PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF INDIAN TEA.
A few words on the past, the present, and the future of Indian Tea will
now conclude this Essay, and will, I hope, be acceptable to the reader.
The subject is one of growing importance, but being a new one, there
are points connected with it on which the public are very ignorant, and
should be enlightened.
To begin with, the following facts are not disputed by those who know
anything of the subject:--
1. Indian Teas have far more body, that is strength, than Chinese Teas.
2. Indian Teas consequently command a higher price at the London sales
than Chinese Teas.
3. In spite of its higher price, it is far more economical than the
Chinese produce, as, generally speaking, one-third of the quantity
suffices.
4. There are lands enough in India to grow all the Tea required for
England’s use, and, indeed, for all her colonies.
If these _are_ facts, and I confidentially affirm they are so, how is
it that the following holds in England?
1. Indian Tea is not known to the public.
2. Except in one or two shops in London and Glasgow, unknown to the
mass of the people, not an ounce of pure Indian Tea can be bought in
all England.
3. That India is even a Tea-producing country is scarcely known in
England.[84]
I think I can explain some of these anomalies.
Tea is an acquired taste: by which I mean, not only that the adult who
had never tasted Tea would not like it when first offered to him, but
also that, with those who consume it regularly, any Tea that differs in
flavour from what is habitually drunk is not relished.
It matters not whether it is intrinsically better or worse, enough that
the flavour is different, for that reason it is not liked.
Indian Tea differs widely from Chinese Tea, and for that reason is
rarely appreciated by those accustomed to the latter.
For a long time it appeared as if this difficulty would be a bar to the
general introduction of Indian Teas in England, and so indeed it would
have proved, had the short-sighted policy adopted at the commencement
by one or two Indian Companies that their Teas should be sold retail
and pure, that is, unmixed with Chinese, been followed out. It did not
avail to tell John Bull it was better Tea, that it was far stronger,
that it was in no way adulterated; for he simply shook his head, the
flavour was different to what use had made him familiar with, and he
would none of it.
But little by little, in spite of the above, it made its way. Grocers
soon found that the worst, _id est_, the weakest class of Chinese Teas
received _body_ and were made saleable by an addition of Indian Tea.
It was not long after this that the trade discovered that pretty well
_all_ Chinese Teas were improved, if proportions of Indian Teas were
mixed with them. In short, the fact was recognised by Tea vendors that
Chinese Teas were weak, and much improved if mixed with Indian.
The public were thus _educated_ to relish the superior flavour of
Indian Tea, and did so, when the quantity mixed with the Chinese was
not so great as to make the new flavour too _prononcé_. Little by
little the custom of so mixing became very general, so much so that it
may almost be said to-day that if Indian Teas cannot be purchased pure,
no more can Chinese. A mixture of Chinese and Indian Tea, the latter
small as compared with the former, is what is now generally used in
Great Britain.
This is the case to-day. What will it be in the future?
As the English palate is educated to like the flavour of Indian Tea,
more and more of it will be demanded in the mixture made up for the
public, and though the day is distant, nay, may never arrive, on
account of its greater cost, when it will be generally drunk pure, I do
not myself doubt that the demand for it will go on steadily increasing
for years to come, as it has for years past.[85]
It is an important query if, with a largely increased demand, the
supply will be equal to it. Very far from all India has a good Tea
climate, which is a peculiar one, and only exists in perfection in
Assam, Cachar, Chittagong, and lands in Bengal close to the foot of the
Himalayas.
But in these districts alone there are lands sufficient to supply
nearly the whole world with Tea, so that it is not the lands which are
wanting, though the Government prices for the lands are prohibitory and
will check cultivation. But in Assam, Cachar, and the Terai below the
Himalayas labour is very scarce, while in Chittagong the area fit for
Tea is not large, so that I do not anticipate any very sudden increase
of the cultivation, though year by year it is on the increase and will
so continue.
On the other hand, I do not--for the reasons stated, viz., that
Tea is an acquired taste and thus a new kind is not at first
palatable--anticipate any very sudden increase in the demand. If,
however, I am wrong, and from a largely increased demand the prices of
Indian Teas rise, I do not doubt that the cultivation will be greatly
extended, and that after an interval of four years (it takes that time
for the Tea plant to produce) the supply will be equal to the then
wants of the English market.
The future of Indian Tea is, I think, a bright one, and I know nothing
in which capital can be more profitably invested if the business is
conducted with knowledge and experience, but to embark in it without
these two requisites is ruin.
A few figures may be given here. The imports into Great Britain of
Indian Teas have been yearly increasing, till in 1873 they amounted to
18,367,000 lbs., and, judging from the estimate out here of the produce
this year, viz., 1874, the imports into Great Britain in 1874 will not
be far short of 20,000,000 lbs.[86]
But as the annual consumption of Tea in the United Kingdom is not less
than 130,000,000 lbs., India is still very far from supplying enough to
give a mixture of three-fourths Chinese and one-fourth India Tea.[87]
The finest Chinese Tea sells in London in bond at 2_s._ 4_d._ to 2_s._
6_d._, while the finest Indian in bond fetches 3_s._ to 3_s._ 6_d._[88]
What, then, will be the future of Indian Tea? It is an important query.
The industry is one which, if successful, might attain to wide limits,
and help not a little to relieve the Indian State Exchequer, while it
would afford occupation to many a class of Englishmen who at present
look about in vain for employment.
Tea speculation has passed through the first two preliminary phases
to which most new ventures are liable. First, we had the wild rush,
the mad fever, when every man thought that to own a few Tea bushes
was to realise wealth. In those days existing plantations were bought
at eight and ten times their value; nominal areas of 500 acres were
paid for which, on subsequent measurement, proved to be under 100; new
gardens were commenced on impossible sites, and by men as managers who
not only did not know a Tea plant from a cabbage, but who were equally
ignorant of the commonest rules of agriculture. Boards highly paid,
with secretaries still more liberally remunerated, were formed both in
Calcutta and London to carry on the enterprise; and, in short, money
was lavished in every conceivable way, while mismanagement ran rampant
in each department. It is not strange that the whole thing collapsed:
the wonder is it did not do so earlier.
The second stage was then entered upon. Numbers had been bitten, and
the idea, once formed, grew apace, that Tea could not pay at all.
Everyone wanted to sell, and down went all Tea shares to a figure
which only increased the general panic. Many companies, and not a few
individuals, unable to carry on, had to wind up and sell their estates
for whatever they would fetch. Gardens that had cost lakhs were sold
for as many hundreds, and the very word “Tea” stank in the nostrils of
the commercial public. A few of the best companies held on, as also
such individuals embarked in the speculation as could weather the
storm; but some of the companies were bowed down with heavy debts, and
it has been with many, from that cause, a losing race ever since.
This great smash occurred in 1867. I purpose, therefore, to examine
into the future prospects of the industry, now that time has been given
to test its vitality. Naturally the mistakes made at the first have not
been repeated since, so the speculation has had more or less of a fair
chance to show what it can do.
In the first place, the share list of Tea companies in the public
prints does not at all represent the true position of Tea property
to-day. It only gives the dividends declared and the value of the
shares in those few limited liability companies which were able to
weather the storm, but who, in common with all the others, were bowed
down with debt, and are suffering up to the present time, both from
that and the numberless mistakes made at the commencement of the
enterprise. There are a few notable exceptions, even among the Tea
companies. Some of these have done very well, pay large dividends, and
are quoted at a high premium, which shows that Tea can and will pay
even with the disadvantages attached to limited liability companies.
I mean that in these latter work is always expensively done, and that
much of the profits are swallowed up by secretaries, directors, &c.,
besides which, generally from interested motives, the Teas are sent
home for sale which private planters know from experience is _not_ the
best plan.
But to return to the share list. The very many gardens held by firms
or private individuals are absent, and inasmuch as many of these were
begun more lately, and consequently, the blunders made in other gardens
were avoided, it is evident that _their_ position, if it could be
ascertained, would give the true picture needed.
There is one class of plantations which it would be by no means fair to
include. I mean those gardens bought for a mere song during the panic.
On many of these necessarily enormous profits have been made, but it
proves nothing, inasmuch as the profits, to be legitimate profits for
criticism, should on the debit side include the whole cost incurred in
making the plantation. To form a fair appreciation of the profits Tea
planting can give, we must select gardens constructed after knowledge
on the subject was attained, where good management, combined with
economy in all details, has been carried out, and where the necessary
natural conditions for success exist--and such are rare.
But first let me explain what I mean by the “necessary natural
conditions for success.” Manageable areas; flat or nearly flat land
for the garden; a good class of indigenous and hybrid plants; local
labour, or anyhow a good proportion of this; facilities for manuring; a
good soil; a good Tea climate; and cheap means of transport constitute
these, and where they exist I hold Tea _must_, and _does_, pay well. I
don’t believe in plantations of 600 or 800 acres; some of these pay,
but they would pay much better if reduced in size. A garden of 300
acres, yielding even at the rate of four maunds an acre, will pay much
better than another of 500 acres, yielding but two and a-half or three
maunds.
The reason is obvious, the larger produce is against a smaller
expenditure. Were I to commence a Tea plantation to-day, it should
not exceed 300 or 400 acres in size. This passion for large areas is
the rock on which, more than any other, Tea Companies have wrecked
themselves; experience has already shown this, and will show it more,
as time goes on.
Flat land for Tea gardens is a great desideratum. Steep lands are
difficult to cultivate; the soil is continually washing away from the
roots of the plants; it is impossible to manure them successfully, and
the consequence of all this is that the Tea bushes do not thrive.
The Chinese plant gives a small and inferior produce, the indigenous
and hybrid kind a larger and very superior one; thus I think the latter
one of the “necessary conditions for success.” On the other points,
with the exception of manuring, nothing need be said, inasmuch as
their necessity is evident; but on the point of manure I must say a
few words. The Tea plant is being continually denuded of its leaves;
nothing is returned to the soil; and consequently in process of
time that soil is exhausted. It was held once that manure destroyed
the flavour of Tea. This idea, at variance with all agricultural
experience, is now completely exploded, like many others received from
the Chinamen who first came from the Flowery Land to teach the art of
Tea cultivation and Tea manufacture to the Indian public. Many of them
had never perhaps seen a Tea bush, anyhow in many respects theirs was
faulty teaching, and all experienced planters are convinced, and it is
truth, that more knowledge on Tea exists in India than China at the
present time.
But to return to the subject of manure. It is, and is now generally
allowed to be, a necessity to the lengthened and successful maintenance
of a plantation. Means for its production are now largely adopted in
Assam and Cachar, and the results will be a yield per acre the most
sanguine have never dreamt of. Chittagong, on this head, has great
advantages; manure in any quantity can there be procured for a trifle,
and the results have shown its great value.
We have scarcely yet entered on the third stage to which any new
speculation, after the two first (the wild venture, and the unreasoning
panic have passed), tends; but as knowledge of the financial results of
Tea plantations in the hands of private firms and private individuals
increases, that third stage will dawn, if it has not done so already.
It consists in a sober appreciation of the subject opposed to both the
extremely exulting and depressing views passed through, and when it
arrives, the great and successful future of Indian Tea will be only a
question of time.
FOOTNOTES:
[84] Note to Third Edition.--The above three statements, quite true
when written, are not so now. The heavy fall in the value of both
Indian and Chinese Teas in 1877, while pressing hard on the Indian
producer, has certainly had the one good effect for him of making
Indian Teas more widely known. They _are_ generally known now, in many
cases sold pure as Indian Tea, and used by all retail dealers to give
the body, or strength lacking in most Chinese kinds.
[85] Note to Third Edition.--Yes; the demand has largely increased,
but, alas! production has increased in a greater ratio. In short, the
supply exceeds the demand, and hence the low prices now ruling. As
regards the use of Indian Teas, so much have the English public been
now made familiar with their flavour, they, as a rule, reject any Teas
which have it not more or less. In fact, the English public, as I
predicted years ago, have now begun to like the new flavour, and even
pure Indian Teas are now relished by many.
[86] Note to Third Edition.--The imports have been as follows during
the last three years:--
1875 25,615,000.
1876 29,384,000.
1877 31,882,000.
[87] Note to Third Edition.--The annual consumption of all Teas in
Great Britain in 1877 was:--
Chinese 158,000,000
India 28,000,000
-----------
Total 186,000,000
[88] Note to Third Edition.--In 1876 the _average_ prices of the two
kinds in bond were:--Chinese, 1_s._ 2_d._; Indian, 1_s._ 10_d._ per lb.
_ADDITIONS TO THE FOURTH EDITION._