Mov. I, 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



m 



the capital raised is in the form of shares and no pow- 

 ers are given to mortgage estates, there ought to be 

 some chauces for the legitimate Oompany-yromoter." 



To the above list may be added the Brahmapootra 

 Company : — 



Brahmapootra 1884 1883 1882 1881 1880 



Dividends 15 12*: 9 U 7 



Price of Tea Is 2.9d Is 1.5d Is 3.62d Is 4.77d Is 1.9 Id 



All these Companies fulfill the conditions laid down 

 by the writer in the Statist as necessary for_ success, 

 being ably managed, free from debt, and having their 

 capital raised in the form of shares. 



Since the above was written, three of the four Com- 

 panies named have declared improved dividends, the 

 I<ebong Company remaining at 9 o/o, viz : — 



Assam Darjeeliug Lebong Brahmapootra 

 Dividend Co. Co. Co. Co. 



for 1885 2U o 8 00 9 0/0 10 o o 



Amount paid 



per Share £20 £20 £10 £25 



Approximate 

 Selling Price £42 £24 £12 £46 



Yielding at these selling prices, and at the average 

 rates of dividend for the two years 1884 and 1885, the 

 following percentages, viz. : — 



Assam Darjeeling Lebong Brahmapootra 

 Co. Co. Co. Co. 



£8 Is lOd £6 5s £7 lOs £8 8s 6d 



Equal to years' 



purchase 12i yrs. 16 yrs. 13* yrs. HJ yrs. 



There is a liability on the shares of the Assam Com- 

 pany for a further call of £10 a share. 



The Jorehaut Company have declared a dividend at 

 the rate of 15 per cent, and their £20 shares are quoted 

 at £42, thus showing a return of £7 2s lOd per cent on 

 that selling price, or fourteen years' purchase. 



The Home ami Colonial Mall of the IGth July, in an 

 article on Tea as an investment, remarks : " It is some- 

 what surprising that with such handsome results Tea 

 is not a more favourite investment among English people. 

 The shares it is true are not quoted on the Stock Ex- 

 change, and for this reason probably little is known 

 among the general public of the advantages of Tea as 

 an investment." August, 1886. 



THE PEOSPECTS OF CINCHONA BABK. 

 The most interesting Report we have seen for 

 some time on the condition and prospects of the 

 Cinchona Bark market is that of Messrs. Lewis 

 and Peat received by last mail. It affords a very 

 fair summary of the latest information from the 

 different cinchona-growing countries and we learn 

 from it for the first time, the important fact that 

 Java shipped Ir} million lb. of bark in the 12 

 months ending HOth June last, while larger quant- 

 ities are expected in the future. We give the 

 report here in full; — 



CINCHONA BARK. 



CEYLON, INDIA, JAVA &C. 



Mincing Lane, London, E. C, Sept. 17th, 1886. 



The extraordinary and continuous increase in the sup- 

 ply from Cci/loti shows no abatement, and has bafflsd 

 the calculations of those who relied on previous ex- 

 perience, and on the information circulated from Ceylon 

 itself, especially in the early part of this last year's 

 harvestings. 



(.Quantity (in pounds) offered since 1st January to 

 date : — 



Ceylon East India Java Total 



1880 9,4.57,762 702.614 301,477 10,461,853 

 1885 7,890,702 495,738 95,659 8,482,099 



1884 6,214,636 404,000 86,144 6,704,830 

 We expect the shipments from Ceylon from Sept. 



1885 to Oct. 1880 will total 15^- million pounds. 



Hence the greatly reduced price (about 3d per lb. per 

 unit) which is today's value. 



The i-atige of future values will, as in the past, depend 

 m( If on tho Mi)>ply than anythirg else ; for as we iiave 



frequently observed, the capacity of this trade, the 

 greatly increised actual consumption of bark and its 

 products, is shown by the facts of deliveries and stocks 

 to be far in excess of the ideas of those new to the trade, 

 few of whom have had, as we have had, the privilege 

 of dealing personally for half a century in the disposal 

 of a large part of this article. But so overwhelming 

 and rapid an increase in the supply, — at a time when 

 seiious depreciation in the values of all produce was 

 the order of the day, though startling and fatal perhaps 

 to the prospects of many of our Eastern planters and 

 friends,— has not resulted in anything approaching hope- 

 lees views for the future, as the manufacturers have 

 adapted themselves to the altered state of things, and 

 the novel mode of handling this article (too abuudaot 

 supphes being forced on the market each fortnight) 

 with wonderful composure and cleverness. 



We think it apparent, however, that the limit for the 

 present has been reached, and that any further material 

 iiicreaseof siqjplif would be disastrous to the trade and 

 reduce va.lues possibly considerably. No great war has 

 occurred during the last year to increase largely the 

 consumption of Sulphate (Quinine, but the opening of 

 Burmah to British rule, the settlements in Central 

 Africa, .specially on the Congo, and the new awakening 

 of China, and consequent intercourse and sojourn in 

 these countries of Europeans and Americans, will tend 

 to greater demands in the future for this invaluable 

 medicine, now so universally prescribed. The manu- 

 facture of the Sulphate the past year or two has, how- 

 ever, been excessive, and stocks of this too are large. 



The imports from Ceylon have fairly maintained 

 their quality, and the packing and condition of the 

 Bark has left little to be desired. Spokeshavings and 

 stem chips have formed a large and valuable bu'k 

 of our imports, and have met a ready sale, bright 

 clean bold lots often realising high figures for other 

 medicinal purposes besides quinine making. Of re- 

 newed Bark the proportion has been good. Boot has 

 sold well, especially Crown. Quills, when fresh silvery, 

 of even lengths, in cases of 100 to 120 lbs. weight, have 

 sold at high rates : press-packed, broken and ragged 

 immature lots have sold very badly. Young branch 

 and twigs have come in large quantities, and have 

 sold at low prices, helping to swell the supply and 

 our stocks ; and some of scarcely any value to Quinine 

 manufacturers. It is said the great increase in supply 

 is largely owing to the cutting down and pulling" up 

 of so many Cinchona trees for Tea planting, and that 

 we shall see a great reduction consequently in the 

 future supply ; time alone will shew. 



The supply from y«iY( shews a steady increase, but 

 as yet nothing alarming, total shipments from Java 

 1st July I8S0 to 30th June 1886, li million pounds. 

 The richness of quality, however, of much of it, will 

 make this a very important factor in our supply, and 

 we are told we may expect large quantities in future 

 years. The general condition of mercantilt affairs in 

 that Island, mainly owing to the depreciation of the 

 sugar industry, and consequently the reduced credits 

 from Holland may help to retard the otherwise prob- 

 able excessive outlay in this industry. 



Our supplies from Central America have contin- 

 ued insigniticant, and the great cost of transit from 

 the interior (and according to their previous ex- 

 perience), the ruinous rates now ruling for Bark render 

 it unlikely that we shall receive any appreciable 

 quantities for a long time thence. The "Bark is there, 

 it must be remembered, in enormous forests of variou.s 

 descriptions, and when prices allow, and collection 

 and transit are cheaper and easier, we may expect 

 the United States of Columbia, Ecuador and New 

 (iranada to obtain once moro a place of great i.ii- 

 portaiice in our supply of this product. 



Bolivia continues hor averaKo supply, and of rich 

 quality of quill bark, much being from cultivated 

 plantations. 



India, Darjeeling, and the Wynaad and Ncilgher- 

 ries are m^iking still further developments, but 

 current lov.- values will not encourage them in great 

 outlay for the present. 



We'st Indies, Africa (St. Thomas), which Inis sent 

 small poor lots, shews little prospect of becoming an 

 import int source .'f su iply. 



