THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1884. 



FINE TEA RESULTS IN ASSAM, HIGHLY 

 ENCOURAGING TO CEYLON. 



The annual general meeting of the shareholders of the 

 Assam Company was held in London on the (Uh June, 

 and we need plead no forgiveness from our readers for 

 commenting shortly upon the report as it appears in 

 the Home, and Colonial Mail of June 13th, for it gives 

 the record of such accomplished and promised success 

 in the cultivation of tea, as induces ns to hold out the 

 very highest hopes of even greater success to the 

 proprietors of Ceylon gardens. Especially import int 

 was the reference made hy the Chairman to the 

 satisfactory results obtained by the use of machinery ; 

 he attributed the reduction in the cost of the tea to 

 the introduction of machinery, and said that the 

 Company was waiting for a good drying machine, and 

 had come to the conclusion that Gibhs Barry's 

 machine would suit them best. That machine accord- 

 ingly would be introduced to their gardens, and the crop 

 of 1885 would be prepared for market by its use. This 

 is the machine so favourably mentioned by Mr. Owen 

 some time ago, but of which there seems to be no 

 single specimen in Ceylon. The principle of it is that 

 trays are dispensed with and the tea is passed round 

 and downwards through a cylinder. With the intro- 

 duction of machinery Assam will not b» so depeudent 

 upon its labour force. We learn that last year in the 

 middle of tea-making the work at some of the gardens 

 was materially hindered by an epidemic of cholera, 

 which caused a large mortality : a heavy expenditure 

 in bringing up fresh labour was thereby occasioned. 

 This last sentence explains what otherwise would appear 

 an anomaly, for the report g;ies on to say that ' ' the 

 gardeus are now so well supplied with labour that if no 

 unforseen contingency shall arise, our expenditure 

 under that head for the two years next after 1884 

 will be small." Now in Ceylon an increased labour 

 force would mean larger expenditure; but in Assam 

 the first costs of securing labour are so enormous, 

 that it pays to keep a larger force on the garden 

 than present needs require than to endeavour to 

 secure fresh labour as works increase. 



The report with satisfaction notes that the demand 

 for Indian tea continues to be good, and that it is 

 steadily gaining a greater hold on the market. Its 

 consumption last year represented 35 per cent of the 

 total consumption of tea in England, and the return 

 for the first four months of the current year shows 

 that the percentage has now risen to 40 per cent, or 

 considerably more than one-third of the entire consump- 

 tion of the Kingdom. The following extract from the 

 directors' report speaks for itself : — 



The quantity of tea packed and despatched from our 

 gardens during last season amounted to 256,996 lb., 

 which is 139,839 lb. less than the superintendent's estim- 

 ate, but 205,154 lb. more than was packed in the pre- 

 vious year. The expenditure during the year was £118,154, 

 being £2,194 above the superintendent's estimate, This 

 excess was caused by the epidemic of cholera, and it is 

 less than what was estimated by the directors, as stated 

 by them m their circular letter to the shareholders on 

 the 1st of January last. There has been no improve- 

 ment in the prices realized by our produce during the 

 past year, our average price being Is Id, and we are of 

 opinion that it is not safe to anticipate that the average 

 price of Indian tea in the English market will be much 

 improved in the future. The best efforts of the board 

 are aimed in the direction of obtaining a large crop 

 of improved quality. It will not pay to rely upon 

 quality or quantity alone. It is from the two com- 

 bined, with the lowest possible expenditure that we must 

 look for any improvement in our prospects. The result 

 for the year stands tfms : — Tea sales, gross proceeds 

 6189,209 13s 3d.; tea seed sold in India, £8,795 16s lOd ; 

 sundry receipts in India, £1,624 5s 9d ; insterest and sun- 



dries, £102'16 8d; total, £149,732 12s 6d. Expenditure in 

 India in rupees at par, £118,153 18s 8d ; less exchange, 

 £15,807 19s 9d : total, £102,345 ISs lid ; expenditure in 

 England, £21,369 Is 4d ; total expenditure, £123,715 0s 3d; 

 net profit, £26,017 12s 3d. The profit, therefore, this year 

 amouuts to £26,017 12s 3d, to which is to be added the 

 sum of £238 3s 6d, balance of undivided profits last year, 

 making a total of £26,255 15s 9d, out of which we pro- 

 pose to pay a dividend at the rate of 14 per cent, for 

 the year, and to carry forward £53 7s 9d. 



The above satisfactory profit was obtained in spite 

 of the epidemic of cholera already mentioned, and 

 a severe hail storm of unexampled severity that 

 greatly injured the gardens in 1S82. The directors 

 proceed to state that the superintendent estimates the 

 croo of manufactured tea for the current, year at 

 2,6»72,200 lb., and the expenditure at £123,862, 

 whiph makes the cost per lb. of tea stand at llgd, 

 and as they state above that it is not safe to anti- 

 cipate a higher average than that already obtained, viz : 

 Is Id, this would leave but 2d a lb. profit over and 

 above (as we take it) working expenses. However, 

 they consider the estimate of crop to be less than 

 may be fairly expected considering how well the gardens 

 are supplied with labour and machinery. 



The Chairman said — and we would draw particular 

 attention to this — that the average yield from the 

 Company's gardens was 339 lb. per acre of cult- 

 ivation, but he should not be satisfied till they 

 had reached 500 lb. per acre. Now if they in Assam, 

 700 miles from the sea-board, beset by disease, 

 tempests, and labour difficulties, and with a yield 

 of 339 lb. per acre, can show such paying results 

 what ought not we in Ceylon to do with our gen- 

 erally salubrious climate, facilities of transport, 

 abundant and cheap labour suppTy, and yields of 

 400 to 800 lb. per acre ! and, we might add, with 

 our averages of Is 2d to Is 6d . 



At the conclusion of the meeting 



"Several of the shareholders addressed the board as to 

 the Company's condition and prospects, saying that it was 

 reported outside that the ground on which the tea stood was 

 getting exhausted and impoverished for want of manure. 

 To this the chairman replied that 'The root of the tea 

 plant goes down to the fresh virgin soil and is not dependant 

 upon the surface soil.' The tea tree was like the chestnut 

 and the ash, and would not benefit by the application of 

 manure to the surface. This statement was questioned by a 

 shareholder present." 



We should think so ! Fancy any tree not beaefitting 

 by the application of manure to the surface, especially 

 the tea-tree, which no doubt goes down to a con- 

 siderable depth, but has also innumerable surface 

 feeders. We never heard the subsoil called the virgin 

 soil before either. 



We notice that the Jorehaut Tea Company, Limited, 

 ha' also realized a profit of 14 per cent from the 

 crop of 1883. If the two Indian Companies with all, 

 their drawbacks can do this, we again say we ought 

 to do much better in Ceylon. 



CACAO CULTURE. 



While the subject of cacao is attracting so much 

 attention, we are glad to be able to place before 

 our readers the following instructions drawn up by 

 Dr. Trimen for the benefit of native cultivators, but 

 which may be useful to Europeans also. The paper 

 has been translated into Sinhalese and circulated 

 amongst the people. It will be observed tliHt Dr. 

 Trimen's views coincide with our own as to shade 

 not bi-'ing necessary but shelter essential : — ■ 

 Instruction to Native Cultivators of the Cacao ok 

 Chocolate Tkee. 



1. Localities, 85»Z, Climate. $a. — Oacao is a completely 

 tropica) plant, and its cultivation should not be at- 

 tempted above 2.500 feet, and only in warm situations 



