September i, 1884.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



199 



ing the results for 1SS3 of a dozen Indian Tea Com- 

 panies. The largest i:>aid-up capital is that of the 

 Mortgage Bank of India, £308,4(38; the smallest £4.'), 560, 

 in the ease of the Borokai Tea Company. The Bank 

 possesses only 0,61-") acres against the 7,600 of the 

 Assam Company, but then the Assam Company got 

 "for a song" what had cost a mint of money. The 

 smallest acre -go is 550 in the case of the Dejoo Tea 

 Company. The capital per acre ranged from ±*\!5 to 

 the enormous sum of £117 per acre in the case of 

 the Scottish Assam, and yet the latter divided 5 

 per cent ! The crop ranged from 2,569,000 lb. in 

 the case of the Assam Company to 77,899 lb. gathered 

 by the L'ocig Tea Company, But what readers in 

 Ceylon will regard with special interest are the figures 

 for yield peraore. The very highest is so exceptional 

 that it can scarcely be counted for an average. 

 The Doom Tim, ma Tea Company had a yield of 617 

 lb. per acre, but this tea sold for only Is jd per lb., 

 a case of coarse plucking probably. The results were 

 a profit per acre of £2 12s 6d and a di"idend of 

 2f per cent. The next case of high yield per acre, 

 the Borelli Tea Company with 535 lb. , shows a selling 

 price of Is 2d and a dividend of 8 I er cent. The selling 

 price hero is too good for coarse plucking. The next 

 highest after thfe two quoted i3 the Dfjoo Tea Com- 

 pany with 390 lb per acre and a dividend of 7 p.r 

 cent. The very best resnlta i'i profit per acre and 

 divider.d is the Borokai Tea Company with £9 3s 7d 

 per acre and 15 per cent. In thia case the tea cost 

 Is per lb and realized Is 8d. The yield per acre was 

 the lowest, 265 lb. In the case of the Assam Com- 

 pany, they divided 14 per cent, although their profit 

 per acre waa only £3 Ss 5d »nd the tea which sold 

 a'. Is Id coat ji : u+o make The highest cose of pro- 

 (l . ion was if Ijd, 2i.ii".; dow fi im thia to lOJd. 

 The highest price re, h d was i 6 hadin 

 to 1 lid in the case which leaves room for a bus ci 

 of coarse plucking. Ehe d v ends • I 15, 14, 



12J and 9 per cent, down t. nil, if, 3 and 5. 



L'iit.l we have public tea companies in Ceylon whose 

 accounts must be published, wo cannot institute com- 

 parisons, fully and fairly; but, certainly, if 265 lb, 

 per acre yields a profit of £9 3s 7d 

 dividend of 15 per c.;nt in India, we ihu't Ceylo 

 estates, with twice the to do better. 



We append the ti.blc ; — 



LONDON TEA COMPANIES 

 (Arrangd according to area of cultivation.) 



REST/MS OF WORKING IN 1883. 



Name. 



Assam Company 



Land Mortgage Bank of 

 India, Limiled 



Jorehaut Tea Company, 

 Limited 



Darjeeling Co npany, Ltd... 



Doom Dooma Ten Company, 

 Limited 



Indian Tea Company of 

 Cachar, Lin 



Lebong Tea Company. Ltd.. 



Borelli Tea Company, Ltd... 



Jhanzie Tea Association, 

 Limited 



Scottish Assam Tea Com- 

 pany, Limited 



Dejoo Tea < !orapany, Ltd... 



Borokai Tea Company, Ltd, 



THE GIBBS & BARRY TEA-DRIER. 



■ We are obliged to the gentleman who has sent 



is copy of a pamphlet containing a description of 



;his great tea-drier, which is to estates making 



niauuds or more per annu it a small sirocco is 



;o a property turning out only 100 maunds. Con. 



uieuous in the pamphlet is an extract from the 



of tlie- Chairman of th Assam Company, 



that the Company ha I waited for a machine 



nick a; this, which was a perfect sncci is. By intans 



of coke-fuel, it will turn out about 21 maunds 



2001b.) o! threi fourth hour, the tea 



Teing fully finished over ehoolas or in a sirocco, it 



also rapidly prepares tea for finally packing. It is 



claimed for this cylindrical machine that it acts as 



"oiler ai well as drier, giving a fine twist to tea 



eaves and being a substitute for the old copper pang 



with which tea used to be finished oft'. At a tei 



of 700° (!) the tea passes through the cyl- 

 inder in ten minutes, from i lb. to 1 lb. of coke 

 being used for every pound of tea. Coke seems 

 a necessity so we hope Colombo will bo able o 

 ifford to consume plenty of gas by the time ma 

 uheso machines are needed in Ceylon. There ar 

 fcestimo :als to the value of the big dr.ers, the o:dy 

 fault b.iing its high cost. But it does work in pro- 

 i >n. 



This machine is said to be the best hitherto pro- 

 duced for drying grain and seeds as well as tea. It 

 :s said to have been widely used in Iu'lia during 

 the past three years and to give inert a; inj . action. 

 A number of very favourable testimonials are printed 

 in the pamphlet which contains the following de- 

 scription :- 



The machine is simple in construction, can be easily 

 put together, and with care and proper attention should 



i i trouble. It may be briefly described as a 

 ing cylinder in the axis of which is placed a perfo 



