December i, 1891.] 
rHE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
STstem tli»t aoup of it taken early in the morning, as 
many people <lo, »o disonleta the nervona system that 
those who take it actually got into a state .f tea 
intoxioatioD, and it produces a form of nerve dislac- 
bauce which is most paiu'ul to witness. If you want 
to have, cither for yourselves or for your patients, 
tea which will not injure and which will refresh, get 
black China tea, putting in the right measure — the 
old-fashioned teaspoonfnl for each person, and one lor 
the blessed put. Then pour on briskly beiliug water, 
and within five minutes you must pour it off again, or 
it will become wicked instead of good. Let this 
patient, therefore, have half a pint of milk and 
water or cooualina, or half a pint of tea, n la Clark, if 
yon pleaso.’’ TToforcunatoly for tho value of this 
opinion, it is a well-known fact that medical men 
seldom agree upon any point, and their views upon 
tea are as divergent as upon alcohol. If tlir Andrew 
Clark prefers China tea he is welcome to his opinion, 
bat when he tells the student of a Lgpdou hospital 
that British-grown tea is deleterious, and advocates 
the use of China tea fb prefereuoe — os though ho had 
studied the question deeply and arrived at the oouoln- 
sion after careful analysis and conaidorable research — 
he should support this advocacy with something 
stronger than a mere expression of opinion. To give 
wpicssiou in a public place to a statement unsupported 
by one jot of evidenoo is, to say the least, very uofair 
to the Indian tea industry. [Hear ! Hear ! — Eo. T. A.] 
Last AVeek's Tea Sai-es. — T ho Produce Markets’ 
Poeieto says:—" Tho increased imports of Indian tea 
continue to supply the market liberally, the quantity 
offered at the public sales being upwards of 13,600 
packages. Notwithstanding this heavy weight of tea, 
the demand was equal to it, and the market closes 
strong, with an advance in some cases strong, with an 
advance in some oases on the prices of tho preceding 
week. The better quality of the teas generally aooonuts 
for the increasing activity in the demand. The 
growths which command most attention are those 
from the Assam districts, as these teas are, on tho 
whole, superior to tlioso of aoveral bobsoub post, 
which is borne out by the comparatively high prices 
that have been paid. The quality of the Darjesliug 
teas is fsirly satisfactory, hut falls considerably short 
of the earlier arriva's, while those from tho Syhiot 
and Uoosrs gardens, with few oxooptions, continue 
to be inferior to tho imports of tho previous eoason. 
It is satisfactory to learn that strong representations 
have been made to those interestod in the manu- 
facture of the latter growths of tho andesirability of 
oontiuning the newly-adopted method of preparing 
the leaf, which, it is hoped, will bare the desired 
offoot. At the publio sales 43,876 packages were 
brought forward, and only 4,200 were withdrawn. 
The above quantity comprised a good acleotiou of 
all grades, and from the quantity sold it will bo 
seen the demand was well sustained. At the publio 
sales very steady prices liave been obtained for nearly 
all descriptions of Ooylon tea. There has been a 
good aa.*ortmont of tea of fair quality, all of which 
has sold well. Fino to finest Brokens were actively 
competed lor, and in several oases Is 8d to Is 9d was 
realised for fine descriptions. Fine Pekoes wore in spr- 
oially good demand aod told at rather better prices, while 
the lowei grades of Bonohonge kept fully up to last 
week’s rates. Uf thel5, 976 packages offered nt auction 
1,629 were withdrawn. In Javas, 808 paokages wore 
offered at sale, all of which told at steady prices. 
The ABiioTsoBion Tea Estate Oompanv Limited. — 
This company has just been rogiaterod, with a capital 
of ij25,090, In shares. Object to acquire lea or other 
plantations in (Joylon or elsewhere, and to carry on 
thoreat tho business of toa, coffee and oinuhona planters 
and with a view thereto, to take over tho estate in 
Ceylon called Moutefiore, in the central province of 
tho island of Ooylon. and the Abbotslcigh Estate in 
the same province. The first subscribers (one share 
each) are 0. B. Smith, 7 Qrove Eud llond, N.W.; N. 
BowhoU, Abbotsleigb, Hatton, Oeyloii ; O. Harrison, 67 
Lincoln’s Inn F'ieUls; ll.AV. Matthews, 9 Coleforil Head 
Wandsworth j F. Villcr, 24 Kitto Uoad, 81. (Jntherlno's 
Park ; F. Farris, 49 Morley Avenue, Noel Park. Wood 
4SI 
Green i C. Ander-on, 12 Brookville Road, 8. W. 
Th. re slml! not be le«a than tliree nor more than 
five oiri otois ; the first shall be 0. B. Smith, 7, 
Grove End Read, N.W : W. W. Simpson, Wmkley, 
Whalley, Lancashire; N. Rowsell, Abbotsleigb, Ooylon; 
aud 0. Harriaou, 67, Liucoln’s Inn Fields, W. U. ; 
qualificaliun three shares; omnuoral iou : the dioectors 
shall otdy be paid their expenses of travelling in 
England to attend the meetings of the Board, 
The Coffee Mahket.— Messrs. Wilson, Smithott, 
and Co. say ; The recent rapid and severe fall has, 
as is nttural, been followed by o reaction which at 
first imparted stoadiuesa to Hie market, and this, 
attracting orders, caused better oompetition, result- 
ing in a reoovory of 29 on ordinary qualitiea and 
3a to 59 on desirable and oolonry kinds. Supplies at 
sale during tho fortnight were extremely small, 
arrivals being unimportant. Tho firat new crop 
Jamaica was catalogueil, and, being of inferior 
quality, Bold at a low price. Central American 
kinds are very scarce t the Costa Kioa crop is 
over for the seasfin, fino qualitiea in secoud 
hands realise high prioes privately, lOSs having 
been paid for good. Of Guatemala there is not 
much to attract bnycta ; dull and dingy old parcels 
sold at moderate prices, a few good with strong compe- 
tition icalised high prices. Good homo trade Vera Paz 
and Honduras continue to rooeivo attention from 
buyers, the quality being very good. Brazil, after de- 
oliniog early in the fortuigUt, is in better request at 
the close, and an advance of folly 2s is established, 
recent advices pointing to some modification of the 
previons large estiiiinto. 
Spubiods Copfbb. — Ooffoo al ways was, and perhap.9 
ever will be, one of the most abused artioles of import 
and oonsuraption ; and ns tho soaioity of desirable 
qnslities, for a long time past, has led to exceptionally 
advanced rate.9, the temptations to sdultorato this 
homely beverage have been proportionately inoreased, 
says the Orocer. Adulteration, muroovor, in America 
seems to be stadiedaea fino art; for tho perfection to 
whiob it is brought there now is simply marvellous. Wo 
have before seen somo fine spooimous of sham coffee in its 
roasted state, but never have we oxaminod anything so 
olusely resombliog the real article ns that received by ns 
this week from Philadelphia, whiob place is growing 
nutorions for its swindling in coffee (so-oalled)i 
Several respeotable firms there, however, have taken 
npon themselves to expose these trade frauds, and 
are isBuiog oironlars to warn tho uuwary against 
buying this “ oountorfoit " coffee. Deceiving as it 
may bo in appoamuoe to the ordinary observer, a prac- 
tised eye can easily detect its false character, aod 
avoid it accordingly ; but when gronnd, ready for nse 
the bogus coffoe referred to is hard to distinguish 
from any o'Lo.*. Still, there are moans of detection 
even then, nbioh will show that it is not the prodnet 
of the true coffee-beau grown in Oeylun, India, Central 
America, or the Brazils ; and we may add that in liquor 
it it of B dark colour, rather bitter in taste; with a 
thick, muddy sediment, and almost undrinkable. It is 
said to be of German manufacture— a sort of paste or 
fatiniiceons sabstaucc, first mixed with burnt chicory or 
some foreign colouring ingrediont, msulded into the 
requisito size and shape by mscbinoiy — the same as 
pills and auob-liko modioinal prepar.atiens— and then 
the spiirions compound is finally baked to give it hard- 
ness and consisteiioy. In this form it is imported, 
aud distributed largely in the XTnited States, and, being 
sold al the ow figure of eleven cents (or say 6d) per 
lb., or one-third tho price of pure coffoe, it naturally 
commands an extensive sale in the more populous 
districts where it is iutrodnoed. No honest trader oan 
stand against mslpracttoes of this nature, and it is 
hoped that the attention of the American Oovornmeut 
wifi be drawn to the matter, with a view to protecting 
both thor own rovenno and tlie interests ot the whole 
community.— If. and- J/aff, Got. SOth. 
The Qoaniities of Tea that were sold to toreign- 
ers in Yokohama, and remained in stock in tho 
city on the 16tli inst. wore 24,800 kin (onej 
IJlb.) and 268,800 kill respeotively.— Weekly 
Mail, Oct. 17. 
