTS IN SEASON 1891: 
TEA. 
In their circulRr of May 14th, Messrp. Forbes & 
Walker put the total shipments of tea from 
Colombo at 25 millions lb. from 1st January 
to 14th May of the current year. At this 
ratio, we should have to put down the probable 
total exports of the whole year at 66 millions 
lb., against estimates varying at the beginning of 
the season from 52J millions (Mr. Rutherford's) to 
58 millions (Mr. Forbes Laurie's). But it is ac- 
knowledged on all hands that, so far as it 
has gone, the season has been a most unusually 
favourable one all over the country tor tea. There 
has been no stoppage of flushing due to drought : 
on the contrary the weather has been so continu- 
ously moist all through what is commonly our 
dry hot season, that the tea bushes have been 
as if in a forcing houae and have kept "flush- 
ing" at a rate which sot all precedent and 
estimates at defiance. The experience may be 
very different if we get a cold raw South-weet 
monsoon with such heavy continuous ram 
as stops the flush, at least in the higher districts. 
Still, there is no reason to aoticipate a worse 
monsoon in this respect than usual, while as 
for the drawback to which low districts chic-fly 
object, namely drought, there is, we fancy, not 
the slightest chance of that extreme being experi- 
enced between June and December on tha South- 
west side of the island. 
On the whole then we do not see why the ratio 
we have adopted should not very nearly hold good 
for the year ; for usually, the percentage of ship- 
ments has been heavier in the latter than in the 
first half of the year. A table in our last 
" Handbook and Directory" shews the percentages 
worked out from the experience of the seven 
years 1883 to 1889 inclusive, as follows ; — 
Shipments of Ueylon Tea Chops from Colombo, 
Gallb and foe Island. 
For the Seven Years 1883-89, in Each Year 
and Perceatages. 
For Colombo. 
For Colombo. 
Ist Quarter ... 
2nd do 
3td do 
41I1 do 
Total, Colombo 
for Galle 
17,820,318^ 
26,22(1,181^ 
2ii,?l",0S5i 
22,651, atiOi 
87,401,87f| 
879,855 
2,545,764 
3,745,740 
2,958,579 
3,535,899 
12,435,982 
125,693 
S ° 
ill 
2U-39 
?0-14 
23-72 
This shews that we should be justified, according 
to the above ezperienco, in regarding the shipments 
of 25 millions lb. up to 14th May as only equal to 36 
per cent of the total export for 1891, which should 
thus aggregate 70 millions lb 1 In anticipating a 
total in excess of 60 and not far short of 65 — say 63 — 
millions lb., we are therefore apparently well on the 
safe side, unless the present low prices check 
shipments. 
If wo go by the Chamber's latest return and com- 
pare the shipments for four seasons up to ittj latest 
date with the totals for the years, the result works 
out as follows : — 
Total Shipments Per 
Years. .Sbipinen.:9. to llfh Mny. ceutuf^e. 
1891 (flay) (Vi.'KIO.OfiO ... 24,105,74S ... 38-26 
1890 ... 4G,i)01,.'-)r)4 ... 038,489 ... 32 06 
1889 ... 34,048,085 ... 11,6(13,61(; ... 34 07 
18b8 ... 24,381,790 ... 6,005,512 ... 24 60 
This shows how much less is the percentage (61-74) 
that we leave for the shipments of the rest o f this 
year, than was required in the three previous years. 
We may now show the wonderful way in which 
the Ceylon tea crops have run up beginning with 
1885, and giving the percentage of increase for 
each year. Of course it will be borne in mind 
how much less important is a large percentage on 
a email export, than one on the large shipments of 
recent j ears : — 
lb. 
Annual 
Percentage 
increase. 
of annual 
increase. 
1885 
. . 4,411,578 
1886 
.. 8,111,137 
3,699,559 
84 
1887 
.. 13,800,545 
5,689,408 
70 
1888 
.. 24,381,296 
10,580,751 
75 
1889 
.. 34,048,085 
9,666,789 
40 
1890 
.. 46,901,-554 
.. 63,000,000 
12,853,469 
37 
1891 
16,098,446 
34 
{To he continued.) 
4. 
BARK AND DRUG REPORT. 
(From the Chemist and Druggist.) 
Loudou, April 23rd. 
CiNCHON'A.— The public sales which took pla ce here on 
Tuesday were rather heavier than the preceding auctions, 
the catalouea conbisting of : — 
Packages Packages 
Ceylon bark ....1,144 ol which 1,122 were sold 
Ease Indian bark 1,709 do 1,709 do 
South American 
bark .... 172 do 150 do 
Total 3,025 do 2,981 do 
A fairly steady tone prevailed, and nearly the whole of 
the supply offered sold at rates which are said to show 
some Blight improvement on the last auctions, although 
they cannot be said to be quotably higher. The average 
unit may be put at about Id per lb. The assortment 
of barks offered was very poor, and again the East 
Indian onchonas largely outnumbered those from Ceylon. 
The following are the approsimte quantities purchased 
by the principal buyers : — 
Lbs. 
Agents for the French manufacturers ... 136,914 
Agents for the Brunswick work .... 130,915 
Agents for the American and Italian works 98,211 
Agents for the Auerha-h w^rks .... 69,489 
Agents for the Frankfort o/J] ud Stuttgart works 63,678 
Agents for the Mannheim and Amsterdam works 63,602 
Messrs. Howards & Sons works 55,368 
Sundry druggists works .... 35,012 
Total quantity gold 
Bought in or withdrawn 
653,179 
9,399 
Total quantity offered ... 652,578 
Quinine.— The market is just a shade better this week, 
8al<?8 being reported of 5,0.i0 oz. " Auerbach " brand at 
lujd, and about 5,000 oz. B & 8 or Brunswick, all in second 
hfiuds, at lOJd per oz. It is said that there are no further 
sellers under lO^d per oz. 
TEA IN INDIA. 
(From, JVatson, Sibtliorp db Co.'s Report.) 
1, Haee Steeet Calcutta, May 6th, 1891. 
They have now the pleasure to give you the figures showing 
the actual outturn of the Indian tea crop of 1890. 
Actual outturn of crop of 1890. 105,836,106 
The total ehipmciits to all places from the iBt May 1890 
to 31st March 1891 having been 104,954,025 lb., the difference 
represents the local consnmpiion an^l any small puit on of 
lae-t eeasi n's crop still to go forv. ard. It will be seen from 
the above figures that the actual ontlurn was leas than the 
original estimate by more than 9 million lb. 
Tte following figures kindly fnniisbed to the ; Ck'neral 
Committee show the estima'e of the cio,i of 1891 : — 
Ori/iinal Estimate of cropo' 1891. 119,79'>,')11 
being 4f million lb. over the original estimate of the crop 
of 1890. Taking the shipmeuts to other places at 10 per 
cent over Ibooe of last year and making allowance for 
local consiimptioD, there will remain about 112 million lb. 
for export to gi-cat Britain against 9SJ niillion lb. shipped 
there during the pBst teasoD. It U possible, however, 
that the actual outturn of the crop of 1891 miy be 
considet'ably less than the estimate as wag the caue last 
seaeon ,' 
