3 
North  America.  The  next  market  in  point  of  size  is  that  of  North  .America, 
comprising  the  United  States  and  Canada,  in  the  former  of  which  large  amounts  of 
money  have  been  spent  in  endeavouring  to  foster  a taste  for  both  Indian  and  Ceylon 
Teas.  The  progress  made  has  been  slow,  but  after  several  years  of  anxious  work  and 
costly  expenditure,  an  appreciable  change  has  at  length  taken  place  in  the  public  taste, 
and — as  will  be  seen  by  the  diagram — the  quantity  of  both  Indian  and  Ceylon  Tea  recently 
used  has  shown  a remarkable  increase. 
So  many  different  agencies  are  now  at  work  for  developing  this  extremely  important 
market  that  it  seems  quite  beyond  doubt  that  the  corner  has  at  last  been  turned,  and 
that  an  increasing  outlet  will  in  the  near  future  be  found  in  this  locality. 
Russia.  The  expansion  which  has  taken  place  in  Russia  in  the  use  of  Ceylon  Tea 
during  recent  years  is  most  encouraging,  and  affords  almost  a positive  proof  of  its 
establishment  in  this  large  market,  where  some  70,000,000  lbs.  of  Tea  are  annually 
consumed.  There  is  also  a moderate  sale,  for  the  more  delicate  liquoring  kinds  of 
Indian  Tea. 
Bearing  in  mind  the  strong  demand  which  exists  for  fine  China  Teas  and  also  for  Havory 
Ceylons — the  time  seems  to  have  arrived  for  Indian  Tea  proprietors  to  turn  their  attention 
to  the  conquest  of  this  market.  Ceylon  has  for  years  had  a representative  in  Russia  and 
has  derived  unquestionable  benefit  from  his  labours. 
So  much  Tea  reaches  Russia  through  Germany,  that  exact  figures  cannot  be 
obtained  ; the  two  countries  are  in  consequence  shown  together  in  the  diagram. 
Persia  and  Turkey  continue  to  use  a large  quantity  of  Indian  Tea,  and  this 
market  has  also  become  a very  useful  outlet. 
In  addition  to  the  above  markets,  there  are  various  others  which,  in  the  aggregate, 
show  important  and  encouraging  results. 
The  Indian  Tea  Levy.  The  necessity  for  impressing  upon  Indian  Tea  pro- 
prietors the  urgent  need  of  continued  subscriptions  towards  the  fund  for  opening  new 
markets  cannot  be  too  strongly  insisted  upon.  Unless  a liberal  response  is  forthcoming  to 
the  appeal  which  has  been  made,  there  is  danger  lest  the  encouraging  progress  recently 
made  in  foreign  markets  should  meet  with  an  unfortunate  check;  an  eventuality  which,  at 
the  present  juncture,  would  be  essentially  undesirable. 
Coarse  Plucking.  A word  of  warning  may  be  addressed  to  planters  against  the 
temptation  to  send  home  Tea  of  inferior  quality,  owing  to  the  high  prices  ruling  for  the 
lower  grades  during  the  past  season.  Such  a policy  would  probably  lead  to  results  most 
damaging  to  the  general  industry. 
Prospects  of  Tea  Cultivation.  The  cultivation  of  the  Tea  plant  in  India  and 
Ceylon  has  been  successfully  carried  on  for  a number  of  years,  and  has  proved  a source  of 
considerable  revenue  to  the  proprietors.  In  both  countries  the  industry  has  existed  so 
long,  and  has  proved  so  free  from  serious  depredations,  that  it  may  be  looked  upon 
as  fully  suited  to  those  lands,  and  as  a thoroughly  established  agricultural  product. 
