6io 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  [March  i,  1897. 
INDIAN  PATENTS. 
Whereas  the  inventors  of  the  undermentioned  in- 
ventions have  respectively  failed  to  pay  the  prescrib- 
ed fees,  it  is  notified  that  the  exclusive  privilege 
of  making,  selling,  and  using  the  said  inventioas  in 
British  India,  and  of  authorizing  others  so  to  do, 
has  ceased  : — 
Improvements  in  the  Manufacture  of  Tea  Leaf 
INTO  Black  Tea. — No.  158  of  1892. — Samuel  Cleland 
Davidson’s  invention  for  improvements  in  the  manu- 
facture of  tea  leaf  into  black  tea.  (Specification  filed 
14th  October  1S^2.) —Indian  and  Eastern  Eiujlneer, 
Jan.  30. 
COFFEE  PLANTING  IN  NYASSALAND, 
B.  C.  AFlilCA. 
[From  an  ex-Ceylon  Flantcr.) 
Mlanji,  B.C.A.,  Dec.  8. 
Our  dry  season  this  year  has  been  very  hot 
and  trying  for  our  coffee.  Most  of  our  blossoms 
in  November  which  is  usually  our  best  has  failed, 
conse<[uently  our  crops  will  be  short.  Although 
we  had  a lot  of  rain,  it  was  badly  distributed; 
it  was  late  in  coming  and  we  had  almost  two 
months  dry  with  a blossom  hanging  in  spike 
all  the  time.  I have  not  (during  my  six  years 
in  Nyassaiand)  known  such  a bad  year  during 
our  blossoming  season.  Our  rainy  season  usually 
begins  about  the  middle  of  November,  but  this 
year  we  have  been  anxiously  looking  for  the  rain 
to  date,  and  just  as  I am  writing  thunder  and 
lightning  has  begun  and  it  rains  in  torrents.  I 
only  hope  it  will  continue  so  that  we  may  secure 
the  little  crop  we  have  left,  and  make  some 
decent  wood  for  next  year,  for  we  have  had  a 
terrible  scorching; 
COFFEE  AND  TEA  IN  AMERICA. 
REVIKW  OF  1896. 
coffee. 
Coffee  opened  January  2 at  llj  cents  for  No.  7 Rio, 
ruled  comparatively  steady  until  June,  when  a down- 
ward movement  began,  which  carried  the  price  to 
cents  in  November,  and  left  it  at  lOj  cents  on 
December  31. 
The  high  prices  of  the  past  ten  years  stimulated  the 
setting  out  of  new  plantations  in  Central  and  South 
America,  the  full  influence  of  which  was  not  felt  until 
the  size  of  the  crops  of  1895-96  were  known.  For 
several  years  the  world’s  requirements  and  the  world’s 
crops  were  so  close  to  each  other  that  prices  were 
maintained  at  a high  level  until  1895,  when  they  began 
to  recede,  and  continued  a downward  movement 
throughout  the  past  year,  the  closing  price  of  No.  7 
Rio  being  cents  below  that  ruling  January  1, 1896. 
The  year  1896  is  notable  in  that  the  increase  in  the 
crops  of  the  world  has  been  large  enough  in  the  crops 
of  the  world  has  been  large  enough  to  force  a decline 
in  the  cost  of  Brazil  sorts  of  over  4 cents  per  pound. 
The  high  prices  which  have  ruled  since  1886  stimulated 
the  setling  out  of  the  new  plantations  all  over  the 
coffee  belt  of  the  world,  particularly  in  Mexico,  Central 
America,  the  United  States  of  Colombia  and  Brazil. 
In  1795  the  exports  of  coffee  from  the  United  States 
were  1,244,066  pounds  greater  than  the  imports.  In 
1896  the  net  imports  were  572,971,840  pounds,  valued 
at  ^83,534,366.  The  average  value  of  imports  was 
14-6  cents  per  pound. 
TEA. 
Tea  sold  at  the  lowest  prices  ever  made  in  this  market 
until  October,  when  it  became  certain  there  was  a 
shortage  in  the  crops  of  China  and  Japan,  and  prices 
advanced  2 to  3 cents  per  pound  and  held  the  gain 
until  the  close  of  the  year. 
Oversupply  kept  this  market  in  a depressed  condi- 
tion until  it  became  apparent  that  a large  deficiency 
Jn  the  supplies  for  the  present  season,  estjm.Ued  from 
20,000,000  to  23,000,000  pounds  led  to  a large  fall 
business  and  an  advance  of  several  cents  per  pound, 
most  marked  in  medium  and  low-grade  tea. 
The  year  opened  with  Formosa  Oolong  steady,  as 
receipts  were  limited,  but  Foochow  and  Amoy  sorts 
were  weak,  as  they  were  freely  offered  at  auction, 
touching  the  lowest  values  recorded  for  cargo  grades. 
Amoy,  old  crop,  common  to  fair,  sold  in  January  at  7 
to  8i  cents ; Foochow,  new  crop,  9 to  10  cents ; 
Greens,  owing  to  the  full  supply,  were  in  buyers’ 
favour,  Country  teas  and  Pingsueys  were  freely 
offered  at  public  sale;  cargo  Young  Hyson  sold  at  7i 
to  85  cents  ; Twankay,  4J  to  6 cents;  extra  first  Young 
Hyson,  Moyune,  25  to  30  cents  ; first,  15  to  19  cents ; 
new  crop  Pingsueys  were  covered  by  prices  ranging  from 
7 to  26  cents.  During  the  spring  the  market  ruled 
week,  and  prices  fell  oelow  those  quoted  above  on 
low-grade  teas.  All  grades  of  Japan  declined,  and  in 
May  good  medium  brought  12J  to  13  cents ; common 
to  good  common,  9 to  10^  cents;  fine  or  finest,  14  to 
15i  cents  ; choicest,  20  to  22  cents.  Daring  May  from 
4.000  to  5,000  half-chests  Formosa,  grading  on  superior, 
sold  at  private  sale  at  17  cents ; common  grades 
Foochow  and  Amoy  at  7j  to  7^  cents  at  auction. 
In  the  fall  it  became  evident  that  there  would  be  a 
marked  deficiency  in  the  supply  of  Greens  and  Japans; 
aggregating  13,000,000  to  15,000,000  pounds  for  the 
seasons  1895-97.  There  was  considerable  speculative 
buying,  and  low  grades  advanced  li  to  3 cents  per 
pound  in  October,  and  have  held  the  gain  up  to  the 
present.  From  October  to  November  15  the  sales  in 
first  hands  covered  18,000  packages  Japan ; 3,000 
Country  and  12,000  Piugsuey  Greens ; 15.000  Formosa  ; 
7.000  Foochow;  10,000  Amoy  and  6,000  packages 
Congou.  This  proved  the  largest  wholesale  business 
in  tea  outside  of  the  auction  room,  for  the  same  period, 
in  two  years. 
The  year  closes  with  demand  slow,  but  with  the 
statistical  position  strong,  as  the  estimated  supply  for 
1895-97  is  about  12,000,000  pounds  less  than  require 
ments,  which  may  be  fairly  estimated  at  93,000,000 
pounds,  while  the  estimated  supply  for  the  present 
season  is  placed  at  82,350,000  pounds. 
In  1796  the  net  imports  of  tea  into  the  United 
States  were  2,355,755  pounds ; one  hundred  years 
latter  (1896)  they  were  93,340,248  pounds.  The  per 
capita  consumption  is  smaller  now  than  from  1880  to 
1882  inclusive,  and  less  than  from  1886  to  and  includ- 
ing 1889,  since  which  date  it  has  not  varied  one-tenth 
of  a pound.  The  reason — large  importation  of  trash. 
The  imports,  re-exports  and  net  imports  of  tea,  the 
latter  representing  consumption,  were  for  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1896,  as  follows  : 
Imports 
Exports 
Net  imports — Consumption 
Per  capita  consumption  . . 
Average  imp.  cost  per  pd. 
The  above  quantity  of  tea 
following  countries : 
Pounds.  Dollars. 
93,998,372  12,704,440 
6.58,124  118,699 
93,340,248  12,585,741 
1-33 
13‘50c. 
was  imported  from  the 
Pounds. 
China 
Japan 
United  Kingdom 
Other  parts  of  Asia 
East  Indies 
Other  countries 
49,178,277 
38,169,6.52 
2,729,695 
2 363,676 
1,261,671 
295,401 
Total  . . 93,998,372 
China  furnished  52  per  cent,  and  Japan  -40'5  per 
cent  of  the  total  imports, — American  Grocer,  Jau.  6. 
Royal  Gardens,  Kew. — Bulletin  of  Miscellaneous 
^formation.  May  and  June.  Contents: — Botanical 
Enterprise  in  British  Honduras,  Sugar-Cane  Disease 
ia  lintish  Quiaiia,  Ilaud-list  of  CouifersB  grewii  in 
the  Royal  Gardens,  Tropical  Fodder  Grasses  (con- 
tinued), Cotton  in  British  Central  Africa,  Sisal 
Gultivatiou  in  the  Jutks  aud  Caicos  Islauds^  Sacred 
Tree  of  Kum-Bum,  Miscellaneous  Notes. 
