Aug. 2, 1897.] 
THE rROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
"5 
FACTS ABOUT TEA. 
We have a strong appeal from London to 
the tea planters of Ceylon to drop “ broken ” teas 
‘‘our average now,” says one critic, “would 
be as high as two years ago but for the fall in 
broken pekoes.” 
Messrs. Wni. Jas. & H. Thompson send us 
their annual Tea Review, dated 9tli J une, which 
we hope to reproduce in full tomorrow— meantime 
mentioning that these eminent brokers take an 
encouraging view of the situation and prospects, 
pointing out how great - is the room for an in- 
crease of consumption of tea per head in the 
United States (rate now only li lb. per head 
against 5| lb. for U. Kingdom, Australasia, and 
Canada) and still more in Russia, Germany, and 
tire rest of the Continent. And why tliey ask 
(as we have often done) should the commoner 
teas not be drunk universally by the people of 
India (and Ceylon), as tea is by the Chinese and 
Japanese ? Why not indeed, save for the people’s 
poverty. But at least most of the money in- 
vested in arrack might well be transferred to 
tea, if proper encouragement and opportuni- 
ties were afforded. Messrs. Thompson dwell on 
the growing enquiry for fine-flavoured tea, 
and how this must tell in favour of high Cey- 
Ions. Finally we read 
The needs of the day are to bring tea rapidly 
to market ; at regular intervals ; in as large breaks 
as can be made ; snb-divided into the four or five re- 
cognized grades; to break the leaf as little as pos- 
sible by mechanical process ; and to maintain the dis- 
tinctive character of the garden’s produce. 
As to average prices, Messrs. Thompson find for 
London; — 
Season end- 
ing 31st 
May 
1887 
1892 
1897 
e progress of the Ceylon 
Tea Trade in 
Im- 
Sold in 
Average 
ported 
Auction 
price 
lb. 
pkgs. 
per lb. 
8 million 
124,000 
Is IJd 
64 „ 
790,000 
9id « 
93 „ 
1,095,000 
8d 
results are worked out : — 
Acreage. 
Returns 
for 
Quantity. 
lb. 
Per 
Acre. 
1895-96 
1894-95 
1893-94 
1892-93 
It is 
101,750 
97,120 
91,300 
85.780 
interesting 
Average 
Price 
per lb. 
d, 
9 55 
10- 55 
9.65 
11- 30 
Messrs 
45.850.000 450 
42.284.000 435 
40.033.000 439 
34.900.000 406 
i,. .0 f, to learn from 
Gow, Wilson & Stanton that the Indian Tea 
industry is generally dated from 1837— the year 
in which our coffee-planting on the West Indian 
system in Ceylon first took its rise. Also that the 
tea consumption of the importing- countries of the 
world equals 500 million lb. ; while India and 
Ceylon produce not much more than half this 
as yet. We have a good deal of room for 
e-xpansion therefore, if only we can diive out China’s 
and Japan’s. We have half conquered Austral- 
asia ; hut surely we (India and Ceylon — or 
Ceylon by itself)' ought to complete the conquest : 
In North America, British-grown teas only 
made up one-tenth of the consumption last year : 
immense room here for expansion ; and so also 
on the Continent of Europe. As to the im- 
provement of our teas and the application of 
Chemistry, we think the larger and more 
prosperous tea concerns should lead the way ! 
a competent analytical chemist added to the 
staff of one of our largest factories ought to be 
a profitable investment, and the cost of a three 
15 
years’ engagement not too great to be faced, 
es|)eeially as he should be able to advise in 
other directions than in the fermentation and 
better preparation of tea. 
PLANTING IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCE 
OF CEYLON. 
NEW AREAS OF CULTIVATION. 
I am indebted to the Secretary of the Northern 
Districts Planters’ Association for the following ob- 
servations and figures regarding the progress of 
European tea and cacao enterprise in this dist-ict 
“ Tea . — The area brought under new cultivation in 
Matale East is very small. In Matale West it is fair, 
but Matale North is putting a large area into tea, and 
promises to double its acreage in a few years’ time. The 
yield of the three districts was fair, averaging about 
460 lb. per acre, but the rupee prices were low owing to 
high exchange, and in spite of a favourable crop most 
estates show a reduction of 20 to 25 per cent, in their 
profits. 
“ Labour was more abundant than in most dis'ricts, 
but more estates were nevertheless short of require- 
ments. 
“ Cacao . — The extension of this product has entirely 
ceased for three reasons : — (1) Lowness of price ; (2) 
expense of protecting it from theft ; (3) a disease which 
has latterly appeared and which no one understands- 
The disease kills the mature trees, and is not to be 
checked by the most careful system of cutting out 
and burning. The more highly cultivate 1 the cacao 
is, the more liable it seems to attack, and the disease 
kills so quickly that the leaves have not time to fall. 
It is unlikely that there will be any extension of 
cacao until a remedy has been found for this disease 
No statistics as to crop were collected.” 
As regards native enterprise, the extent brought 
under cultivation during 1896 may be roughly put 
down at about 500 acres, chiefly in cacao and coco- 
nuts, and nearly all in Matale South. The area 
under paddy cultivation does not appear to have been 
added to during the year, but there are no signs of any 
decrease consequent on the abolition of the paddy tax 
THE “ CRYPTOGAMIST ” AND CACAO, 
We ought, in dealing with the Governor’s 
speech last week, to have noticed the fact of the 
scientific s^entleman, who is so dilHcult to name 
after dinner, having been amongst us before, and 
that, at an Old Colonists’ gathering he should seem 
like an “ old chum.” When Professor Marshall 
Ward came to Ceylon tc investigate the coffee-leaf 
fungus, he necessarily arrived amongst us 
bearing what in Scotland would be called 
a “long-nebbed” title. His professional cognomen, 
we remember, struck awe into the hearts of 
many, and excited the imagination of some. 
One story, cum-iit at the time, was that an old 
planter who sebl-im left his estate, having 
failed to get any kind of satisfaction as to 
what a “ Cryptogamist ” was like or what he did, 
determined to find out for himself. He jour- 
neyed into Kandy and out to Per.adeniya, on 
this special errand, and went back again in high 
indignation that so small a man as Professor 
Marshall Ward should be permitted to assume 
such a high-sounding, not to say awe-inspiring, 
title 1 Since 1881, however, Professor Marshall 
Ward has climbed very high, indeed, in the, 
esteem of his scientific brethren through the con- 
tinuously valuable work he has done. He is 
now one of the Profes.sors at Cambridge Uni- 
versity and is probably regarded as a “Crypto- 
gamist” or ■' Fungologist ” of the lir.st rank — 
indeed, as a Botanical authority generally he has 
attained to that position. 
