May 2, 1892.^ 
TH£ TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
859 
fine BDd tiuest, owing to their comperative scarcity, 
Eold well and at gradually hardenifg rates after Xmas. 
Total delivetieB for the twelve roontbs enriiii}? gist 
Decembf r, 1891 wore ditappoioting, being 101,194,00010 
agaiiibt 102,845,000 lb. lu 1890. There io no dount tbafc 
the high scale, established in the spring mouths for 
teas under lid. per ib. exerciied an nolavourable 
ibfioenoe on the clearances for homo consump- 
tion during a great portion of (he >e3r. Dealers 
were encumbered with a ccuRidtrablo stock of 
these grades, which t'.'.ty varo unable to 
di.-pose of, owing to the unvxptctedly heavy 
supplies from Ceylon, selliog at lower rates. TLu 
rendered bujers veiy cautions, as they were suffer- 
ing imiler strious iosficn. tiinrc October, however, 
iin improvement in the deliveries is notiie.ible, wbich 
it is to be lioped will bo mora marked in future 
monlhF, Bcd to which thi? cheap rates current for fair 
JiquouriuK Teas should conduce. 
The quality ol the crop has, on the whole, been 
below the average, though some invoices from Dar jee- 
ling and Assam have been ( xceptioually t'uie. Not 
only has tho yield been increased, but thipments have 
agfin come forward more rnpidly, so that in the 
autumn menths it; was not always ftssible to regu- 
late the puidic sides as was done to such adiantage 
iu the previous year. By the .31^t December about 
G3 million lb. had becu fold, against; 53i million lb. 
in the same pdiud of 1S90, nud to date ntarly 95 
million lb. against 87J million lb., so that tie re- 
mainder 10 bo (lispote.l of will probably not much 
exceed thai left to be dealt with at this time Utt 
year, recktning the crop weigh out 112 million lb 
iu Loudon. 
v^BYLON.— The Of J Ion branch of the trade has shown 
afurther marked c-xpansii n, iho impoits and deliveries 
for the eight months endin;; 29lh February lasl having 
both inoreased about 12 million lb., as c unphred with 
the s^me period iu the p evious s.-asou, when the 
addil;i0Q wai 7 million lb. The san:e causes which 
bi ought about full eupplies of 00mm! n and rr.edium 
tea from Itdia. singularly eucugh si em alto to have 
pievailed in this island during the oim ly port of 1891. 
Heavy Uushes came on no r.-ipidly that diffioul y was 
often experienced in beeping pace with them. Conse- 
quently the crop WiS unexpecteilly heavy, with a super- 
nbuudiinco of inferior quality. This caused a gradual 
decline iu the mon! hly 8V( rngB from II3 I per lb. in 
March to 9:^d per lb. in Autuet, sim'e when ii bus fluc- 
tuated between 9jd per 1'. ar,d lOd per lb. On the 
other hand, lull pr ces were oblaiued throughout the 
leison for tir:e-flivourcd teas Slid those estates which 
were able to send them bonefi ed accoidiug'y. It is, 
no dc ubt, salibtf.otory to owners of gartleus that, with 
a k wer eseh\r.ge, 741,000 packai;e6 were disposed of in 
the year 1891 at lOg 1 pi r lb. against 545,000 packages 
at 10| J p. r Ib. in 1690, from which it may be infrrred 
th:U reduced quotatiens have further s imuUted con- 
sumption, so that the total clearai CeS of Ceylon tea 
for h' me use exceideii those ef Chiua, &'•., for the 
twelve mo itbs e.iding 3Ist December, 1891, being 
5l,0ti0,000 lb. against 49,000,000 lb. 
.Tava. — Chiefly owing 10 iho severe eironglit in Jara 
during the manufacturing sesfon, shipmeniB to ihis 
coui try for the past tight moults were tonti icrably 
restricted. Qua ity on the whole has been well niam- 
taiin d, and iu consequence of thedemand tcr export 
these dttc iptiuns have aftcn realised ahovo tbo prices 
curicnt for similar teas of other growtlis. 
Exports. — Sliipiueuts of India and Cation tea to 
tbo t'entinent, &c., Iri lu London during ihe past 
eight mouths have shown a considerablu i xpaueion, as 
will be Bcpii,' cut on re'trence to tho fo lowing; figures: — 
From 1st July, 1891 to end 
of February, 1892 
From 1st July, 181)0 to end 
(.f Februaiy, 18i)l 
ami for tho 12 Months e'lid- 
mg ;U t Dec. 181)1 
uhd for tho 12 Months end- 
il:g :Ust Doc. loliU 
India. 
tJeylou. 
lb. 
lb. 
2,874,000 
1.<;5S,000 
l,(i04,000 
V) 11,000 
3,340,000 
2 093,000 
2,724,000 
1,432,001) 
The distribution for 1891, being as under:— 
Continentcf United Other Ooun- 
Europe. States Canada. tries. Total. 
India. 
lb, lb. Ib. lb. lb. 
1,840,000 660,000 60O,0CO 240,000 3,340,000 
Ceylon. 
1,049 000 419,000 414,000 211,000 2,093,000 
The undermentioned averages have been obtained 
here this coason, from 1st July to the end of February, 
compared with the two previous onei. During July 
and August efpecially, a good many fine (Ihina Black 
Leaf Congous were dispo.sed of by private contract, 
which rendtrs it difficult to arrive at »n estimate, so 
far as that, country is concerned, with much exactitude. 
Tlio one given must, tbeiefore, be taken as approxi- 
mate. 
1891-92 1890-91 1889-90 
lodia ... 9|a ... lid ... lO^d per lb 
Ooylon ... 9id ... U-}d ... ll^d ,. 
China ... 8d ... 9id ... 7id 
[Figures for home conBuirption and export are 
then given. — Ed, 1\ A.] 
These figures stem to indicate that the marked ex- 
pansion expected iu the Home Consumption, after the 
reduction of the duty on 1st May, 1890, has cot y^t 
been roalited ; tlie increase between 1890 and 1891 
being on the sisme scale as between 1889 and 1890. 
At the same time, however, owing to the gradual dis- 
plicen ent of China by the stronger teas Irom India 
and Oeylon, the qu>intity actually drunk is more than 
appears from the weight in p iunJs. The diminished 
expi rt is no doubt due to thelorger direct orders sent 
from Rnsfia and the Continent to China, and also to 
the famine prevalent in the former country. 
Should trade, therefore, progress cu the ordinary 
lines, the total deliveries in the coming season for 
both Home Consumption and Export, it is reasonable 
to ejspect will be, iu round figures, about 245,000,000 lb. 
Ib. 
Uf this India will probably send ... 116,000,000 
Ceylon „ „ ... 75 000,000 
Java „ „ ... 4,000,00a 
leaving China to fatnish ... ... 50,000,000 
245,000,000 
Nothing reliable as to the aize of the 1892 India 
crop has jot come to hand. 
The latest estimates of the Ceylon outturn for the 
yt.ir 1892 vary from about 75 to 80 milli.-n lb. (though 
some more sanguine expect 85 million lb ), of which 
Bay 5 million lb. will be required for shipment to the 
Colonies and other countries direct. 
Java will probably send mord than in the present 
season, supplies having been curtailed on account of 
unfnvonrable weather. 
[Then follow figures for seventeen seasons, during 
which imports from India rose from 25§ millioQ 
pounds to 101, the estimate for 1892 being 
112,000,000. Oeylon increased from 200 lb. to over 
50 million?, tho estimate for 1892 being 04 millions. 
Total British-grown roje from 25i millions 
to over 151, the estimate for 1892 being 176 millions. 
China lidS gone down from 149 millii ns to 69|, 
the estimate f.r 1892 being 66 millions. The 
total of bU kinds has increased from 174j to 221 
millions, the estimate for 1892 being 242 millions. 
Consumption has increased from 4-40 lb. per head 
to 5-20 ib.— Ed. T, A.] 
Duty, until 30th April, 1890, 6d. per lb., aftei-wards, 
4d. (jer Ib. 
N. B. — Transhipments (or the Continent, on arrival 
from China, aro not included in the above. Prior to 
.season ISfS-Sti, the Cotlon figures given represent the 
total exports from C(ili.nibi, tho proportion shippad 
tiom there to f.neign ports being inconsiderable, 
i Shipments from Jnpan and Java are not taken into 
I iicionit, tho form':r being unimportant and the letter 
varying considerably iu iliffe'rent years, according to 
the Continental litmai d. 
I PKosi'ECrs.— As still larger areas will be available, 
; bo.h iu India and Ceylon, for tho prodnotiou of tea 
