January i, 1892 ] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
481 
iS'OTJiS KKO.M OUR LOJJDON LETTUK. 
INADEliUATK SAMPLINR OF CEYI.O.V TEAS— SUG- 
GKSTION8 WITil nr.OAJlII TO MINCINO I,ANE 
SAl-ES — SIK. JIOGIVUe’s .MISSION IN JIUSSIA — 
CEYLON AND INJJiAN TEA IN FIIANCK — CEYLON 
TEA IN AMEUICA AND MU. KIAVOOU MAY — 
STANLEY WBIGHT80N TF.A CJ1K6TS — CEYLON 
E.8TATES TEA COMPANY— LANKA COMPANY — A 
NEW COMPANY FOU BB1TI81I NORTH BORNEO. 
London, Not. 20. 
My last letter contained very full reference to 
the question at present under disousaion with 
respect to the insulBoienoy of time allowed lor 
the elBoient testing of tho samples of Ceylon 
teas. During last week tho Tea Committee of 
the Ceylon Association considered this matter, 
but was unable to arrive at any deoision as to 
the course to be taken, though it made several 
suggestions to be conveyed to the parties interest- 
ing themselves as to somo remedial action being 
taken. The nature of theaa suggestions baa 
already been conveyed to you by me, and the 
leading brokers have expressed the opinion that 
it they can be acted upon great relief will bi 
obtained. 
Dut the experience of last Tuesday’s sales 
proves very conolueively that the real remedy 
teste to a very great extent with the brokers 
themselves, though these aomplaiu that they 
are not free agents in consequence of the 
pressure referred to in my previous letter put 
upou them by their oonstituenla to press 
sales on. Now the sales of Ceylon tea of 
last Tuesday week iuoluded no loss than 18,716 
packages in 793 breaks. In eaob of the 
latter there was a sample. These were not, 
except in a few instances, available for tasting 
before the day preceding. It was a manifest 
impossibility for tho intending purobasers to 
properly test thoeo before the salos opened. 
Competent authority has expressed the view that 
the irregularity of the sales and the depressed 
prices obtained ou that particular Tuesday were 
almost ontirely due to this fact. On the Tuesday 
in this week there were less than half the number 
of breaks offering as compared with the week 
previous. The result to this was thus expressed 
in the market report of tho day following tho sale: — 
“ 17th November 1891. Supplies were offered in a 
more manageable quantity of samples, there being 
less than half the number of breaks that wore 
offered last week. Consequently the sales passed off 
with a very firm tone, and the irregularity notieed 
last week has to a large extent disappeared,” 
Manifestly it is the duty of the brokers to so 
artaoge their sales that such an ovororowdiog of 
the market on any particular day should be avoided. 
It oannot be difficult, one would think, to average 
tho supplies to be put forward. If your planters 
are to seoure the proper result to their labour, they 
should take steps to place the brokets in a position 
to do this ; and this can only be done by allowiug 
to them a greater latitude in selection of a day 
for offering than is at present given to them. 
TAe Vititen of the l4th November eontained the 
following paragraph, oertainly extracted from Messrs. 
Qow, Wilson & Stanton's tea oiroular. You will 
see it embodies the main point upon whieh 1 have 
previously written you: — 
• m fbllowlag will interest those in tho tea trade 
The present rule of devoting Mondays and Wodnos- 
to auot.’ouing Indian toss, Tuesdays to Ceylon tea, 
and Thursdays to both kinds, has cow been in force 
more thsn three years, Since its institution the output 
trom both oouutties has so vastly iucreaseJ, that su 
^Iteration in the arrangement of publio cuotions is now 
Pi 
generally rooognised as likely to be loneficial to both 
mdust-ies. Net only have Moaday’s auctions of Indian 
Ua ot late bejn oooasiouslly very heavy, but last Tuer- 
day’s Ceylon sale of 18,716 p-seksges ootuptiseJ so large 
a number of breaks (798) that it was impo-sible for 
buyers to give careful ntteution to tho entire sale — (he 
result proving most unfortuuale for importers. The 
obvious course to pursue, cow that Ceylon has grown 
so enormously since the pres^'nt plan was adopted, 
seems to me to devote ntore days to the sale of Ceylon 
tea. This would enable deulors to distribute their 
purchases over a longer time ina'cai of operating 
prai tioally only onoe a week, as they are now compelled 
to do, oaiug to the objection of Ceylon importers to 
soil late on Thursdays. To lacilitato tin's operation, it 
may become necostaty to hold auctions of Ceylon tea in 
a separate room from Indians, a rorult whioli might 
ultimately be advantageous to both industries, although 
poihapa at &rst attended wi h tome slight incon- 
venicncei-.” 
With reference to the final suggestien of the 
above extract, it has been mentioned to ms that 
if Ceylon sales were to proceed simultaneously 
with ludian sales, and in a separate room, buyers 
would be placed in a considerable difficulty. 
They might want to purohase of both kinds, 
and it would be impossible for them, of oourae, 
to be iu both rooms at once. Some, bow 
ever, think that this diffioully would prove 
in praotioe to be more fancied than real. As 
10 the proviaioD of a second room, I have been 
told this week that it would bo parlectly practicabla, 
there being no Bparsenoas oi the aooommodation 
required in the existing building. What course will 
be determined upon remains yet to be seen. 
Possibly, I should say, all the remedies 1 have 
suggested may be given a trial to, or even all of 
them, v'z : — 1st, greater discretionary power given 
to the brokers by ycut consignors; 2ad, the 
UTeragiog of quantities to. be offtred on particular 
days ; brdly, tho conduatiag of the Osylon sales in a 
separata room from that devoted to Indian, and 
simultaneous Belling ; and 4thly, an alteration in 
priority of offering at the Thursday’s sales. Dither 
one or other of these several ooursis must afford 
cousidorablo relief, and it seems certain that the 
trade will not aliuw the present unworkablo system 
to muoh longer oontinue. 
My letters recently mentioned to you that Mr. 
fiogivue had experimented with a Ceylon tea kiosk 
at the great Bussian fair at Nijni Novgorod. At 
the time ot my writing, the source from which 
funds for this experiment had been derived 
was uukuown to me ; but from what has 
siuoe roaohei me it would appear that Messrs. 
Spence, WilUs <Ss Oo. undertook the whole finan- 
cial responsibility of it. P’rom what has 
before been written you upon this matter .by 
ine, yon will have learned that Mr. Bogivuo oou. 
sidered the result of that firm's euterprisc to have 
been a saocesaful one. 
You will reeolloot that very reoently, as the fioal 
result to rather disagreeable oorrespondeuee between 
the Ceylon A.sooiation in London and your Planters' 
Aasooiation, the latter approved of suggestions 
made by the first-mentioned body as regards the 
agency tur the sale of your teas in Ptanoe. In 
this oonnexiou it will interest yon to know what 
progress has bceu made by that agency which works 
the Palais IiuUeii tea bouses iu Paris. At the statu- 
tory general meeting of bis Company tho Obairmau 
gave very full details of what bad been aeoomplished, 
Ue told bis auditors that their work had been taken 
up in contiuuanea of what had been done 
at the Paris Exhibition, and to prevenb the 
fruits of thoir labour there from being lost tea- 
rooms had been fitted up in the Indian style in 
Ihs moat frequented parts of the city, at whieh 
pure Indinn tea is sold in oup and ia paokets^ 
