Vol. X.] COLOMBO, AUGUST ist, 1890. [Wo, 2. 
TEA CHESTS, 
HE complaint made by more 
than one of the most pro- 
minent among the London 
tea brokers, to the eSect that 
recent arrivals of Ceylon tea 
had been greatly injured by 
having been packed in boxes 
made of unseasoned wood, is one of particular gravity. 
It is one, indeed, to which the most serious 
attention of our planters should be directetd : for 
if its cause be not removed it is likely to have 
a very injurious effect upon the reputation which 
our staple produce has now acquired. 
For some years past the diffiou’ty of obtaining 
in sufficient quantity thoroughly seasoned and 
otherwise adapted wood for the manufacture of tea 
chests has been generally acknowledged With the 
extension of tea cultivation this difficulty is certain 
to increase, and equally certain is it — if only to 
judge by the complaints to which we have drawn 
attention — that even with the present demand it has 
not at this date been fully met and overcome- 
The question we may well ask ourselves is, 
whether there is any present prospect of a greater 
measure of success being attained in this direction ? 
Many localities, both in and out of the island, have 
been searched in the hope of finding some solution 
of the difficulty, but hitherto these can scarcely be 
said to have afforded full satisfaction, except, per- 
haps, in the supplies from Japan, To be told 
that some of our teas reach London so impregnated 
with a “ cheesy ” flavour that they have to 
be turned out, thoroughly aired, and re-packed in 
fresh chests, is a most unpleasant revelation. We 
are all aware how our delicate teas must suffer 
from being submitted to such an operation, and 
we cannot fail to realize how injurious to their 
high repute must be its consequences. Very 
recently, when referring to the Stanley-Wrightson 
chests, our London Correspondent informed us of 
a prospect that the strawboard of which these 
are made might ultimately be prepared from horse 
manure. Thereupon Mr. Creasy, in a letter which 
appeared in our columns, indulged in a plenitude 
of “ epitaphs to plagiarize Mrs. Malaprop 
— in condemnation of such use ; but we doubt 
much whether, even if that gentleman’s anti 
oipations of evil and tainting smells to be 
expected from the use of a material so produced 
be realized, these could be worse than those due 
to the exudation of eeids from unseasoned wood. 
In the latter ease, it is not had aroma alone that 
has to be feared, but the action of these acids 
Upon the lead which is supposed to exclude the tea 
from the tainting effect of it. 
It seems to be certain, that, if those who 
have endeavoured to serve our island inter- 
ests in this matter of tea chests, from local 
resources, fail so far in their obj-et as to 
leave it open for ooumplaints of the nature 
stated to be made, — our planters will have to turn 
their thoughts to some substitute for wood. We 
hesitate to say as yet how far the new chests 
supplied by the Stanley-Wrightson Syndicate ma^ 
be found fitted to take the place of the wooden 
ones at present used. These chests are as yet upon 
their trial, and so far the trial is only in its incipien 
stage. A few months, probably, will either reveal 
their superiority or condemn them as furnishing 
an alternative for escape from our present diffl- 
culty. Trial shipments have already reached the 
island, and our London Letter informs us that the 
manufactures are delaying the further development 
of their present limited means for the production 
of the chests until the verdict of tea planters and 
shippers and of the home tea trade should be 
fully given. It is but natural that we ourselves, 
being informed of this hesitation on the part ol 
the Syndicate, should refrain from expressing any 
opinion with regard to the merits of this in* 
vention as affording a solution to this importan 
question. 
But there is one aspect in which we might well 
desire to express the hope that these Stanley-Wright 
