January i, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



547 



cultivation of the Indiarubber tree in the province of Geara. 



Query. — What are the names and productive qualities of 

 the different kinds of rubber trees grown within your district? 



Answer. — There are two kinds of rubber trees known 

 in this province, first the "Manicoba" plant from which 

 the Sernamley rubber is extracted, and secondly the "Manga- 

 beira " from which, with the application of alum, the 

 "Mangabeira" rubber is produced. 



Q. — What is the extent of land under cultivation by 

 said trees ? 



A.— The Manicoba trees are only cultivated to a very 

 small extent on the mountains of the " Serra Grande " 

 and Serra da Uruburitama, the greater part of the trees 

 growing wild are over the mountains, at an estimated 

 area of 20 leagues. On. the Serras of Maranguape and 

 Pacatuba many trees are to be found, but in this district they 

 have not been cultivated. The Mangabeira tree grows wild 

 in nearly every wooded district where there is a sandy soil. 



Q. — What is the nature of the soil most favourable 

 for the cultivation of the Indiarubber tree? 



A. — The soil most suitable for the cultivation of the 

 " Manicoba " plant is the clay soil of the mountains. For 

 the " Mangabeira" the sandy soil of the low lands, espe- 

 cially towards the coast. The planting of the " Mani- 

 coba" is very simple either from the seeds or from slips 

 of trees. The cultivation of this plant has not been 

 much extended in this province, the people limiting their 

 efforts to substituting any tree that may die by another 

 from seeds or slips. Most of the planting has been done 

 by nature, every year when the Manicoba fruit or seed 

 is ripe it drops off the tree, and falling into suitable 

 ground springs up without any care whatever been given 

 to them — (Signed) Geobge Holdem. Acting British Vice- 

 Oonsul.— Oeara,18th July 1884. 



4. . 



THE LANKA PLANTATIONS COMPANY, 



LIMITED. 



coffee; tea; cinchona; cacao. 



EEPOET 



to be presented at the Fourth Ordiuary General Meeting of 

 the Lanka Plantations Company, Limited, to be held at the 

 Offices of the Company, on Thursday, the 4th December 

 next, atone oclock p.m. 



The Directors beg to submit their Report for the twelve 

 months ending the 30th June last, together with the 

 Balance sheet and Accounts as audited, showing the position 

 of the G 1 ompany at that date. Your Directors regret that 

 from the continued depression in all kinds of produce the 

 result of the year has not been satisfactory, nevertheless 

 the Company has made a profit of £2,(339 15s. 3d. 



The quantity of coffee shipped home was 5,373 cwts. 

 against estimates of about 6,170 cwts. ; the amounts realized 

 and estimated give a total of £16,528 13s. 2d. The average 

 price realized during the past year has been 61s 6d 

 per cwt., whereas in the first year of the operations of 

 the Company the average price was 73s. 6d. per cwt. 



The Cinchona Bark harvested and shipped home, or in 

 store, or sold in Ceylon has been 147,219 lb. From 

 various causes (over which the Company has had no 

 control) this has not sold well, the amounts realized and 

 estimated giving a net total of £6,320 7s. lid. only. An 

 increasing return may be expected in 1S84-85 and it is 

 hoped that better prices will be obtained. 



To the date of this Report 1,100 of the 2,000 of the 

 6 per cent. £10 Preference Shares offered to the share 

 holders to enable the Directors to pay off the Ampittia- 

 kande mortgage for £10,000, and the Arnhall mortgage for 

 £5,000, and for other purposes of the Company, have been- 

 allotted and paid in full. The Directors hope that the 

 Shareholders will amongst them take up the remaining 

 900 shares so as to avoid the expense of offering them to 

 the public. The Ampittiakande mortgage has been paid off 

 and with the amount to be received from the unissued 

 shares the Arnhall mortgage will be discharged. The pre- 

 ference shareholders for the time being, will have as their 

 security the whole of the Company's estates which have 

 cost £163,721 10s. 4d. 



The cultivation of tea has been carried on, there are 525 

 acres planted, and this will be increased to about 600 

 acres during the season 1884-85 : this of course involves 

 a further small capital expenditure. 



The cultivation of cocoa has made satisfactory pro- 

 gress ; the Company has now 424 acres planted ; 10S cwt. 

 has been shipped home and has realized fair prices, and 

 the estimate for 1SS1-5 is 350 cwt. India rubber is being 

 tried and 40 acres of cardamoms will soon be in bearing. 



The following statement shows the names, acreage, aDd 

 cost of the Company's estate: — 



Ampittiakande 



Arnhall 

 Fruit Hill 

 Fordyce and I 



Garbawn | 

 Gc.nagalla and 



Parramatta 

 Rappahannock, 



Rillamalle 



Thotulagalla 



Yattewatte 



a 



...Haputale 

 ...Haputale 

 ..Dikoya 



...Dikoya 



I Dikoya 



..Uda l'us- 

 sellawa 

 ...Maturata 

 ...Haputale 

 ...Matale 



9'Z § 



oj c 3 

 tmo * 

 « „c rt 



u " S 

 " .2 d 



327 3 



308 50 

 237 



469 

 366 12 



s. d. 



153 

 12 



3«8 26325 5 



373 18521 6 

 237 10232 14 



604 16149 2 

 390 1818.5 12 11 



361 86 21 471 22846 10 7 



199 14 37 250 1033'. 11 9 



464 47 47 558 35143 13 1 



479 25 443 947 6083 13 6 



£163,721 10 4 



The prospects for the Season 1884-85 are good. In a 

 letter, dated 9th October last the General Manager states 

 respecting Rappahannock that " without wishing in any 

 way to exaggerate our prospects I can fairly say that the 

 promise of crop is finer than it has been since the Estate 

 was purchased by the Company and this is the case generally 

 all over our places." Mr. White and Captain Hayes are 

 the two Directors who retire, and being eligible offer them- 

 selves for re-election. Mr. John Smith, the Auditor (a 

 Shareholder), also retires and offers himself for re- 

 election. By Order, 



Willi am Bois, Secretary. 



8, Old Jewry, E. O, 21st November, 1884. 



CEYLON AS A FIELD FOR THE INVESTMENT 

 OF CAPITAL AND ENERGY. 



Such a heading fifteen or even twelve years ago could 

 only apply to an extension of the great plant- 

 ing enterprize of the colony in coffee. Subsidiary 

 produc'.s were sneered at equally by capitalists and 

 planteis— by merchants and proprietors. The experi- 

 ments so far made in tea did not promise much 

 success, at least judging by the fields of the Ueylon 

 Company Limited ; while as to cinchona, who would 

 care to invest time or money in covering any acre- 

 age beyond a mere patch, with a product only used 

 medicinally ? With middling plantation coffee ruling 

 at over 100s per cwt. and the utmost confidence 

 felt that proper cultivatiou would dispel the Hemileia 

 vastatnx, then first coining into notice, wby should 

 a rupie be invested or an acre cleared for any other 

 than the one great and profitable staple? Such were 

 the questions or objections raised about " new pro- 

 dues" a dozen years ago. We remember about that 

 time urging caution, and calling on newcomers, then 

 freely flocking in, to base their coffee investments on no 

 higher estimates than 3 cwt. per acre of crop and 80s 

 per owt. of value— figures then considered ridicu- 

 lously low, although now ihey may be legarded as 

 maxima in connection with this branch of our phntincr 

 industry. It may be calculated that between 1869 

 and 1877, there were no less thau 34 millions sterl- 

 ing introduced into (Vylon for the extension of cultiva- 

 tion apart from the rutlay'or plantations previously in 

 existence. The fresh capital hroujht in. therefore may 

 lie said to have then averaged some £400,000 per annum. 

 Since 1877, we suppose une-teuth of this sum would be 



