j-uLY I, 1893.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
It 
shares allotted to the vendor of Glenlyon and Stair 
estates, the total bhare capital will amount to £247,310. 
Aa tolntuie prosEecls. Yoiu- Direct era have never 
in the patt given you the fnll eaiimated crop ex- 
pected in the cnrrent year from onr properlief, as 
all such estimates are for their doe fulfilment eg 
greatly depecdint on the 'weather that they are ofteo 
apt to mislead. It will, theiefore, I think, be more 
Batiefac'ory for tharehclders to be informed in a 
ganeral way that our Ceylon Manager, Mr. Talbot 
(who was elected a Director la5t year, but, haviig 
returned to his post in Cey;on, ba? retired from 
oliioe) reports that our propert es are in first 
rate order and the bushep, both on cur young 
estates and on the oldest properties, in his opinion 
Ehow every indication ol yielding well for many 
years to come, and he estimates when the land we 
have under tea comes into full bearing we will ob- 
tein au increase o£ over 50 per cent, above last 
year's crop. 
This probable increase in the crops from the 
Company 's estates naturally leads one to consider the 
quesiiou I have been asked so frequently by those 
shareholders who are not conversant with the Island 
of Ceylon acd the history of its tea industry, aa to 
the tear of over-production from furlher large areas 
of land being opeced out in tea, that I may be 
pardoned making a general statement on the subject. 
The maximum area that was eyer under coffea 
cultivation in Ceylon was 275,000 acres, and prac- 
tically all the old coffee land capable of growing 
tea has been planted up with that product. Aa 
there is little or no upoouutry forest land suitable for 
tea in private bands or belonging to the Crown, it 
follows that there is no reserve area available for 
growing the fi-cer quality of teas which the island 
produces, and Ceylou is therefore within a measurable 
oistunoe of yielding all it will ever be able to export 
of fine teas grown at high elevation?. 
There are, however, many thousands of acres of 
low-country forest and chena lands suitable for 
growing tue common grades of tea ; but cot only 
are Ceylon planters chary of opening out fresh 
lands in the low-country (uolees where there are 
exceptionally favoured blooksj, but the Government are 
very wisely, I think, not inclined to dispose of large 
areas o£ '.heBe forests at both they and the planters 
are alive to the fact that over-production would be a 
fatal policy to persue. 
No doubt when increased consumption of tea de- 
mands it, the Ceylon Government will be prepared to 
part with it, and planters will be found ready to culti- 
vate sufficient it areas to keep pace with tlie world's 
requirements. 
ahonid the various markets in 3 or 4 years' time be 
able to absorb 100 millions of lb. of Ce>lon ttas, 1 
do not fear any luriher natural increase from the 
Island materially affectitg pt'ces provided India does 
not abnormally add to the world's production, bo 
completely has the public taste in this country been 
won over to British-giown teas that it will in a great 
measure rest with Indian and Ceylon planters to 
regulate the price of tea in the future by reatrioting, 
as far as possible, the opening out of new land, so 
that the supply will keep pace with, but cot exceed, 
demand. 
If Ceylon continues the energetic measures in push- 
ing its teas into new markets m the way it has so 
successfully hitherto done through the co-operation of 
the growers and the sympathetic assistance of the Ceylon 
Government there does not seem to be any reason 
why onr teas should cot be maintained al a price 
that will continue to yield reasonable profits to pro- 
ducers. I do not think there is anything lurther vhat 
I oan say regarding the Company's affairs ; but should 
any of the shareholders present desire any further 
information I should be very pleased to answer any 
questiona they may put as far as I am able. I have 
now to move, gentlemen "that the Report of the 
Directors and etaiement of accounts as submitted 
be received and adopted, and that a final dividend 
ct 8 per cent, on the ordinary shares (making 15 
per cent iu all, free of income tax) payable forthwith 
b« is h«i«b7, declared," 
M. H. Todd eecooded the resolution, which waa 
carried unanimously. 
Mr. D. Keid, Bevenoeks, proposed, and Mr. Herbert 
Anderson seconded, a resolution for the re-appoint- 
ment of Mr. Eutherford to the Oliairmanship of the 
Company, which was carried by acclamation. 
Mr. J. L. Shand begged to move a vote of thanks 
to the Loudon and Ceylon steff of the Company, to 
whose energies the shareholders were indebted for 
their messure of success. He knew how assiduously 
the London staff guarded their iDiertsts and last 
year, when he was in Ceylon, he tai opportunities 
of judging oi the valuable services rendered t y the 
local s'aff. Having been seconded by lit, Seton it 
was carried. 
Mr. Ruiherford acknowledgirg the compliment, 
and begged to say that the largest share of merit was 
due to tho^e who iu the island had toiled thiongb the 
heat and burden of the day. 
AN EFFECT OF HIGH RUBBEE PRICES. 
A press dispatch states " it wotild appear " that 
preparations were being made by a number of men 
prominent in the rubber business for a trip to Rio 
Janeiro, Brazil, the purpose of the expedition being 
the " exploration of several thousand square miles 
of land near the Beni in southern Bolivia, which is 
said to have advantages for the production of 
cheap rubber." If the result of the expedition are 
as fruitful as " a French capitalist predicts, the 
Rubber Trust will have a most powerful competitor." 
The exploring party " has already organized the 
Beni Gum Company," and " will travel under the 
guidance of Melchor O Baro, Bolivian Minister to 
the United States, who will also entertain them 
during the company's stay in Bolivia," The "trip 
will last six months," as the Amazon will be explored 
and trips to the Atcdes made. The Boston Advertiser 
says: — "It remains to be seen whether the develop- 
ments will be of such a nature as to affect the Para 
grades, the trade in which has been more active 
of late. The new price list of the rubber-shoa 
companies is based on the estimate of 80c. rubber, 
which, it is believed by manufacturers, will be the 
average price during the coming season. New fine 
Para is now quoted at 75 to 77c., with coarse at 
51 to 56c. — Bradstreet's, April 15th. 
FBOM THE HILLS. 
(By Old Colmist.) 
Ambagamtjwa, 22nd May 1893. 
Climatically, I am quite out of my element here. 
As well send your hens to swim in the lake as send 
me " to the hills " with a quill at this season 1 
The rain has not ceased for ten minutes — on end— 
I believe, since I left Colombo. Everything is drenched 
and dreary. I cannot even find a bit of dry humour I 
Old Hugh's joke about "our water being sure" ia 
stale and musty. Evidently Ambagamuwa has 
" drowned the (Joe) iiliUer." 
Better— in/iHi'ie?^ letter — for me, is the interior of 
New South "Wales where one inch of rain per month — 
is enough to make men, grass and trees rejoice. Or 
better still send me to the " Chicama haciendas " of 
Peru, where I found the oldest inhabitant had never 
seen a shower ol rain ; where visitors were descried 10 
miles off by the dust they raised ; and yet where the 
rich sugar-cane produced such sweetness, as Ceylon 
never dreamt of ; and the joUy cofl'ee planter sends 
off" his beans for noodles to drink, while he and hia 
•' spiritual adviser " console themselves ,with tha 
liquor distilled from the luscious pulp. No " drown- 
ing the miller " there I can tell you ! 
But to turn to our virtuous tea plant. It haa 
certainly found a suitable home here, and where the 
jut is good, the bush is quite as beautiful in appeajrance 
as the best coffee of old — while its large, tender, glossy 
leaves gU thg basket with maiveJlQas la^idit;^. 
