32 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
[July i, 1891. 
NOTICS ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
Tub GaowiNQ Impoiitancis of Tea. — A irlanoe at 
the reporU of the varioos tea oompaoie^ isHued at 
this seatoQ of the year, and reproduced iu these 
oolumos, will convey to the reader who hat no stake 
in tea some idea of the importnnoe of the industry. 
For roaPODS best known to ioveetors there is less in- 
terest taken in the Oily in Ihese corapanioB and the 
results of their working for the year than there sbonld 
be. This is^ no doubt, because there is such a limited 
market for the shares. When this is reroedie4), and 
trausuotions in tea shares are mere frequent, the 
reports of these eompantes will be read with iiicreas' 
ing general interest, and investors will be more on 
the alert in the matter of share quotations. 
Tea and Coffer ik Fiji. — W ith reference to the 
paragraph iu our last weok’s iasue, in which there was 
some roeution of au attempt to raauacitate ootfeo 
planting in Fiji, it is potntod oni by a ourrespondeut 
that both the coffee and tea planting experimeuts 
are fadares up to the present time, owing, no doabt, 
to the labour difliculty; but although the difHonUy 
should also apply to the cnltivatiou of sugar, that in- 
dnstry seems to be extending raiddly, and the Oolo* 
Dial Sugar Gou'psny, which practioally holds a mouo> 
poly of the industry of tho islands, haa opened out 
some splendid new onautry lately on the La Baea 
River, on tho lart^e islands of Yanua Levu. 
('UFFKB IN Mexico. — D uring the last four years, 
says a Mexio’^u paper, c< ^ee has become one 
of the principal prndnebt of Mexico. Tho new 
transportation facilities oilered to traiho by the rail- 
ways which are girding and forming a network in 
that dourisbiug republic have enoournged ths coffee 
raisers to iucreaho their produo' ion. In Cordoba, 
State of Vera Ornz, oho of tho principal centres 
of production, tho cost of the cuitiVAtion of the 
precious grain is about 7 dols. per 100 ib. and iU 
selling price from 22 dolt, to 2H dolt, and some- 
times higher. This proves what has been said about 
tbe immense profits which the raisers can 
obtain iu Mexico. Next to hemp or bconequiu, 
ooffoe occupies the highest place in the exportation 
of Mexican pro<iuota. According to Mexican sta- 
tistics, from 1881 to 1888 the yearly average ex- 
portation of c^'ffee wsfl 1,722,429 dols ; from 1886 to 
1887 it asconded to 2 627,377 dols.; from 1883 to 1880 
the sum was 3 886.034 dols.; and finally, from 18b0 to 
1800 it teaobed 4.841,U(K} dols. As can be seen, the 
produotioo of coffue iu Mexico has been qnadrupled 
in tbo last decade.—//, and C. May let. 
Thk OttCCF.K AND PACKET TEAS.— G rocets rcflpnt 
th-^ actiou of parket tt-a proprietors in appointing 
agents outside the trade, and some of them affect a 
lofty tone in dcahrg with the questiou. A correspond- 
ent of thft (rroeei\ writing on thesnhjcci, Uys down 
tho law thus: — “ The way packers of Ceylon ami othpr 
teas appoint iigeuts aeera-^ to require an undei stand- 
ing amongst grocers of good standing in tbe re- 
tail trado. The pretended ‘presents' have done aroc« 
much harm and deluded Iho public, but Binther serious 
mischief is growing. The tea firms who app dnt dra- 
pery, ststionerp, confectioners, iroumougors, kc.t as * 
agents sbonld be noted and avoitied by grocers. Gro- 
cers* s8sociation4 should oocaeimially have an united 
c nterenoe with repn-sontatives from all towus to dis- 
cuss and inform all ub( lit such firms, as to who they 
arc and the tricks and dodges playfd, so as lo make 
it not worth their while to c/ill cu any respectable 
grocers. Today I had a travtdh r call to ask me to 
take any agency for sumo ‘Ct yl *n* tea. When I 
lomiuded him that a «tatiou8r in to-.ri was asent 
for the firm, ho replied, ‘Ceylon ban nothing to d» 
with tlio other tea ’ My reranrkM hoou caused his 
exit. Another qusstioii i« important: H *w many 
firms appoint solo agents and have no respect 
to even a written appointment, nnloss that 
written appointment is i-tsmped ! I know there are 
two sides to the quPHtion, but retail grocees need to 
disonsB their own Hide, and large firni.i may bo left to 
look after their own ioierosis, although many firms 
would sell more iu ten years through one good grooer 
iu A town than through several grocers selling a pro- 
prietary article for only a few years. Sole ageuts (not 
to monopolise) are fast becoming a necessity to enable 
certain packed Brtiolea to bo supplied in some towns. 
I know a grocer who received a sole ageuev in writing 
and wisely had it stamped. After a time the firm sent 
a traveller to open accounts anywhere, grocers or 
otherwise, quite regardless of their written appointment 
and without notifying their agent of any dissatisfac- 
tion whatever; but tho biter was bitten, as the 
shrewd grocer demanded recompense for breach of 
contract, and obtained what he demanded, as the firm 
preferred pay to publicity in a oourf. I have no desire 
to interfere with legitimate trade, hut high-flying pro- 
fessions by tea-packers and others require caution 
and communications bo^wren grocers. I intend stamp- 
ing all future sgenoies I accept, as T decline hi-ing made 
a entspaw (o introduce to a good family trade this, that, 
nnd tbe other, and then, when a trarlo is mndo. let Tom, 
Dick, and Harry run away with the profit. lutroduciug 
goods costs time and ouergy, and these are not easy to 
obtain for money.’* 
CuRAP Tea.— Discussing Iho evils of cheap tea at 
a pnblio dinner, Mr. Robert Stewart, of Messrs. 
Semple, McLean, and Reed, tea dealers of Glasgow, 
said that when ho entered the firm twenty-five years 
ago the total imports of tea from all quarters amounted 
to 137,006.000 Ih. Last yi*ar it rcsohed the enormous 
amount of 228,520,000 lb., or an increaso of 91,500,0001b. 
thus Hiiowing that tea, which at no rrmote period was 
considered a luxury, had become a u<'ccsRary fond of 
the people. That being so, it was much to be regretted 
thst during tliepjmt few years there bad got into tbo 
trade a number of adventurers whose only claim to 
public notice was their special aptitude for framing 
advertisements which would have brought tbe blush 
of shame to the cheek of Baron Munchausen. These 
advortiKements the puhlio swallowed as eagerly an they 
swallowed the vile concoctions which they praised. It 
WAS high time our medical authorities and the Health 
Committee of Glasgow Town Council sbonld intervene, 
ff r he thought that not a small percentage of tbo 
excessive death-rate iu tbe large centres of population 
could be traced to the immoderate u «0 of low grades 
of an article called lea. — IIoin4 and Colonial Ma%L 
May 8th. 
Tea Infused with Mit.k. — A correspondent who, 
weakened by illness and unwilling as an abstainer 
from intoxicants to take ordinary stimulant, writes 
to UB advocating the use of tea infused with boiling 
milk, instead of water. Ho tells us that his medical 
man recommended tea in this form as a moat 
agreeable stimulant, and one which be has found 
very effioaciouB. It neutraUees the tannin, and 
renders tea acooptablo even to palates not ac- 
customed to it, and to invalids. Certainly tea infused 
with milk will be found both agreeable and refreshing. 
— //, and C. Mail, 
North Borneo Cori’EE. — A sample of Mr, Chris- 
tian’s Liberian coffee grown on tho Victoria estate, 
Kudat, was rroeived by Me.ssre. W. Jaa. <fe U. Thomp- 
soo of Mincing Lsue who report upon it (on the Slet 
of .January) »« feing worth 86a to 88s per ewt. A 
sample of Ccyl^’D-grown Liberian coffee of somewhat 
inferior nize, but better cured and consequently of 
bettor culi*r, was valued at 92s. Tho Borneo bean 
b-tfl hooii shewn to several gentlemen in tbe Lane 
who speak very favourably of its qnality, and the 
general feeling is that African coffeu is coming into 
favor. Messrs. Wilson vSmithett A Oo. state that %lie 
world’s oonsumplion of ct ffee is roundly ostimaled at 
660 000 tons p»*r annum and that soppliea have steadily 
fallen off during the past five yf ars. Those who are 
a quaintrd with tbo Enst are already aware of the 
Serious deficiency in the exports from India, Oejloo; 
and Java, and it would app^^ar that tho present Is a 
favourable time for planting coffee ou a large ecale.— • 
British North Bonm Herald, 
