The Delaware ledger., 1883-09-22
NUMBER 40.
Indian Tea.


The recent passage of the Tea Adul-
teration Act by Congress has COM
menced to show its effect to some pur-
pose upon the importation of poisonous
teas from Japan and China, and for the
health of the people of this country its
introduction has come none too soon.
FDio Lewis magazine for August,
quotes an article from the Sanitary En-
gineer, which contains facts almost in
credible, were it not for the authority.
1t states that 1000 packages of tea from
China were burned as poisonous by or
der of the British Government. These
showing upon analysis 65 per cent. of
poisonous adulterants, some being
deadly. That is in every 100 pounds
of tea ~ 65 pounds of adulterants were
found. Eleven different poisons were
detected--some deadly--says this
reliable authority which concludes thus:
"a large percentage of the stomach
pain and Indigestion among American
women may be traced to tea (p). In
the years 1872 upwards of $4,000
packages of tea from China and Japan
were refused permission to be landed in
Great Britain as adulterated; every
pound of this $4,000 packages was sent
on to America and has been, and is be.
ing consumed. This explains the mean.
ing of Gift" Tea Companies, who offer
premiums of China-sets, Waltham
watches, Pianos, Sewing machines,
&C., as inducements. Leslie's Popa.la1'
Monthly, for September, contains state
ments from a Mr.. Oscar Rigg, who is
evidently well posted on the subject,
and these are worthy of note. The
cargo of the "Fruitshire'' is mentioned
as being inspected at New York. The
results being that 3l00 chests of China
tea were condemned as impure, while
542 chests from Japan were also re-
lected for the same cause. The value
of this tea was stated to be $50, 900 and
the writer concludes as follows:
SIT is expected that at least 0,0O0,-
900 pounds will be refused market in
this country. The condemned tea be-
ing mainly green, and inferior Japan. -
Recent quotations for Japan teas show
as follows:
"Finest" 25 cents "Fine'' D cents
"Good medium 20cents Medium
Is cents, and yet no one appears to ask
why do our grocers charge us the fabu-
lous prices they do for such doubtful
trash Little is known in this country
about Indian Teas, or upon what scale
they are grown, and an idea exists that
they are something cropped up recently
quite new. Tea was commenced to be
grown in Indian in 1885, or As years
ago. During the ten years between
1866 and 1876 the exports had increased
from 2, 5O0,0 900 lbs. to %, 126, 900 lbs, OF
eleven times as much. The total de-
llyeries for year ending May last was
90, 600, 900 lbs. or 10 millions of pounds
increase upon last year. In British
India there are over 1000 plantations
with an acreage under tea of more than
lsS, 900 acres, while nearly 500, 900 acres
are taken up for tea planting. About
700 Europeans and men of education
are retained as managers and assistants,
and over 100000 natives are employed
III the factories and maximum estimated
yield is 70 millions of pounds. OF The
purity and excellence of Indian Teas.
little need be said, for their increased
consumption in Europe and Great
Britain speaks volumes, while as
opposed to all the seizures and con-
demnatiOns one reads of Japan and
China Teas, one solitary statement need
be alone made. Not single package
of Indian teas, shipped direct from the
factory to the consumer, has ever been
known to be either faced, eolored,
painted, or adulterated, and every
analysis ever made has proved Indian
Teas to be innocent of adulterations
of any kind. The reason is simple; no
Indian planter can afford to use adulter-
ants, and even if he so wished, and
to attempt any such tricks would
doubly damn a valuable reputation no
planter would risk while he has large
crops Of pune tea to sell upon its own
established merits in an open prejudieed
market, flooded without agonists only
too ready to seize on the first chance to
deny its merits. Ne,Cfeld (N J.) Item.