128 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[August i, 1891. 
of a healthy beverage was prevented by the duty 
placed upon it. It was a serious consideration 
that the effect of a tax of this kind was to 
keep down below the natural level the consump- 
tion of an article of necessity. He thought it was 
quite plain that the present or any succeeding Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer could not stop at the present 
point, and that the whole tendency of opinion and 
of expediency would urge them on until the duty 
was finally abolished. Apart from the inconvenieooe 
involved, there was always an amount of uneasiness 
occasioned among business men by the existence of 
the duty and its possible alteration. Ho hoped the 
Chancellor of the Exchequer would bear this matter 
in mind. It was not only the duty that had to be 
considered, but also the expense of collectiDg it; and 
both fell disproportionately on the poor, because the 
teas recently sold at fabnlons prices did not pay and 
more duty than the cheapest te«s. The Chancellor 
of the Exchequer said the hou. member would not 
expect him to reply. There was satisfaction in reflect- 
ing that the reduction of the duty was one of the 
causes of the increased consumption of tea. The Bill 
was then read a third time. 
Tea and its Deinkees.— The British people are 
doing their best to maintain I heir pre-eminence as 
tea drinkers, and this ciroamstance should con- 
Bole in some degree those who nre worried by 
the vast extent to which rum, whisky, and other 
intoxioants contribute to the resources of the Chan- 
cellor of the Excheqaer. For the seaaon ended 
on the 3l8t ultimo, the consamp tion of tea in this 
country was over 198,000,0001b. in weight, against a 
little over 141 millions a century ago. Of course the 
population has increased in the interval, but lea ooii- 
Bumption has developed a great deal more, and is now 
much more than three times what it was per he»d of 
population in the year 1700. 
Too Much Packet Tea.— That the trade in packet 
tea has been for some time overdone, is known both at 
home and abroad. There is, ncooruing to the Grocers' 
Chronicle, too much Ceylon packet tea in the market. 
It says :— " The rapidly increasing popularity of Cey- 
Ion tea has, as might be expected, attracted all classes 
of dealers into handling it. Just as when some years 
ago, we were inundated with Indian packet tea com- 
panies, so almost every week now we find a Ceylon 
packet tea Company, ' breaking out in a fresh place.' 
The consequence is that wa now have striking titles 
ending 'Wle,' ' Yalle," Boddie,' and soon, attached 
to ' judicious blends ' of Ceylon and Indian teas, so skil- 
fully blended and named, that they are like the boy 
stolen by gipsies, who was so altered and disguised 
that his own mother did not know him. Many a Cey- 
lon tea planter would, we suspect, find it difficult to 
say what estate the contents of some of these ' Oeylon 
tea ' packets come from, whilst the Cingalese might 
be forgiven if they failed to reooguise or understand 
their mother tongue ' as she is spoko ' by those res- 
ponsible for the titles they bear. It was to pat a stop 
to the practice oi palming off on the public Ceylon 
blends containing but a small percentage of the genuine 
article that the planters prosecuted and obtained con- 
victions against certain tea packers some time ago, 
and from statements that have resched us it seoms 
that the practice was only ' scotched, not killed,' 
and we commend the matter to their attention. But 
another complaint which wo have heard about this 
packet tea trade, and one which specially affects our 
readers, is the way unprincipled dealers are treating 
grooera who become agents for them. An enterprising 
traveller goes into a town and presently secures ares- 
neotable grocer to undertake what is promised to be 
a sole agency for the ' Boltewaddevalle ' Oeylon tea. 
Under the belief that this arrangement will be adhered 
to the agent pushes the article and works np a trade 
in'it But no sooner has he done eo than he finds 
the firm for whom he has been acting as agent has 
appointed others in the same town or district who 
thus reap the benefit of his efforts. Remonstrance 
with the packers ia unavailing, and at length the 
Birent gives up the matter hopelessly, and resolves 
that he will never tgain take up a sole agency." 
Last Week's Tea Sales.— The Produce Markets' 
Review says:— " Owing to the poor assortment of Indian 
tea the demand continues inactive, and no improve- 
ment can be expected until more desirable teas are 
available. The bulk of the supply brought forward 
mainly consisted of the lower qualities, which met 
with a slow enquiry at about late rates. For the 
few lots of the medium kinds, and particularly broken 
pekoes, the competition, owing to the unusually small 
supply offered, was fairly active at higher prices. An 
increased quantity of New Season's tea, represent- 
ing several districts, has been placed on the market. 
The quality is fairly representative of early imports, 
the infusion generally being thin, and the demand 
has been only moderate. The quality of the Ceylon 
teas brought forward during the last two weeks h»8 
happily been better than for the previous two months, 
but this has evidently been due more to the favour- 
able woatlier than to any extra care in the manufac- 
ture of the leaf. When more attention is paid to 
this many Ceylon planters should easily obtain tlio 
rates frequently commanded by Indian teas worth 
between Is 9d and 2a 3d." — H. and C, Mail. 
«• 
A Flobida PAPKE SATS there are "over thirty-three" 
varieties of sweet oranges, not to ' mention the 
"natural stock," which is a larger and handsomer 
fruit than the sweet orange, and it is excellent tor 
orangeade and marmalade, but, being very sour, is 
seldom shipped North. The medium sizes are apt to 
be the choicest and "probably the very sweetest 
orange that is marketed is the ruaty-coated and rather 
ill-looking orange, which might be considered inferior 
by an amateur." Furthermore, " the way to test 
oranges ia to ' heft ' them in your hands ; pick out 
the thick skinned, heavy fruit, and you will be right.'' 
The light weight fruit is apt to be juiceless — a 
condition caused either by slight freezing while on 
the trees, or moie probably by the poverty of the soil 
in which it grew. — British Quarterhj Trade Review. 
The Febkch Consul-General of Guatemala 
directs attention to the great advance which coffee 
cultivation has made in that country during the 
last few years. Statistioal reports make it appear that 
in ten years production has more than doubled, and 
the prices realised by the product have more than 
quadrupled. It was calculated at the time the 
Consul-General wrote (Uth Febtuarj) that the 
harvest o£ 1890 would reach about 700,000 
quintals, representing the sum of $16,100,000. The 
extraordinary high price of coffee has led to a 
transformation of the country ; small landowners, 
who drew from (heir harvest resources msrely 
sufficient for working purposes, find themselves 
now with considerable capital, with which they 
can improve their property. These good results 
have led to unbridled spaoulation, and large com- 
panies, principally German, have been formed for 
creating vast " exploitations " ; " they have bought 
for 7 to 8 hundred thousand piasters, or 3 million 
franof, properties that three years since were 
estimated to be worth 2 to 3 hundred thousand 
dollars." The impulse has become general, and 
every small artisan who was able to save a little 
has abandoned bis first work and turned agri- 
culturist. " This will last as long as the price 
of coffee rules so high, but a reaction may be 
produced shortly, and complete ruin will be the 
consequence of a large number of producers. The 
harvest of Brazil, which was last year only 4,200,000 
bags, is 9 millions this year. The European 
markets will therefore be largely supplied, and the 
Guatemala coffee will have to bear a fall in price, 
of which the reflex will make itself felt on the 
economic condition of the whole country,"— Zndta/i 
Agriculturist, 
