6 3 6 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, [March r, 1890. 
COFFEE, CORN, AND PIMENTO IN JAMAICA. 
Cuitivation of coffee is extending immensely in 
the district. Prices have been very good this year 
and every one has gone to planting coffee, and this 
is the staple product of the district. A great amount 
of corn is also b*eing raised, and has been selling at 
an average of three shillings a bushel this year. 
The people have no good method in their cultiva- 
tion or in preparing coffee or corn for the market. 
They are just as primitive in this respect as they 
ever were. They work out the land entirely and never 
use any means to make it more productive. The lime 
that is wnbhed down from the hills acts in some 
slight measure as a fertilizer. It would, no doubt, be 
very diffioult to use a plow in many parts of the 
mountain districts, the formation beiDg in a great degree 
of honeycomb rock, which crops up through the soil. 
The people have no knowledge ot properly preparing 
coffee and corn for market, and what little is done 
in this respect is of the most primitive description. 
None of the corn is kiln-dried, and the coffee is 
greatly deteriorated from lack of proper care in the 
manufacture. We think that what is most net ded is 
a central factory to which the people could bring 
their coffee and corn, the factory purchasing the 
coffee in berry and the corn just as gathered. The 
growers know nothing about hulling, washing or sizing, 
etc., of the coffee. We think the people would be glad 
to avail themselves of a factory if one were established. 
As it is now everything is so primitive, in cultivation 
and manufacture as in the days of Abel, perhaps more so. 
■ — From a notice of Brown's Toivn in "Jamaica Gleaner." 
Again with rtference to St. Anne's Bay : — Drops, 
we found that banana cultivation was extending con- 
siderably, a fair estimate placing ti.e increased area 
in this fruit over last year at two hundred acres. 
Coffteis also being extensively planted in the Parish, 
especially in Dry Harbour Mountain district. Prices 
have been very good, and trade in this product 
active. Pimento crop has teen short. Some trouble 
has been experienced in getting the bananas to a 
market, and but for this there would be more grown. 
The sngar crop this year has been rather small, 
mainly on account of the seasons, — too much rain. 
One estate only made half a crop, and we understand 
several will lose money this year. No estates have 
been thrown up recently, but there are only nine in 
the parish now. — Jamaica Gleaner. 
We noticed that corn is not often grown on land 
by itself, but is put in among other crops. We heard 
of yields of from twenty to forty bushels of corn per 
acre, and two crops a year, in this district— and yet 
we import a very large quantity of corn from abroad 
to supply this thinly populated fruitful country. 
There are three or four places in the district 
where are kept three or four hundred boxes of bees, 
but nothing at all scientific or systematic in the keeping 
of the bees is attempted. Everything is primitive and 
rude. — Ibid. 
CEYLON OOLONGS. 
Messrs. Eucker & Bencraft report in their 
circular of the 30th ultimo: — 
"We sold a small Invoice of desirable Oolongs at and 
average of Is 5£d. 
The Oolong tea above referred to was mirked 
B. E. 11| chests No. 1 550 lb. 
12} „ „ 2 540 ,-, . 
and was offered for public sale on the 27th Nov. in 
Colombo, and taken out for want of bidders, the only 
offer being BO and 40 cents ! it was ultimately sold at 
50 cents per lb. 
It is evident that Ceylon buyers have yet a deal 
to learn as to the value of Ceylon teas, a similar 
quality nas (-old on the I'll December at prices which 
stopped the manufacture ! 
Quinine and Influenza. — Our London cor 
respondent writes by this m ill :— " Quinine has 
been largely purchased. A sketch in Punch this 
week refers to it." The sketch in question is en- 
titled " Refreshments in Vogue," and represents a 
waiter at a ball asking a lady: "Quinine or anti- 
pyrine, my lady ?" 
THE TALGASWELA TEA COMPANY, 
LIMITED. 
GENERAL MEETING. 
The annual general meeting of the Talgaswela 
Tea Company of Ceylon, Limited, was held yester- 
day afternoon at the offices of the Company, No. 5, 
Baillie St., Fort, Colombo. Mr. T. C. Owen (Chair- 
man of the Company) presided, and the following 
directois and shareholders were present : — Messrs. 
Shelton Agar, Geo. K. Deaker, T. W. Hall, G. C. 
Walker, H. P. hudd, Eric S. Anderson, Walter 
Agar, G. D. Dick, G. W. Suhren and A. Schulze 
(Secretary). The following shareholders were re- 
presented by proxies : — Messrs. James Mitchell, 
E. G. C. Mitchell, O. L. Scott, T. Labouchere, 
H. Pasteur, R. S. Patry, T. C. Sanderson, J. J. 
Cater, J. G, J. Cater, FL P. Cater, C. A. Cater, 
A. Kuhn, A. L. Wyllie, G. A. Borrett and G. L. 
Deaker. The minutes of the last meeting were read 
and the report (as published in the Observer on the, 
11th instant) was taken as read. 
ADOPTION OF THE BEP0BT. 
The Chaieman, in moving the adoption of the 
report, said that there was very little to remark upon, 
but it might interest them to know that the cost of 
developing the estate up to last year had been R192 
per acre, and by the estimates for the current 
year the total cost would be R224 per acre, after which 
they trusted that no further capital expenditure 
would be needed. The figures for the cost of 
opening the estate were after allowing for a deduc- 
tion from the capital of the value of l,3l0 acres 
of forest land on the estate. At the end of 1891 it 
was hoped that they would be in a position to 
pay some dividend. Later, when the estate was in 
bearing, if they could get 500 lb. of tea per acre, 
and if they could obtain 45 cents per lb. they 
would get a return of R60 per acre, which would 
enable them to pay a dividend of 20 per cent. 
They could not say this for certain because it 
would be difficult to know what the price of tea 
was to be the year after next. The next thing 
was that all labour was cheap. On the esti- 
mate for the last year R3,000 were saved 
under this heading, and the cost of weed- 
ing in the present year's estimate had been 
put down at 30 cents per acre per month. In the ac- 
counts before them nothing had been taken off for 
depreciation in buildings or machinery because these 
had all been erected so very recently, but a liberal 
amount bad been taken off the capital account for 
tools, carts &c. — about 25 per cent. He did not 
think there was anything else which called 
for notice, but he laid on the table the estimates 
for the coming year, which perhaps the share- 
holders would like to see, 
Mr. Deakee seconded the motion for the adoption 
of the report. — Before putting the motion the Chaieman 
said that he was told that there was a gentleman 
present who had recently visited the property 
of the Company, and the shareholders would be 
glad if he would give them his impressions. 
Mr. Dick thought it would be presumptuous of 
him to offer any remarks, as he was not a planter, 
and he could only tell when a tea plant looked 
healthy about as much as he could when a turnip 
did at home. He, however, had visited the place, 
and stayed 24 hours there. He was accompanied 
by a friend who was a Kelani Valley planter, and 
he always referred to him to qualify any impression 
that was made upon his mind during his visit. 
They first Eaw the factory, but he ws 3 not qualified 
to make any remarks abcut that. They then 
walked through the tea fi ds, and saw the different 
,, jilts," as they called them. The plants appeared 
to him to be in healthy condition, but he asked 
