334 t^t TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November 2, 1891. 
PremisiDg that, so far as I can learn, the Austrian 
Customs duty on tea is equivalent to lOd a lb. 
or at preeent exchange about half a gulden or 
florin which contains lOO krtutzers, the foUovfing 
price list of a wholesale tea-importing Vienna 
house will be of interest. The price is given per 
kilogramme of 2jth lb. on which the duty so 
far as I can make out, would be equal to 1 florin 
and 10 kreutzsrs, which sum should be deducted 
from the prices in each case, the florin being 
counted equal to Is 7id to Is Sdeach. The 
price-list then is as follows (the only other 
two articles imported and sold by this firm being 
" Eum" and " Cognac"!) 
Thee. Pr. Kilo 
11. kr. 
(Customs Duty paid about Is lOd kilo or lOd a lb.) 
Nr. 0 Bruch-Tliee (Broken tea equal to Is 8d a lb. . . 2 ao 
„ 1 „ „ fein (floG) .. .. .. 2 80 
„ 2 Mouing-Congo . . . . . . . . 2 80 
„ 3 „ „ .. .. .. .. 3 10 
„ 4 ,, „ .. •■ •• .. 3 60 
„ 5 „ .. .. •• .. 4 .50 
„ 6 Pakling-Congo .. .. .. . . 6 50 
„ 7 Kay sow- ,, .. .. .. .. 5 60 
„ 8 „ „ .. .. .. .. 8 - 
„ gKintuck .. .. .. .. 9 — 
„ 10 Ningshow . . . . . . . . 10 — 
„ 11 Souchoug . . . . . . . . 3 30 
„ 12 „ .. .. .. ■■ i - 
„ 13 „ .. .. .. .. 5 — 
„ 14 Mandarin . . . . . . . . 8 — 
„ 15 Caravanen (Caravan tea) . . . . . . 0 .50 
„ 16 „ feinst (finest, equal 8s a lb. without duty) 11 50 
„ 17 Peccotbee ^Pekoe tea,Es a lb.) .. ., 7 — 
„ 18 „ .. .. .. .. 9 — 
„ 19 „ (equal to 8s a lb.) ,. .. 10 50 
„ 20 Peccobllithe (Pekoe blossom) .. .. 12 60 
„ 21 Caravanea-Peecoblutbe (Caravan Pekoe blossom 
12s a lb.) . . . . . . . . 15 50 
„ 22 Wirtbfcliafts-Melangc, schwavz (Hotels' mix- 
ture, black) .. .. .. .. 4 SO 
„ 2S Mouopol-Melange, schwarz . . . . 6 — 
„ 24 Feinste Melange, schwarz (finest mixture, blaoV) 6 £0 
„ 2.5 Kaiser- ,, gebliimt (flowery) . . .. 7 — 
„ 26 Kaiscr-I^Ielange, gebliimt, feinst (Imperial mix- 
ture, flowery, finest) . . . . . . 8 50 
„ 27Mos!i8uer Melange, gebltimt (mixture, flowery) 10 — 
„ 28 Caravanen „ schwarz (black) ..11 — 
,, 29 „ „ gebltim (flowery) .. 12 |50 
It will be observed that the " Pecoo-thee" (Pe- 
koe) ranges from 5s to 83 a lb., inclusive of lOd a 
lb. duty. Kow the finest Ceylon " Broken Pekoe" 
oould, I suppose, be laid down at Trieste for a 
gulden, say Is 8d a lb.; or with duty 2s 6d, so 
that the profits to be made on pure Ceylon tea, 
if only a demand were created, are very large in 
Austria. For, let it be remembered that the above 
are wholesale prices. Eotail tea is seldom sold 
beyond quarter lb. packets and these probably range 
from one gulden (Is 8i) upwards, if indeed 
"Pekoes" are used save for blending. 
Before leaving Tea in Vienna, I will give a list 
of the exhibits I find in the Catalogue of interest 
to Ceylon planters. They are, translated, as fol- 
lows : — 
Class VI., Spices, Sugah and Groceries. 
55. Cacao manufactory of C- J. Van Houten & 
Zocn, WeeBp, (Hollaud). Van Houten'a Cocoa, 34 
Diplomas and M< dale. 
56. Collec'.ivo Exhibition of sugar, coffee and tea. 
58. Franck, Heitirich, Sons' private factory, Linz. 
Ootfce turrogatc (additions), chicory and malt fabri- 
cations, 25 IMedals and Diplomas. 
G9. Gottlieb, E,, Chinese Tea Depot, Krakaw. 
61. Haeckcr & Meissner. Coffee Import, Coffee 
Peeling Estabiisliment, Trieste. Coffee samples from 
all the coffee-producing countries of the world. 
CO. Katlireiuer's successor, Munich, Bavaria. Malt 
Coffee. 
70. Mcndl Heidrick & Co., Imiiortera of Tea, 
Kuni and Cognac, 1, Schotttnrio'g, Vienna. Tea 
hpeciality, Icptiilly protected labels on packets for retail 
fale at 10, 18 und ;i5 krcutzer (10kr.=2d). 
72. I'erlcff Wafsily & Sons, Court Purveyors, 1 
Kaerliierring 15, founded 1787. Caravan Tea, 4 medals. 
73. Pischinger, L., & Son, Chocolate Manufactory, 
Vienna, VI. Stiegengaese 8 and 10. Speciality Pis- 
chinger Chocolate Extracts. 
74. Pcmm, Josef, Kaab-Ujvarcos, Eacu'ca, 46 
Art Coffee. 
78, Sobtriok, Fracz, Chocolate Manufactory, Rati- 
bor, Bresiau. Cacao in lump, Chocolate packets in 
larger and smaller blocks, powder loose and in packets, 
Chocolate Sweetmeats, instructive Exhibition of the 
different stsges in the preparation of the cacao from 
thf> raw beau upwards. 3 Medals. 
79. Stoliwerck Bros., Imperinl, &c. Chocolate Manu- 
factory, Colosrne on the Rhine. Stollwerck's " Heart " 
Caoao, Chocolate in tablets. Chocolate fancy objects. 
81. Tauber, Jo.sef, Ld., Wien, Semmering. Coffee 
"Surrogate" (mixture), coffee and ground spice pre - 
puration. Diplomas, 
82. Vi elcker-CouttieB, Danie', Baybn, Meurthe u" 
Moselle, France. Chicory and Acorn (Eicheln) Coffee. 
83. Weiss, Julius, First Vienna Coffee Extract 
Manufactory, I. Getieide Market 14. Coffee Extract 
and Coffee Cream in bottles. 
Cetlon Tea in Bohemia. 
The largest tea importer in Prague, the capital 
of Bohemia and a town of over 200,000 people, is 
Mr. Wilhem Stanek, Wradislaw Gasse, and who, 
I fancy, had the Russian Tea Agency referred to in 
Ferdinand Strasse, where I seo his office was 
formerly held. Mr. John Fraser of Aberdeen 
estate had referred me to the Eev, Dr. Pirie for 
all information and he again introduced me to 
Mr. Stanek, whom I found a very enterprising man ; 
he had commenced life, I think, as travelling 
agent for a Paris house, and in that capacity 
had vifited the Far East. Mr. Stanek evidently 
imports largo quantities of tea ; but almost all 
" China", the common kinds from Hamburg and 
the "Caravan" teas from Eussia. Though I did 
not question Mr. Stanek on the subject, I rather 
think Mr. Fraser had experimented through him 
with a consignment of Ceylon tea, without profitable 
results to the Ceylon planter. This is strange, for 
at retail shops where we enquired, the commonest 
China oould not be bought under 4s to 6s per lb. 
But Mr. Stanek repeated what some Vienna large 
tea dealers said, that for Ceylon tea there was no 
taste — it was little thought of." One piece of 
information I got here seems to throw light on 
difficulties in the way of a tea trade through Trieste 
apart from the heavy Customs duty. Questioned as 
to why he, an Austrian merchant, got his China tea 
through Hamburg, rather than through Trieste, the 
one great port of the Empire and the one so much 
nearer tbe Far East, Mr, Stanek mentioned that the 
charges for ''handling"- — I ioferfor landing, clearing 
at the Customs and despatching — were very much 
heavier at Trieste. I fear too that there may bo 
diftieulties through corruption of public officers 
there : not long ago there was a great disturbance 
about the discovery that certain officers had to be 
regularly fed by large Vienna importing houses 
(dealers in general goods), and it was supposed 
that the latter had been getting their imports 
passed for lees than the proper Customs duty ; but 
on examination it was found that the fees, gifts or 
bribes, were simply to enable the firms to get 
their imports passed promptly at the proper and 
full duties — an additional levy on trade in fact. 
Whether this be the case or not, I think it is 
scandalous to the Austrian authorities, that any of 
their merchants even in Bohemia should prefer 
doing business through Hamburg, rather than Trieste 
for Asiatic products ; and I cannot understand 
how the Directors of the Austro -Hungarian Lloyd's 
S. N. Co. have not seen this put right long ago, 
I have thought it well therefore to address a letter 
on the subject (and referring as well to the heavy 
Customs duty on tea and to the pubjeot of Ceylon 
