August i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



"45 



dividend paid per share in 1881 was "25 per cent, 

 and that in 1862 the average price per lb. was 2s 5gd, 



Assam Company. 



1883. 1882. 1881. 1880. 

 Area under Plauts. Acres 7,577 7,515 7.435 7,331 

 Traduction of Leaf 



lb 2,515.169 2,256,385 2,321,415 2,330,472 



Average Invoice Price 



Realised... per lb. 1/1 1/1 7-16 1/44. tyl| 

 Gross Receipts, all 



Sources £149,732 £137.279 £163.74S £138,207 



Expenses (rrofit from 



Exchange Deducted) 123,715 119,342 11.5,040 125,029 

 Per lb. of tea Produced 11 lS-lfid. 1 0} 1,0 1 7-9 



Net Profit £26,017 £17>37 £47,807 £13,177 



Dividend Paid per 



Share 14 p. c. 10 p. c. 25 p. c. 7 p. c. 



Table showing the Production and Average Price per lb. 

 for Crops of the Assam Company"s Teas : — 



"Weight Average Price 



of Crop. per lb. 



1848 ... 178,918 ... 1/8} 



1849 ... 216,074 ... 1/10 1-16 



1850 ... 246,014 ... 1/9$ 



1851 ... 262,768 ... 1/11 5-16 



1852 ... 271,427 ... 1/111 



1853 ... 366,687 ... 1/11 



1854 ... 524 400 ... 1/101 



1855 ... 583,094 ... IIP 



1856 ... 634,675 ... 2/3i" 



1857 ... 699,443 ... 1/11 



1858 ... 750.106 ... 2/2 J 



1859 ... 790,297 ... 1/11 



1860 ... 845,173 ... 1/10 



1861 ... 916,389 ... 2/0* 



1862 ... 1,091,151 ... 2/51 



1863 ... 1,165,052 ... 2'3 



1864 ... 1,146,652 ... 2/2 5-16 

 181-5 ... 942,877 ... 1/8| 



1866 ... 653,211 1/10 



1867 ... 765,320 ... 1/11 3-16 



1868 ... 943,827 ... l.'lO 1-16 

 I860 ... 1,161,958 ... 1114 



1870 ... 1,182,522 ... 2/0+ 



1871 ... 1,440,373 ... 1/11 



1872 ... 1,491,999 ... 1,104 



1873 ... 1,456.745 ... 2/14 



1874 ... 1.1)21,206 ... 1/114 



1875 ... 1,045,129 ... 1/114 

 1870 ... 1,779,536 ... ' n-' 



1877 ... 2,039,324 1 S§ 



1878 ... 2,119,713 ... 1 94 



1879 ... 2,134,223 ... 1 54 



1880 ... 2,369.470 . 1 11 

 1**1 ... 2,365,893 1 & 



1882 ... 2,304,807 ... 1 1 7-16 



1883 ... 2,569,961 1/1 



From the following "Tea Statistics," also con- 

 tained in the Home and Co'onial Mail, it will be 

 seen how surely and steadily Indian tea has been 

 gaining ground, while China has been wavering 

 and receding. Japan and Java too are coming to 

 the front, proving that after all, much as some na'i ns 

 and trades Bcorn the axiom, h mesty is the best 

 policy : — 



Ti; v St \ 1 1 tics. 



Imports and deliveries from 1st June to ".1st May, 

 1881-82, 1882-83 and 1883-81, with stocks on 31st May, 

 1882, 1883 and 188-1. 



Imports. 



China tea 

 Japan tea 

 Java tea 

 Iiniian tea 



1881-32. 

 lb. 



1. Ml,:, 11. OHO 



11(1. (inn 



1,718,000 



49,455,000 



188283. 



I!.. 



145.907,000 



72,000 



2.656,000 



56,764,000 



1S83-84. 



lb. 



1 13,609,000 



112,000 



3,501,000 



03.035,000 



Total... 210,824,000 205.399,000 215,257,000 



19 



China tea 

 Japan tea 

 Java tea 

 Indian tea 



Deliveries 



1881-82. 



lb. 



151,596,000 



115,000 



1,302,000 



40,761,111)11 



1882.83. 



lb. 

 156,117,000 



56,000 

 2,234.000 

 56,621,000 



1882-84. 



lb. 



151,628,000 



181.000 



3,452,000 



60,469,000 



Total... 86,148,000 76,834,000 76,199,000 



Wo must conclude today with the following note 

 from the Produce Markets' Beview : — 



In an article on the decreasiug trade between India 

 and Australia, about which such sanguine expectations 

 had been formed, the Calcutta Englishman says : — " The 

 extraordinary decline in the item of tea is due to special 

 causes. _ The trade has hitherto been somewhat of a 

 speculative character ; great variations might, therefore, 

 be expected. The Australians also, it is well kuown, object 

 to the system under which Indian teas are packed. They 

 are put up in ungainly boxes and packages, such as tea 

 dealers do not care to see displayed in their shop win- 

 dows. The boxes of China tea please the eye, and 

 attract the customers. The complaint seems sound, and 

 it would be well did planters in this country study the 

 aesthetics of their business. The trade, again, has been 

 depressed during the yeir by the knowledge, on the part 

 of exporters in India, that a great amount of their tea, 

 first shipped to Australia, has been sent from that colony 

 for sale to London, where prices happened to be ruling higher. 

 Planters have, therefore, naturally and wisely concluded 

 that they might as well reap the extra profit themselves." 



THE CINCHONA ENIERPRIZE IN JAVA. 



Translations of the annual reports for ISSOand 1881 

 appeared in the May number of the Tropic I Agriculturii ' 

 and that for 1882 (the latest out) is given below. Now 

 that the railway is open to Bandoeng, the question of 

 carriage rendered difficult by the frequent occurrence of 

 cattle.murrain, will cease to be a subject of complaint and 

 the labour supply is likely to be more adequate to the 

 demands of the Government plantations. In 1880, the 

 grafting of Ledgeriana scions on succirubra stocks was 

 continued as it was found that the trees planted out 

 were growing well. It was discovered subsequently, 

 that in order to check the tendency in such trees to 

 extreme lateral growth, it was necessary to prune 

 away the lower branches, such branches at three to 

 four years old, yielding an appreciable quantity of 

 quinine. The growth of the trees was checked by a 

 severe attack of Helopeltis, but neither in these re- 

 ports nor in anything we have read about ciocbonaa 

 in Java have we found any record of trees < 

 killed outright by these insects. Most of the planta- 

 tions were attacked and it is noted that 



They also made their appearance in the cuttings nnd 

 grafts at Tirtasari in the latter part of the year, but as 

 they were immediately discovered they could be completely 

 exterminated. Means were taken everywhere, bj eati 

 these inserts, to prevent the evil as much us possible. 

 *' As much as possib c" for, in some years the green Mies 

 came in such multitudes that there w;is nothing for 

 it but to allow them work their will, the trees re- 

 covering when they disappeared. The meteoroh gii al 

 or other conditions which regulate die movements of 

 these pests seem as mysterious as tho: e which guide 



