174 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Septejiber I, 1883, 



good fertilizer is an ersential element in the profitable 

 cultivation of coffee property, no one of extended experience 

 will deny. 



It has, however, always been diiEcult and expensive to 

 deliver bulky manure to steep and distant fields. Hitherto, 

 the chief mode of delivery has been by bullock carts ; but 

 these are slow when worked ou narrow and steep roads, 

 and their use involves considerable wear and tear of cattle, 

 carts, and ro.ads. The only other available means was by 

 the carriage of the manure in basket on coolies' heads ; 

 and botli these plans are out of the questiou when there 

 is any considerable distance to transport the manure. 



Shareholders will therefore be glad to learn that this 

 obstacle to manuring operations has to a lar^e extent 

 been overcome on Spring Valley by the suspended wire 

 tramways referred to in last report. These have now 

 been completed and at work for some time, and are pro- 

 nounced not only a mechanical success, but prove to be 

 highly economical, and migM with advantage be extended. 

 Your Directors take this opportuu'ty of .specially com- 

 plimenting both the Manager and the Company's Engin- 

 eer on the pains taken in their erection. 



Cinchona planting has received, and is getting every at- 

 tention, and many new and improved varieties have been 

 introduced. The great mortality taking place amongst cin- 

 chona trees in many parts of the island, has not extended 

 to Spring Valley. The Ouvah distnct, owing to its free 

 subsoil, is believed to be highly suitable for the growth of 

 this plant. It has been found imprudent to take the bark 

 off very young trees, so that large harvests must not be 

 expected for a year or two. Ou Oolanakaude the coffee 

 tree has almost ceased to bear, the only product that 

 seems capable of being gi-own profitably to supplaut it is 

 cacao. This is getting all due attention, but the number 

 of enemies -which attack the young plants are so numer- 

 ous, that success seems by no means certain. 



OUVAH COBFEE COMPANY, LIMITED. 



(From the Annual Report ) 



As you were informeil in last report, the Directors hoped 

 to have declared a dividend during the past twelve mouths 

 but thought it prudent to wait until they could form an 

 opinion as to the crop to be secured during season 1S82-S3. 

 It is feared, however, that on account of the blossom 

 fai iiig to f -uctify, this crop, which was at fir.st estimated 

 at 5 OOU cwt., will not be over 4,000 cwt., and as more, than 

 half of this has yet to come forward, the working of tliat 

 year at a profit greatlj' depends ou the future of the Coffee 

 market. 'This prosf ect has therefore been kept in view by 

 the Directors in coming to the above decision. 



Leaf disease has been much less virulent, dming the past 

 two seasons, than formerly, and strong hopes are fcnter- 

 taiutd that it will soon cease to be a source of trouble. 

 The two last uniirecedentedly small crops are said to be 

 mainly, if not entirely, due to unfavourable weather. 



The Directors canuot but feel that Shareholders, in com- 

 mon with themselves, will be somewhat disheartened l>y the 

 results of the working of the last two seasons, but they 

 have much s,atisfactiju in being able to rejiort that pro- 

 Bpocts for season lSt^3-84 are exc^dleut, on account of the 

 favourable setting and maturing of good Spriug blossoms. 



It is impossible, however, as jet to form any definite idea 

 o' what the totid crop of lS8a-84 may Ije, as the Autunm 

 b ossums have yet to come out : should tliey prove at all 

 equal to the Spring blossoms, the crop will no doubt be 

 a very satisfactory one, and if the Directors' anticipations 

 in this respect are realized, thev would have the pleasure 

 of paying an interim dividend in January next. 



During the past adverse sea.sous, your Directors have 

 not deemed it wise to curtail, in too large a degree, the 

 expenditure ou the up-keej) and cultivation of the Com- 

 pany's proparties, and to their strict ai.h r.mce to this policy, 

 coupled with a more suitable season and compartive im- 

 munity from leaf disease, are due the good prospects above 

 referred to, and the present favourable condition of the 

 estates. 



Particular attention has been givou to manuring on all 

 the Comp.ay's estates, especially on Hockhill, and also on 

 Ballaga'la and Gabbola, where tha erection of the Tramway 

 has made liberal manuring not only practicable but easy. 

 The Manager reports that the cpffe« on the two last named 



properties is looking as healthy and vigorous as it did in 

 the days before leaf-disease, and this .statement is con- 

 firmed by the superintendent who had charge of these pro- 

 perties when leaf-disease was unknown. The Manager fur- 

 ther states that the excess of crop to be secured from 

 this group of estates during the season of 1883-84, owing 

 to the successful carrying out of these manm-ing oper- 

 ations, will alone be sutEiieut to meet the cost of erect- 

 ing the Tramways. 



The capabilities of the Tramway to lay down, at a low 

 cost, large masses of manure in proximity to the fields to 

 be manured, have been so forcibly pointed out by those 

 who have had the working of it, that your Directors re- 

 solved on extending the line to the boundary of Glenalpin. 



Ou the 1st June this extension was completed and com- 

 menced working. The promptitude anri diligence displayed 

 by the Manager and liis assistants, and especially by the 

 Company's Engineer in the erection of this is most 

 praiseworthy. It will bring a large area of Glenalpin 

 under a system of manm-ing similar to that adopted on 

 Ballagalla, etc., and by another short extension of the 

 Tramway not only could all those fine fields of the first 

 named property, which formerly bore such splendid crops, 

 be manured with the greatest facility, but also the ad- 

 joining portion of Graham's Land. This last contemplated 

 extension will not, however, be added uutU f luther results 

 are shewn. 



With reference to cinchona, the Directors are pleased 

 to report that as yet the percentage of deaths of these 

 trees in Ouvah has been small, and it is generally be- 

 lieved that the soil of this tlistrict is well adapted for its 

 growth. The Comiiauy has now considerably over 1,000,000 

 gi'owing trees, but no large harvest can be expected from 

 them for a year or tw'o, as the barking of young cin- 

 chonas is found to be injudicious. 



On Eockhill, for the past tlu'ee years, attention has been 

 given to the planting of cocoa at wide intervals among 

 coffee. The oldest of these trees have now attained a 

 good^fceight, thereby indicatiug that the altitude, soil, 

 and climate are favourable for this product. On Glen- 

 alpin, Ballagalla and Narangalla considerable areas have 

 been planted with this product, and on the lower fields 

 of the two latter estates its suuccess is almost certain. 



WKSX INDIAN PLANTATIONS: "THE 

 CONtilGNEE'S LIEN." 

 In the present state of public business, it is not, 

 perhaps, of much use to urge that the condition of 

 our West Indian Colonies deserves the attention of 

 Parlianieut. The Legislature caunot find time to 

 deal with more than a few of the domestic questions 

 that stand imperatively in need of settlement, and 

 will not, therefore, be disposed to look into the 

 affdrs of these comparatively renitt-- possessions of 

 the British Crown. Yet it is certain th-t the pre- 

 sent circumst.-.nccs of the Islands are far fr^'iu satis- 

 factory, and. unless so lu^ ameliorative nitasures be 

 adopted, are likely to become worse in->te id of better. 

 Some time ago, attention was d-'ncted in these 

 columns to the evils lesultiug from the working of 

 the West India Encumbered Estates Court. This 

 Court, established in 1854, on the model of that which 

 had then been fur some years in operation in Ireland, 

 was devised to tacditate the transfer of landed pro- 

 p rties to persons who possessed the means of work- 

 iag them. The motive which auim.ated its promoters 

 w.is no doubt good, but the working of the experi- 

 ment in the West Indies, as in Ireland, has been 

 anything but beneficial. Its effect has been to trans 'Oi' 

 the aotual and, in many c.\ses also, the nomiuil, 

 ownership of the soil to British nieruautile capitalu- s, 

 whose only concern is to secure a large return for 

 their investments. There is uo diffimity in under- 

 standing the pioo;ss by which this result has been 

 brought about. It is by the recognition of what is 

 known as the "consignee's lien "—that is, apriority 

 over tvery other cred tor to any merchant or con- 

 signee who adv.'n-ed u ojey to the owner of a West 

 India estate, i r supjjliid him on credit with niachitery 



