6i8 
THE. TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[March 2, 1891. 
handsome dividends to its shareholders. A further 
reason for suoh a Company is the need of affording 
even in the old country, a thorough guarantee 
to consumers and country dealers of the purity 
of the tea they drink, and of endeavouring to fight 
the battle of Ceylon tea against advertisers — large 
firms and even many who are pretended friends 
of Ceylon— who are really great enemies of our 
teas. The mischief for instance done by one of 
the largest dealers in tea in the United Kingdom 
who has a direct connection with Ceylon — and 
yet who goes on selling teas at Is to Is 3d per lb. 
giving the impression to many from the way Ceylon 
is referred to in his advertisements that these are pure 
Ceylon teas, must be very great. Another enemy of 
our teas has been brought to light through a circular 
issued by Messrs. Stuart Cranston & Co. of Glasgow 
who have the audacity to pretend to expose frau- 
dulent dealers and in doing so, to make the following 
most false and libellous statements as regards 
Ceylon teas : — 
“The ladies of Glasgow appear to act differently, 
for they continue to flock in crowds to these several 
unscrupulous dealers who have p“rverted and vitiated 
the public taste, and amassed fortunes in the act, by 
supplying strong, dark, bitter Indian and Ceylon tea°, 
which are full of tannin, to the exclusion of the 
mild, pale, liquoring and finely flavored China Tea, 
from which the bulk of the tannin has been eliminated 
in the process of ‘rolling’? 
“Something akin to this is perpetrated by the Indian 
and Ceylon planters, because they retain all the tannin, 
while the Chinese twho are still the masters in the 
art of tea-making) discard tannin as a waste product. 
This is the one radical difference in the two systems, 
and explains why the Indian and Ceylon yield 9 per 
cent of tannin, while China tea yields only 3 per cent. 
The most ramarkable fact is that all three yield the 
same amount of Theine. 
We have Professor Dittmar’s permission to quote 
his words, that ‘on the question of quality and flavour 
a chemist can say nothing, and only a practical tea- 
taster can speak with authority.’ Thus armed, we do 
assert that no Indian or Ceylon tea possesses quality 
and flavour equal to China tea compared price for 
price, at 1/6 per lb. and upwards. 
“Note. — This statement may be qualified so as to 
except a few of the choice mild, fine flavoured Dar- 
jeelings and Ceylons suoh as we buy.” 
The Ceylon Planters' Tea Co. Ld., must make 
its business to controvert such incorreot and 
mischievous business notices and those of other 
large dealers who profess to sell good first-class teas 
at little over a shilling, by making known the true 
state of the case. 
TEA ESTATE PEOPERTY IN CEYLON. 
Mackay — the Ceylon Tea Plantations Co. being 
agents — and stand in our last Directory as follows : — 
Eogart — 185 acres tea; 15 Liberian coffee; 20 carda- 
moms ; 176 acres reserve. 
Lang’s Land 50 tea ; 333 reserve. 
Most of the tea must be in bearing, and therefore that 
over 200 acres of our new product besides over 
600 acres reserve (most of it big forest) should 
have sold for £3,500 is what no person at this 
end seems able to explain. It seems pretty certain 
that if locally advertised freely and sold separately 
or cut even into 3 or 4 lots, these properties should 
have sold for much more.— Meantime the fortunate 
new proprietor is Mr. Booth of Glendon estate 
adjoining; and the purchase seems, as we hove 
said, to have been effeoted in London. 
♦ — 
EXPORTS AND FREIGHT FROM CEYLON, 
The following table for which we are indebted to 
a mercantile friend is of considerable interest. It 
has been compiled with a view to show that 
although the number of vessels which take cargo 
from Oeylou steadily inorease, yet the quantity of 
cargo available increases in proportion — if indeed 
the increase in the latter is not more marked. In 
any ease, it is quite evident tea cargo alone from 
Colombo is going on increasing at such a rate, that 
we shall bo very glad for freight reasons alone, to 
see the Russian Volunteer fleet coming to this port 
to load tea direot from Odessa. The table is as 
follows : — 
Abstract of Expoets cf Ceylon Peodoce in 1888, 
1889 and 1890 reduced to Shipping Tons Ceylon scale. 
..9 a 
o g O 
»-( <0 O 
A in 3 
0> B ^ O CO CO 
M §0 
TO CO c3 
u ^ rr m C3 
S- CO n £3 
^ >-• S 
W S ® '' 
> > 
Qj 
> a w) 
® ^ ca •— 03 
^ s 3 S 
^ pH pH (M Pm 7s| rl 
o u 
ss 
ei fo « CO 
O 
CO lO ^ 05 
There have been some big sales of property since 
our last, notably that of Holyrood West estate 
belonging to Mr. G, S. Duff with 500 acres of fine 
tea and coffee for £15,000 or at the rate of £30 
sterling per acre. In addition, it is reported, Mr. 
Duff gets some £1,200 profit from the half-year’s 
working, so that the price is a good one; but the 
property is very valuable to the Ceylon Tea Plan- 
tations Company who own Holjrood East with 
nearly 500 more acres of tea — so that there will 
bo a 1,000 acres in a stretch in one of the finest 
parts of Dimbu'a with a railway station at each end. 
By way of oontrast however, we have a sale 
in the Kalutara district — also effeoted in England— 
which if not explained is certain to reflect 
on the value of property, in that district. News 
has come out from home that the “ es- 
tates ” of “Rogart” and “Lang’s Laud" for 
£3,600 sterling. Now, these two places are entered 
88 belonging to Messrs. F. D, Mitchell and D. 
c%OcooT#)09C^<oO>iOoao ^ jp o cq o» 
^ Oi 05 ^ CQ 
iii CO Cl Cf *-• 
, *£5 IC *-4 05 CO U5 00 o: to *£5 00 Cl t«- O 
OQi-iccOcococ5WM<iooi^-eoc:if5CO ■“O' 
Oq05CIC005C^050510^p— diOCOr-lM 
05 M I C5 
i 12 
I CO CO I ^ 
^ 05 t- 
■1 C4 iH 10 to •-H CO 
cj S 
a 
£*§.9 
oo 
■ cs ■ o £ 
ej d a a d 3 a'9<i b” “ oS S 9 
<Uo«.9oooo = o.o°!<S'*:“^ 
Hoooooe-OAowiiicoo M 
o 
CO . 
^ d : 
' as 
o o 
Vessels cleared outwards from Ceylon with cargo (1888) 
573; (1889) 611; (1890) 698. 
1888, 573 vessels' and 120,431 tons OBrgo=210 tons per vessel. 
1889, 611 „ „ 131,849 ,, „ =215 „ „ 
1890, 693 „ „ 156,169 ., =223 , „ 
net increase = 3 „ „ in 1890 
