October i, 1883] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



231 



iSnLLlNG OPEEATIOKS. 



One hunched piculs coffee per day costs in mill-house : 



Guilders, cts. 

 Five cubic metres wood, at 60 cents... 3 00 

 Eight coolies, at 40 cents ... 3 2it 

 One mandoor (chief) ... 2 50 

 Onemandoor ... 1 00 

 Coolie to pack house ... 5 00 

 Sizing, at 50 cents per picul ... 50 00 



Total... 

 Thus from red berry to parchment the 



cost per picid is 

 Parchment to Government stores ... 



Total... 

 From native Glondong to good dry Glon- 



dong costs... 

 To Government pact house 



Total 



One proof (trial) taken with 1,380 takka-s of native 

 Glondong produced in piculs 3S02 of clean coffee, or 36'29 

 takkas per picul. A second proof of red berry to parch- 

 ment gave for S,630 takkas 61-79 per cent of parchment. 

 One takka of Glondong (nativo) wi-ighs 6-35 Amsterdam 

 lb., and yields clean coffee 344 A. lb., or loses in weight 

 45 per cent; 1,3S0 t.-ikkas Glondong=3tC03 clean coffee; 

 1 takka clean coffee 10-6 A. lb.; 138 takkas Glondong= 

 44846 takkas of clean coffee, or a loss of 67 '5 per cent. This, 

 added to 47 of the loss from native to good dry,=72'2 

 per cent the total loss from native Glondong to clean 

 coffee. • 



Eetuex. 



Guilders, cts. 

 100 piculs clean coffee, or 3810 takkas costs 



for drjang ... ... ... ... 35 38 



For working in house ... 64 70 



liiO bags ... ... 40 00 



26 



140 OS 

 or delivered in town 180 guilders, or 1 to 2 



rupees per picul. 



The average price in the market of plantation 

 coffee is 50 rupees per picul. 



The actual cost per picul of working and de- 

 livering in town, at rea,sonable distance, is ... 1 SO 

 Say co.st of gi-owing ... 20 00 



Selling price of first quality ... 



Profit 

 Deduct 6 per cent for second quahty ... 



Net profit 26 51 



It will thus be seen that the business of coffee growing 

 jS a very profitable one to those engaged in it. Like every 

 other agi-icultural product, it requires knowledge and care. 

 I have no doubt that there are many suitable localities in 

 Queensland where the industry would succeed, and with our 

 Hbt^ral land laws and freedom of sale the profits should be 

 much larger than in Java, but cheap, very cheap, labour 

 must be procured, or coffee-growing, sugar-growing, rice, 

 and other tropical products mu.st be all relegated to the 

 limbo of departed probabilities. 



SCOTTISH ASSAM TEA COMPANY (LIMITED). 



Capital £91,040 in 9,104 shares of £10 each. Directors: 

 Messrs. ^V. Finlay, G. Williamson, W. Forbes, and T. 1!. 

 Marshall. Area under cultivation, 668 acres. 



The report of the directors presented at the nineteenth 

 annu<al general meeting of the .shai'eholders of this concern 

 is as follows : — 



It is with very great regret that the directors have to 

 record the death of the company's manager, Mr. A. 

 Cruickshaiik, who has been manager since 1875. 



Tea Cbop, 1882, .\XD Reallsation thereof. 



Oo-lculated on the usual basis of 4 lb. greeu leaf to 



1 lb. of manufactured teas, the total produce during sea- 

 son 1882 amouuted to 183,840 lb. of tea as against 192,576 

 lb. in 1881, being a decrease of 8,730 lb. Deducting loss 

 by. red and coarse leaf, weighing, firing, packing_sami)les, 

 etc., the actual quantity manufactured was 179,674 lb. 

 whereof 160 lb. retained for use of factories, and 179,514 lb. 

 packed per invoices. 



The following table exhibits details of the monthly 

 produce from each of the gardens during 1882, and a 

 comparison of the results with the out-turn for 1881, and 

 with the manager's estimate for 1882 ; — 

 Out-tiiru Estimate 

 for ls81. foi- 1882. March. April. Mar. June. 



Heelekah 12a,l]0 133,000 1,564 3,390 13,009 13,610 



Mazengah ... 00,072 64,000 440 638 5,0&i 10,-2I4 

 Karsoolie 10,3S3 12,000 63 2G4 1,B7.5 2,090 



Heelekah ... 

 Mazengah 

 Karsoolie ... 



41,732 38,101 23,36.5 20,003 8,393 183,840 

 After deducting the usual buyers' allowance of 1 lb. per 

 chest, the total quantity of tea accounted for by brokers 

 amounted 176,421 lb. This has all been realised, producing 

 a gross sum of £11,525 Os Id, being an average of Is 3Jd 

 per lb., as against an average price for 1881 of nearly Is 6J 

 per lb., the difference being attributable to a general 

 decline in the market price of tea, and not to any inferiority 

 in the quality of the Company's produce. 



An analysis of crop 1SS2, and com) a ison thereof with 

 crops 1880 and ISSl, is given in the appendix to the report 



.Accounts. — The accounts of the Comj.any for year ending" 

 December 31st, 1882, have been duly audited, and are 

 appended to the report. They consist, as usual, of balance 

 sheet; and profit and loss account, with relative appendix. 

 From the profit and loss account it will be ob.served that 



the total revenue for the year 1882 has amounted to 



£12,113 7 

 And that the total expenditure has been ... 11,635 9 6 



Showing a SOTpIua on the transactions applic- 

 able to the year of ... £477 11 1 



To which there falls to be added balance 

 brought forward from ISSl, as shown in 

 balance-sheet... ... 1.130 9 1 



Making sum at credit of profit and loss account, 



.•13 at December 31st 1882... ... £1,608 2 



Out of which sum your directors propose to pay a dirid- 

 end of 2 per cent, free of incomc-tiix, which will require 

 £1,591 16s, and leave £10 4 2 to be carried forward to 

 ne.xt account. "While regretting that they are not on this 

 occasion in a position to recommend a larger dividend, 

 vour directors would point out that the decrease in the 

 price of crop, as compared with 1881 (in which respect the 

 Company is by no means singular )reprcsents a sum of upwards 

 of £1,'.50, or fully 2 per cent on the Company's capital, .and 

 that at least another 1 percent is accounted for by extra ex- 

 penditure under the heads of buildings and machinery, 

 which it is hoped will not occur again for some years. 



L.uiOUR. — The number of coolie labourers on the gardens 

 at 31st December, 1881, was as follows :— Men, 279; women, 

 : 07 ; children, 55 ; total, 541. Including new coolies re- 

 cruit, d or ii'^ported, and deducting timc-expirees who have 

 left the gardens, and deaths and runaways during 1882, the 

 number of coolies OB the gardens at 31st December, 1882, 

 strod as follows :— IMen, 302 ; women, 226 ; children, 55 ; 

 total 583. The average monthly number of coolie labourers 

 cm the gardens, during 1S82. was 62ti, in addition to which a 

 moderate supply of local labour is generally obtainable j but 

 as the number of coolies had at December 31, 1882, again 

 fallen below the point at which it is desirable that the labour 

 force should be maiiit.ained, SO additiuna' coolies have .since 

 been scut up to the gardens, and it is jiossible that more may 

 be required. From latest information, it would appear that 

 the acting manager was to endeavour to supply himself 

 locallv with any additional laliourers, and so save the ex- 

 pense of any further importation at present ; but in this ho 

 may not be entii-ely successful. 



