490 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
I Jan.  I,  1896. 
PLANTING  AND  PRODUCE. 
Indian  Tea  and  the  London  Maiucet.— The  posi- 
tion and  prospects  of  Indian  tea,  from  the  grocer’s 
point  of  view,  cannot  fail  to  interest  the  grower. 
We  therefore  reproduce  the  comments  of  the  Groce.r 
on  the  subject : “ From  whatever  standpoint  it  is 
regarded— whether  from  the  extent  of  its  supply, 
the  expansion  of  its  deliveries  hero,  or  the 
quantity  held  in  bond — this  description  of 
tea,"  says  our  contemporary,  “ undeniably  oc- 
cupies tne  leading  position  in  the  London  market, 
and  every  year  it  takes  a fresh  stride  towards  a 
higher  state  of  prosperity  than  before.  Despite  the 
duiness  which  has  been  reported  in  the  market 
from  time  to  time,  the  deliveries  of  Indian  tea  at 
this  port  during  November  progressed  at  an  en- 
couraging rate,  and  reached  12,146,4.'iO  lb.,  as  opposed 
to  11,932,700  lb.  in  the  corresponding  period  of  last 
year,  and  11,12.3,600  lb.  in  1893,  a total  which  except- 
ing that  of  14,492,000  lb.  in  May,  1890,  when  the  new 
fourpenny  duty  first  came  into  operation,  is  reputed  to 
be  the  largest  on  record  for  a single  month.  Thus 
the  aggregate  delivery  for  the  past  eleven  months 
is  brought  up  to  nearly  105,160,000  lb.,  or  consider- 
ably more  than  that  in  1893  to  the  present  date,  the 
amount  in  1894  having  fallen  temporarily  below  the 
average.  The  imports  have  also  been  on  a propor- 
tionately increased  scale,  embracing  102,.500,400  lb. 
in  the  eleven  months,  against  101,515,200  lb.  in  the 
preceding  year,  and  194,386,200  lb.  in  1893  ; and  the 
stock  remaining  on  hand  on  the  30th  ult.  comprised 
45  270,950  lb.,  which  was  1,827,950  lb  above  that  in 
1894.  and  4,481,600  lb.  more  than  in  the  other  year.” 
Enlarged  Deliveries  Due  to  Reduced  Prices. — 
“ There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  enlarged  deliveries 
of  Indian  tea  now  witnessed  are  ascribable  to  the 
reduced  prices  which  have  been  current  within  the 
last  two  mouths,  as  it  has  been  during  that  interval 
that  the  commoner  qualities  of  tea  have  formed  so 
great  a proportion  of  the  supplies  at  public  sales, 
and  the  almost  forced  selling  of  these  kinds  has 
sent  much  heavier  quantities  direct  into  con- 
sumption. A more  convincing  proof  of  the  salu- 
tary efieots  of  cheapness  in  the  freer  use  of 
an  ^ article  of  prime  necessity  could  hardly  be 
produced;  for  it  was  in  the  spring  months  of  the 
year,  when  Indian  tea  was  relatively  dear,  that  the 
clearances  for  home  consumption  fell  off  percep- 
tibly and  now  that  the  article  has  become  pence 
cheaper  the  deliveries  have  swelled  again.  It  is, 
therefore,  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  improve- 
ment now  set  in  will  be  fairly  maintained,  that 
what  is  still  lost  ground  in  relation  to  the  deliveries 
in  1894  will  soon  be  recovered,  and  that  the  trade 
throughout  will  work  itself  into  a healthier  and 
more  active  condition." 
The  New  Crop. — With  reference  to  the  new  crop 
for  1895-96,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  original 
official  estimate  was  for  a total  of  140,000,0001b., 
leaving  about  126,000,000  lb.  available  for  exportation 
to  this  country,  and  the  revised  estimate,  prepared 
on  the  basis  of  outturn  to  August  31st,  was 
138  000  000  lb.  of  which  it  was  calculated  that,  after 
r.wiv;rlin£r  for  shipments  to  the  colonies  and  local 
cOTSumption,  between  12.3,000,000  lb.  and  124,000,000 
lb  would  remain  for  export  to  Great  Britain.  Since 
then  however,  it  has  been  understood  that,  owing 
to  the  unfavourable  weather  that  has  prevailed  in  the 
tea  districts,  the  later  estimate  will  not  be  rea- 
r ed  and  it  is  expected  by  some  authorities  that 
the  ’ total  shipments  to  the  United  Kingdom 
f the  whole  season  will  not  exceed  from 
11HOOO  0001b  to  120.000,000  1b,  thought  there  are 
firms  in  receipt  of  telegrams  from  private  and  un- 
Sial  sources  who  still  put  the  probable  total  ex- 
at  123  000,000  lb,  as  compared  with  one 
of  n5(H)(),(W0lb.’  in  1894-5 ; so  that  it  is  not  at  all 
improbable  that  the  boon  of  cheap  tea  to  the  con- 
sumer will  continue  to  be  enjoyed. 
Ti-a  in  France.— Dijon  is  suffering  just  now  from 
^ntbreak  of  tvphoid-fcver  A special  allowance 
of’  teJ'ha.B  been  6r^lered  for  the  soldiers  because  in 
France  it  is  popular  belici  that  tea  has  curative 
Sets  in  cases  Vfever  of  all  kinds. 
Ceilon  and  the  Import  DutvonTea. — In  Ceylon 
the  question  of  the  import  duty  on  tea  is  the  subject 
of  discussion.  Though  the  Ceylon  Planters’  Asso- 
ciation and  the  Colombo  Chamber  of  Commerce  have 
protested  strongly  against  a movement  for  its  aboli- 
tion which  has  been  started,  some  authorities  in 
Ceylon  maintain  that  the  duty  is  distinctly  inimical 
to  the  Ceylon  tea  industry  and  trade.  The  argu- 
ments on  this  side  of  the  question  are  put 
as  follows  by  a Colombo  paper : “ 1.  Is  it,  or 
is  it  not,  the  fact  that  Ceylon  produces  some 
of  the  very  worst,  as  well  as  some  of  the  best, 
teas  under  the  sun  ? (To  blend  our  good  teas 
even  with  China  or  .Java,  much  less  Indian,  teas  would 
not  be  BO  bad  as  with  some  of  the  stuff  occasionally 
sold  ill  the  Colombo  market,  and  twice  rejected  as  unfit 
for  human  food  at  Miilbourne.)  2.  Do  not  the  Ceylon 
tea  planters  live  to  a great  extent  by  the  blending 
trade  '/  What  are  all  the  great  tea-sellers  in  London 
and  the  colonies  but  blenders  ? How  is  our  tea  getting 
into  Russia  but  by  blending  ? Actually,  Ceylon  and 
China  teas  are  at  pi'esent  sent  to  Loudon,  blended  there, 
and  then  sent  Lack  to  Australia ! Can  it  be  said 
that  the  North  Indian  planters  have  not  worked 
hard  to  make  their  teas  known  with  their  CHlcutta 
and  Lonaon  Tea  Associations  ? And  yet,  why  are 
they  not  afraid  to  leave  Calcutta  an  open  port, 
although  several  million  pounds  of  China  teas  enter 
there  for  blending  ? Finally,  it  is  absurd  to  suppose 
that  the  grand  port  of  Colombo  is  to  be  shut  off 
from  its  legitimate  trade  as  the  port  of  Southern 
India,  and  as  the  distributing  port  for  Australia. 
We  are  told  that  one  solution  of  the  difficulty  is  for 
Government  to  build  large  bonded  stores  for  blending 
purposes.  If  so,  the  sooner  they  are  built  the  better." 
Tea  Chest.s  and  Tin  Plates. — The  representatives 
of  the  till-plate  industry  are  making  strenuous 
efiorts  to  push  their  wares  into  use  for  tea  chests. 
A paper  was  recently  read  by  a Llanelly  grocer 
before  the  Llanelly  Chamber  of  Commerce  on  the 
subject.  The  opinions  of  various  members  of  the  tea 
trade  were  quoted  in  support  of  tin  plates  for  tea 
packing. 
The  Sisal  iNDUsTiiy  of  the  Bahamas. — Dr.  D. 
Morris,  c.m.g.,  the  Assistant  Director  of  the  Royal 
garden  at  Kew,  who  lately  visited  the  Canary  Islands 
in  connection  with  the  sisal  industry,  sailed  last  week 
for  New  York,  on  his  way  to  the  Bahamas.  There  he 
proposes  looking  into  the  position  of  the  sisal  industry 
in  these  islands,  and,  as  he  has  done  in  the  case  of 
other  colonies,  suggesting  various  other  plants  which 
might  be  profitably  cultivated  in  a place  like  the 
Bahamas.  As  there  is  some  affinity  between  the 
Canary  Islands  and  the  Bahamas,  no  doubt  mai^  of 
the  plants  which  are  profitably  cultivated  in  the  Can- 
aries could  be  tried  with  advantage  in  the  West  Indian 
group. 
A Ramie  Planting  Company. — The  Anglo-Dutch 
Ramie  Fibre  and  Paper  Company,  Limited,  has  been 
registered  with  a capitsl  of  .£150,000  divided  into  150,000 
shares  of  £1  each,  100,000  of  which  are  ten  percent, 
cumulative  preference. 
Coconut  Butter. — A company  has  just  been  formed 
in  Paris  to  make  butter  out  of  the  coconut.  It  has  a 
plant  calculated  to  produce  over  4,000  lb.  a day  of  this 
butter,  and  will  soon  be  able  to  produce  twice  as  much 
The  butter  will  be  called  by  its  name.  The  nuts  will 
be  supplied  from  the  French  possessions  of  Africa. 
—1/.  and  C.  Mai',  '^ec.  13. 
VARIOUS  PLANTING  NOTES. 
Tkavancork  and  the  American  Tea  Fund. 
— A.s  will  lie  seen  from  tlie  letter  wliieli  we 
imblisli  ill  aiiollier  eolumii,  the  Travancore 
IMaiiters’  Associ.'itioii  has  contrilmted  Hi, 472  to- 
wards tlie  .American  'Pea  Fiiml. 
The  Fibre  Inou.strv.— So  far  as  the  eoei - 
nnt  palm  is  eoncorned,  tliere  are  several  I'ibie 
Factorie.s  at  work  now.  A now  one  is  about  to 
be  ereoted  at  a convenient  point  on  the  Negomlio 
road  for  ex-In.sjieetor  Harrison  who  is  vwy 
active  tn  developing  fre-sli  industries. 
