684  The  TROI^iCAL 
TEA  PLANTING  AS  A PROFESSION. 
This  is  the  a»e  of  competitive  examinations,  and 
year  by  year  the  standard  of  kmwledge  required 
to  pass  them  successfully  becomes  higher.  They  are 
the  door  through  which  most  professions  are  entered, 
and,  says  Hearth  and  Home,  the  tendency  is  to  intro- 
duce them  in  mauy  where  formerly  totally  different 
methods  prevailed.  Year  by  year  it  becomes  h irder 
to  provide  for  boys  who  have  no  taste  for  brain- 
work,  and  who,  although  in  full  possession  of  their 
faculties,  cannot  attain  the  high  standard  of  learn- 
ing wherewith  we  must  now  be  fortified  to  pass  even 
the  simplest  of  tests.  In  England  itself  there  are 
very  few  openings  in  which  headwork  is  not  required. 
India  and  the  Colonies  offer  a larger  field,  which 
unluckily  is  daily  becoming  a smaller  one.  In  most 
colonies  such  work  is  of  an  arduous  nature,  only 
fitted  to  be  undertaken  by  the  most  robust,  who 
have  to  work  harder  than  day-labourers  at  home; 
but  in  the  East,  where  the  menial  work  is  done  by 
natives,  there  is  less  toil,  combined  with  a greater 
degree  of  comfort,  and  good  health,  although  an 
important  point,  need  not  be  of  the  powerful  order 
which  is  imperative  for  the  settler  “ out  West,”  or  in 
the  newer  settlements  of  Australia.  Of  openings 
in  the  East,  tea-planting  perhaps  offers  the  greatest 
inducements  and  best  prospects  to  boys  who  like  an 
outdoor  life  and  cannot  pass  the  examinations  neces- 
sary for  appointments  in  Government  service. 
” But  isn’t  the  profession  terribly  overcrowded  ?” 
arents  ask.  Of  course  it  is,  but  so  is  every  other 
csirable  profession  under  the  sun.  Planters  (who  do 
not  at  the  moment  require  pupils)  will  tell  you  that 
it  is  terribly  so,  and  that  the  prospects  of  tea  arc 
distinctly  bad  ; but  this  statement  must  be  taken  with 
a grain  of  salt  ; it  is  only  comparative,  and  nine  men 
out  of  ten  will  tell  you  their  ow  nparticular  profession 
is  in  the  most  hopeless  state  of  any. 
The  prospect  of  a successful  career  as  tea  planter  is, 
it  must  be  allowed,  not  very  good,  if  the  boy  has  lo 
make  his  way  on  his  merits  alone,  unbacked  by  capi- 
tal. In  this  case  he  will  rarely  attain  a greater  emi- 
nence than  the  position  of  manager  (and  this  is  not 
to  be  despised),  but  if  after  his  period  of  probation, 
when  he  nas  thoroughly  mastered  the  intricacies  of 
tea  planting,  he  can  command  a sum  to  in- 
vest in  a small  estate,  or  to  buy  a partner- 
ship, it  completely  alters  the  matter.  Statistics 
tell  us  that  the  consumption  of  tea,  despite 
doctors,  is  greatl"  on  the  increase,  although 
planters  no  longer  amass  the  fortunes  of 
former  days  a very  fair  competence  may  still  be  made 
in  their  trade,  and  a very  comfortable  life  may  be 
led.  Most  planters  take  pupils,  thereby  adding  a 
considerable  sum  to  their  incomes,  and  at  present 
this  is  the  only  school  in  which  the  would-be  planter 
can  graduate.  The  greatest  caution  must  be  exer- 
cised in  selecting  a person  with  whom  to  place  the 
pupil  . The  choice  of  a place,  too,  is  another  very 
important  matter,  as  the  climatic  and  social  condi- 
tions of  the  various  tea  districts  vary  greatly.  Cey- 
lon certainly  takes  the  lead  of  tea-growing  districts 
in  point  of  desirability,  its  balmy  atmosphere  and 
beautiful  scenery  making  it  sn  ideal  residence  (it 
is  one  of  the  three  sites  of  the  Garden  of  Eden), 
while  its  luxuriant  vegetation  makes  the  cultivation 
of  all  manner  of  crops  an  easy  matter.  A planter’s 
life  is  qy  no  means  an  idle  one,  passed  in  lazily 
enjoying  the  profits  of  black  labour,  as  the  pupil 
soon  discovers. 
Work,  hard  and  continual  work,  albeit  there  is  no 
actual  manual  labour,  from  early  morning  till  short, 
tropical  twilight,  gives  place  to  night,  is  the  secret 
of  successfully  conducting  of  tea  plantation.  Before 
sunrise,  after  an  early  cup  of  coffee,  the  owner 
is  up  and  making  a tour  of  inspection  around  the 
estate,  seeing  that  the  Tamil  coolies,  men  and 
women,  are  at  their  work  among  the  sweet- 
smelling tea  shrubs  and  slender  white-flowered 
cinchona  trees.  Constant  supervision  is  re- 
quired wherever  Oriental  labour  is  employed.  In 
^0  beat  of  the  day,  travelling  over  the  sunny,  troelois 
paths,  even  when  protected  by  a solar  tope,  is  trying. 
Agriculturist.  [April  r,  1897, 
Then  the  accounts  of  the  estate  have  to  be  carefully 
kept,  the  state  of  the  markets  studied,  and  a vast 
amount  of  correspondence  to  be  got  through.  Shrewd- 
ness and  the  power  of  calculation  are  highly  necessary 
qualities,  for  the  success  of  the  crops  in  a great 
measure  depends  upon  a thorough  knowledge  of  the 
weather  and  the  conditions  of  the  soil.  When  the  pupil 
has  finished  his  novitiate  in  tea  planting  he  will,  if  he 
has  capital,  buy  a share  in  some  estate,  possibly  the 
one  whereon  he  has  lived ; but  if  not  possessed  of 
money  he  will  have  to  content  himself  with  the  posi- 
tion of  manager  or  overseer.  The  pay  given  to  these 
varies  considerably,  according  to  the  size  of  the  estate, 
but  a very  usual  rate  is  from  R300  to  R500  per  men- 
sem, with  a bungalow  included.  It  will  be  seen  from 
this  that  the  pay  is  not  high  but  living  is  cheap,  and 
the  axiom  that  ‘‘  Man  wants  but  little  here  below  ” 
is  realised  in  the  tea  districts  of  Ceylon.— /f.  and  C. 
Mail,  Feb,  12. 
IMPORTATION  OF  DUTIABLE  GOODS  IN 
PACK.AGES  OF  TEA. 
The  Treasury  Department  has  information  to 
the  effect  that  a practice  prevails  among  foreign 
shippers  of  tea,  intended  for  this  country,  of 
placing  dutiable  goods  in  the  same  packages  with 
tea,  such  as  paper  bags,  chinaware,  transparen- 
cies, etc.,  which  are  to  be  u.sed  as  gifts  to  retail 
purchasers. 
The  above  practice  is  held  to  be  unlawful  under 
the  tariff  laws,  inasmuch  as  it  prevents  a proper 
examination  of  the  goods  and  facilitates  frauds 
upon  the  revenue. 
Instructions  regarding  sucli  importations  have 
been  issued  to  the  Collector  of  Customs  at  all 
ports  of  entry,  ordering  the  retention  of  all 
packages  of  tea  containing  other  merchandise. 
The  original  order  was  as  follows  ; — 
Treasury  Department,  Ofldee  of  the  Seeretary, 
, Washington,  D.C.,  Aug  21,  1896. 
Collector  of  Customs,  Port  Townsend,  Wash  : 
Sir, — The  Department  has  received  your  letter  of 
the  4th  inst.,  inclosing  a communication  from  your 
deputy  at  Tacoma,  in  which  he  calls  attention  to 
an  objectionable  pi'actice  which  is  in  vogue  among 
certain  importers  of  tea.  The  practice  he  describes 
is  the  placing  in  each  chest  or  box  of  tea  of  a piece 
of  porcelain  ware,  intended,  as  he  presumes,  as  a 
gift  to  the  purchaser. 
Although  this  mode  of  packing  is  not  expressly 
interdicted  by  the  law,  it  is  fraught  with  such  danger 
to  the  revenue  and  such  labor  to  the  customs  officers 
as  make  it  inadmissible.  The  Secretary  of  the  Trea- 
sury has,  under  the  Statutes  (R.S.  2949),  authority 
to  make  rules  and  regulations,  not  inconsistent  with 
law,  to  secure  a just,  faithful  and  impartial  appraisal 
of  all  merchandise  imported  into  the  United  States. 
You  are  therefore  iuatructed  to  retain  possession 
of  packages  of  tea  containing  other  merchandise,  as 
above  described,  and  to  notify  all  persons  concerned 
that  no  such  packages  will  bo  admitted  to  entry  ex- 
cept for  immediate  exportation. 
You  further  call  attention  to  the  new  method  of 
putting  the  contents  of  boxes  of  tea  into  small  papers 
and  you  point  out  the  difficulty  of  deciding  upoii 
the  nature  of  teas  so  put  up,  unless  every  package  shall 
be  opened  and  examined. 
The  practice  last  described  is  not  held  to  be  fraught 
with  danger  to  the  revenue,  and  therefore  is  not  for- 
bidden. You  are  advised,  however,  that  a thorough 
scrutiny  of  tea  ao  packed  should  bo  made,  even  it  it 
sometimes  necessitates  the  opening  of  every  paper 
package  in  a chest. — Respectfully  yours, 
Charlks  S.  Hamlin, 
Acting  Secretary. 
— American  Oroc  er,  Feb.  3. 
