Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1894-01-04
FORTUNES IN TIA

4 vast amount OF money Is spent
annually la the United slatel for tea
for USE as Il beverage. Great B'llain
takes nrat rank as heavy tea.irinking
nation, but In Utah there are good
many people who hold their own even
with the tea.loving Bslt1u Ia tho
quantity Of the beverage injected into
tneir systems, Notwithstanding the
Injurious effects which the best au.
thorities indicate ns following It's oxces.
sive use.
During the past Ave years tbs Island
Of Ceylon has come to the front ~
tca.prOducer. Formerly coties was
tho great staple product OF that ooun.
try. But fungus appeared Ia the
coffee plantation, and they failed. In
1883 Ceylon had 10000 acres In coffee
tlelds; In 1898 she had less than q, 600
acres. The fungus which destroyed
the crops has disappeared, but while
its ravages were being carried on In the
island the coffee planters In America
increased their product aui occupied
the Held. Thus business that once
ilourished In Ceylon, aud from which
vast fortunes were made, is now almost
q thing Of the past. During the hard
times Of the years VI coffee failure
many OF the planters sought new
| homes Ia the United States ani else,
where.
Ceylon Is, however, suited to the
cultivation Of the tea plant, Rnd a mum.
osr Of those formerly engaged In rails.
Ing coffee turned their attention to
cuItiyatlng tel. They succeeded ~
we'll that lhelr example was soon fol.
lowed by others, aud ia 1898 there
we're over 100000 acres Of tea fields la
the island. Tue crop does remarkably
we'll, aud II is said the quality Ia as
good US that OF the plant any where.
The value Of tho product for the pasl
year Is placed ut S2JO,0JO,O1O by ths
time II gets to the market.
Under this condition, the tea plaat.
era have made a great deal OF money.
The cheap cultivation Of the plant Gu
ables thom u sell is product at low
price and then reap Immense profits.
+. w. Mackwood, who Is an extensive
tea'gTower In Ceylon, was mere few
days ago, ana slated that labor Ia the
fields there costs ON an average but ten
cents per day. lilo II OF opinion that
n the same wages hal TO bc paid IS
prevail In this country Tor the sane
class OF labor tho planters would not
be able 10 compete with the cheap pro
ductiou Of other parts Of Southern
Asia. ASH b., the native Clngalese
cts employed only to u limited extent.
The natives from the mlialaui OF
southeastern India furnish the bulk VI
the laboreu BON sexes are employed,
and during the picking season a great
many little boys ami giyl- uge enlisted,
The women ani cntdren arc far better
10 plcSing the leaves than axe the msl,
% thyir nnsets Rru more nimulu anu
.h,y are thus uu.o 10 WORK usgor.
Iupru Is one Lesson that mlght De
learned from ,hs way Ia wuicn
90 cultivation is carried on Ia
/ Crylou, aud that Is tne attention
/ i,yeu tothe growing crop aui tho care
nuwu 10 gather II clean. Tho sol, is
/ y,ll.worEed aud Kept free rom nJ4i1u.
{ r3wths 30 Ihat the ontige nelI VIII
ave forth its iull strength 20 the plant
nat is being cultivated; while the
saves are carefully cjloc,rI ana kept
slrauso tntre viii DO no loss by waste,
fnesu features go "a long way toward
1cuuug a good reIurl 70 the tsa-
rover, tho price OF whose crop de.
ends largely upon ne cleanliness anu
,teiom from fo,eIga plants aud sub.
J aurCs. a IuputttloH Tor oxrsl,oncs