OcteBER I, iSgi.J 
THE TROP!OAL AQRI0ULTUKI8T. 
23^ 
e 
ft 
10 0 
14 
14 0 
5l! 
S 
6 13 
13 
15 
14 0 
0 
6 
6 10 
Luokimpore 76,853 
North Sylheb 400,000 
Scottish Assam, ,, . 79,590 
South Assam 400,000 
Tiphook 26,000 
" These results," it remarks, "are taken from a list 
of fifty companies, some of tliem unkuowu by name 
outside the oirele of their limited prnpriotariea. Of 
the fifty, twelve paid no dividend for 1890, and among 
the dozen are four or five which were born to a con- 
dition of impecuniofiity, and, like Mr. Jilicawber, sur- 
vive upon their hopes rather than their income ; but 
when deductions are made on this account, and for 
sundry frauds or failures to which Mr. Martin makes 
no refereuce, there is a solid foundation left for the 
belief that tea companies are well worth looking into 
as mvestraents. Bleauwhile, the output of Indian and 
Oeylon teas has been ra,pidly increasing, while onr 
import of the China leaf is continually declining, 
The total imports from India for the year endinff 
with Jane last were 100,984,0001b, against 100,683,0001b. 
ia 1889-90, and 94 .38l,000)b. in 1888-89. The Oeylon 
i.tiports were 50,191,0001b. for the twelve months end- 
ing June last, as compared with 34 290.0001b. in the 
preceding year and 27,890,0001b. the year before. The 
supply from Obina and Japan fell from 93,619,000lb. 
in 1888 89 to 90,050,0001b, 1889-90 and 69,742,000lb 
in the year ending in June. Tea imports from Java 
amounted to 4,120,0001b. in 1890-91, a considerable 
improvement over the 3,094,0001b. of the previous 
iyear but a decrease on the 4,297,0001b. in 1888-89. 
But ,the most noticeable circumstance in this connec- 
tion is the growth of the tea industry in Ceylon. 
The deliveries in the port of London Lave swolle. 
from 24 904,8001b. three years apo, to 44,682,000ib. 
between July li-t, 1890, and June 30th, 1891, or from 
the rate of 2,075,4001b, to 3,706,9001b. per muuth. 
h-ist month (July) the import was, in round terms, 
5,750,000Ib and the deliveries about 5,500,0001b. It is 
on these remarkable evidences of development that 
Ceylon tea planters base their estimate that in ten y^ars 
time the output of the island will reoch 100,000,0001b. 
per annum, or as muuh as the import from all India 
today. The Bcoounts for the last half-year have not 
yet been maJe up, and Mr. Martin's table includes 
only four Ceylon undertekicgs, of which one is the 
Baatern Produce and Estates Company, whose history 
isnotexictly encouraging. Of these, however, it may 
be noted that the Ceylon Plantations paid 15 per 
cent on its ordinary share?, the Lanka Plantations 
6 per cent and we naay add that the Land and 
Produce declared a January dividend of 10 per cent.* 
There are, no doubt, rocks ahead of the British 
tea planter, and cue of them is indicated in the 
figures we have quoted with regard to the increase 
in the volume of imports, both from India and 
Oeylon. Minoiug Lane rates are n.t what they 
were six mouths ago, and prices have aijproaohed 
nearer to the narrow margin which represtnts profit 
on the cost of production. The general consumption 
does not seem to have diminished. The home de- 
mands for the eleven mouths up to May last was 
estimated at 100,000,000 lb. Indian and 40,000,000 lb. 
Ceylon, against deliveries duiiug the twelve months 
ending Juue of 9(5,45i;,0U0 lb. Indian and 42,853,000 lb. 
Ceylon. But it it a moot point wlietlier the output 
of British-grown tea, encouraged by a d. mand which 
was stimulated by low prices, and fostei od at the tea 
gardens by the compotitiva etforts of rival managers, 
is not overtaking the requirements of t ie consumer. 
Another problem before the Ceylou ti i planter is, 
perhaps, even more perplexing than th t of prevent- 
ing a glut in the market. He has yit to discover 
Bomo method of cultivating the {.lant <■<: curing the 
leaf which will give Ceylou tea Ihj eudi,: ing qualities 
of the growths cf tho Cbinese and Ae^ im gardeos. 
It i.s an open eeoiet in Mincing Lane that Coylon 
tea will i;ot, ' keep.' Your (Jhiueso leaf will stand a 
ytar's warehousing; junr Cingalese losc3 its flavour 
and fragrance in a quarter of the time. This is a 
difflauUy which ought not to be insuperable to the 
acientific botanist ; and after all, it is one of the 
points embraced in the larger question ns to whether 
the future prosperity of tea iavestmen'',8 does not 
depend more upon the quality of the product than 
the quantity produced."— anr? 0. Mail. 
KINMAN'S No, 251 PATENT TEA DRYER. 
TO THE EDITOB 0^' " THE PLANTERS' GAZETTE," 
SiK,— Will you or any of your readers sive their 
experience of Xinman'a Dcm Ifp,35l,t}i6 last one he 
brought out some three years ago. 
Details such as speed of fans, amount turned out per 
hour, quality of tta,-whether any trouble is esperi- 
enced with the fine leaf travelling into other parts of 
the Maohme,---whether it has been found suitable for 
final firing; " thcso and any other detnile would be 
very interesting and iustrnotive to one 
" SoEELy Puzzled." 
* It ought to be taken into account th t in all these 
cases fortunes ruined by tha collapse of coffee hsd 
to be retrieved by tea,— tho process beivg still in 
operation, — Ed, T, J. 
LONDON TEA LETTER, 
HoNouE List. 
£ s d 
Gallebodde (Ceylon) .. 1 Box Golden Tip 2 10 
Soskamadjffl (Java) . . 6 Boxes Silver Tip no bid 
Hukanpukri (Jokai 
Assam) ..12 Boxes Flowery 
CP 47 
Tjisalak (Java) .. 1 Box Golden Tip 3 0» 
Bokel (Jokui), Assam . . 19 Chests B, O. P. 2 2 
Refused . 
From the above it will be seen, that Java has been 
^""^l^^'un A" ""suooessfuliy, to compete with Ceylori 
in the "Golden Tip" arivertisement competition. Verv 
much more meritorious than these fancy samnles was 
the commercial hue from Huk,inpukri which reali.^ed 
4s / i per lb. A sample of this is before me as I 
wn e ana it speaks for itself; (he liquor is ail that 
could be desired. The coloured " tiu" of a rich oranee 
gold, largely predominating over the black " tip." Of 
course it is practically all "tip," well twisted, and 
clean, and even m size. Yet, unlike, the separately 
plucked, fancy, Ceylon samples, it has all the appear- 
ance ot a genuine commercial " Line." 
Of real news there is very little, if any, just now. 
Everythuig ,s quiet, and more or less unsatisfactorv 
m the bnsiness world generally, not alone in te,a, and 
there is a waive of depression over thiugs Commercial 
3ust now, which is doubtless helping to keep tea down, 
with other things It is apparently the usual reaction 
t T^L''^ ^ ^f'''^^ chief anxiety 
1 the Tea Trade here at this moment, is to get at 
the probable export from India and Ceylon for this 
Terrt-/':?"^"*' vary, and Estimates just now show 
very wide differepces. We are in the week befora the 
Augnst Bank Holiday, and that may account for some 
ot t..e absence of enquiry, which is so marked a feature 
° VV^tf question everybody is asking is. 
Will Ini.ia send over lier 112 millions, and exceed 
by 80 much her la^t season's export? If she does, 
ana it Cey on seads ii,s much as is now expected from 
ner, it will be a revere handicap on prices later on, 
wlion the heavy arrivals have to bo dealt with 
1 he prospectus [of tbe "Palais Indian Tea House.=. 
Limited, ' caine to band tco lute to refer to by 
last mail, and is now, of oour.«e, old news Tho 
otlort IS well meant, and should also prove au im- 
portant Insurance for those few public ,Hnrited men 
who liave boine the burnt of one fray after another, 
by Bubscnbiug to Guarantee Funds in tha interests it 
IS true of themselves but also of the groat maiority 
who, have, as a rule, batn conspicuous by their absence 
trom every effort made to "push" Indian Tea, which 
involved a. pecuniary risk. This new departure may be 
the beguming. or, more striotly speaking, tho second 
rea' su'p in tho direction of nttraolingcoulinental uUm- 
