696 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[April i, '. 898. 
Upon the establishment of the Japanese adminis- 
tration in Formosa, the people were relieved from all 
taxes for one year. At present, however, taxes are 
again imposed, including a tax on tea. The impost 
is 2.40 yen (.5s) per picul (1331b), which, with the addi- 
tion of the customs-export tax of 1 10 yen (2s 3Jd), 
gives a total, impost of 3.50 yen (7s 3Jd) per picul 
(1331b.) Although this is larger than the Japanese 
mainland tax, it is small compared with either the old 
tax in the island, 6.20 yen (12s lid), and the present 
Amoy tax, 6'85 yen (13s 5d). 
♦ 
THE INDIAN TEA ASSOCIATION 
(LONDON.) 
EXTRACTS FROM MR. BLKCHYNDEN’.S REPORT FOR 
THE YEAR 1897. 
Mr. Blecliynden, in hi.s annual report for th« 
year 1897, addressed to the Secretary of the Indian 
Tea Association (London,) says : — 
JOINT ACTION WITH CEYLON. 
it affords me great satisfaction to he able to 
state tliat the com]ilete alliance with the Ceylon 
Association, which was entered upon in 1896, con- 
tinues in full force and has remained upon the 
most harmonious footing. This solidarity has 
been a great source of strength to both Associa- 
tions in their relations with the trade here. 
This aspect is as important as the financial side 
of the question. From the latter point of view 
alone the working power of the two Associations 
combined has been more than doubled. 
SUB.?! DIES. 
As progress in the taste for our teas in this 
country shows itself more and more as time passes, 
we have been able to modify the system of 
giving subsides or grants in aid to firms handling 
and pushing them. When we made our lirst steps 
in this direction our aim was to encourage linns 
not hitherto interested in India and Ceylon teas to 
identify themselves with their introduction here 
and thus secure the machinery at their command to 
that end. We had also to offer some encouragement 
to some firms already in that line, of busine.ss to 
continue efforts wliicii had in many cases not proved 
very remunerative. The plan has worked very 
well, but has the objection that it is liable to abuse 
and we have more recently preferred to follow it in 
a modified form. As pointed out in my last report, 
the system of grants insures the expenditure of 
each sum under proper supervision, and work can 
be done and territory covered which would cost the 
association a great deal in salaries and expenses to 
supervise were it done directly. 
TRAVELLING. 
During the year I have visited most of the large 
centres where work is going on at different times, 
and they have been visited by Mr._ Ma''kenzie in- 
dependently. This work of inspection is very use- 
ful and should be done more frequently than I 
have been able to spare time for. It is only by actual 
inspection of Ihe work as it goes on th.at we can 
be satisfied that the spirit as well as the letter of 
our arrangements are being carried out. During 
the summer, when there was but little to do here, 
I visited London and had the advantage of person- 
ally meeting the committee. While in London I 
called u])on some firms and had the satisfaction 
of interesting at least one of them in the American 
work, which 1 had not heretofore contributed to- 
lYards it, 
LETTERING STORE.?. 
The work in this direction has fallen off 
considerably. This is due to several causes. 
The firms who used to apply to us on behalf 
of the grocers are now nearly all engaged in 
pushing packets of their own, and are not desirous 
to give prominence to “ India and Ceylon Teas ” 
in a general and not in a particular way. Many 
firms have letters similar to those we use for 
their packet goods. Finally the teas are low 
pretty generally sold by grocens, and is not an 
uncommon thing to which special attention has 
to be drawn. There are many storekeepers — who 
hang up rough paiier signs in their windows, call- 
ing attention to different things at different times 
— who now include our teas in such notices. 
.SHOAV.? AND DEMONSTRATIONS. 
As the system now adopteil throws all such 
work as would come under these heads into the 
hands of packet and otlier tea houses, the small 
expenditure incurred undei these heads was very 
early in the year under review. 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
The expenditure under this head is by far the 
heaviest item in the accounts for tlie year, being 
more than double that of any other item, and equal 
to about two-thirds of the entire expenditure under 
all other heads put together. As has been stated 
in another part of this report printing has been 
charged to this head ; the balance consists mainly 
of two items — newspaper and magazine advertising. 
Under this head, too, have been cliarged several 
special advertisements which have appeared in 
souvenir programmes, such as that for the in- 
augural ceremonies at 'Washington, during the 
installation of Mr. McKinley as President, and 
others of less importance. During the summer 
months we had a Vitascope advertisement running 
in a prominent situation on Broadway in the heart 
of the theatre district. Of course such thing.s are 
displayed at night only. This advertisement at- 
tracted a great deal of attention, asitis compara- 
tively new to have such displays, and we succeeded 
in making ours very striking and dramatic. 
As an advertisement of 200 dols was offered for 
a poem of twenty lines, descriptive of Indian 
and Ceylon tea. Over 5,000 essays were sent 
in, and a committee awarded the prize to the 
succe.ssful competitor. A.s regards newspaper and 
magazine advertising I have little to add to my 
report on this subject on the plan we adopted in 
1896. We have changed many of the magazines 
we then used and taken up others, but the ag- 
gregate eirculation is probably about the same. 
In addition to the daily newspapers ‘we have space 
in t!ie leading commercial journal of this country, 
published in New York, which we use as we 
require it. The statistics of the tea imports into 
this country we published in this paper for the first 
time, and that advertisement caused a good i 
deal of comment, the facts not being at | 
that time thoroughly realised even by peo- i 
pie in the trade. We were able to show i 
that the consumption of our teas in North i 
America had increased by about 54 per !i 
cent, in two years, against a decrease of 13, 40, j! 
23, 13, and 53 per cent, in the consumption of ( 
other teas, the only kind besides ours showing an if 
increase in the same period, Formosa Oolongs, j, 
having gained 13 per cent. The final or actual | 
figures were not at the time and are not yet | 
available, but closer estimates can now be made § 
and even in the last case we will be able to show il 
that there has been a falling off and not an increase 1 
