158 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1884. 



From the Home and Colonial Mail we take over 

 some important statistics of the great Indian Tea 

 Companies, The area of the Lebong Tea Company, 

 Limited (in Darjiling), is 98S acres and the expected 

 out-turn this season is 270,000 lb. of extra tine t<-a 

 (say 270 lb. per acre). Last season's crop was 277,899 

 lb. produced at an inclusive cost of Is Jd a lb., and 

 realized an average of Is 5£d. The prolit from tea 

 was £5,545, from sale of tea-seed £857, and interest 

 on £35,000 invested capital £;,750, making a total 

 buiu of £S,152, admitting of a dividend of 9 per cent. 

 The revenue account for the year showed the estim- 

 ated receipts at £22,4S7-U-8, less total expenditure 

 £14,335-9-1 ; balance estimated net profit £8, 152-2-7, 

 as above. 



The Borelli Tea Company, Limited, has an area of 

 875 acres under cultivation. The annual report runs 

 as follows : — 



From the causes explained in the circular dated Jan. 

 1st last, the crop amounted to only 388,820 lb. of packed tea, 

 showing a falling off, as compared with the preceding 

 year, of 38,110 lb. Owing, however, to increased ecouomy 

 in the working of the estates, aud a rather higher average 

 in the price obtained for the crop, the profit on the year 

 has been £3,022 5s 2d. This, with the balance at credit of 

 revenue, £4,038 15s 9d., after deducting the closing divid- 

 end on seasou 18S2, and adding the profit under-estimated 

 on that year, admits of the pajment of a final dividend 

 of 4 per cent., making 8 per cent, for the year, and 

 leaving a balance of £3,S07 8s lid. to be carried for- 

 ward. The gross average price realized for the crop is 

 Is l'955d., and the laid down cost 10-237d. per 11). 

 The latest reports from the superintendent show 

 the estates to be in good order throughout. The ex- 

 tensions made last year have proved very success- 

 ful, aud a further addition has been made this season of 

 55 acres, which promise to do equally well, bringing thr- 

 total area under cultivation up to 875'52 acres. All these 

 extrusions have been charged to revenue. The Superin- 

 tendent estimates the crop of the curreut year at 436,000 lh. 

 of tea, at an expenditure of about lOd. per lb. laid down. 

 The Company's recruiters having been exceptionally fort- 

 unate in bringing up a large number of coolies, ad- 

 ditional facility will be afforded for faking off the leaf at an 

 earlier stage of development, with a consequeut improve- 

 ment in quality. With the view of promoting this object, 

 it has been arranged that Mr. Denton, a tea taster of 

 considerable experience ami proved capacity in the employ 

 of the Calcutta agents, shall pay a visit to the estates 

 during the manufacturing season, and give Mr. Lumsdeu 

 the benefit of his advice aud assistance. The Keport aud 

 Accounts having been received and adopted, a final dividend 

 of 4 per cent, making 8 per cent, for the year was declared. 

 Since the Company was started in 1874 the following 

 are the average prices obtained for the Company's crops 

 of tea, aud the dividends declared year by year. It will 

 be noted that the average dividend is nearly 10 per cent. 



1874 

 1875 

 1S76 

 1877 

 1878 

 1879 

 1S80 

 1881 

 1882 

 18S3 



Statement of Accreage under Cultivation, 



according to suuvky. 



TEA cultivation. 



Name of Extensions 



Plantation. Old. 1881—2. 1882—3. made this Total 



season about acres. 

 10- 

 6- 

 in- 



Painpoota 

 Bokagaon 

 Hanchoora 

 Patgaon 



...39573 ... 



...202-22 .. 



... 79-31 .. 



... 6326 ... 



Total. 



740-52 ... 26- ... 54- ... 55' ... 875-52 



We note that the expected crop of the above con- 

 cern was at the rate of 500 lb. per acre, and that 

 in 1877 the average price was Is 10id and the dividend 

 declared was 14 per cent. 



The report of the Jhanzie Tea Association, Limited, 

 was not quite so satisfactory: the causes of failure 

 were said to be two-fold :— First, owing to unfavour- 

 able weather in the Jorhat district, in which some 

 of the gardens are located, the out-turn fell short of 

 estimate by 48,000 lb. ; second, the quality of the 

 crop, possibly affected by the weather, was, though 

 better than 1882, inferior to 1881. 



The sale of 211 maunds Tea seed realised R17.704-9-6, 

 or at the rate of about K84 per maund. The coming 

 crop of seed is estimated at between 300 and 400 

 maunds, but the demand at present is very small. 

 In machinery the manager reports well of the Gibbs 

 & "Harry's drier, and the two siroccos. On the 

 garden was a labour force of 490 men, 401 women, and 

 89 children. Unfortunately there had been three out- 

 breaks of cholera, which had resulted in the death 

 of about 60 Bengali coolies, and the absconding of 50 

 Kachanes. Tke manager's estimate foH1884 is for a 

 crop of 344,000 lb., including Nagani Jan (an estate 

 they were in treaty for,) for an Indian outlay of 

 R140.000, equivalent to 8Jd per lb. f. o. b.in Calcutta, 

 at au exchange of Is 8Jd per rupee. 



Well-manaked clay soil is known to be capable of yield- 

 ing the largest crop of grain. The reason usually given 

 for this is that clay is retentive of both manure aud moist- 

 ure. But there is another reason of scarcely less import- 

 ance. Insects that attack the roots of plants, living unseen, 

 and often unthought of or unsuspected, find it difficult to 

 live or work in clay. They connot penetrate it, or they 

 perish in it. Ami these insidious enemies are the worst 

 that the farmer or gardener has to contend with.— Queens- 

 lander. 



Insecticide. — The following is the best method we are 

 acquainted with for making the kerosene emulsion : — Dis- 

 solve jib of soft soap and a lump the size of a walnut of 

 washing soda in a gallon of boiling water; into this pour 

 4 oz. of kerosene, stir it well, aud add 4 more gallons of 

 water, stirring well again, aud you will have a mixture 

 that will destroy nearly all lands of insects, and not in- 

 jure many plants; but of course you must be cautious with 

 plants of tender nature, trying it first on a single plant 

 el part of a plant. It should be washed off after a few 

 hours. It will keep for any length of time in close jars 

 or bottles. — Leader, 



Japanese Lacquer. — In a recent communication to the 

 Asiatic Society of Japan [Nature, April 24), Mr. O. Korschelt 

 gave some very interesting information respecting the con- 

 stituents of Japanese lacquer. He considers the raw lacquer 

 juice to be an emulsion which contains a peculiar acid 

 (urushic acid), a gum. a nitrogenous body, water and traces 

 of a volatile acid. The hardening of the juice that takes 

 place when it is exposed in a thin layer to moist air at a 

 temperature between 20° C. and 27° O. is due to the 

 oxidation of urushic acid to oxyurushic acid under the in- 

 fluence of the nitrogenous body, which acts as a ferment. 

 "Whilst the gum is useful in maintaining the condition of 

 an emulsion, its presence in the hardened lacquer is in- 

 jurious, as it gives rise to blisters in contact with water. The 

 reduction of the proportion of gum by the admixture of 

 raw juice with separated urushic acid, is therefore, advant- 

 ageous; but on the other hand, if this admixture be carried 

 beyond five parts of acid with one part of juice the activity 

 of the ferment is interfered with. The ferment is an 

 albumenoid, but contains much less nitrogen than albumen, 

 and it cannot be replaced by diastase or ptyalin. The quality 

 of the lacquer seems to be dependent upon its richness in 

 urushic acid and poverty in water, the durability of the 

 finished work being due to the oxyurushic acid, winch is 

 singularly negative iu its reactions, resisting all solvents 

 tried, and being affected only by strong nitric acid. What 

 is known as lacquer poisoning is stated to be due to urushic 

 acid, which gradually disappears; the best antidote for it 

 is sugar of lead. — Piianuaceutical Jour, ml. 



