544 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Feb.  I,  1896. 
/calantl  nearly  twenty  years  ago;  she  was  then 
'(uite  a show  vessel,  being  the  largest  iron  sailing  vessel, 
iUloat.  I retneinber  while  we  stayed  in  Rio  de  Janeiro 
for  live  or  six  weeks  crowds  of  people  U'ed  to  visit 
and  bo  shown  over  her.  I noted  the  several  changes 
in  the  fittings  of  the  saloon,  hut  the  fine  roomy 
cabins  were  still  there.  She  can  still  do  her  350 
knots  a day,  and  pass  most  sailers  going.  The 
present  crew  have  been  on  board  for  over  two  years, 
which  speaks  well  for  the  captain  and  officers. 
I had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  in  a tea  brokers’ 
office  last  week  Mr.  \V.  D.  Perry  of  Dublin.  We  talked 
tea,  told  stories,  and  found  we  had  a mutual  friend 
in  Geo  Kent  Deaker,  Passara,  to  whom  he  wished 
to  be  remembered.  I gave  Mr.  Perry  satisfactory 
news  about  our  good  friend,  with  which  he  was 
much  pleased  and  delighted. 
Your  delegate  is  once  more  in  London.  I hear 
pretty  regularly  from  Mr.  Ilierach,  who  is  still 
hammering  away  at  Ceylon  Tea.  It  must  be  some- 
what discouraging,  how'ever,  to  him,  with  no  sup- 
port or  recognition  from  Ceylon  for  the  good  honest 
work  he  is  doing : I presume  you  have  heard  he, 
and  he  alone,  represents  Ceylon,  with  a Ceylon 
Court  at  the  great  Pure  Food  Show  at  Philadelphia  ! ! 
He  has  had  a largo  amount  of  advertising  of 
Ceylon  and  her  teas  in  numerous  papers,  gratis,  and 
a man  who  can  do  this  in  America  is  worth  some- 
thing, for  your  delegate’s  accounts  will  doubtless  show 
that  advertising  rates  are  pretty  stiff  here.  I br.ve 
one  before  me  from  the  Kveninii  Post,  New  York, 
said  to  cost  some  £10  each  insertion!  I hope  India 
pays  half  of  this  ; the  “ cut”  is  in  the  usual  rough 
style, — I am  perhaps  hypercritical,  but  it  isan  extraor- 
dinary circumstance  that  the  three  ladies  therein 
depicted  should  be  left-handed.  I call  it  the  “ left- 
handed  ad.,”  but  perhaps  these  ladies  are  “ ambi- 
dexterous.” The  “ Eclipse”  advertisement  for 
America  is  a mistake.  In  this  country,  to  quote 
Shakespeare  ! — they  don’t  care  what  kinds  or  quan- 
tities of  tea  are  consumed  in  Great  Britain. 
Tnere  are  very  many  “ lovely  ” Americans,  who 
like  and  admire  the  English,  but  there  is  no  use 
blinking  the  fact,  that  amongst  the  middle-class 
both  upper  and  lower  (amongst  whom  our  customers 
are  to  be  found  in  the  future)  there  is  a very  strong 
prejudice  ngainst  the  Dritish  and  anything  British. 
This  dictum  applies  to  the  great  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple, those  who  have  no  time  for  reading  anything 
l)ut  the  newspapers,  from  which  source  they  derive 
their  information  (very  frequently  misleading)  and 
form  their  conclusions  and  deductions  (necessarily 
as  fi'eqnently  wrong  and  unjust). 
This  dressing-up  of  an  ordinary  woman  as  an  In- 
dian Princess  and  parading  her  about  the  New  York 
Food  Show  is  a mistake,  a bad  mistake  (as  a general 
rule  mistakes  are  bad,  but  this  is  more  so  than  usual): 
it  savoui's  too  much  of  the  Midway  Plaisance,  and 
Fake  style  of  business,  and  does  more  harm  than  good 
eventually’.  You  will  hear  of  nothing  like  that  at 
the  Philadelphia  Food  Show.  Tiie  Ceylon  Importing 
Co.  of  Iowa  also  applied  for  a concession,  but  were 
informed  that  Dir.  Bierach  was  the  party  w’ho  was  most 
acceptable  and  best  known  to  the  management. 
What  a great  pity  a few  natives  w'ere  not  sent  out 
early  to  Mr.  Bierach;  he  writes  me  he  could  do  so 
much  more  if  he  had  liad  a few  Tamils  and  Sinhalese. 
Doubtless  you  will  have  reports  and  ligures  when  the 
time  comes,  direct  from  Dir.  Bierach  or  through  the 
“dU  Committee,”  but  you  can  judge  of  the  good 
work  being  done  through  Dir.  Bierach’s  personality 
.solely,  when  5i)0  cups  of  tea  are  being  given  away 
free  daily,  at  no  cost  to  Ceylon  up  to  the  present. 
No  doubt  his  a])plication  to  your  worthy  delegate  for 
some  assistance  to  hel))  to  dcfr.ay  the  heavy  expense 
he  has  been  put  to.  will  lie  i)rom])tly  attended  to 
as  it  deserves  to  he,  and  as  1 am  sure  the  Plantci-s 
and  *•  dO  Committee”  would  wish. 
To  overcome  single-handed  many  obstacles,  in  the 
absence  of  any  tangible  support  or  recognition  even, 
perhaps  almost  ignored  though  having  valuable  ex- 
perience in  his  own  line  of  business,  and  to  carry 
through  to  success,  in  spite  of  all  that  must  have 
lieeii  disheartening,  this  Ceylon  Court  at  the  Pure 
Food  Show  at  l’lii!adi'l|)liia,  is,  1 consider,  an  acliicve- 
pieut  of  which  Dir.  Bierach  or  anyone  else,  might  be 
proud,  and  one  that  will  merit  and  will  gain  the  ap- 
proval of  Ceylon  men,  or  I am  very  much  mistaken. 
It  does  seem  most  extraordinary  to  me  that  at  a 
Japan  Tea  Stand  in  New  York  Food  Shows  the  Plan- 
ters’ Association  pamphlets  (of  Ceylon)  should  be  dis- 
tributed. This  is  entirely  wrong  ; there  is  great  ig- 
norance about  Geoiiraphii  as  well  as  of  Tea  in  this 
country,  and  people  receiving  these  pamphlets  from 
a Japan  Tea  Exhibit  wdll  naturally  think  “it  is  just 
some  new  kind  of  Japan  Tea,"  and  will,  in  most 
cases,  continue  to  ask  for  Japan  Tea. 
I am  awaiting  papers  with  descriptions  of  the 
Ceylon  Court  at  Philadelphia,  w’hich  is  much  ad- 
mired and  is  a great  favourite.  You  will,  along  with 
most  of  your  readers,  have  forgotten  the  name  of 
DIrs.  Rover,  the  first  authority  upon  cookery  in  America, 
who  at  the  great  World's  Fair,  Chicago,  received  a 
salary  of  ^1,000  (f‘200  sterling)  a month  for  lecturing 
upon  cookery  and  making  demonstrations.  Our 
Court  in  the  Woman’s  Building  was  a great  favourite 
of  hers,  and  I can  see  her  now,  coming  in  there 
“ for  a cup  of  your  delicious  pure  tea,”  followed  by 
a number  of  leading  ladies.  She  holds  the  same 
position  at  Pliiladelphia,  and  is  a strong,  personal 
friend  of  Dir.  Bierach’s ; it  is  doubtless  owing  to  her 
knowledge  of  him  in  a great  measure  that  he  has 
been  enabled  to  secure  for  Ceylon  S3  many  advan- 
tages. She  condemns  all  teas  but  Ceylons,  and  never 
will  endorse  China  or  Japan  teas  ; she  is  official  lecturer 
on  cooker}’,  but  presided  the  other  dry  at  a o o’clock 
tea  in  the  Ceylon  Court,  she  would  not  do  this  for 
any  other  exhibitor,  nor  will  she  speak  during  her 
lectures  in  favour  of  the  products  represented  by  the 
several  firms  and  companies  at  the  Show’.  Her  lec- 
tures are  on  cooking  and  she  does  not  use  them  for 
advertising  purposes : yet  it  greatly  surprises  ex- 
hibitors, that  Dir.  Bierach  and  his  Ceylon  Court  are  so 
much  favoured  by  her  ; as  each  day  at  the  close  of  her 
lecture  she  says:  “Now  we  will  adjourn  to  the 
Tea  Room.”  From  the  description  given  me  I imagine 
this  Ceylon  Court  is  all  it  should  be,  an  1 very  at- 
tractive. Mr.  Bierach  has  w'onderfully  good  taste, 
there  is  a haudsotne  carpet  and  beautiful  stand- 
ard onyx  banquet  lamps,  with  pink  silk 
shades,  eastern  draperies,  Ceylon  photos  nicely 
framed  in  coconut  wood,  baskets,  mats,  some  brass 
w.vrc,  satinwood  teapoys,  lace,  fans,  &c.,  &c. 
I have  just  received  this  moment  a short  hur- 
ried letter  in  pencil  from  DJr.  Bierach.  I think  I may 
quote  the  following: — “Well,  I am  catching  on, 
am  solid  with  the  management.  In  next  week's 
programme,  I am  to  have  a hig  ad. ; also  in  all  the 
Sunday  p.vpers  a send-off  F«ee,  no  cost  to  Ceglon, 
Last  evening  I had  a call  from  the  A-ssociate  Editor 
of  the  Grorerg  World,  will  have  a free  notice  in 
that  journal.  And  my  article  on  Ceylon  iv  to  be 
]3ublished  in  Household  Xews.  All  this  for  Ceylon.” 
I respectfully  and  earnestly  draw  the  attention  of 
the  “ 30  Committee”  and  the  planting  community 
to  the  above  information,  and  I am  sure,  with 
their  usual  fairness,  suitable  recognition  and  ap- 
preciation will  not  be  longer  denied  Dir  Bierach. 
I only  speak  of  him  as  I know'  him  and  as  I found 
him,  he  is  suited  to  the  requirements  of  Ceylon 
here,  aud  the  “glad  hand”  and  not  the  “marble 
heart”  should  ho  extended  to  him. 
I hope  he  will  “come  out  even”  if  nothing 
more,  though  it  seems  such  a result  would  be  im- 
possible when  everything  is  free  to  all. 
The  weather  is  simply  magnificent  here  for  this 
time  of  the  year,  and  I am  inclined  to  agree  with 
Californians  when  they  say  reverently  and  with 
deep  conviction,  “ This  is  God's  country.” 
I had  the  pleasure  of  being  conducted 
by  the  projirictors  over  the  new  Cliff  House  now 
rapidly  approaching  completion,  in  the  place  of  the 
old  historic  house,  burnt  down  last  Christmas:  the 
liouse  is  over  100  feet  high,  and  I must  have  walked 
miles  and  miles  in  Ihc  building;  it  was  pretty  hard 
work  as  the  elevators  are  not  yet  ruiming.  This 
will  be  a favourite  resort,  and  I know  of  no  finer 
maiinc  view,  as  members  of  ships  and  steamers 
pas.s  in  and  out  of  the  world-famous  Golden  Gate. 
'There  are  10  dining-rooms,  magnificent  restaurant 
dining-rooms  to  scat  over  100  guests  at  a time 
billiard  and  smoking-rooms,  15-feet  verandabq  »U 
