266 
rm TftOPTOAL AGRICULTURIST. fOcTOBER i, t^h 
Indian tea will prodnce 7i gallons of a similar beve- 
rage. To add to this, the average price of I lb. of 
Indian tea is BCareely more than that of its rivsl. 
A very small portion only of our manufacture, it will 
be Burptisinff to learn, much to the sharne and diperedit 
of the Indians i« consumed in India; scarcely 2 
million lb. or l-50lh part of a whole season's crop is 
retained for local nse; and as this quantity is apparently 
more than India, judging from experiences gained by 
experiments (the tottering condition of the Indian Tea 
Supply Company, Limited, furnishes ample proof), 
will ever consume, the proportion will diminish aa 
the production inoreasea annually. The bulk of the 
mannfacture, therefore, is exported to the United 
Kingdom. Australia takes a small portion, but nro- 
mises very soon to absorb more. In the season 1837- 
88 we exported thence 3.408,0001b. in 1888-89 
2,869,000 lb. in 1889-90 3,596,000 lb. and this season's 
1891-92 exports bide fair to outstrip the last, which 
stands at 4,879,000 by 1,000,0001b. America has just 
begun to give our teas a trial, and will snon accord 
them more of her patronage. French epicures are 
begining to acquire a taste for our leaf, and Russia 
still purcbflses our finest descriptions. 
Tea drinkers in India think it absurd to p»y more 
than 12 annas, or at the outside Rl for a lb. of tea. 
What will they say to tea having- been sold m London, 
by auction, from the Gartmore Estate of Ceylon, at 
R145 and R345 per lb. and in our sales in Calcutta, 
only so recently as the 30tb of July last, at R40, 
R20 and R15 per lb. from the Nassau Tea Garden 
of the Kangra Valley District. 
I shall now give a full idea as to the present posi- 
tion of our industry as compared with that cf its 
rival in the United Kingdom, coupled with some 
other interesting facts. 
From the year 1849 to 1859, China tea held uninter- 
rupted sway; its consumption having increased from 
50,000,000, to 76,000,000 lb. In 1864 Indian tea naade 
its appearance in the field; insignificant at the time, 
but promising to prove a formidable foe ; it kept 
increasing in strength, so did its rival, (the oon- 
•umption of China tea having increased from 851 millions 
to 118| millions, while Indian, beginning with 2i mil- 
lion lb. increased to ISJ millions within the space of 
10 years, from 1864-1874 ; but in 1884 down fell tlie 
quantity exported by China, while Indian had almost 
doubled itself. Ceylon now appeared on the soane, and 
IJ million lb. were consumed. In 1889 the figures 
stood thus: — 
China tea, drank - ... 61,100,000 lb. 
Indian ., 96 028,000 „ 
Ceylon 28,500,000 „ 
Thus, within a period of 26 years from 1864-1889, 
the average monthly home consumption of Indian tea 
steadily and rapidly increased from J million lb., or 
from 3 per cent, to 67 per cent., while that of China, 
by various fluctuations, commenciog with less than 
7i millions in 1864, and reachiog the highest point, a 
little over lOi millions in 1879. when fcarcely 3 mil- 
lion lb. of our staple was drunk, ultimately fell to 5 
million lb. in 1889. The rapid and extensive con. 
sumption of Indian tea has been further stimulated 
by the fall in prices. For iostance. Medium Pekoes 
and Pekoe Souchongs have f»l!eD in the coarse of 
eleven (11) yars from 1880-90, from Is 6d to 10|d 
and Is 3d to 9d per lb. respi ctively. , 
Large quantities of tea are told looally every wef k 
by auction, and good portion, the major in fact, is 
shipped direct to London to be disposed of there at 
the hammer. The teas sold here are purchased by our 
merchants, who, for the most part acts as agents on 
behalf of London -wholopa'e dralers. 
The tea trade is perhop'* thr; most risky venture 
extant. Great caution, much f >re«ight, and extensive 
experience, to sav nothing of the requisite knowledge 
ef the article itBclf, are indifipenaable to buy to ad- 
vantage. But notwithstanding, it often and often 
happens that purchases made here under the aSove 
conditions heavily lose money when resold in London. 
Aa a case in point : Facts and figures were so en- 
couraging when this season 1891-92 op-ned, that the 
most o»utiouB bwgtn here, gupported by the advioo 
of their home friends (commercial), entertained the 
most sanguine hopes of the most satisfactory results 
attending their purchases and consequently paid mnob 
higher than actual value. They very soon learnt how 
sadly erroneous their estimates ef the London ninrket 
were, for, upon re-sale losses averaged from about 
15 to 30 per cent. Not a single parcel of tea, even 
so much as " scraped ont " much less shewed a profit. 
And cases of this kind are of common occur- 
rerce. I would, therefore, not be far wrong in 
spying that this business is absolutely clothed 
in uncertainty, as no amount of fnresightedness or 
experit-Dcn can say whether tea is going to pay or lose 
till it is actually sold. 
Tea merchants place their interests in the hands of 
tea experts or tea-tasters, whose services they engage 
at fair remnnerations. These men have to undergo a 
long course of training in tea-tasting before they are 
considered competent to manage the tea purchase de- 
partment of a firm. They must be able to discern, by 
means of their palate, the character of a tea, — in other 
words, whether it possefses strength or flavour, how 
much of tke latter or the former, or of both, and 
accordingly determine its value. They must not forget 
at the same time to throw into the account the various 
influencing agents of the market. They must be able, 
with existing facts and figures of tea statistics, to 
gauge the future, at least two or three months hence, 
for teas bought here at a certain time can only be 
placed on the market some two months after. Their 
responsibility can never be ovei-eatimated, and it 
is for this condition alone that they are remu- 
nerated. Upon their shoulders, in a great measure, 
rests the welfare of the business. They nan make 
or ruin a firm. Such being the case, their appoint- 
ment is always at a risk, and greatly dependent 
upon the temperament and mercy of their em- 
ployers ; probably, in many places, their actions are 
viewed with suspicion and hence closely watched, and 
at seasonable opportunities sorutinifed, if for no other 
reason, with the object of keeping them aright, and of 
preventing irregularities. They can, therefore, be 
never too careful, and must alwa} s look a dozen times 
before they leap, lest they should take a false step, and 
thereby render themselves open to rt-buke. In re- 
lation to their employers their position is acutely 
delicate- 
Not so the tea broker, or the independent indivi. 
dual in whose hands merchants place the disposal of 
their teas by auction. It is true he has a lot of running 
about to do, aud a great deal of worry, and betimes a 
lot of snapping and snarling to accept with all defer- 
lence and humility, and under choking sensations, 
v?hich he has to bridle much to his own discomfiture ; 
but he has the satisfaction nevertbelsss of knowing 
that he is a free agent. It is true that he gives his 
labour for a nominal sum of one rupee for every 100 
rupees of tea sold, and a similar return for every 
100 rupees of tea bought, but aa nothing can 
be sold or bought according to commercial 
rules, relating to the tea trade, without his 
mediation, he turns a decent penny monthly. He 
can afford to pay R250 per mensem to the board- 
ing boose keeper; as much or moie in addition to his 
cluh for sundry pegs, etc.; keep horses and con- 
veyancPR and hnve left, after all such moderate 
expenditures, ample to retire upon after 6 or 9 or, 
not to be too inconsiderate, say 10 years of service. 
He can always obtain market value, which is his own 
value, for a tea. It would be unreaFonable to expect 
a better result of him, and he does not care a button 
whether you do or you do not. He is of all labourers 
the most independent, and least taxed, nevertheless 
the best remunerated. Merchants may come and 
mei chants may go, but he goes on for ever. Every 
labourer is worthy of his hire, he knows this well, 
and he is pretty certain of his. News of every 
description he hai always on the tips of his fingers 
to suit each of his customers ace >rtliug to each oue's 
immediate requirements, and he can spout it out 
with a sympathetic assurance, A tea broker, like 
others ot the same fraternity, is an anomaly. He 
goes to the tei seller and whispers ooufidenlially to 
