New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-10

gratifying to him personally. and tends to show.
ne thinks, that almost any other man could do
well or even better by avoiding the pioneers mis-
takes and ador-7 those Of his methods which
have proved successful.
NO EFFECT ON THE MARKET YET
Tribune reporter who saw several tea brokers
yesterday In Wall and Front SITS was told that DR..
Shepard's tea crops cut no ice" yet in the
local market, but" said one thirty years ago
Ceylon was producing less tea than this South
Carolina farm, and Ceylon tea was just as little
known. yet to-day that island sends out millions
OF pounds OF the leaf and Ceylon teas gain
ing popularity every year / have DR..
Shepards tea and tasted II. ] free TO say
that It is Of excellent quality comparable TO the
best tea that comes out OF Asia. but what It costs
the doctor to raise It l Of course cannot tell
DR. Shepard admits that the greatest factor in
the success or failure OF his plan is the high cost
OF American labor compared with the wretched
pay which is given TO the Oriental tea gatherers.
No machine has yet been invented 10 pick the
leaves They must be picked by hand. Even
when employing the labor OF negro children
trained the work and paid at the rate OF about
90 cents day. the picking OF sufficient fresh leaf
four and one-quarter pounds. TO make one pound
OF dried costs much as does the entire
-aslng picking and packing Of the same quality or
most sent from Asia. DR.. Shepard was
therefore confronted at the very start with the
task OF reducing the cost of production or raising
entail grades After lot OF hard work he has
apparently come 10 the conclusion that the cost
OF production cannot be materially reduced below
l5 cents a pound, not including interest on the
capital invested in ground and buildings; and
therefore he is now devotng his energies 10 grow
ing and introducing to the attention Of Americans
better tea than they ever see imported.
WHY HIS TEAS ARE SO GOOD
The best Oriental teas are only slightly fired"
~ driad lOyUf INNS mr.
great heat drives off those volatile principles which
lend them aroma and deicacy Of flavor. But teas
dried at low temperatures Will not bear distant
transportation, because they will not retain the
best Qualities for long periods Such teas sell for
from s. to $50 a pound in China and Japan. against
IS cents a pound. which is about the price paid
for the teas exported 10 this country Dr. Shep-
ard able raise these choice teas on mis- South
Carolina farm. and he is able 10 FIRE them at
low temperature. thus retaining all their delicacy'
and because his market is at hand and his
teas do not have 10 cross the ocean 10 reach MS
customers they lose none Of their aroma before
they are consumed and many perso1ss who s ha ave
the South Carolina article. They admit they
never tasted the best tea before. -- 80. .,,a,,
S,me for each cup Of the beverage. and DR.;
Shepard is confident that even that price unusual
70 the profitab sale of a grade Of tea which would
otherwise be unobtainable by Americans Even
would seem as If the consumers OF such high
priced must always be comparatively rev al
the industry is to become important one IN
America It must be able to raise tea for the
masses. ,.. 49,
"Stin" said a tea broker yesterday. IN Inc me
doctor really succeeds in proving the practicabinty
OF his enterprise and induces others 70 take II up:
who will be so unpatrotic and so daring as 10 say
that American ingenuity is unequal TO the tash oI
inVenting machine which shall PICK tea leANeS
as deftly as IL is now done by hand? only q rev
years ago all our cotton was picked by hAnu anu
10 many minds It seemed absolutely Impossible
that a machine would ever be invented 10 do that
work But the machine came, and with II rex to
same thing happen I'm tea culture?
BY-PRODUCT MAY SOLVE 1T.
This is also the great age OF by-products. II
American inventors once begin 10 turn their al
tenton 10 the tea plant I would not be at all sur
prised to see them produce something from the
bark that would make It profitable 10 cut off the
voung and tender shoots with the leaves The
leaves could then be stripped from the shoots by
ma chnery. instead OF being tediously plucked 9y
hand and the labor problem would be solved. IN
Tact the industry has great possibilities, and the
ra nee OF territory IN The United states WheTe the
nIsnt will flourish Is a large one
DIR Shepards experiments show that tea grow
Inc can be safely undertaken wherever the tenn
ne1sture rarely goes lower than % degrees Fahren-