484 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Jan. i, 1894. 
adoption of the report, and the reeolntion waa carried 
uoauimously. 
The C'HAiBMAN, in moving the resolution for the 
declaration of a dividend of 3 per ceut. on tlie or- 
dinary shares, said it .was very gratifying to find 
that they could p»y a dividend of 3 per ceut. That 
was more than they bad paid for a long time. They 
must take into account, however, that the eaVa of 
cocoa had realised rather exorbitant pricef ; bnt, takii g 
the average, he diil not see why fhey should not 
alwaya do as well as this year — in fact, he hoped 
they would very goon be able to pay a great deal 
MOHE AWAY IN DIVIDENDB 
than this year. Another thing to take into account 
was the amount they had carried forward, and the 
Bums they had written off, for if tliey had not wTitten 
off these sums they would have been able to pay 4^ 
per cent. 
The dividend was unanimoutly agreed to. 
The retiriof; directors (Mr. George Allen and Mr. 
Pettit) were unanimously re-elected, together with the 
auditor, Mr. John Smith. 
Mr. COLLiNQB proposed a vote of thanks to the chair- 
man and the directors, and thanked tbera for the 
attention they had paid to the affairs of the company. 
It was gratifying to feel that the comj)any was emer- 
ging from that slough which had blackened their 
interests for so long a time. 
Mr. Smith said he bad much pleasure in seconding 
the vote of thanks. 
The resolutioQ was put to the meeting, and ucani- 
mously accorded. 
The. Chairman : Gentlemen, on behalf of myself 
and the board of directors, we thank you for the re- 
cognition of onr Eervices. The directors are all very 
large shareholders, and, apart from doing our duties 
as your diteotoi's, we have a very large share in the 
company onrselves, and it is a matter of very great con- 
eequeuce that we should make the company a eucoess. 
The proceedings then terminated.— //a'Ci^O!*' Ouar- 
dian. 
NOTES FROM lIArUTALE. 
Dec. 14. 
Dense fog and mist with rain charac crises our 
weather at present and we would like to see the 
Bun again, to cheer us during the festive season. To 
give yon some idea of our late weather, I send yon 
the rainfall on an estate at the west end of the ois- 
trict, which jou may rely on as correct, for the 
friend who sent it to me is well-known as a very 
correct enumerator and good reliable planter :— 
Jan. 10-78 inches Aug. 0 22 inches 
Feb. 7-07 „ Sept. 0 29 „ 
Match 16-60 „ Oct. 8-0O „ 
April • 10-57 „ Nov. 40-69 „ ! ! 1 . 
May 3-06 Dec. to date 10th 5 66 inches. 
June iJ-83 „ 
ANTI-PEST FOE PADDY &c. 
The Gazette of iStb Dec. contains an amnsing Corree- 
pondonce, published by direction of;" His Excellency 
the Governor," respecting the virtues of a certain 
"Anti-pest" brought out by Strawson's, Limited, 
about which Messrs. LeMesnrier and Starey (the 
two genilemen who did most to knock over me 
Paddy tax in Ceylon: where are their gold medals 
by the way ?) are naturally of one mind. Oar tur- 
prise is that the Cejluu Government did not order 
a hundred dozen (thirteen to the dozen, remember) 
of the "Anti.pest" right off on the spot. Ceitain we 
are that the money wonld.be as well spent as through 
some, at least.of the irrigation votes, and on the principle 
now established, to be consistent, the Government 
ought to see that the land-owners and other gentle- 
men who bave been relieved of their one special tax 
(if not rent) are supplied out of the general revenne, 
with improved implements such as ploughs, winnow- 
ing and thresbiug machines, and freely with anti- 
pest, as well aa with improved means of irrigating 
•heir fields. Possibly the publication of the Corres- 
pondeaoe is a preliminary to the etep in this eanj 
fighj (?) diiecUoa, twek pi\ Ije ma a 
among the TisBammshiirama rioe-growers wbem Mr. 
Lub'hington rr-ported to be rnpi'^ly " amasting weaUb," 
and the resolt could then be wu'cbed in the improved 
local rice which — 8s the Government Agent for the 
Western Provioce said in hie Aduiinintratiou B^i orl, 
— fcl'e a'oDgside of imported rice in every village 
bazaar in hie provioce. Tl is does not, of c^urae, 
mean that more rice in grown in Ceylon than the 
cultivators cio consuir.e, au<l as for Protection and 
Bounties given (iu irrigation) out of the rice-tni 
paid by tbu townspeoplfs, the thing in Lot possible 
— The Gazeltt oorrespondenoe is a^ follows :— 
Id coiitiouatiou of Uie l attiU notice of AugUct I'tb, 
I89'i, Hh Excellency tb« Gx>vernor bat been ijleased to 
direct tbo (lUblicat'on, f> i geucra] iuionnaiinD, <i tbc 
fuUowing letters on the same i^u*)jccl. — By Uia Excellency** 
commaod, K. NoKi. Wai.ki;h, Colonial Secretary.— Coluuial 
Secretary's Office, C'olombu, Decemtjer I2tli, lt93. 
Copij reftrnd to. 
The Aiibiiitant GoveruDicot A^col, Matnra, to the Gov- 
ernment Ageot, Oalle,— Mstara Kacbcheri, November <iitii. 
No. l,009yu 2. SiK,— In returu^ng the Bin en- i letter from 
the Msuager o'. the Ka»teiu Produce and Estaiee Com- 
pany, Limited, I bare ibe booour to state that 1 be- 
lieve the Sprayers will be fouud very useful, i. They 
ai>l)cir to be of eiaclly the name pattern as the one I 
obained at first, and are about half the price, — I am, Ik., 
(J. J. &. Li^UasL-uiBU, AMiU Gevt. Ageut. 
The Esiitcrn Produce and Estates Coai|.any. Liiiitted, 
to the tiuvcrnmeut Agent, (ialle. Colambo, KuTciuber 16tb, 
189J, Slu, - 1 have the honour to invite your atteniion to 
the paijcr sent herewith ilescrlbing the " Antipeft " 
brought out by Strawsoo'a Limlied, for whom we hare 
been appointed Agentt lo Ceylon. It ia a Sprajrei, im- 
proved in deeigK, and cheapened in price, to be used 
either with powders or liquids for removing or prevent- 
ing bligbta, fly, insecBs, aud fuugub on growing plaote 
f cuuoiuieally, and wiihoui injury to the plant B«lieviag 
that it wouid be i>ariicularly i^crvicesble lor use in jMiddy 
fielde, we lotroducel a machiae (not improved, aod 
ccbtiDg nearly doable the prcHent price) to the notice of 
the A6»is!aot Government .^gent at Matars, where It 
attained eucli marked buccesis that six mure were ordered. 
The official report of the experiments there wa» pub- 
lished in the oorcniTMUt Gazette of 25th Aufiuet la°l. 
page 1,871. Experimeuie are now being trie! upioo paddy 
by the Assistant Government Ageut at Kegalla. The 
price here ib H i;}, each Auiipast ; renewal parts arc kept 
in litock at moderate prices. If you ihint proper to tring 
the mechiiie to the notice u( the larger paddy grower* 
and inllueniial men in your di»tric', I believe it will bv 
of great benefic to them,' We shall endeavour to sell the 
machine as cheaply as pael^ible (receiving our commisfiou 
from our principals), aod for the firet 12 machines which 
you order we will bupply 13, at the cost of 12. 1 
believe we have a really valuable invention for treat- 
ment of insect peslt ihit may become of great impor- 
tance to Ceylon, which is my apology for inviting your 
attention to Ibis matter. — I am, &c., John U. S'rABsr. 
DAVIDSON'S " SIROCCO" TEA DIUER. 
London, Nov. 24, 
During the course of this week, I met at the 
Ceylcu Abscciation Booms, in compaoy with 
Mr. Leake, Mr. McGuire, the agent in Ceylon fcr 
Davidson's " bikocco " tea drier. 
He had, he told us, been anxious to tell us the 
most recent developments in the manufaolure of 
tea. After visiting an immense number of factories 
on estates in Ceylon, in Aesnm, Sylbet end other 
planting districts in India and elsewhere, be had 
arrived at the opiniou that there (sisted funda- 
mental errors in the present system of manufacture, 
attention as to which must greatly improve the 
character of the outturn produced. Although 
the factories in Uejlon were not perfect, 
they were very superior in many respects, 
Mr. McGuire observed, to those he bad 
visited in India. They were better arranged, 
more neatly kept, and altogether gave evidence of 
more careful attention bestowed upon the several 
prooesses connected with tea preparation. The 
prime objeotion taken by our interviewer to present 
arrangements is that the exhaust air from the fans 
working tea driers of dif erent patterns ia evolved 
iato the room in wbich tboge mnobiaes ace placed) 
