February 2, 1891.] 
THE TROPICAL At3R1013LTUmST. 
589 
COMPAEATIVE CONSUMPTION OF TEA FROM 
DIFFERENT SOURCES IN BRITAIN. 
The fig'irea afforded by Messrs. Oow, Wilson & 
Stanton are strikingly illustrative of the extraordin- 
ary revolution which the tea trade in Britain has under- 
gone between 1878 and 1890. In the former year Indian 
tea had commenced to be a formidable competitor 
with China, the proportions consumed by British 
tea drinkers having been 23 per cent of Indian to 
77 of China. Ceylon did not shew even 1 per cent 
until 1884, when the proportions had become 
China 63 por cent; Indian 36 and Ceylon 1. In 
1887, IndiijD with 45 per cent and Ceylon with 
6 per cent, became, for the first time, unitedly 
in advance of China: 51 per cent against 49. In 
1889 Indian by itself took first place wiih 62 per 
cent, and retained this position in 1890. Mean- 
time Cevlon had risen, by leaps and bounds to 18 per 
cent, while China had receded to 30 per cent, in the 
market in which she was once supreme. In the 
next few years the competition will be mainly 
between the mature giant of India and tho young 
giant of Ceylon, the aged genius who presides 
over the product of the flowery land sinking 
gradually, wo feel pretly certain, into decrepitude 
and decay. While India is now, afier passing the 
limit of 100,000,000 lb., making but slight annual 
advances, Ceylon is increasing her output at a rate 
wbioh in less than a decade is likely to see her exports, 
which were inappreciable in 1883, up to the round 
100.000. 000 of pounds, with India probably at 
140.000. 000 and China a vanishingquantity of perhaps 
10.000. 000. The figures for deliveries, (for export and 
consumption), in tho season ended May 1890, were; — 
Inlian tea .. •• 101,000,000 1b. 
Cey'on ,, .. •• 32 000,000 ,, 
Java 3,280,000 „ 
China „ .. .. 87,652,000 „ 
More than one-third of the latter was for fxport.— 
The import of Indian tea in October 1890 was 
so high as 15,237,000 lb„ with deliveries equal 
to 9,822.000. Of Ceylon the highest import was 
5,142,000 in July, tho highest figure for deliveries 
being’ 3,960,009 in September, But in May 1889 
the deliveries had exceeded 6 millions by 19,890 1b. 
The rapid rate, indeed, at which Ceylon is gaining 
on India and distancing China, is the special 
feature of tho really revolutionary returns which 
reveal the recent history of the tea trade. In 
looking at the figures for import of Ceylon tea 
into Britain, we must not forget that our exports 
direct to Australia now exceed 2^ millions of 
pounds, while to other oolonies and foreign coun- 
tries we send more than a further half million. 
The actual distribution of our 1890 crop was 
To Britain . . 42,828,743 lb. 
,, Australia . . 2,562,861 ,, 
other countries. . 661,865 ,, 
NOTES ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
(From the II. and C. Mail, Dec. 2(ith.) 
Rkodlxtion of the Supplies. — We understand that 
at a meeting of Indian Tea Brokers, held this week, it 
was resolved that endeavours should be made to 
regulate the quantity of Indian tea offered at auction 
in January to 35,000 packages per week, and in 
February to 30,000 packages, after which a further 
meeting'is to be bold to consider the matter, 
Indian Tea. in France. — Wo learn that the Indian 
Tea Districts’ Association have submitted to the Trade 
and Treaties Committee of the Board of Trade a 
special report upon tho desirability of obtaining a re- 
duction in the rate of duty levied upon tea entering 
France. A simultaneous effort will be made through 
the London Chamber of Oommoroe to get the industry 
better terms in connection with the revision of the 
French Customs Tariff. 
Indian and Ohylon Tea in America. — They are 
selling inferior China tea, some of it re-shipped from 
Loudon in the United States as “ English Breakfast 
Tea,” and obtaining a high price for it. Americans 
who have been in England lately know something about 
the merits of Indian and Ceylon Tea ; and on their 
return these visitors to Europe express their opinion 
rather freely upon the China and Japan tea offered 
them at many American hotels. This should holp the 
sale of Indiau and Ceylon teas in America. 
Pricfs of Produce. — The prices of produce, com- 
pared with those in the previous year, do not show 
general depression, and with the steady increase of 
con sumption the outlook seems more favourable than 
was lately the case. In the tea, coffee, and sugar there 
are no special causes of oomplaiut, and importers and 
brokers are inclined to take a hopeful view of tho 
outlook. 
Oleaeing Tea. — The Commissioners of OuBtoms 
have appointed a corumilteo with instructions to 
report upon the mode in which the accounts are kept 
in connection with tho various bonded warehouses 
particularly those in which tea is stored. 
^ 
DAVIDSON’S SIROCOO. 
Mr. Davidson has drawn our attention to a long 
letter in which he meets criticisms on bis down- 
draught sirocco. We cannot find room for the letter 
entire, but we make extracts as follows: — 
When your paper reached me in Belfast on the 
former occasion, I at once telegraphed to my agents, to, 
if possib’e, asci-rtr.iu where the machine was to which 
“ Darjeoliug-ite ” referred, and for them promptly to 
send my engineer, Mr. Maguire, to the place to put 
matters to right. 
After some delay this was ascertained, and Mr. 
Maguire visited the garden. On examining the machine 
he found fitted upon the outlet of tho fan, a pipe for 
conveying the exhaust air to the leaf withering loft, 
and not only was this pipe in itself much too small to 
let the necessary amount of air escape (unless the fan 
were driven at about double or treble the speed I arranged 
it for) but the ait pa'^sage through it was further 
l)locked by the pipe having several angles in it, and 
its end was entirely closed, but ho'es were made along 
it to let tho air out in small jets, in accordance with 
D'rjeoliugite’s special ideas for withering his leaf. 
Of course Mr. Maguire insisted on this pipe being 
removed, as I did not arrange for the machine being 
worked as a compound leaf wilherer and tea drier, 
and he very properly declined to make any test until 
it was taken off, eventually it was removed, and the 
trial of the machine’s capabilities as a drier proceeded 
with. The details of the trial were most minutely 
entered up and tabu'ated in one of my usual report 
forms and .signed by the Manager of the gard. n. This 
report shows 164 lb, of tea dried in the hour with 
124 Ih. wood fuel, and as it bears the Manager’s signa- 
ture, it would be casting a serious imputation upon 
him, were I in any way to doubt its being a “ really 
fair trial ” (ns your other correspondent, “ A Manager 
<fec.” asks me to do) or to impute inaccuracy to what 
he signed. 
My estimate was that the machineconld dry about 
1(0 lb of tea per hour with about 130 !b of ordinarily 
good wood fuel. 
Now, sir, have I, or have 1 not, proved my case “ up 
to the hill” as against Darjeeliugites original accusations 
that the muchiue could only dry half that amount of tea 
per hour, and would burn five tin. os tlie amount of wood ? 
‘‘Darjeeling” I see statis, that although “The 
mechanical arrangemeuts are othuwise good, one fault 
of the S'rocco is tliatdry air does not enter the machine 
but the damp ah' of the floor,” hut surely he scAroely 
expects tho machine to manufecture its own air supply 
as well as work his p pe contrivance in addition to dry- 
ing tho tea ! 1 He, ho.vever, says his pipe contrivance 
“ cannot affect tho action of the fan,” and certainly if 
71 
