Jan. r, 1898.] THE TROPICAL 
taste tends. It may pay Chinese growers to produce 
a limited amount of high class fancy teas for the 
supply of special markets, but the trade in those 
descriptions can never attain any great magnitude. 
It is the taste of the average consumer that must 
be consulted if the China tea trade is ever to regain 
its former proportions. 
The Viceroy Liu ascribes the loss of so large a 
proportion of the tea trade to the carelessness and 
dishonest practices of the Chinese planters, which 
have allowed foreign teas to capture the markets. 
There is no doubt a good deal in that, but it is far 
from being the whole truth. Indian and Ceylon teas 
are preferred to China tea even when the latter is 
of unimpeachable quality. Nor must the deteriora- 
tion of quality be ascribed entirely to the inherent 
dishonesty of the planter. The unfortunate man, 
finding his product labouring under a weight of 
taxation that prevented it competing on even terms 
with foreign tea, has been more or less driven to 
pinch the quality in order to retain a margin of profit. 
It is all ve)-y well for the Viceroy to exhort his 
people to “ seek reform in the trade and mutually 
“ aid each other in producing carefully prepared high 
“ quality teas, and thereby create a new a wide 
“ demand for the article, which will be followed by 
general prosperity to all,” but if any success is to be 
achieved in that direction the Government must in 
the first place lighten the burden of taxation and so 
give the industry a fair chance. 
Given lighter taxation, however, and the improve- 
ment in quality and the greater cheapness which might 
be expected to follow, a reform in the methods of 
cultivation and manufacture would still be necessary 
if China is to compete on equal terms for the sup- 
ply of the general demand, for the small demand that 
exists for fancy teas will not be sufficient to keep 
up the volume of the trade. The Tsungli Yamen does 
not expressly condemn new methods, but urges that 
“ whether their teas are prepared by the old methods 
or by the new ” the inhabitants of the tea planting 
districts “ should always keep in mind the importance 
of being careful in the work and aim at producing 
high quality teas in order to command the market.” 
The Viceroy Liu also says he has on former occasions 
repeatedly exhorted the tea planters in his jurisdiction 
to introduce reforms into their methods of preparation, 
etc. What is intended by the Viceroy and the Yamen, 
however, is, apparently, that reform should pro- 
ceed on the old lines rather than that an entire 
revolution in the trade should be effeoted ; for the 
quotation of the Netherlands Minister’s despatch and 
the general tone of the exhortation seem intended to 
throw cold water on the attempt now being made at 
Foochow to introduce foreign methods. Yet it would 
seem that in the success of the Tea Improvement 
Company’s experiment, coupled with reduced taxation 
lies the sole hope of a resusoitation of the China tea 
trade. If the Company has not at once succeeded in 
producing a class of tea to command the approval of 
the open market we hope it will not thereby be 
discouraged, but will preserve until success is achieved. 
— Eonglcong Weekly Press, Dec. 2. 
AN EXHORTATION TO CHINESE TEA 
PLANTERS: 
THE HUTCH MINISTER TO THE RESCUE. 
The following despatch, of which we (N. C. 
Daily News) give a translation, has been received 
by His Honour Ts‘ai Taotai from H.E. Viceroy 
Liu, of the Liangkiang provinces : — 
TO THE TAOTAI OF THE SOO-SUNG T‘AI INTENDANCY, 
AT SHANGHAI. 
I have to inform yon that I am in receipt of a 
despatch dated the 12th day of the 9th moon (7th 
October) from Their Excellencies the Ministers of 
the Tsun ,li Yamen, embodying a despatch of the 
24th day of the 8th moon (20ih September) from H.E. 
Knobel, Minister-Eesident of the Netherlands at 
Peking, to the said Yamen to the effect that H.E. 
had received a communication from the Tea Im- 
AGRICULTURIST. 481 
porters of Amsterdam, the contents of which ran as 
follows : — 
“We regret to find that the samples of tea pre- 
pared by the new methods are not very good, but 
that the flavour of those made by the old methods 
is still vastly superior to the tea made in other coun- 
tries. If therefore China tea be prepared after the 
new methods the leaf will be similar to that prepared 
elsewhere, while it will lose entirely the original 
delicacy of flavour peculiar to its place of production. 
Although the tea-planters of Java., Assam, and Ceylon 
expend much skill and labour on their products it 
must be confessed that they do not come up to the 
teas of China. As matters now stand people in Europe 
anxious to purchase high quality Chinese teas are un- 
able to do so, and they are compelled to think that 
tea merchants in China are ignorant of the fact that 
the people of Europe and other places prefer to buy 
good Chinese teas to others. The tea made by the 
new methods in China is really a poor edition of the 
Indian tea, and therefore vastly inferior to that pre- 
pared by the old methods; whilst the prices demanded 
in England and the Netherlands for high quality 
[China] tea are three times greater than those asked 
for teas produced by the new methods. Moreover, tea 
prepared by the new methods is exported to foreign 
markets whilst British India tea are also exported to 
the same places for sale; and the two teas are com- 
pelled to compete for buyers. But then there are 
those [amongst tea consumers] who prefer to drink 
Chinese tea and yet others who like to drink British 
India tea. Upon a comparison of the respective 
merits of the two, however, it has been found that no 
tea is superior to the Chinese tea in flavour and deli- 
cacy of taste. Furthermore, the merchants of Russia, 
England, the Netherlands and other countries are of 
the same opinion and have requested the writers of 
this communication to inform the tea exporters of all 
China of the actual state of affairs as above explained.” 
“‘I, the Minister-Eesident, have had the question 
of the preparation of Chinese teas in my mind for 
along time, and after many years’ investigation have 
also arrived at a similar decision as that of the tea 
importers of Amsterdam and elsewhere, and I have 
also reason to believe that Your Excellencies will be 
pleased lo learn the opinions above presented.’” 
* * ♦ >lt 
I would, therefore, earnestly exhort all my people 
to seek reform in the trade and mutually aid each 
other in producing carefully prepared high quality 
teas, and thereby create anew a wide demand for the 
article, which will be followed by general prosperity 
to all. This despatch is to be distributed to the 
various local authorities of the tea districts, who are 
commanded to make the same known to all our people. 
Let no one be guilty of disobeying my exhortations. 
Liu, High Commissioner of Trade of the Nanyang 
and Victory of the Liangkiang Provinces. — Ibid. 
^ 
THE AUTOMATIC GEM AND GOLD 
SEPARATOR SYNDICATE, LIMITED. 
A Ueylon estate proprietor writes : — 
“ I see you are noticing ‘ The Ceylon Pros- 
pecting Syndicate’ iuul in case you have not 
got it, under separate (uver I send you a book 
on the Gem and Gold Separator. I saw it 
working at home, and I think it should do well 
out here. I had a letter from Mr. Goldie only 
last mail : lie hopes to he out very shortly.” 
We quote from the circular descriptive of the 
Ceylon “ plant ” as follows 
The plant shewn has been built for the Ceylon 
Prospecting Syndicate, Limited, 10 St. Swithin’a 
Lane, E.C., and will be sent to their Mines near 
Eakwana, Ceylon. The mines consist of deposits of 
alluvial gravel, containing Sapphires, Rubies, Spinels, 
Cat’s-eyes, Zircons, Topaz and alluvial Gold. The 
gravel is trucked or sluiced to the head of the plant 
at the rate of about 8 tons an hour, or[say 60 tons 
a day of 8 hours. Such gravel may contain bould- 
ers, clay, sand, sticks, roots and the like, but all are 
