THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST 
[Sept,  i,  1896. 
1 60 
the  fact  that  the  ruin  of  the  coffee  industry  had  left 
a number  of  coffee-planters  and  coffee-growing  com- 
panies with  large  areas  of  developed  laud  upon  their 
hands.  For  these  experienced  planters  to  turn  to 
teargrowing  was  an  easy  matter,  as  there  were  not 
that  feeling  of  forests  and  other  initial  stages  of  deve] 
lopment  which  the  planters  has  usually  tro  go  through. 
Their  Ceylon  is  a dependency  by  itself,  and  the  tea- 
growing industry  has  become  the  most  important  in 
the  island.  The  consequence  is  that  its  needs  are 
studied,  railways  are  built  to  serve  its  requirements, 
the  coolie  question  is  treated  in  a manner  favour- 
able to  the  companies,  and  in  many  wa5's  the  in- 
dustry is  assisted  by  the  Government.  This  is  very 
different  treatment  to  that  meted  out  to  Indian 
growers  by  the  Government  there,  which,  having  a 
a huge  area  to  govern,  naturally  studies  the  tea-planter 
but  slightly.  A good  example  of  the  paternal  manner 
iu  which  the  Ceylon  Government  watches  over  the 
leading  industry,  is  seen  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
export  duty  upon  tea.  The  rapid  increase  in  the  out- 
turn has  for  some  time  been  a source  of  anxiety  to 
Ceylon  growers,  and  their  chief  aim  for  years  past 
has  been  to  widen  the  market  for  their  produce. 
The  British  market,  large  consumer  of  tea  as  it  is, 
could  only  take  a certain  quantity,  and  to  extend 
the  area  of  consumption  meant  a fair  amount  of 
expenditure  of  a missionary  character.  For  some 
time  the  requisite  funds  W'ere  provided  by  a voluntary 
cess  levied  upon  tea  exported,  but  as  a matter  of 
practice  this  did  not  work  well.  Some  growers  paid 
the  cess,  while  others  did  not,  so  that  friction  and 
irritation  were  caused.  About  this  time  the  Govern- 
ment came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  politic 
to  reduce  the  freight  charges  on  the  railways  to  tea- 
growers  by  about  20  per  cent.,  and  it  certainly  would 
have  done  this  had  not  leading  men  in  the  industry 
represented  that  this  proposal  afforded  an  opportunity 
to  create  a fund  for  trade-extension  purposes.  Ac- 
cordingly the  railway  rates  were  retained  at  their 
former  figures ; but  the  20  per  cent.,  or  so,  of  the 
rates  that  would  have  been  reduced  was  set  aside  as 
a fund  for  the  spread  of  a wholesome  knowledge  of 
the  qualities  of  Ceylon  tea  in  foreign  countries. 
This  fund,  in  itself,  did  not  provide  enough  for  the 
purpose,  so  a tiny  export  duty  of  10  cents  per 
owt.  was  levied  upon  all  tea  exported.  The  proceeds 
from  this  inmost,  combined  with  the  share  of  the 
railway  revenue,  amounts  to  some  £7.000  to  £8,000 
per  annum  ; and  while  this  is  drawn  from  the  indus- 
try in  the  least  objectionable  form,  the  expenditure 
of  this  money  year  by  year  has  had  a most  favoura- 
ble effect  upon  the  consumption  of  Ceylon  tea  abroad. 
There  is  a great  affinity  between  the  teas  of  Ceylon 
and  those  of  China,  and  in  this  respect  the  consu- 
mers of  tea  in  Australasia,  Canada,  and  the  United 
States  and  [Russia  which  represents  the  commu- 
nities using  to  tea  most  freely  outside  the  United 
Kingdom,  have  already  commenced  to  take  Ceylon 
tea  rather  freely.  The  result  of  these  efforts  is  shown 
in  the  following  table  : — 
[Exports  of  tea  from  Ceylon  to  various  countries, 
already  given  iu  our  columns. — Ed.  7'..l.] 
These  figures  show  the  direct  exports  from  the 
island,  but  the  quantity  sent  to  the  United  Kingdom 
contains  a fair  proportion  of  tea  which  is  re-exported 
to  foreign  countries.  We  only  have  the  totals  of 
such  re-exports  for  each  year,  and  if  these  be 
deducted  from  the  figures  for  the  United  Kingdom, 
we  get  the  following  result ; — lb.  lb. 
18',)5.  1894. 
Retained  in  United  Kingdom  ..  78,(559,898  70,224,782 
Re-exported  from  United  King- 
dom to  foreign  countries  . . 7,098,441  5,123,8(52 
Exports  direct  from  Ceylon  to 
foreign  countries  ..  ..  12,180,532  9,243,070 
Total  exports  . . 
Retained  in  United  Kingdom  .. 
Re-exported  from  United  King- 
dom to  foreign  countries 
Exports  direct  from  Ceylon  to 
foreign  countries 
Total  exports 
97,939,871  84,591,714 
1893.  1892. 
71,434,308  01,307,017 
4,0(55,709  3,448,058 
8,905,987  (5,338,.582 
84,106,001  71,153,057 
It  appears,  therefore,  that  while  in  the  four  years 
under  review  the  exports  of  Ceylon  tea  increased  by 
20,000,000  lb.  the  increased  quantity  which  came  upon 
the  British  market  was  only  17,000,000  lb.  the  difference 
having  been  absorbed  by  the  greater  demand  of 
other  customers.  In  all  the  leading  tea-consuming 
countries  abroad,  there  is  still  ample  room  for  a 
further  absorption  of  Ceylon  tea  in  place  of  Chinese, 
and  at  the  present  time  the  greatest  attention  is 
being  turned  to  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
where  it  is  claimed  a great  impression  is  being  made 
in  turning  the  public  taste  from  China  to  Ceylon  tea. 
Most  of  the  exports  to  those  two  countries  would  be 
included  in  the  re-exports,  so  that  the  progress  shown 
in  the  direct  exports  to  those  countries  only  tells 
part  of  the  tale.  From  the  success  attained  in  Aus- 
tralasia, America,  and  iu  Russia,  those  best  able  to 
judge  are  strong  in  the  belief  that  there  is  no 
immediate  chance  of  the  tea  market  at  home  being 
glutted  through  the  expansion  of  tea-growing  iu 
India  and  Ceylon. 
These  various  considerations  have  all  tended  to 
encourage  tea-planting  in  Ceylon,  and,  as  we  have 
said,  the  progress  of  the  industry  has  been  simply 
marvellous.  Prior  to  1889  the  production  of  the  Island 
was  not  of.general  importance,  so  that  in  the  follow- 
ing table  we  only  give  the  figures  for  1889  and  suc- 
ceeding years  : — 
<U 
cu 
0> 
o 
ci 
u 
c3 
O 
< 
• tn 
C 09 
CA 
'u 
p4 
<1> 
JX 
<0  ^ 
> ^ 
'T3 
U 
o »>> 
o 
S O'q. 
<u 
o 
& 
X 
a 
d 
2 
.s  3 a 
p”. 
w 
<■1 
5 
M 
w 
lbs. 
d. 
Acres. 
Acers. 
1889  , . 
31,345,852 
Hi 
205,000 
135,000 
220,000 
1890  . . 
45,799,519 
lOJ 
220,000 
118,000 
2.50,000 
1891  .. 
67,718,372 
lOi 
250,000 
100,000 
250,000 
1892  . . 
72,279,985 
n 
262,000 
92,000 
280,000 
1893  . . 
82,269,353 
9 
273,000 
90,000 
280,000 
1894  . . 
85,376,322 
8.i 
288,000 
83,000 
290,000 
1895  . . 
97,939,871 
83 
305,000 
85,000 
290,0C0 
It  will 
be  noted 
that 
during 
this  period  the 
immature  area — that  is,  the  acreage  of  plants  under 
five  years  old,  and  therefore  not  in  full  bearing 
— has  steadily  diminished.  Consequently  the  increase 
in  production  must  be  more  moderate  iu  the  future 
than  in  the  past,  as  the  new  acreage  coming  into 
full  bearing  will  steadily  diminish.  Indeed,  the 
plantings  of  the  last  two  or  three  years  have  been 
upon  a very  moderate  scale,  and  there  does  not  seem 
to  be  that  danger  of  over-production  in  Ceylon 
which  at  one  time  was  feared.  The  laud  moat  sui- 
table for  tea-growing  has  been  absorbed,  and  what 
little  forest  land  remains  on  the  hills  the  Government 
refuses  to  sell,  as  it  is  needed  for  other  purposes. 
Planting  has  commenced  iu  the  low  country,  and 
some  exceedingly  abundant  crops  have  been  obtained, 
but  the  quality  was  very  low ; and  it  is  doubtful 
whether  any  extended  cultivation  iu  this  direction 
would  prove  a wise  investment,  for  the  public  taste 
in  tea  tends  rather  to  improve  than  to  deteriorate. 
The  companies  and  growers,  too,  unlike  those  of  India, 
have  little  reserve  land,  so  that  their  operations  are 
restricted  in  this  respect.  Still,  the  85,000  acres  of 
immature  land  now  under  plants  must  bring  a con- 
siderable increase  in  the  outturn  for  some  years  to 
come,  while  the  more  extended  use  of  manures  will 
easily  increase  the  yield  per  acre,  which  is  low, 
if  the  increased  number  of  pluckings  is  taken 
into  account,  when  compared  with  gardens 
in  Assam.  The  growth  of  tea-planting  in  India 
has  also  to  be  taken  into  account ; and  the 
groat  development  in  that  quarter  certainly  raises 
unpleasant  thought  as  to  tlie  future.  But  oven  iu 
case  of  difficulty'  from  this  cause,  Ceylon,  with  [its 
low  initial  cost  of  production,  should  be  in  a fair 
