October i, i8gi.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST^ 
249 
To the Editor. 
ME. MAITLAND KIRWAN'S PATENT TEA 
PAPER. 
Billiter Square Buildings, 
London, Aug. 13th. 1891. 
Dear Sia,— You may have noticed by Meser,?, 
Wilson, Smithett & Co.'s last circular that tea 
still continues to come forward in the new patent 
paper lining and is found to arrive in perfect 
order. 
The last consignment I had from Elkadua in 
this paper proved very satisfactory ; the more so 
because my head superintendent wrote me saying 
he feared it might not arrive in good order owing 
to its having been packed in very wet weather. It 
waa however just the test I wanted to prove that 
the paper was not n^er^^ly a fair weathsr material, 
I may mention that this tea was valued by an 
expert along with a sample out of the same break 
packed in the ordinary lead lining ; and without 
knowing which was which, he pronouriced the 
sample (paper packed) the fresher and better of 
the two ; the lead lined presenting somewhat of a 
tinny flavor. 
I think there can be no doubt that a certain amount 
of corrosion must ba imparted from the lead lin- 
ings which to some extant must affect the quality. 
The paper linings, of course, will obviate this, and 
what with a saving of nearly 50 per cent I have 
no doubt these linings will continue to command 
themselves to the planter and proprietor. I am 
a little surprised that your Planters' Association 
have not taken the matter up, after being supplied 
with samples of the paper, but, no doubt, now that 
it has been proved a genuine success, they will move 
in this business. — Yours truly, 
J. M. MAIi'LAND KIRWAN. 
{Extract from Wilson, Smithett & Go's Circular-) 
la the Board of Trade Rcturcs gWen below we ooto 
a satistactoi'y expanaioa in the exports of Ceylon tea, 
■winch aeems to indicate a wider knowledge and (^rowiofj; 
appreciation of its excellence. One or two breaks of Ceylon 
were included in the .sales packed in patent paper liced 
paokagea, and apparently arrived in very good order. 
A WORD OF WARNING TO CEYLON TEA 
PLANTERS. 
London, August 2lBt. 
DEiE Sir,- -The Ceylon Tea Industry taken as a 
whole is apparently well on its way to ruin. Let 
those whom it may concern take warning ia 
time. The sole cause is the attempt to make too 
much tea. A very short continu^ince of the late 
style of picking and manufacture will religata 
Ceylon teas to the place lately occupied by the 
lowest kinds of China ; and Csylon tea instead of 
being a name to attract will repel all who 
want tea of good character and agreeable flavour. 
The teas at present on this market f cm Ceylon 
are to a very large extent badly made, inferior 
in strength and quality and overgraded ; conse- 
quently prices are realized which must leave a 
serious kss to planters in many cas-s and under 
the moat favourable circumstances but very small 
profits. This in itself may act as a remedy, but 
it will take time. In the meanwhile it behoves 
everyone who has the interests of tho Cfylon Tea 
Industry at ho ivt and more especially the Planters' 
Association to urge planters not to be tempted by 
heavy Hushes and inoroasod estimates and yield to 
make more tea than they can properly manufacture, 
—Yours, &o. CAVE, 
THE TALGASWELA TEA CO. 
Aug. 25th, 
Dbab Sik,— It would be well if the Directora 
of fhe Talgaswela Co. published the whole of iMr. 
Grigson's report, so that present and intending 
shareholders might really read for themselves 
what Mr. Grigson did write, instead of having their 
minds exercised with the scraps of the report given 
in the papers. One part of the scraps seems to 
have led a shareholder to indulge in the funny 
suggeet'.on that the series of patches of bad planting 
was not bad planting at all, but the result of 
poisonous roots, as if an intelligent V. A. like Mr, 
Grigson would have wasted time and paper and 
ink in deseri'oing a few blemishes in a field, that 
anyone may note in a new tea clearing. Let 
me refer to tho scraps even as to what Mr. Grigson 
did write on this matter. Notwithstanding "(what?) 
there is great irregularity in the growth and de- 
velopment of the tea due to planting by village 
labour." I, for one, and I am pretty certain no 
sensible man, would believe, that Buoh " great 
irregularity in the growth and developement of tea " 
is caused by poisonous roots, but simply by bad 
planting. The use of the " red herring " ia not 
confined to oockery ! — Yours truly, 
MYSTIFIED. 
THE TALGASWELA TEA COMPANY (LTD.), 
Colombo, Ceylon, Aug. 28th, 
Dear Sir, — The writer of the letter in your issue 
of yesterday need not long remain " mystified," aa 
I am quite sure . the Secretaries of the Company 
will be only too happy to supply him, or any 
other applicant, with a copy of Mr. Grigson's report, 
which, I believe, has already been sent to every 
shareholder in and out of the island, I may tell 
him that the report covers five pages of printed 
foolscap, and it is hardly to be expected that papers 
would give any company a free advertisement by 
inserting so lengthy a document — a document, too, 
intended primarily for the information of the share- 
holders. Other companies do not usually publish 
their V. A.s' reports, but no doubt the directors of 
the Talgaswela Company will deviate from the 
general custom, if "Mystified" sends a cheque to 
cover tho expense of bo doing. 
As to the other point referred to by your corres- 
pondent—the irregularity in the appearance of the 
tea — Mr. Grigson is of opinion that it is due to 
" village labour," while the manager of the estate 
Mr. Broadhurst (who has been a planter in the Galle 
district for 12 out of 22 years in the island) attri- 
butes it to "immature seed." It is no uncommon 
thing to find cxperianced men differing very widely 
on planting matters, so the present conflict of ideaa 
is hardly a subject of much moment to the share- 
holders. What ia of more interest is the fact that 
the v. A. reports that this year's crop has been sold 
at an average of 46o. per lb. nett, " ivhich is a 
better result than ivould he expected from the low- 
country generally and is therefore a feature of distinct 
promise." He a!s > states that the yield next year 
should bo about 180,000 lb. from 485 acres four 
years old and 196 acres three yeara old, equal to 
an average of 264 lb. per acre ; and the yield for 
the following year (1893) is estimated by another 
competent authority at 450 lb. per acre, giving a 
total of over 300,000 lb. Bearing in mind the 
" exesptional advantages" (Mr, Grigson's words) 
Tulguswela enjoys in regard to labour, the " easy 
and inexpensive " transport facilities, and the fact 
of there being "500 or 600 acres available for the 
further extension of the tea indusiry," I shall not be 
surprised to fiod " Mystified" in the market for 
