Junk  I,  1896I, 
IHE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
83  r 
THE  TEA  MARKET. 
The  tea  market  rules  steady  for  Tritisli  grown, 
but  for  China  there  i.s  little  clone  uiivately  in  the 
generally  poor  supplies,  despite  tlie  low  prices  at 
which  teas  are  obtainable.  One  way  to  recover  the 
lost  trade  is  for  importers  in  the  coming  season  to 
send  forward  Teas  with  streiig'h;  generally  there  is 
no  complaint  as  to  want  of  flavour  in  China  tea. 
Tlie  opportunity  now  offered  is  most  favourable, 
seeing  the  deterioration  in  Ceylon  Tea.  As  the  year 
advances  standard,  quality  Tea  becomes  scarce,  and 
early  imports  from  whatever  source  must  command 
a ready  sale,  backed  up  by  the  prosperous  state  of 
commerce. — L.  cC  0.  Express,  April  17. 
A CANADIAN  GROCER  ON  TEA. 
On  Thursday  last  it  was  our  pleasure  to  receive 
a call  from  Mr.  John  Sloan,  of  Galt,  Ontario,  Can., 
wholesale  and  retail  dealer  in  crockery  and  groceries. 
Mr.  Sloan  has  made  a hobby  of  tea  for  the  past 
fifteen  years  and  keeps  in  stock  some  thirty  varie- 
ties. Experience  has  taught  chat  little  dependence 
could  be  placed  on  books  for  a thorough  knowledge 
of  the  article,  and  therefore  he  made  the  leaf  his 
special  study  until  ho  became  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  peculiarities  of  the  various  sorts  and  the 
names  of  Indian,  Ceylon,  China  and  Japan  teas.  His 
rule  is  to  buy  on  cup  quality  alone,  making  style  a 
secondary  consideration.  In  order  to  secure  to  cus-- 
tomers  an  uniform  article  and  to  ensure  their  receiving 
the  tea  which  pleases  at  each  purchase,  an  indexbook 
is  kept,  in  which  are  placed  the  names  of  all  c usto- 
mers,  together  with  a memorandurir  of  the  tea  pur- 
chased and  the  date,  and  this  is  kept  for  ready  re- 
ference whenever  a customer  buys  tea. 
Mr.  Sloan  has  made  a special  study  of  Ceylon  teas 
using  them,  however,  largely  for  blending,  as  they 
work  together  exceedingly  well  with  China  blacks, 
particularly  the  different  makes  of  Congou.  He  finds 
that  tea  from  the  same  garden  in  Ceylon  varies 
from  season  to  season,  and  that  one  cannot  rely  upon 
the  tea  from  a certain  garden  for  uniformity  simply 
because  it  has  been  a prize-winner  for  several  succes 
sive  seasons.  Each  lot  of  tea  must  be  studied  011  its 
merits.  Those  Ceylon  teas  which  arc  best  adapted  for 
selling  straight  must  be  of  a very  high  order.  They 
are  popular  in  Galt,  as  are  the  blended  Ceylons.  He 
thinks  the  variation  in  tho  character  of  Ceylon  teas 
from  season  to  season  is  to  somo  oxtent  due  to  the  soil, 
which  is  shallow,  the  owners  of  gardens  neglecting  to 
keep  them  up  to  proper  condition,  the  result  being 
tea  of  varying  quality. 
Mr.  Sloan  does  not  use  Japans  to  any  great  ex- 
tent fo:  blending,  preferring  to  sell  them  straight. 
He  is  - not  partical  to  basket-fired  tea.  In  his  dis- 
trict ill  Ontario  the  dealer  has  to  contend  against 
the  water,  which  is  strongly  impregnated  with 
lime,  so  that  the  teas  which  please  in  that  section 
would  not  be  in  such  great  favor  in  other  markets, 
even  such  as  are  as  near  as  Toronto.  Mr.  Sloan 
finds,  however,  that  customers  who  have  become 
addicted  to  tlie  use  of  any  one  particular  sort  are 
so  wedded  thereto  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  induce 
the  use  of  some  other  variety,  even  though  it  may 
be  of  much  higher  value  and  merit.  When  such 
consumers  move  away  they  send  back  to  Canada  to 
get  some  of  the  same  sort  of  tea  they  formerly  used. 
Mr  Sloan  is  not  at  all  friendly  to  package  teas, 
finding  they  vary  in  quality,  the  standard  of  grade 
not  being  maintained;  therefore,  he  favors  buying 
rea  on  its  merits,  in  bulk,  and  selling  it  loose,  never 
putting  it  up  in  packages,  except  in  three  or  five 
pound  boxes  for  such  customers  as  desire  to  pur- 
chase that  quantity. 
Mr.  Sloan  has  also  found  that  the  heads  of  the 
tea  departments  of  some  of  tho  jobbing  houses  are 
lamentably  ignorant  of  tea  and  are  unable  to  detect 
different  varieties  and  to  designate  them  from  the 
leaf;  they  are  also  deficient  in  a knowledge  of 
various  matters  connected  with  the  cultivation  and 
preparation  of  tea.  Some  cannot  name  the  different 
sorts  of  Congou  and  tell  in  which  part  of  the  dis- 
trict they  are  grown. 
105 
This  emphasizes  the  fact  that  to  succeed  in  any 
line  men  must  put  their  heart  and  enthusiasm  into 
their  work,  if  they  are  to  become  experts.  It  seems 
to  us  that  our  Canadian  subscriber  and  friend,  in 
these  fifteen  years  of  preparation,  has  been  taking 
the  only  true  course  for  such  as  would  build  up  a 
profitable  trade  in  tea — one  which  will  command 
the  confidence  of  consumers  and  which  is  proof 
against  all  manner  of  competition,  whether  it  be 
local  or  transient.  We  certainly  believe  in  the 
doctrine  of  buying  tea  on  cu^d  quality  alone,  for, 
after,  all,  it  is  the  only  true  test  for  buyers  as  well 
as  consumer.  It  is  also  evident  that  a retailer’s 
tea  trade  is  what  he  may  elect  to  make  it.  He 
will  know  the  character  of  the  water  in  his  section 
and  its  relation  to  the  drawing  of  tea,  and,  finding 
which  sorts  show  the  best  results,  study  to  please 
the  palate  of  his  trade.  He  will  not  yield  to  the 
temptation  of  buying  a line  of  tea  not  particularly 
adapted  to  his  trade  requirements,  simply  because 
it  is  cheap.  He  studies  incessantly,  for  experience 
has  demonstrated  that  climate,  soil,  amount  of 
moisture,  methods  of  cultivation,  and  manufacturo 
vary  from  season  to  season,  so  that  uniformity  is 
only  secured  by  care,  watchfulness  and  constant 
testing.  No  dealer  can  do  this  who  does  not  make 
a hobby  of  tho  tea  department. — American  Grocer 
March  2!). 
THE  NHWARA  ELIYA  TEA  ESTATES 
COMEANY,  LIMITED. 
Minutes  of  proceedings  at  the  first  (Statutory) 
meeting  of  shareholders  of  the  Nuwara  Eliya 
Tea  Estates  Company,  Limited,  held  at  Winchester 
House,  Old  Broad  Street,  E.C.,  on  ’SVedensday,  25th 
March  1896. 
UiRKCxoRs. — Present:  Messrs.  C A.  W.  Cameron 
in  the  Chair,  Oscar  Thompson,  C.  E.  Robson. 
Messrs.  A.  L.  Cross,  R.  W.  Garrett,  Sir  .John  Grin- 
linton,  Messrs.  R.  Porter,  G.  Todd,  S.  H.  Smith,  and 
C.  Speed. 
The  CnAiRjiAN  ; — Gentlemen,  the  Secretary  will  read 
tho  notice  of  the  meeting. 
The  Secretary  : — The  notice  that  was  issued  for 
this  meeting  is  as  follows  : — “ Winchester  House,  Old 
Broad  Street,  E.C.,  12th  March,  1896.  Notice  is  hereby 
given  thatinaccordance  withthb  Articlesof  Association 
of  the  Coy.,  the  Phrst  (Statutory)  Meeting  of  the  Nuwara 
Eliya  Tea  Estates  Company,  Limited,  will  be  held 
at  the  above  address  on  Wednesday,  the  25th  day 
of  March,  1896,  at  12  o’clock  noon.  By  order  of  the 
Board,  I'rith,  Sands  & Co.,  Secretaries.” 
’.Che  CuAiRJtAN:  Well,  gentlemen,  this  being  the 
Statutory  Meeting  of  the  Comjrauy,  required  to  be 
held  by  law  within  four  months  of  its  incorporation, 
we  have  no  accounts  to  lay  before  you.  We  are 
pleased,  however,  to  see  you  here,  and  to  have  the 
opportunity  of  telling  you  of  the  extensions  which 
have  taken  place  in  the  operations  of  the  Company 
since  its  incorporation  in  December  of  last  year. 
The  Prospectus  which  w'as  issued  in  December,  men- 
tioned that  the  Company  had  acquired  the  Park  and 
Concordia  Estates,  and  those  properties  have  been 
worked  on  the  Company’s  account  since  the  16th 
September,  and  the  1st  October  last  year  respectively. 
The  Prospectus,  you  will  recollect,  mentioned  that  it 
was  proposed  to  make  further  purchases  of  estates  should 
favourable  opportunities  occur  of  doing  so  ; and  we  are 
now  glad  to  tell  you  that  Mr.  Megginson,  our  general 
Estates  Manager  in  Ceylon,  in  conjunction  with 
Messrs.  Ijeechmau  & Co.,  our  Colombo  Agents, 
secured  for  the  Company  the  offer  of  five  additional 
properties,  viz.,  Pedro,  Portswood,  Kenmare,  Lovers 
Leap  and  Naseby,  besides  taking  over  the  current 
leases  of  Fairyland  and  Hazelwood  estates,  which 
have  to  run  for  eight  years  longer,  These  estates 
have  all  been  worked  on  the  Company's  account 
since  the  1st  January  last,  and  the  latest  reports 
received  from  Ceylon  are  to  the  effect  that  the  pro- 
perties are  all  in  first  class  order,  and  working 
satisfactorily. 
The  total  purchase  price  paid  for  tho  estates 
{i.  e.,  all  the  estates  acquired  by  the  Company)  is 
£129,800,  and  to  raise  this  sum  £115,000  has  been 
