May  I,  1897.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
779 
TEA  KErORTS— AND  TEA  PROSPECTS. 
A leadiii"  Colonilio  tnercliant  said  to  us  tlie 
other  day  that  one  consolation  avisin<' out  of  the 
present  iow  prices  for  Ceylon  teas  must  be  tlie 
absolute  <liscourageincnt  they  offer  to  the  gentle- 
men or  Syndicate  u ho  are  so  anxious  to  exploit 
machine-made  China  teas.  With  our  low 
country  tens  selling  so  cheaply  as  thej^  do  at 
present,  there  cani.ot  be  much  scope  for  bringing 
forward  Chitia,  Jap. in  or  even  Java  te.as  in  com- 
petition, and  one  result  ought,  therefoi'e,  to  be  to 
drive  out  still  more  t’himi  teas  from  the  United 
Kingdom  .ind  Austiahisia,  and  to  give  Ceylon 
and  Indian  teas  a little  better  chance  of  com- 
peting with  China  and  Japan  in  Noith  America. 
This  m-dl  brings  us  ; he  Annual  KepoiJs  on  the 
Tea  Market  (for  ls!)ii)  of  Messrs.  Ceo.  M’hiroOfe 
Co.,  and  Messrs.  M'ilson,  Smithett  iS:  Co.  Prom 
the  former  we  fpiote  the  list  of  averages  lor  Ceylon 
districts  for  e.ach  month,  with  Nuwara  Eliya, 
Udapussellawa,  Dimbula  Ac.  9i|d  avt  rage  at  the 
one  end  and  Kurumgnla,  Polgahawela,  Kcgalla, 
&c,  with  (3d  at  the  other.  Wliat  is  said  in  res- 
pect of  “ prospects”  we  quote  in  full  as  follows  : — • 
PKOSPECTS. 
With  every  indication  of  a larger  demand  for 
British-grown  tea  from  nearly  all  quarters  of  the 
globe,  and  a gradual  extension  of  the  Home  con- 
anmptiou,  the  outlook  is  fairly  favourable,  especially 
as  the  present  scale  of  values  is  moderate  for  all 
descriptions,  and  judging  frimi  the  estimates,  supplies 
from  India  and  (Jeylou  for  the  current  year,  although 
heavier,  are  not  likely  to  prove  excessive. 
It  will  be  interesting  however  to  observe  the  re- 
sults of  the  introduction  of  machinery  and  modern 
systems  of  manufacture  in  the  produce  of  China,  al- 
though it  is  uot  considered  probable  that  the  amount 
shipped  from  that  country  to  Great  Britain  will  be 
augmented  thereby,  at  all  events  for  some  time  to 
come. 
The  vital  point  to  those  interested  in  the  tea  in- 
dustries of  India  and  Ceylon  is  the  price  which  their 
productions  will  realiiie.  The  tendency  is  no  doubt 
to  a lower  rather  tlian  a higher  range.  Writing  on 
the  18th  of  March,  1887,  we  said,  “ Tlie  public  has 
been  accustomed  to  cheap  (i  e.,  low  priced)  tea,  and 
the  Is  8d  and  2s  canisters  have  been  reduced  to  Is 
4d  and  Is  6d.”  Even  allowing  for  2d  per  lb.  reduc- 
tion in  the  Duty  since  then  from  (id  to  4d  per  lb., 
there  has  been  a further  niarkcd  decline  in  the  re- 
tail price,  a large  proportion  going  into  consumption 
at  from  Is  to  Is  4d  per  lb.,  while  Is  6d  to  Is  8d 
per  lb.  is  considered  a liberal  figure  for  the  better 
kinds. 
This  tendency  to  a shrinkage  in  value,  together 
with  a possible  higher  rate  of  exchange,  makes  it 
more  than  ever  a matter  of  necessity  that  the  sale 
ot  British-grown  tea  should  continue  to  be  pushed 
in  countries  other  than  Great  Britain  with  all  possi- 
ble vigour.  Considerable  progress  has  undoubtedly 
been  made  as  regards  Russia  and  the  Continent 
genernlly,  as  well  as  in  Canada  and  the  United  States. 
To  a gi'eat  extent  this  result  has  been  brought 
about  by  the  good  work  done  by  both  the  India 
and  Ceylon  Tea  Associations  and  those  working  in 
conjunction  with  them,  but  it  is  of  paramount 
necessity  that  their  efforts  should  be  persisted  in 
with  even  greater  stress  than  heretofore. 
From  tlie  Report  of  Messrs.  Wilson  Smitliett  & 
Co.,  we  make  the  following  quotations  in  the  mean- 
time : — 
The  weight  of  Ceylon  Tea  offered  in  auction  between 
January  lat  and  December  31st,  1896,  amounted  to 
92,000,000  lb.,  against  about  80,000,000  lb.  in  1895 
and  74,(00,000  lb.  in  1891.  The  Average  Price  realised 
for  that  on  Garden  account  being  8Jd  per  lb.,  against 
8id  in  1895,  and  8Jd  in  1894. 
Exports. — It  is  very  gratifying  to  be  able  to  notice 
the  steady  increase  in  the  demand  for  Ceylon  tea 
from  the  various  extraneous  markets.  During  1896 
the  exports  of  Ceylon  were  nearly  double  those  of 
India.  The  direct  shipment  from  Colombo  to  Australia 
and  New  Zealaud  alone  shew  an  increase  of  2,500,000 
11).  compared  with  1895  and,  in  addition  to  the  re- 
exports from  this  country,  which  mark  an  increase 
of  1,100,000  ib.  or  more  than  16  per  cent,  during  1896, 
compared  with  the  previous  year,  a considerable 
quantity  has  been  transhipped  without  being  landed 
in  London,  principally  for  the  American  and  Canadian 
markets.  The  Russian  demand  remains  the  principal 
factor  in  the  development  of  the  export  trade,  im- 
portant orders  from  that  quarter  being  now  received 
almost  every  week  in  time  to  materially  assist  com- 
petition at  the  public  auctions. 
(Quality  during  1896  was,  we  consider,  fully  up  to 
the  average.  Daring  the  early  summer  months  there 
was,  as  usual,  a large  proportion  of  dull  and  pointless 
tea,  hut  later  on  a very  satisfactory  standard  was 
attained,  and  the  October  and  November  arrivals  were 
inostly  of  excellent  quality,  combining  fine  flavour 
and  good  strength.  Two  defects  in  quality  demanding 
the  at  ention  of  planters  have  become  much  more 
pronounced  of  late:  we  refer  to  the  increasing  number 
of  “ tarry  ” and  “minty”  teas;  the  former  character- 
istic seems  to  be  attributable  to  the  leaf  getting 
smoked  during  manufacture ; it  is  easily  detected  in 
the  aroma  of  the  dry  leaf,  and  often  spoils  a tea  of 
otherwise  good  flavour  and  quality.  “ Mintiness  ” is  a 
defect  which  it  is  more  difficult  to  locate ; high- 
country  teas  are  chiefly  affected  by  it,  and  it  is  most 
noticeable  during  the  arrivals  of  the  early  months  of 
the  year ; the  flavour,  which  is  very  pungent  and 
pronounced,  closely  resembles  that  on  the  wTd  currant 
or  “ Ribes  ” of  onr  own  wardens,  and  has  been  attri- 
buted to  Euc  ilyptus  as  wall  as  to  some  small  aromatic 
herb,  which  it  is  said  the  coolies  casually  pluck.  It 
has  rhi.s  peculiarity,  that  it  does  not,  as  a rule,  taint 
the  tea  throughout ; frequeuJy  after  one  “minty’’ 
infusion,  which  must  contain  a foreign  leaf,  the  flavour 
will  only  reappear  occasionally  in  subsequent  infusions. 
Our  list  of  estates  (his  year  comprises 656  which  have 
sold  20,0001b.  and  over  on  the  London  market  under 
their  own  marks  during  1895.  An  asterisk  has  been 
placed  against  those  marks,  wliich  were  either  wholly 
or  partially  sold  in  Colombo,  as  the  returns  in  those 
instances  are,  in  all  probability,  incomplete  on  account 
of  the  re-niaiking  of  a large  proportion  of  Colombo- 
bought  tea. 
Tue  general  average  realised  during  1896  for  teas  on 
garden  account  suffered  a decline  of  |d  per  lb.  com- 
jjared  with  the  previous  year,  and  a glance  at  the 
results  we  have  compiled  will  show  this  to  be  due  to 
the  lower  range  of  prices  current  for  common  to 
ordinary  kinds,  the  most  important  reductions  being 
confined  to  low  country  estates,  and  to  those  where 
quantity  rather  than  quality  is  aimed  at ; this  feature 
of  the  market  is  more  clearly  noticeable  in  the  results 
obtained  in  the  various  districts.  Up-country  gardens 
have,  on  the  whole,  well  maintained  their  position, 
and  many  estates  show  a gratifying  increase  in  the 
value  of  their  produce. 
The  long  list  of  Estate  averages  will  be  given 
in  an  early  issue  ; but  meantime  we  may  quote 
a few  of  the  more  iiromiuent  as  follows:  — 
200,000  to  500,000  lb. 
(The  three  highest  averages.) 
Av.  price  per  lb. 
About  lb. 
1896. 
1895. 
St.  Leonard's 
H H. 
..  331,500 
Is 
2d 
Is 
Id 
Campion 
H. 
..  280,500 
Is 
Oid 
Is 
Oid 
Henfold 
H.  ..  234, -500 
100,000  to  200,000 
Is 
lb. 
0 
Is 
Oid 
Silver  Kandy 
H.H. 
..  101,000 
Is 
2d 
Is 
Id 
Goatfell 
H. 
. . 173, .500 
Is 
Oid 
Is 
Oid 
Holmwood 
H.  ..  140,500  Is 
50,000  to  100,0001b. 
Oid 
Is 
Id 
Bramley 
H. 
. . 73, .500 
Is 
0 
lO^d 
Carlabeck 
Tillicoiil  ry 
Pita  Ratmalie 
H. 
H. 
H. 
. . 87,000 
..  95,500 
. . 96, .500 
ll|d 
Hid 
Hid 
Is 
Oid 
lO^d 
lOid 
