THE tROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. fAPRiL 2, 1894: 
THE TONACOMBE ESTATES (COMPANY 
OF CEYLON, LIMITED. 
Application bas been ntaA» by Me»Hr«. de Ssrain 
for the registn tion of this Company which is being 
formed for the pnrpose of purcbasiog the Tonacomb-*. 
Dewature and Lifkon estates ia the district of 
Badu'Ia for £18,000 gterling. The nomiual capital of 
the Company is to be E600,000 divided into 1,200 
eharen at R500 each. The subecribers to the memo 
an'l articles of asaocintion ar» Meeers. Kdwnrd 
ChribtittD, F. J. de Sar»m, W, H. Figg, J. Buch n, 
F. W. Bois, and 0. A Leeohman. 
We fiud from our Directory that the acreage of 
Dewa».nre is 366, — 163 being cultivuted (141 in tea nnd 
22 incuffee); of Lifton 416,— 178 b iag cultiva-el (68 
in tea ann 110 coffee); aod of TonaoomV-e 770,— 320 
being cuUivated (215 in tea, 42 ia ooSce, arid 63 in 
cardamoms). The total acreage of the tbr^'it estate 
is 1,551, the ar ^a uodet cultivatioa being 661 aores. 
^ 
AMERICA FOR BRITISH-GROWN TEAS : 
The Campaign against China's and Japan's ; 
Should the Hqn J. J. Grinlinton not repbesknt 
Indian and Ueslon Teas with £12,500 pkr annum 
AT HIS COMMAND — BATHER THAN UeYLON AJ.0>K 
with onlt £5,000 ; wuilf. a rival 
Agent fob India wi^uld have the 
DIoPOBAL OF £7,5o0 ? 
Ia commencing the disoussion well-nigh two 
mouths ago, which we hoped would lead to a 
joint efioit to oaptare America, for Indian and 
Ceylon teas, wa were quite awate that the proposal 
would not be a popu.ar one with the majotity 
of Oeylon planters. The men of the present day 
have forgoUen how their representative at the 
Melbourne Exhibition fought shoulder lo shoulder 
vrith the Indian Commissioner and Tea Agent in 
exposing the inferiority i f Chma leas. Oi laio year? , 
a local feeling of rivalry with ludia has sprung 
up, and in respect of America erpeuially, this 
bas been fostered by the more prumment part 
taken at the Esbibitiou by C.ylon, although 
a contemporary in taking credit for all ibe 
expenditure at Chicago, foigets that it in- 
cludes the whole of our products and reprc- 
Beniaiion, as opposed to the Indian outlay 
which was for tea alone. We can, however, get 
no good reason from the planting districts why 
Ceylon should not, henceforward, work with India 
in America in promoting the introduction of 
British-grown teas in supersession of inferior 
China's and Japan's. The average Ceylon planter 
who wishes " ine right little, tight little island " 
to work on its own account, will have nothing to 
do with his brotbe --planter in India, and can give 
us no better reason than the Dean of Christ Church 
got from his witty pupil over 20 J years ago: — 
I do BOt line thee, Dr. Fell— 
The reason why I csniiot tell 
But this I know, and know full well, 
I do not like thee, Dr. Fell. 
In saying no reaeons are given, we err. Two have 
lately appeared in print, but they are both base! 
we think on an entire misapprehension. One is 
that Ceylon having spent so much at Chicago and 
elsewhere to get her teas introduced, Indian 
planters— who have done Bo much less — want now 
to profit by our work by holding on lo our tail 
or skirts. Now there are two misapprehensions 
here : (1) that Inaian tea proprietors have net 
Bpent diS much as Ceylon in making a market for 
their teas in North America, We are assured that 
they "have spent fully as much il not more— 
though not io tbo Chioago Esthlbitioa-'aad' the 
(root U (2) (ouad ia the actual §sports of ladiaa 
as compared with Oeylcn tea for last year to 
America. We cannot offer a fair comparison 
between the exports from Caluuita direct with 
those from Co'ombo, becau-e tha former would 
r quire to bj checked by the Con uUr return. 
In the case of C'vlon, the Ch imber of Co-nmerce 
only showed Exports to Amcira for 1893 equal 
to 112,249 ib. We ha^e be^n alia with t|is help 
of Mr. Morey and m^roantile export -tB to raise 
this to 351,000 ib. The Calcutta fi^ur.s show 
295,16.') wbioh if corieeted in t'le sime vtaj 
would probably grow in rroportion. At aiy 
rate, the exports of Indian and Ce>lon tea 
to Am^rct in 1893 from ths United Kingiom 
compare as follows : — 
To N. America, 
Ceylon tea in 1893 ... 1,437,327 1b. 
Indian ,, „ 1,4^9,763 „ 
It is evident therefore that In>lia is not behird 
in the start towards capturing tho Aniericsi.n 
market, and it is equally o!e ir from the prooei dings 
we recently gava ut the Indian T<a AsBOoiatioa 
in London — which, by the way, none of our local 
contempjrarif s has publishei', — as well ae from 
what has occurred in Calcutta, that Indian tea 
planters are determined, whether their Ccyloo 
breti>r n join them or not, to take furtber active 
Btipa towards rap urirg Am'-^rica. But it i^ s j^grsud 
by Mr. D. Kerr oi the Huotiish-Cey on Pea Company 
— who gives some excellent advice bas d on hi; 
ppisonai visit to A'l erica which we shall take 
over— as an objection to aesoo ation with lodia, 
ihat it is " too loosf-jointed." This must r^ier to 
the difUcultj of the collection or of the management 
of the fund allotted to Amerio). But whe i it ie 
known that certain Calcutta firms who c-mmaod 
by far the greater portion of the Inrlian orofti 
are prepartd to guarantee the £7,000 — or whatever 
sum be fixed f r India — and to baud the esme over 
to a joint represf-ntQ'ive Committee, this difficulty 
should vanitb. Then let it be remfmb:red, India 
is prepared at once to begin with her £7,000. 
C-yku eo fer as we can understand, will not have 
any ce s available before 1^95. One otjeciioo 
cff3:ed ia that if Ceylon ra'ses £5 000 for her 90 
million lb. tea, Ind.'a giving £7,000 i? ujt in (-rofor- 
tion. Well, it repr(sents 126 mi lion lb. at the 
s^me rate; but we feel Eure il will readily bo 
made £7,500 to represent 135 njiDion if that will 
satisfy Ctylon. 
The Wi>y is now clear. we thiek, to 
see exactly where tie two founir.'es or rather the 
two industries stand. Indio, as wo understand 
it, is quite prepared to start a campaiga c n her 
own flccouHrt ooDtlucted by an agent and stiff with 
£7,500 behind them. This could be put in opera- 
tion wa suppose by July next. Then according 
to the objectors, Mr. Grinlinton would be asked to 
follow suit eaily next year for Ceylon, with a back- 
ing of £5,000 in all. How much better, unjer thtsa 
circumstances, we say, to take up Mr. Gnnliaton's 
services on behsilC cf both countries and industries 
— for British- grown teas in fact — and so give him 
a backing of £12,5(J0? 
In this connection we direct attention to the 
really admirable Utt(?r of M--. Westlanf, Chair- 
man of th? Northern Di:tiicts Asiooiation, called 
forth by an i; quir>- frotn our eont mporary. We 
think Mr. Westl.n 1 li ^s solved the problem better 
than any one as yet. Sink the b3unty. he says, 
and get Mr. Grinlinton to reprfsenc the Br.tuh- 
grown teas of both countii s and put at the dis- 
posal cf himself and the joint Ccmmittte the whole 
£12,500 to spend (alter {jrovidirg Ealai'ies atd 
aUowanosE) as ih^j tbia^ wise. Quae oa the spot 
