It is amazing the. amount of ignorance which is displayed on the subject of tea. Nine people out of ten have no palate for it, and. indeed, a first class tea-taster is so rare ' in the trade," that he commands a better salary than an Under-Secretary of State. A wealthy host will spend liberally on his wine for a very small dinner party, while his wife will calmly ask them to drink tea in his drawing room which would be dear at half-a crownapound. Inßussiaitis by no means uncommon to p-»y 15s. a pound for first class caravan tea, and there are places in London where it can be bought. In China the native grandees will even pay much more, and in one district of Japan it ia affirmed that tea has been produced which was rated at sixteen dollars the pound. No doubt these are fancy figures Such ' chops' do not appear in the mar ket, and it is well known that the first and consequently finest gro.vth of tea never leaves China, being reserved for the Imperial household. This, at least, is the current legend, though we may safely infer that the real reason is that there is no sale for such expensive brands among the outer barbarians. Actually, two shil lings and threepence per pound was the highest price at which any tea was valued for export from China last year. Nor need anyone hanker after such luxuries since very excellent tea can be had at the cost of three or four shillings tho pound. But the complaint of the importer is tint so thoroughly lias public taste been dam aged by the retailers, who offer an excel lent family Boliea at eighteen pence, that

it pays better to go on pandering to the public ignorance. What is worst of all, it is affirmed that the chief patrons of cheap teas are not the poor. Wealthy customers lust after the stuff at two shillings and less, while the Irish pea-ant ami the Scottisli crofters will often pay double that figure for what experience tells them is really cheaper in the end. The Chi nese have for years been steadily satisfying the demand, until they imagine that John Hull will take anything, so that while the finest wines of every coun try are sent to England, the worst teas are steadily despatched to our porta. 