144 
THE TROP’CAL AGRICULTURIST, 
[August i, iSgt. 
PACKET TEAS. 
For some yeom past n new oovelopment of ths toa 
trade liaa, to the surprise of tlio older wholesale and 
retail dealers, assumed a good dial of prominence. 
If the advertisement columns of the newapapers, and 
startling placards at railway stations and on hoardings, 
form a criterion, the public has tahcii a liking to Ion 
packed iu leaden packages, and under fancy names— 
the latter having generally little connection with any 
looalily where the loaves are grown. That iho public 
should buy, to a certain ertont, anything persistently 
forced upon it • attention, is perhap.s possible, but 
tea packed iu small leadeu packets would havo soemod 
a Boioewhat hopeless direction, in which to attempt 
to driva John Tail’s tastes. Tea in bulk, in a proper 
lead-linod he=t, undoubtedly keeps better, and has a 
hotter aroma and flavour, than it can havo it eximsed 
in this olin ite, and packed into nnseasuucd load, 
ornamented with a label whicb, the moto gorgeous 
it ie the more it is apt to communicate a taste of 
paint or gtue, to tlie t«a it is meant to adorn. Then 
these load packets add as nearly as possible Ud per lb. 
to the oost ol the tea, and the expense of flauiiling 
them befoio the eyes of the publio must also be 
enormous. . . . 
A new form of advertising has been rocenlly hit on, 
and a few pounds aveirdapoia of Tea— whether by 
concerted action or not docs not appear doubtful to 
the initiated— have been run up at publio auotioii to 
pricss exceeding £10 to £30 sterling per pound 
weight. 'Then this fact is simnltaneonsly, and ap- 
pirenlly gratnitonsly, blazoned Ibrcugbont the Press, 
of course as a sign of the extraordinary yiiality 
of the Tea that the so-and-so companies deal in. 
As the said compiniee sell their Tea by retail 
at 28 to 2s 6d per pound, it ought to be pretty obvious, 
even to the most casnal observer, that they oamiot 
use tea in their packets, costing £5. £10, £20. or as 
in the ease of the last aeuaatiouul asle, £30, per 
pound To purchase five or six pounds at suoh prices, 
aud worth lutriusically perhaps Ss or 4i per iiound, 
if in reality a cheap form of advortisement so long 
as people can bs found who caimot see through so 
very transparent an operation. Of course the mi.into 
quantity sod a* absurd prices is as far as 
possiblo kept quiot. , ,■ , .. 
* The pnblio.natnrally, are ill. informed in suoh matters, 
and the tea trade mignl look with amused surprise on 
tho aoparent demand for packet tea, if it wore not 
that a C.insidcrabln number of grocers appear to bo 
bitten with the now system Eugagod as most of 
them are in trying to stop the plague of all sorts of 
mop ietary goiids. which yield them so lit, le profit 
l render them the servants of the maimfacturers. 
U Is rguTar thaToiber grocers shouW b,. found, who 
are sotu*ally adopting the system with tin. A groicr 
cannot maiiulaoture mustard, nor esu he grow wine or 
distil whisky or brandy, or brew beer. B'A be can, as 
generations of grooers have done before him, a 11 good 
tea out of an honest tea chest, and mak-- a liriugoiit 
of it for himself, aud not for others, while serving the 
pub io well. Surely the atlitndo of the Sroeews on 
Fi.i. ouaation of Packet toa alioiild not be doubtful. 
Thevsbonld make it ch ar to the public that they can 
..II better and fresher tea of their own, and with a far 
better guarantee that tbesouroe of supply named is ad. 
hereil to than if a label, however haiidsomc, is trusted to. 
Of coarse, there can be no r««.-on why every Grocer, 
if ho seefit. should not offer ead packet tea with hi- own 
” « ,,nm it it tho public desiio ;> costly package, 
w*ih no^^advsntage attaobing to it. But it seems mar- 
F that any* number of retsilers, thoroughly 
velloui that y jj, ahuuM turu tbeir old 
understanding their t" business, into a mean, of 
tlie*r profit for the l^eoefitof o ^ » •* *1 * n i 
On* excuse for the new development, is that Oejlou 
tea will not keep; but if that be lO it will surely keep 
as well, and probably a gold deal bst.er, if retained 
in the original Ifad lined chc*t, than 11 Jt i« turned 
ont in e London warehouNe, perhnpa in ftamokefog, 
Dasaed through tuixiug machines, and then paclced 
into Bm«n packages. It would also bo interestiuif to 
know how large a proportion of ao*oAllcd Ceylon 
Packet Tea ever saw its nominal plnco of ori><in. The 
trado *tre well aware that a very gr* at do. 1 of it uf»vor 
was shipped at Gallo or Colombo.-~/*?Wwc« Jfarket.i^ 
KtftTCjy. 
SaiiAwr GotsI>en Tips. — W e hear that the small 
parcel of tips from this eatuto h^s been sold 
privately at R20 per lb. 
Tiifl Tka Maiikkt. — A broker writes : — " Did 
you ever see such an irregular market ? The poor- 
nt'tta of the teas is keeping prices down — and unless 
you aud the rest ol the proas advise planters to 
go in more tor quality vvg shall see Ftill lower rates ! " 
A ClIAmiK AOAT\N*l' C byI.OX TkA ANT) 
Tea PLANTEaa is thus prelerrod by Uie Loudon 
correspondent of the Indian Planters* Gicette : — 
Ceylom —The quality fto far from improving is still 
oil the down grade, and invoiros containing any Teas 
with the old chaiacterUtio Oeylou quality are now 
getting extremely rare, aud when they are offetod, 
command very goad priocB. On Thursday the bulk 
being poor, prices full ^d to ^d per lb. It looks as 
though quality were being set aside for quantity in 
CeyloD, and a race begun for reo rd in yield per 
acre. ITc more the pity. Is it that, having made 
the record for price, fas made bo much of in adver- 
tisements now-a-days) there is an iuUution to show 
wond»*rfuI yields per acre, that alluaious to the prices 
obtdinod by Ceyh'ii Teas pins a heavy >icld per iicro, 
may make prospect ll^('S of future Coy Ion Tea Com- 
panies, Lirrited, all the better bait to catch tlie British 
investor? Are there suoh Corupatiies incubibu^? If 
not, why thfa abandoning of quality aud dosiro to excel 
in quantity? 
COFFKK I*LANTINO TN DUMBAHA. — The follow- 
ing information which we have coiUted for our 
Direotory is of interest nt this time, to our planting 
readers generally * — 
At Kondeaaltc in Dnmbara in 1887 Mr. Hamlin, tho 
General Superintendent Oriental Bank Estates Co , 
commenced opening some old coffie land which had 
been abandoned fi r about 20 year’'. 104 HorcH were 
planted with coffee plants rnised from “ Nalkanaad’' 
Conrg seed — the cofiee was planted ft. x 5^ ft. 
and Cacao P'orasiero 11 m 11. Tho e1>‘aring was 
planted also Hull with I'lcuit glomsrata for Hhafl*, 
all tho ridges were plnutod with grevilleas. The 
clearing now in its fourth year is moat eucouraph.g; 
the coffee is verv vigorous and bt aring a crop 
which will moro than pay the coat of the clearing 
the cacao is umisnally robuat and Ihe Hhude i' most 
satisfactory, it having been carefully pniuod .nd 
thinned out. Tho above eornpatiy ia extending more 
land on thU sy tem which appears a paying one. for 
even should the c'tfuo uotla^tmaiv yours, it w«)rld 
Inve served the purpose of bringing Ih’ cncuo to 
bearing, freu of covt to the proprietor. 
CofONI.'T JT.antino as an Invkstmknt. — T hu 
great drawback to coconut palm cuhiViiMou ii£ n.T 
investment, iu the estimation of Europeans, is the 
long dfl.iy in obtaining a return on the oapitiil 
invested. Who is to wait 15 or even 12 years,” 
says the colonist bont on an income within 5 or 0 
years, but who, nevortholess is too often destined kO 
remain herd at work, long after the time at which 
oocomitB would have comi' into bearing. Siiil 15 
years is a long period to look forward to for 
adequate returns ; end tlurefore the report on the 
Chiiaw district — cr rather that, of Puttalam as just 
North of the Deduruoya, — with good big palms 
beginning to bear well hy the 7tU year, f pons up 
a new prospect, and ofT«’rs Hpcoinl enoouragem iit 
to invest ill a culture so steadily, if not hand* 
aomely remunerative as coconutJ aio generally 
recognized to be. “ G. D. M.” is known na the 
European planting pioneer of tho KKj-ikadilnva 
district, and we helieve he does not exaggerate in 
hi.s d’ scription of conditions and prospects, as 
quilifiod by enquiries in our footnote. 
