Typhoo Tea
Important Industries of the British Empire
Issued in 1939 in the UK, the Important Industries of the British Empire 25-card set of Typhoo tea cards features prosperous industries like agriculture and manufacturing throughout nations of the British Empire. The front of each card depicts a drawing of the industry, the nation’s badge or coat of arms and an explanation of the importance of the industry. The back of each card is an advertisement for a tennis racket. This set served as a reference guide for important industries and became a collector’s series.
No. 3 –
CANADA : WHEAT
Canada is one of the principal wheat-producing countries of the world, and in the year ending 31st July, 1937 (a period affected by drought), she exported 174,846,000 bushels. Farming is naturally on a big scale, and farms of 10,000 acres are not uncommon. We show a harvester-thresher at work in the Province of Saskatchewan, where more than half the wheat produced in Canada is grown. (Picture by courtesy of the High Commissioner for Canada).
No. 9 –
BURMA : TEAK
Burma is the biggest teak-producing country in the world, and teak forests cover more than 31,000 square miles of its territory. The timber, one of the most valuable of all woods, is very durable, and teak beams have been known to reach an age of 1,000 years. Elephants are used in Burma to a large extent for hauling and stacking timber, and we show a number of these powerful animals hauling teak logs and floating them down river. (Imperial Institute Diorama).
No. 10 –
CEYLON : TEA
The cultivation of tea on a large scale in Ceylon began in 1876, and has since developed into the leading industry of the Colony. Over 559,000 acres are under cultivation, and 213,000,000 lbs. of tea were exported in 1937, over 68% of that quantity being sent to the United Kingdom. We show natives plucking tea leaves on a typical plantation. After plucking, the tea undergoes the processes of withering, rolling, fermentation, drying and grading.
No. 19 –
MALAYA : RUBBER
Malaya is one of the chief rubber-producing countries, and in 1937 it exported rubber of an amount exceeding £57,000,000 in value. The commodity is obtained from the sap, called “latex,” of certain tropical trees, and to obtain this sap the tree is tapped by making a diagonal cut and removing a small amount of bark. The flowing sap is then collected in a cup hung below the cut and is coagulated by the addition of acid.
No. 23 –
JAMAICA : BANANAS
During the nineteenth century the banana was cultivated commercially for the first time, and the plantations multiplied rapidly. The cultivation of the fruit is the main industry of Jamaica. Over 70,000 acres are under cultivation, and in 1937 the value of bananas exported was £2,700,000. Other important crops produced in the Colony are sugar, coconuts, cocoa, coffee and tobacco for cigars, while orange-growing is rapidly on the increase. (Imperial Institute Diorama).