March i, 1888.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
cannot but enjoy a hearty laugh at the many absurd 
statements by witnesses giving evidence before the 
commission. One gentleman says of some plants 
grown in tho colony that they are doing well, and are 
now some 12 ft. high. Any person. acquainted with the 
cultivation of tea must know that tor commercial 
purposes the loaves plucked from such would he utterly 
useless for manufacture, and of no market value. The 
plant Hhould never he more than 'J ft. 0 in. to 3 ft. 
6 in. in height, and trained to present a bushy ap- 
pearance, and not having the resemblance of elongated 
pipe stems. The climate of the colony in parts, as 
also the properties of the soil, are well adapted for 
the growth of this invigorating beverage, and I bcliove 
it could be cultivated in Victoria and brought to pay 
larger dividends than most commercial undertakings. 
It would be a pleasure to me to afford gentlemen 
every aid and advice on the matter of starting this as 
a native industry in your colony. Tu fact, I am so 
perfectly satisfied with the .suitability of the soil and 
climate of this colony for tho successful growth of the 
tea plant that I would be willing to enter into an 
arrangement with any gentlemen dosirous of embarking 
iu this line.— Yours, &c, WM. Waller. 
Oak-lodge, Carlton-streot, Uarlton, Jan. 6th. 
Mr. Waller, a former Indian tea planter, we 
suppose, writes, what is doubtless true enough, 
that even in portions of Victoria there is soil 
and also climate in which tea would ilourish. 
The plant would do better in the wetter climate 
of New South Wales, and still better in the 
semi-tropical and strictly tropical portions of 
Queensland, the Northern Territory of the mis- 
named colony of .Southern Australia, and (as so 
long advocated by Mr. Wm. Cochrane of Dunblane 
though he had never seen the Colony) in the 
northern portion of New Zealand. But the wages 
of European labour are far too high in all the 
colonies, and the colonists have set their faces 
against even the introduction of cooly labour to 
replace that from the South Sea Islands by which 
sugar culture in Queensland was rendered possible. 
That sugar cultivation with all the advantages in 
its favour can be made to pay with European 
labour, we doubt ; but that tea would never pay 
with such labour, we l'enl certain. 
In this connection we may call attention to the two 
letters we publish from Ceylon planters on the pro- 
spect of pushing our teas in the Australian markets. 
The valuable suggestions made by "B. J. W." and 
Mr. 11. (i. Mackenzie (seepage 885) will no doubt 
receive tho careful attention of our Tea Fund Com- 
mittoc. 
THK CEYLON LAND \\l> PRODUCE 
COMI'AN Y, LIMITED. 
Diukctohu. — James Wilson. Kay., Chairman; 
Thomas A. Shepherd, ThonwK A i, .'. i , , 
Kuport of tho Board of Directors to the Third 
Annual Meeting of Shareholders, to be held within 
the Offices of the Company, Ingram House, 1(35, 
I'Viu hunh Street, London, E. Cj. on the 2*Jth day 
of December, 1887, at '2 p. m. Tho Directors huvo 
much pleasure in submitting to tho Shareholders 
tho Accounts and Balance Sheet for tho year end- 
ing »Oth June, 1887. After writing oil all Prelimin- 
ary Expenses, £100 oil' Debentnro Clmrgcs and 
extinguishing the bnlauoe at debit of Profit and 
Loss Account at JlOth Juno, 18S0, a credit balance 
of B3,78u lis fid remains to be dealt with. The 
Directors recommend thut out ol the Profits n dividi ad 
At Hie rmo of 6 per cent bu declared on the call-d 
Capital Of the Company for year ending liilth .1 line, 
1*M7, p'ynblu on 16th proximo, which will absorb 
f J.-'.Mi, having a hnlancu of MSG Ma .id to lio 
carried forward, K\ tension ol onltil 1 1 1 ..i on tho 
Company a properties OOUtinaoS to bu made, and tho 
•Mi.'inl working of Uwm il ■ ttiafw tory . Tlio 
'.'oloiuul Mftiuiji't s latest aduecs slate thai Uiu 
Kiagon is favourable, lUid he indicated thut tbo 
Coffee and Tea estimates made by him at tho com- 
mencement of current year aro likely to bo con- 
siderably exceeded. 
The Oocoa autumn crop, owing to unusual drought 
during the blossomiug season, will be short of last 
year's one, but for the past two mouths ample rains 
have fallen, forcing out quantities of blossom, aud as 
it is setting froely a large spring crop may reasonably be 
expected^ The prices realised during the year for the 
Company's produce, excepting for Cinchona Bark, have 
been very satisfactory and still remain so. Tho Com. 
pauy however has a very limited acreage under Cinchona. 
Tho Directors have pleasure in stating that they 
contiuuo to have the fullest confidence in the success 
of the Company, aud would ask tho Shareholders to 
bear in mind that there is but a small percentage of 
tho acreage as yet iu full bearing, aud year by year 
as this iucrease, with average seasons, tho position 
and prospeets of the Company ought to improve. In 
accordance with tic Artioles of Association, one of the 
Directors retires at this time, viz., James Wilson, Esq., 
and being oligible, offers himself for ro-election. Mr. 
James B. Laurie, the Company's Auditor, retires as 
usual, but being eligible offers himself for re-election.— 
By order of the Board, Titos. J. LaweaKCE, Secretary. 
Iugram House, 166, Fenehurch Street, 
London, 19th December, 1887. 
[Six per cent just when the Company's places are 
coming into bearing promises well ; the Company has 
undoubtedly very lino properties,~ED.J 
• ♦ 
TEA: THE FOOCHOW CHAMBER OF 
COMMERCE ON THE TEA 1 HADE. 
Wo reviewed not long since the answer of the Foo- 
chow Chamber of Commerce to Sir Robert Hart's re- 
quest for advice as to the rehabilitation of the Tea 
Trade, and we have now before us the report on tho 
came subject of the Committee of experts appointed 
by the Shanghai Chamber (see Feb. No., p. 571). As 
a matter of fact the recommendations made by this Com- 
mittee are very much the same as those we made injour 
article published in October last, and we are pleased to 
find our suggestions backed up by the authority of the 
names appended to this report. The first paragraphs 
of the report aro a re-statement of the fact that 
Indian aud Ceylon teas are ousting China teas from 
tho London market j this it was hardly necessary to 
re-state; as, unless it had occurred, this report would 
never have been asked for ; but it was perhaps not 
superfluous to give the exact figures. The deliveries 
iu London in 1880-81 were of China tea 15* millions, 
and ot Indian, Oeylou and Java tea 50 millions ; iu 
l88t!-87 they were of Obiua tea 134 millions, and ot 
Indian, Ceylon and Java tea 87 millions ; so that iu 
the six years China has gone back nearly 21 millions 
while her competitors have gained about :)7 millions, 
mid "this year," say the Committee, "promises to 
give evou more striking results than these, the last 
published figures." 
The necessity for actiou beiug thus proved up to 
the hilt, it is time to turn to tho remedies recom- 
mended. Tho first are two of the points mentioned 
by us; the despitch of Obiuameu to tho Indian tea 
gardens to learn the process,.., by whose use they are 
being beaten and the introducti'Mi of machinery such 
a< is used with such good results in India aud Cey- 
lon. Years ago a tea-sorting machine was imported 
by a prominent green tea buying firm here. The 
Movune teamen to whom it was shewn looked at it 
with scorn and hormr: '-l'lit our beautiful lu.it Into 
a thing like that! Never." And so the primitive 
modus of preparation dear t» the Chinese packers go 
on, with the result, in the words of the Committee, 
'that tea tan only he properly Dure I under the ino^t 
favourable climatic conditions. I'nder tin- inlhicuce ot 
raiu, or any untoward ciroumstajiwe "—it socuis curious 
to call rain "untoward," when it is tbc constant aocom 
pauimeiit of Spring iu China—." tho prooasi breaks" 
down entirely, and heiiuo the irregularity of ouw 
season's produce compared with another " Tbo re- 
port goes oa to confirm our remark that it is uot so 
uiu.-b. tho '"ln-ipeniug of the China p.olint tl'V t- 
