THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [October I, 1889 
S r OTTISH CEYLON TEA COMPANY, LIMITED. 
Capital £50,000, in 5,000 shares of £10 each, of -which 4,100 
shares, fully paid up, are now being issued. 
Directors.— H. L. Forbes, Esq.. Claremont,Waterden Road, 
Guildford (Chairman and Managing Director.) R. W. Forbes, 
Esq., 1, Argyll Road, W. John Anderson, Esq., 16, Philpot 
Lane, B.C. 
Manager in Ceylon.— David Kerr, Esq. 
Bankers. — Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London 
and China. 
Solicitors.— Messrs. Murray, Hutchins & Stirling, 1J, 
Birchin Lane, E.C 
Auditors. — Messrs. J. B. Laurie & Co., 2 Gresham 
Buildings, E.C. 
Secretaries & Offices.— Messrs.— Anderson Bros., 16, 
Philpot Lane, B.C. 
As none of the Capital in the Company is now being 
offered for subscription by the public, no formal Prospectus 
has been issued, but the Directors think it well that the 
Bmall body of Shareholders should have some statement 
from the Board with reference to the position and objects 
of the Company. 
The Company's property consists of 
estates. district. valuations. 
Invery and Waterloo ... Dickoya £16,000 
Strathdon „ ... 8,480 
Benachie Lower Dickoya 5,650 
Abergeldie ... ... ... „ ... 5,000 
Mincing Lane Maskeliya ... 5,870 
In all £41,000 
These Estates consist of about 1,530 acres, of which about 
1,400 are in tea (mostly in bearing) with some fine coffee 
interspersed, and a large quantity of valuable Cinchona. 
They are situated at a high elevation, ranging from 3,000 
to 5,000 feet above sea level, and will consequently be lasting, 
and will produce tea of a superior quality. "Invery" and 
"Mincing Lane," the only Estates so far from which tea 
has been shipped to the London Market, have already 
attained a high reputation for the quality of their teas, anil 
in the brokers' lists of averages appear amongst the most 
favoured of the Ceylon Markets. On Strathdon, Benachie 
and Abergeldie manufacture of tea will be commenced about 
1st September in the large cental factory on Strathdon 
now being erected ; hitherto all leaf produced has been sold 
in its green state. The properties were reported on, and 
valued by the experienced appraiser, Mr. H. K. Rutherford, 
whose valuations are well-known to be moderate, and the 
Company have acquired the estates at the values put upon 
them by Mr. B,utherford. The Company, while providing 
in their Memorandum and Articles of Association, for a much 
wider field for their operations, purpose for the present to 
confine themselves to developing the estates now acquired, 
and, taking, Mr. Rutherford's figures as a guide, a steady 
profit of 10 per cent or over may be confidently looked, 
for when the properties come into full bearing. The Company 
acquire the Estates as from 1st January, 1889, and the 
anticipated profits for this year, upwards of £4,000 the 
Directors purpose to employ, in meeting all preliminary 
expenses of the Company, and the erection and completion 
of Factories with suitable Machinery. It is unlikely there- 
fore that any dividend will be paid for 1889, and any balance 
at credit of Profit and Loss will be carried forward to 1890. 
The addition to the value of the Estates, by expenditure on 
Factories and Machinery is very considerable; The only 
contract entered into is one of 11th July, 1889, between 
Messrs. H. L. Forbes, R. "W. Forbes, Hugh Blacklaw and John 
Fraser, the Vendors, and Mr. John Anderson on behalf of the 
Company. 
+ 
THE REPOETS OF THE UVA AND 
SPRING VALLEY COFFEE COMPANIES. 
The above Reports are always of much interest 
as affording reliable information on the working of 
some of the best known and most productive estate 
properties in Ceylon. It was naturally to be ex- 
pected that their character on the present occasion 
would be materially affected by the low rates which 
have ruled for tea in the home market during 
the last few months ; but we are glad to observe 
that, in spite of this adverse condition, the 
current reports which we reprint elsewhere, cannot 
fail to be on the whole satisfactory to the share- 
holders of bod Companies. 
There is one pecuiianty which cftnnot fail to 
at once strike those who read these Reports. Thus 
we find the one for Spring Valley stating that 
the estimate of the coffee crop for the season 
1888-89 of 2,000 cwt. will be materially exceeded 
— by 600 cwt.,— while the report of the Uva Coffee 
Company informs us that on the group of estates 
which forms the holding of that Company the esti- 
mate of 2,000 cwt. will not be reached by 500 
Cwt. This is a singular contrast and difficult to 
account for, for it is to be presumed that the 
varying conditions of the two properties would 
have been taken into full consideration when pre- 
paring the estimates. While the anticipations for 
Spring Valley are spoken of favorably, a somewhat 
lugubrious tone is adopted with regard to the Uva 
properties. But considering the two reports to- 
gether, it may be said that on the whole the 
prospects of coffee are considered to be fairly 
good, though the directors carefully guard them- 
selves against inducing their shareholders to 
indulge in too hopeful a view of the future of our old 
staple. Such a course has certainly been a wise one 
in view of all possible eventualities ; but the general 
tenor of the Reports will be to confirm the opinions 
of those who have long thought that coffee was 
by no means defunct in Ceylon. That in spite 
of their hesitation in holding out very 
sanguine expectations to the shareholders, the 
directors themselves entertain good hopes, is 
evidenced by their resolution as announced, not 
further at present to reduce the acreage under 
coffee. Passing from anticipations for the 
future to the facts absolutely ascertained with 
regard to the coffee yield of the past season, 
we find that on the Spring Valley estates, on which 
a considerable increase on the estimate for the 
current year is expected, there was a serious dimi- 
nution on the estimates prepared for this year, trie 
yield falling short of this by nearly 7^0 cwt. On 
the Uva estates, on the contrary, those which 
are expected to show a heavy fallin,'- off during the 
season of 88-89, no such proportionate reduction 
was experienced, in 1887 the reduction on estimate 
being only about 239 cwt. on an outturn almost 
equivalent in amount to that of the Spring Valley 
estates. This comparison reverses any conclusion 
to be formed from that of the figures estimated 
for the present season. 
We think that on the whole both Companies 
may be congratulated, — when the adverse cir- 
cumstances under which their tea has had to be 
disposed of during the year reviewed by the Re- 
ports are taken into account — on the average 
prices obtained for it. In the ease of the Spring 
Valley Company, we find this stated to have been 
Is ljd per lb., and for the Uva Company Is OJd 
per lb. We note that both Reports indicate a 
large increase expected in the outturn of tea 
during the present season. The Uva Company 
appear to have sold a net production during last 
year of about 70,000 lb. ; while the estimate for the 
present season is no less than 177,000 lb. ; the 
Spring Valley outturn also for last season being 
38,449 lb. and the estimate for that now proceeding 
being 100,000 lb. We presume that in forming 
these estimates allowance will have been made for 
that finer plucking which the Directors announce 
to be in contemplation, and if so we have in these 
figures a remarkably strong evidence of the great 
increase in the export of tea from the Uva province 
to be looked for. The sale of cinchona bark from 
the Uva estates realized an average of 5d per lb., 
while for that from Spring Valley but 4|d waa 
obtained. The directors abstain— and wisely, as 
we think, — from formulating any opinion as to 
what the course oi this special article of their 
production may be during the present year. This 
is an wholly unknown factor at present. 
In view of all the circumstances set forth and as 
known to ourselves locally, we think it will be 
deemed very satisfactory that the corner of de- 
pression has at length been turned, and that the 
direotors of both Companies have been able to 
recommend moderate dividends. In the case of 
Spring Valley this will amount for the year to 
5 per cent paid free of Income Tax, while in that 
