794 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[May  I,  1896. 
OUR  TEA  CONSUMPTION. 
A REMARKABLE  CHANGE. 
In  n,  bulky  Illue-book  just  issued,  giving  a state- 
ment of  tlie  trade  of  British  India  for  the  past  five 
years,  some  interesting  figures  are  published  con- 
cerning the  British  consumption  of  Indian  and 
China  tea.  The  United  Kingdom,  it  is  stated,  con- 
tinues to  be  the  great  market  for  Indian  tea,  as  much 
as  92  per  cent  of  the  e.xports  of  the  year  having 
been  shipped  thither.  Of  the  small  quantity  not 
shipped  to  the  United  Kingdom,  Australia  takes  a 
considerable  but  unfortunately  not  an  increasmg 
share  ; Indian  tea  seems  to  make  no  headway  in  the 
colonies  in  competition  with  China  and  Ceylon  tea. 
Persia  during  the  last  four  years  has  been  taking 
larger  quantities.  As  regards  the  trade  with  Persia 
Her  Majesty’s  Consul  at  Bushire  writes  in  his  re- 
port for  1894 : — “ There  has  been  a strong  demand 
thoughout  the  year  for  Indian  and  B.rfavian  teas, 
which  seem  to  be  steadily  supplanting  the  China  teas 
in  favour  with  the  Persian  consumer.  Heavy  con- 
signments, chiefiy  from  India,  were  received  by 
native  merchants  who  found  no  difficulty  in  dis- 
posing of  them  at  a good  profit.  It  was,  however,  ut 
the  port  of  Bandar-Abbas  that  this  trade  received 
its  most  vigorous  impulse,  the  import  being  more 
than  double  that  of  the  previous  year.”  Some  of  the 
tea  at  any  rare  imported  into  Bandar-Abbas  was 
destined  for  consumption  in  Russian  Asiatic  territory, 
and  it  seems  probable  that  the  effect  of  recent 
fiscal  arrangements,  of  the  Russians  will  divert  the 
transit  trade  to  Batoiiin  and  the  'Prans-Caspian 
Railway.  A new  feature  in  the  trade  of  the  year 
is  the  largely  increased  export  to  Asiatic  Turkey, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  exports  to  this 
country  may  become  larger.  Exports  to  the  United 
States  and  Canada  have  also  developed  very  greatly, 
though  the  aggregate  is  still  relatively  trilling.  A 
good  deal  has  been  said  in  trade  reports  from  China 
of  the  gratifying  revival  in  the  tea  trade  which 
marked  1894,  and  it  seems  that  the  quantity  ex- 
ported was  slightly  larger  than  it  had  been  in  the 
preceding  year.  China  tea,  however,  has  not  suc- 
ceeded in  competing  with  Indian  tea  in  that  great 
market,  the  United  Kingdom,  which  takes  more 
than  nine-tenths  of  our  tea  and  nearly  as  much  of 
Ceylon  tea.  Steadily  and  surely,  year  by  year  since 
1886,  the  importation  of  China  tea  into  England  has 
fallen  and  that  of  Indian  has  increased,  until  last 
year  close  on  three  pounds  of  Indian  tea  were  im- 
ported for  every  pound  of  China.  This  latter  tea 
still  retains  its  bold  of  the  Australian  and  Ameri- 
can markets  where  quality  in  tea  is  hardly  yet  ap- 
preciated except  by  a select  few,  and  where  Indian 
tea  consequently  has  not  been  able  to  find  its  way 
in  considerable  quantity.  Even  the  closing  of  the 
mints  seems  to  have  had  no  effect  at  all  in  stimula- 
ting the  competition  of  the  Chinese  in  the  market 
for  our  tea,  though  it  was  freely  prophesied  that  that 
measure  would  blast  and  ruin  the  Indian  industry 
and  restore  Chinese  ascendency. — Qlohe,  April  10. 
TEA  IN  AUSTRALIA. 
In  China  tea  sales  have  been  made  of  650  half 
chests  panyong  at  4^d  to  5d,  180  half-chests 
panyong  at  6d,  .300  quarter-chests  buds  at  5d  to  5|d, 
and  300  quarter-chests  S.  O.  Pekoe  at  up  to  61d.  Of 
Ceylons  200  chests  have  been  placed  at  6d  to  lid, 
and  of  Indians  100  chests  at  8d  to  lOd.— .ItttOeifnsfaH, 
April  11. ^ 
A New  German  Coloni.al  Undertaking.— A new 
colonial  undertaking  has  been  launched  at  Berlin  for 
the  establishment  of  cocoa  plantations  in  Oameroon 
and  for  the  exploi*ation  of  the  rich  guano^  fields  in 
the  Portuguese  Province  of  Rogola,  princip.dly  in 
Mossamedes.  The  well  known  German  Afncun  travel- 
ler, Ur.  Lintgraff,  together  with  the  Ic.idors  of  the 
new  undertaking,  Drs.  Esser  and  lloseh,  nre  to 
le-Lv'c  (ierniauy  within  a few  days  for  the  I'ortu- 
guese  Island  St.  Thome,  opposite  Cameroon,  to  study 
the  climate  and  other  neces.saries,  wlicnce  they  will 
leave  for  Cameroon  and  the  backlands  to  investigate 
tho  question  of  providing  the  uecersary  Uboi'.rers. 
—L  & C Express,  April  10. 
INDIAN  TEA  SALES. 
(From  William  Moran  d-  Co.’s  Market  Report.) 
Calcutta,  April  22nd,  1896. 
TEA. — Advices  from  Assam  are  generally  favor- 
able ; while  from  Cachar  we  hear  of  further  storms 
acconqianied  by  hail.  Terai  planters  report  good  rain 
in  the  last  few  days.  There  was  a good  shower 
about  Darjeeling  last  week,  but  the  gardens  are 
again  very  dry.  More  rain  is  badly  wanted  in  the 
Dooars. 
A few  invoices  of  New  Season’s  teas  have  arrived, 
and  some  have  gone  forward  to  London.  From 
the  garden  musters  received,  we  are  inclined  to  think 
the  general  quantity  will  be  better  than  the  first  of 
last  year’s  teas. 
We  are  favored  with  the  following  by  the  Indian 
'Pea  Association  : — 
The  General  Committee  have  now  the  pleasure  to 
hand  yon  the  following  figures  showing  an  estimate 
of  the  Indian  tea  crop  of  1896. 
Original  Estimate  of  Crop,  1896 
Tb. 
Assam 
59,039,263 
Cachar 
19,519,860 
Sylhet 
23,834,680 
Darjeeling 
8,384,760 
Terai 
3,103,400 
Dooars 
21,225,660 
Chittagong 
787,200 
Chota-Nagpore 
, 238,800 
Kangra 
Dehra  Dun  and  Kumaon 
2,170,000 
(Estimate).. 
2,000,000 
Private  and  Native  Gardens 
(Estimate).. 
4.000,000 
144,303,523 
being  8,824,461  lb.  over  the  actual  outturn  of  the 
crop  of  1895.  Estimating  shipments  to  the  Colonies 
and  other  ports  with  local  consumption  at  16  millions, 
(or  say  2 millions  more  than  last  year),  there  will 
remain  about  128.i  million  lb.  for  export  to  Great 
Britain: 
P.S. — Since  the  estimates  from  the  various  districts 
were  drawn  up,  there  have  been  severe  hailstorms 
in  Cachar  and  excessive  draught  in  Darjeeling,  the 
Terai  and  the  Dooars  which  may  have  an  appreci. 
able  effect  on  the  outturn.  The  above  estimate  of 
the  crop  for  1896  should,  'therefore,  be  considered 
a full  one. 
TOTAL  Quantity  of  Tea  passed  through  Calcutta 
FROM 
1st  to 
20tu  April. 
1896. 
1895. 
1894. 
Great  Britain 
49,099 
.140,807 
1.55,909 
Foreign  Europe 
100 
2,350 
Nil 
America 
Nil 
Nil 
1,000 
Asia 
32,069 
26,201 
30,301 
Australia 
9,720 
5,120 
280,702 
90,988 
174,478 
467,912 
/nIIAFEI)  SKIN,  PILES,  SCALDS,  BRUISES, 
I j CU'rS,  STINGS,  NEURALGIC  and  RHEU- 
MATIC PAINS,  SORE  EVES,  EAR-ACll, 
'THROAT  COLDS,  and  SKIN  AILMEN'i’S quickly 
CALVERT’S  CARBOLIC  OIMTMENT. 
Large  Pots  I3id.  each  (Engl;-;'i  r.atc.)  Sold  at 
Chemists,  Stores, 
F.  C.  CALVERT  & C0-?  M;thcho.ster. 
