June i, 1892.] THE TROPICAL AQRtOULTURlST. 
923 
FROM THE METROPOLIS 
London, April 15. 
CEYLON TEA IN AMERICA, 
I had the pleeure this week of meeting Mr. 
Elwood May as well as Mr. Grinlintoo and of 
learning a good deal' about places and prospects 
connected with our staple product in the Far west. 
From what I knew of America, I was able to test 
with same degree of authority the utterances of 
Mr. May, and generally I was impressed very 
favourably with the good sense, the determination 
and straightforwardness of the head of the Oeylon 
American Company. What he has accomplished in 
respect of advertising Ceylon tea in a large pro- 
portion of the leading newspapers in the States is 
quite astonishing, the more so as in all his con- 
tracts extending generally for twelve months, no 
cash has passed, the remuneration being taken in 
stock of the company. This has been accomplished 
in the face of Mr. May's frank avowal in each case 
that the value of such " stock " is still problema- 
tical and altogether in the future. Still the evident 
belief of Mr, May himself and of a large number 
of influential frif nda whom be has converted and 
whose testimonials he holds, to the superiority of 
Ceylon tea, has told in the newspaper world, and 
the result is seen in the following extract from the 
letter of a well-known New York Press Manager (a 
personal friend ofimy own) whose words I have been 
allowed to copy : — 
" I want to say, as a parting word, that the oontraots 
for ddvertiaing, which you have made, surorise me, 
both in their aniount aud the character. Y 'U have 
done, I am snre, what no other man has ever aocorn- 
plished in securing many of the very beet papers in 
the oonntry,and placiug the stock where you will not 
only receive very valuable space for it, but will iecare 
the good will of papers who have great influence with 
the public." 
It is impossible not to anticipate good fruit from 
such extensive and continuous advertising as has 
thus been arrangi d for. But Mr. May himself is 
n' t oversanguine— indeed I was almost going to 
say, he is despondent. He has full faith in pure 
Oeylon tea as a good article worth " booming," and 
he knows how it can be made in demand all over 
the United States and that he is promoting 
in the right way ; but he considers the 
campaign as only commencing and he is urgent 
that unless the " sinews of war " are forthcoming, 
the company must collapse and ihe efiect of 
what has already been done, be in a great measure 
lost. In other words, Mr. Elwood May, thouwh 
he has done wonders hitherto in advertifing, does 
not see how his business is to he continued and 
extended without certain oontinuousexpendiiure, an 
he and his American friends, I gather, are not 
prepared to ppend more, unless they are backed 
up by Enalish friends and Ceylon planters. His 
mission to England this time seems to be to ra'se 
additional capital for the company, or to inti 
mate plainly that otherwije it may have to dis- 
appear and the advertising oonlraots be closed. 
This is disappointing news, the mure ewpecially 
as we cannot consider the present a favourable 
time to appeal to English (albeit tea) capitalists 
for money, or to (J'ylon planters just as they are 
doing their best for Chicft^^o. So I intimnted to 
Mr. May. adding the hope thai a profiial'le trade 
must surelj be already i pritiging up mid that 
be Exhibition should bo a great help to tho 
success of the company. Mr. May's answer waa 
that we had but a faint idea of the conserva- 
tive character of the large distributors of estab- 
lished products^ in America— how that Jarge, 
tea benefactors in New York would not 
as yet consent even to hold Ceylon tea, as a 
thing unknown to their customers, and how only; 
by convincing consumers and creating a demand 
could a stable foundation be laid for a steady, 
growing trade in Oeylon tea throughout the States. 
^ven the Chioigo Exhibition will not do perma- 
nent good, unless plars are promoted in a way 
which Mr. May is prepared to lay before Mr. 
Grinlinton. " It is a very easy matter," added 
Mr. May, " to create a temporary trade — to get,, 
obliging small tea dealers thronghout the country , 
to take oS a large quantity of a new tea, once in a 
way, — each taking a few chests to oblige a com- 
mercial traveller it may be. But as such tea 
would lie on their shelves without demand, the 
large trade forced in any one year would merely 
act as a deterrent to any legitimate business ex- 
tending afterwards, since dealers would never touch 
the article again." There is something in this 
argument, and in the strong liking of Yankees 
for what they are accustomed to, Japanese and 
Chinese green teas; but I ventured to point out 
that surely in the Western and Middle States with 
80 large a proportion of " fresh blood," — of English, 
Scotch and Irish accustomed to good tea at 
home — there should be no difficulty in getting 
them to try Ceylon tea. Nevertheless, Mr. 
May insists the pn^cess must be a slow one; 
only to be worked out on the lines he has laid 
down, and which he — still a comparatively young 
man occupying a position of influence and reputa- 
tion in New York — is prepared to follow and 
develope, provided he is adequately supported. 
Otherwise, apparently, it is a matter of indiffer. 
ence to him personally, whether his past labours 
are to bring any return to him or not. I have 
tried to reflect the outcome of our interview ; and 
I could not help regretting that Mr. May had not 
made his way some months ago to Ceylon, to meet 
the planting leaders themselves and to lay before 
them his ideas as what can, and cannot, be done 
for Ceylon tea in America. 
Meantime he and Mr. Grinlinton have seen a 
good deal of each other, and though " the Com- 
misi-ioner" and Mr. Stretch, who were present, said 
little at the conversation referred to, 1 am aware 
that Mr. May's views as to the Exhibition and 
Ceylon tea have been adequately explained ; but 
whether they can be accepted is another thing. 
Some of us interested in Oeylon rather thought 
that in nominating Mr. Grinlinton as their repre- 
sentative the Planters' Association were arran^, 
ging for the " Cej Ion-American Company " to take 
the lead at Chicago ; but I can see that there 
may be points of difierence of some importance. 
Of this, however, we may be certain that the 
Commissioner will allow nothing to interfere with his 
doing the very best in his judgment for tho 
promotion of Ceylon teas. We shall know more 
shortly ; for Mr. Grinlinton has asked Mr. Leake 
to call a meeting of the Tea Committee of the 
London Association to lay his plans, so far as 
formed, before them, and possibly Mr Elwood May 
may hiive his "say" at the same time. Mr. 
Grinlinton hag already been busy at the Society of 
Artd, the Colonial OHioe.&o. His health is improved ; 
but ho had evidently had a"3hske" and is by no 
monns the man he was when I saw him last in 
Ciylon, and I ventured to warn him to be specially 
careful in this treacherous climate against the ri^k 
of a lelupbo frcm cold of ihc influenza or its after- 
fcfieots. — I was glad to learn from him that tlQ dQOB 
