June i, 1892.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
9*3 
PROM TUB METROPOLIS 
LotiDON, April 15, 
CKYLON TEA IN AJIEBICA. 
I had the pleeure this week of meeting Mr. 
Blwood May as well as Mr. Gnnlinton and cf 
learning a good deal abont places and prospects 
connected with our staple product in the Far west. 
From what I knew of America, I was able to test 
with same degree of authority the utteranooa of 
Mr. May, and generally I was impressed very 
favourably with the good sense, the determination 
and straightforwardness of the head of the Ceylon 
American Company. What he has accomplished in 
respect of advertising Ceylon tea in a large pro- 
portion of the loading newspapers in the States is 
quite astonishing, the more so as in all his con- 
tracts extending generally for twelve months, no 
cash has passed, the remuneration being taken in 
stock of the company. This has been accomplished 
in the face of Mr. May's frank avowal in each case 
that the value of such “ stock" is still problema- 
tical and altogether in the future, Still the evident 
belief of Mr. May himself and of a large number 
of influential frii^nds whom be baa converted and 
whose testimonials ha holds, to the superiority of 
Ceylon tea, has told in the newspaper wotM, and 
the result is seen in the following extract from the 
letter of a well-known New York Press Manager (a 
personal friend of,my own) whose words 1 have been 
allowed to copy ; — 
" 1 want to say, as a parting word, that the contracts 
for advertising, which you have made, surnriee me, 
both in their amount and the character. Y n have 
done, I am anre, what no other nan bae ever accom- 
plished in araerinK many of the very beet papers in 
the onnntry.aud placing <he stock where you will nut 
only receive very valnahle space for it, but will secure 
the good will of papers who have great influence with 
the puhho." 
It is impossible not to anticipate good fruit from 
such extensive and oontinuous advertising as has 
thus been arrangtd for. But Mr. May himself is 
n t oversanguine— indeed 1 was almost going to 
say, he is despondent. He has full faith in pure 
Ceylon tea as a good article worth " booming," and 
he knows how it can be made in demand all over 
the United States and that he is promoting 
in the right way ; bat be considers the 
campaign as only commencing and be is urgent 
that unless the " sinews of war " are fortboaming, 
the company must ccllspse and ihe effect of 
what baa already been done, he in a great measure 
lost. In other words, Mr. Elwood May, tbouvh 
he has done wonders hitherto in advertising, does 
not see bow bis business is to )e continued and 
extended without certain onntinuousexpendilure, an • 
he and hia American friends, I gather, are not 
prepared to spend more, nnlesa they are backed 
up by English friends and Ceylon planters. His 
mission to England this lime seems to be to rs'se 
additional capital tor the company, or to inti 
mate plainly that otherwise it may have to dis- 
appear and the advertising oontraots be closed. 
This is disappointing news, the more especially 
as we cannot consider the present a favourable 
time to appeal to English (albeit tea) capitalists 
for money, or to Ceylon planters just as they are 
doing their best for Chioago. So I intimated to 
Mr. May, adding the hope that a profitable trade 
must surely be already tpriuging up and that 
he Exhibition should bo a great help to the 
success of the company. Mr. May’s answer was 
that we had but a faint idea of the conserva- 
tive oharacter of the large distributors of estab- 
lished products} in America— how that Jarge 
tea benefactors in New York would not 
as yet consent even to bold Ceylon tea, as a 
thing unknown to their customers, and how only 
by convinoing eonsnmers and creating a demand 
could a stable foundation be laid for a steady, 
growing trade in Oeylon tea throughout the States, 
even the Chic-'go Exhibition will not do perma- 
nent good, nnless plans are promoted in a way 
whioh Mr. May is prepared to lay before Mr. 
Orinlinton. “ It is a very easy matter," added 
Mr. May, " to create a temporary trade — to get 
obliging email tea dealers tbronghout the country 
to take off a large quantity of a new tea, once in a 
way, — each taking a few chests to oblige a com- 
mercial traveller it may be. But as such tea 
would lie on their shelves without demand, the 
large trade forced in any one yvar wonld merely 
act as a deterrent to any legitimate business ex* 
tending afterwards, since dealers would never touch 
the article again." There ia something in this 
argnment, and in the strong liking oi Yankees 
for what they are aconstomed to, Japanese and 
Chinese green teas; but 1 ventured to point out 
that surely in the Wealern and Middle States with 
so large a proportion of “ fresh blood,”— of English, 
Scotch and Irish accustomed to good tea at 
home — there should be no difficulty in getting 
them to try Ceylon tea. Nevertheless, Mr. 
May insists the process must be a slow one, 
only to be worked out on the lines be has laid 
down, and which be — still a comparatively young 
man oooupying a position of influence and reputa- 
tion in New York — ia prepared to follow and 
develops, provided he is adequately supported. 
Otherwise, apparently, it is a matter of indiffer* 
euoe to him pereonally, whether his past labours 
are to bring any return to him or not. 1 have 
tried to reflect the outcome of our interview ; and 
I oould not be'p regretting that Mr. May bad not 
made bis way some months ago to Ceylon, to meet 
the planting leaders themselves and to lay before 
them bis ideas as wbat oan, and cannot, bo done 
for Oeylon tea in Amerioa. 
Meantime he and Mr. Qrinlinton have seen a 
good deal of each other, aud though " the Com- 
missioner” and Mr. Stretoh, who were present, said 
little at the oonversatiou referred to, 1 am aware 
that Mr. May's views as to the Exhibition and 
Ceylon tea have been adequately explained ; but 
whether they oan be aooepted is another thing. 
Some of us interested in Ceylon rather thought 
that io nominating Mr. Orinlinton as their repre- 
sentative the Planters' Association were arran- 
ging for the “ Cejlon-American Company ” to take 
the lead at Chicago ; but I oan see that there 
may be points of difference of some importance. 
Of this, however, we may be certain that the 
Commissioner will allow nothing to interfere with his 
doing the very best in bis judgment for the 
pn motion of Ceylon teas. We shall know more 
shoitly ; for Mr. Qrinlinton has asked Mr, Leake 
to call a meeting of the Tea Committee of the 
London Assooiaiion to lay bis plans, so far as 
formed, before them, and possibly Mr Elwood May 
may have hie “say” at the same time. Mr. 
Qrinlinton has already been busy at the Society of 
Arts, the Colonial Office, Ac. Hia health ia improved ■ 
but he had evidently had a "shako" and is by no 
means the man he was when I saw him last in 
C'.ylon, and I ventuced to warn him tit be epeoiallv 
careful in this treacherous olimaie against the risk 
of a relapse from cold of the influenza or its after 
effeots.-I was glad to learn from him (hat he does 
