Feb.  I,  1897.] 
THE  TROPICA! 
AGRICULTURIST. 
543 
was  earned  last  year.  Ills  own  private  opinion  was 
that  t‘100,000  had  been  earned  this  year.  They  would 
do  all  they  could  to  improve  the  interests  of  the 
company. 
This  concluded  the  business  of  the  meeting. 
♦ — ^ — — — - 
THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CEYLON  : 
LAND  Foil  TEA  AND  OTHER 
PRODUCTS. 
An  old  planting  resident — one  who  has  tra- 
velled about  the  country  as  much  as  anybody 
we  know — thus  treats  of  the  reserve  resources 
in  land  suitable  for  tea  and,  we  suppose,  other 
products  : — 
“ I do  not  think  anyone  in  Colombo  even  quite 
realizes  the  extent  of  land  in  Ceylon  suitable  tor  tea. 
When  last  in  Surveyor-General’s  Office  he  showed 
me  plans  of  such  land  already  surveyed  in  blocks 
amounting  to  200,000  acres,  and  this  only  forms  a 
small  portion  of  the  available,  and  does  not  include 
the  splendid  plateau  from  Horton  Plains  onward, 
which  had  we  known  was  to  be  locked  up,  the  rail- 
way to  Uva  would  never  have  been  suggested.  I do 
not  say  it  would  be  wise  to  extend,  but  it  is  less 
wise  to  diive  away  capital  and  capitalists  to  Wynaad 
and  elsewhere.  Overproduction  is,  of  course,  possible 
in  anything.  We  have  it  even  in  wheat,  corn,  meat, 
and  silver,  &c.  Meanwhile  it  affords  work  for  the 
many.  It  is  our  duty  to  cultivate  and  trust  Provi* 
dence  that  mouths  will  increa  e.  Adam  did  as  he 
was  told  and  didn’t  worry  about  markets!” 
Between  Maskeliya,  Balangoda  and  Bambara- 
botuwa  there  are  large  forest  re.serves  ; on  the 
Western  slopes  of  Adam’s  Peak,  there  is  an  immense 
extent  of  Crown  land  suited  to  tea,  and  lower 
down  to  cacao,  Liberian  coffee,  and  even  coconuts. 
Our  “ Handbook  and  Directory  ” gives  much 
information  on  the  subject.  But  first  we  should 
like  to  ■ see  the  Crown  reserves  between  Dimbula 
and  Uva  uidord<ed,  as  we  mention  elsewhere  ; 
because  these  are  specially  suited  for  the  growth 
of  the  finest  tea.s,  and  tlie  railway  w'unts  traffic. 
CEYLON  TEA  IN  AMERICA. 
Under  the  heading  of  “Chib  Echoes  and  Tea 
Leaves”  by  “an  ex-Upcountry  Resident”  on 
page  545,  a report  is  given  of  an  inter 
view  with  our  American  Tea  Delegate,  in  which 
reference  is  made  to  a circular  sent  out  by  a 
Boston  firm.  The  following,  we  believe,  is  the 
circular : — 
GENERAL  LETTER  TO  CUSTOMERS. 
The  tea  growers  of  the  British  Colonies,  India  and 
Ceylon,  finding  the  markets  for  their  productions  of 
lea  limited  to  consumers  of  the  Congou  or  English 
Breakfast  variety,  and  wishing  to  open  up  new 
markets  have  formed  themselves  into  an  Association, 
and  for  some  time  past  have  had  a duty  imposed  on 
their  export,  the  amount  so  collected  being  passed  to 
a fund  to  be  expended  in  advertising  and  such  other 
means  as  will  increase  the  consumption  of  these 
growths. 
For  such  a purpose,  naturally  the  largest  tea 
consuming  market  using  the  smallest  quantity  of 
their  tea  would  be  sought  as  the  best  field  for  their 
labour.  TheUnited  States  offered  ihis,theconsump:ion 
being  only  about  10  per  cent,  o'^f  the  breakfast  sort, 
while  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  90  per  cent  is 
green  tea,  the  balance  being  Oolong  which,  while 
black  in  dry  leaf,  is  only  slightly  fermented,  and 
resembles  more  in  dtink  the  green  tea,  thus  show- 
ing the  United  State.s  to  be  consumers  of  light  liquor- 
ing, bright  aromatic  tiu,  rather  than  the  black,  ttiick 
liquoring  type  acceptable  to  the  tea  consumers  of 
the  British  Isles, 
Hence,  the  United  States  has  been  selected,  a 
Commissioner  appointed  by  each  association,  aTid 
the  funds  placed  in  their  hands  for  disbursement. 
The  advertisements  extolling  the  virtues  possessed 
by  only  India  and  Ceylon  leas  show  these  agents 
are  at  work. 
While  W'e  are  not  advocates  of  this  variety  of  tea, 
having  no  desire  to  change  the  popular  taste  (pre- 
ferring to  cater  to  that,  rather  tlian  adopt  any  edu* 
cational  methods)  we  ieel  that  the  time  is  ripe  for 
us  to  be  represented  by  a package  of  this  type  of 
tea,  that  we  may  secure  part  of  the  ten  per  cent 
of  consumers  using  the  variety,  and  benefit  by  such 
demand  as  is  influenced  by  the  funds  of  the  two 
associations. 
We  now  offer  such  a tea  under  name  * * * as  we  be- 
lieve will  prove  more  acceptable  to  consumers  of  the 
variety  than  any  tea  of  its  kind  yet  placed  on 
sale,  being  of  higher  quality,  than  any  other  India 
and  Ceylon  tea  on  the  market.  Wholesale  price  for 
this  tea  is  40c.  per  pound  f.  o.  b.  Chicago — 41c.  per 
pound  freight  prepaid. 
The  ‘‘  Orange  Pekoe”  will  be  packed  only  in  half- 
pound  lead  packages,  and  in  boxes  of  18  and  36  lb. 
net — we  think  atcractive  sizes.  The  label  we  con- 
sider strikingly  handsome.  We  recommend  60c.  per 
pound  for  retail  selling  price,  believing  the  margin 
shown  is  enough,  while  such  quality  should  induce 
business  at  the  price  as  against  the  inferior  teas  of 
English  packing  now  being  pushed  for  sale. 
TEA-PLANTING  AND  CROPS  (BY  A 
CONTEMPORARY). 
NOT  A WORD  AGAIN  ABOUT  MANURING  ! 
Discussing  the  prospect  for  tea  exports  in  the 
future,  our  evening  contemporary  writes  as 
follow'S  . — 
“Extension  is  taking  place  chiefly  in  Uva,  the 
Kelaui  Valley,  Kalutara,  and  Sabaragamuwa,  and 
the  number  of  new  clearings  in  Dimbula,  Dikoya, 
Maskeliya,  Ambagamua,  Kotmalie,  Hewahetta,  Han- 
tana,  Pussellawa  and  in  all  the  northern  districts  is 
comparatively  trifling  and  insignificant.  It  may  suit 
some  people  to  ignore  these  facts  or  to  minimize 
them  ; but  we  do  not  believe  in  half  truths  or  the 
self-satisfied  morality  which  encourages  them.  We 
are  not  sorry  that  there  is  no  prospect  of  a further 
large  increase  in  the  output  of  tea  from  Ceylon.  If 
there  were  any  prospect  of  such  it  would  be  disas- 
trous for  us.  There  is  quite  enough  tea  opened  and 
being  opened,  as  it  is  ; and  it  will  require  all  the 
efforts  which  we  can  command  to  maintain  prices  at 
a paying  level.  Let  us,  therefore,  be  thankful  that 
further  expansion  will  be  on  a moderate  scale,  such 
as  the  markets  of  the  world  will  be  able  to  take  off 
without  very  great  difficulty.” 
Not  a word,  it  xvill  be  observed — not  even  the 
shadow'  of  a reference  to  sucli  an  in.si^^nificant 
subject  as  Manuring  ! But  a curious  commentary 
on  “further  expansion  Avill  be  moderate,”  is  the 
statement  in  the  same  paper  that  in  Balangoda 
district,  one  firm  is  about  to  open  2,500  acres 
witli  tea  ! 
We  trust  Indian  tea  proprietors  will  take  note 
of  the  latter  fact  and  also  of  our  “Manuring” 
coriespondence  before  they  feel  encouraged  l>y 
our  contemporary’s  Avilful  minimizing  of  tlie 
future  ot  tea  in  Ceylon,  to  put  in  additional 
large  clearings  in  North  and  Bouth  India. 
Coffee  Flanting  in  Brazil.— Mr.  Talbot’s 
exposition  of  the  way  in  which  coffee  is  worked 
in  Brazil,  is  very  interesting ; Avhile  his  ligures 
are  distinctly  encouraging  to  all  interested  in 
the  Dumont  Company  (page  541). 
