the Annual Meetings of eeveral Among the latter 
will be found a suminary of the Cfaairman's address 
at the Ceylon Tea Plantations Company meeting, 
and nothing oould be more brilliant from a iinanciBl 
point of view, than the figures indicative of advanc- 
ing importance acd prosperity which Mr. H, K. 
Rutherford was able to lay before his shareholders. 
The growth of the oapital and operatioas and profits 
of this, the premier Ceylon Tea Company, is 
little less than marvellous. Long may its pros- 
perity and its 15 per cent, continue, through the 
oareful work of its splendid staff of ofiSoers 
and Superintendents in Ceylon and the shrewd, 
judicious management in the London offioe pre- 
sided over by Mr. Rutherford. 
Next we have the BandarapoUa Meeting, the 
chief feature of which was the special sympathy 
shown with Mr. John Anderson under his mis- 
fortune and the unexpectedly good news that so 
BtroDg a public man — and one now so deeply 
interested in Ceylon — as Sir George Pilkington of 
Southport and HapUiale, has agreed to join the 
Board of this Company. This ie good news for 
the shareholders in our opinion. 
There is nothing noteworthy in the proceedings 
at the meetings of the Panawal and Eastern 
Produce Companies, although in both cases, the 
prospects seem satisfactory if not brilliant. 
The Report of the Standard Tea Co., which 
oomes to us by this mail, affords good reading, 
were it only for the record of oollee in Uda- 
pussellawa still making so good a show. The 
Directors are prudent in not giving beyond 10 
per cent for the year in a dividend, and carrying 
a considerable sum to reserve. On the paragraph 
in the Report referring to the comparison between 
the UdapuBsellawa tea-leaf sold on the spot before 
the St. Leonards' factory was constructed and the 
balance made in the factory and shipped to London, 
one who knows offers the following comment — 
Obviously this compsriaon is made without taking 
into account cost of making the Ceyloo-so!d tea. 
With this in account the comparative fiyures would 
bo probably : — Twc-thirds Uda Pusselawa crop sold 
in Oe)lon realieeil £3,400. Oue-third Uda PuesiUwa 
crop shipped to Ljodon realiged £4,000. Even with 
this correctiou the difference is markedly in favor 
of the factory. 
Meantime we congratulate the Directors and 
shareholdeis of the Standard Co. on the very 
promitiog petition and prosppcls of their affairs. 
Next we turn to the Great Westebn Tea Company, 
the Annual Meeting of which was htll in Colombo. 
While a dividend of 11 per cent, has been declared, it 
will be obseived that the earnings equalled 14 83 per 
cent for the first year's working, although some 150 
acres are not jet in full bearing. When we recall 
the age of Scalpa and Louisa as coffee estates, now 
forming the bulk of Great Western in tea, this 
resu't is very striking; for the places must have 
been opened originally over 50 years sgi. Of 
course, such results in tea could not have bern 
obtained off old land like this, save for liberal 
cultivation and manuring, and it is evident that 
when grass is plentiful, cattlo establishments for 
manuring are the right thing. On the Great 
Western Group, there has also been a great deal 
of timber-tree planting, all very thriving and 
not only improving the aijpearance of the place ; 
but ready to afford very valuable shelter to the 
tea in the expostd parts during the severe mon- 
soon weather. The tea at present is looking ex- 
ceedingly well. For the good management in the 
past with the moans for liberal cultivation and 
shelter, thanks are specially due to the Manager, 
Mr. Maokie, and general regret will bo fult that 
be was not at the meetiog to have this tendered 
to bim in persoD. 
REVIEW. 
" BAKER AND COOK " AND " FLOWERS 
AND GARDENS "—IN INDIA AND CEYLON.* 
Such are the titles of two handy little Manuals for 
Anglo-Indian and Ceylon residents, just published 
in India, the latter being a second edition and 
the authoress being Mrs, R. Temple-Wright who 
has been long resident in different parts of the 
Continent; They are books which every house- 
keeper must delight jn, and, once having begun 
to study them, would find it hard to lay them 
down. The hints and directions are so pithy and 
practical — tell one so many things that one wants 
to know for certain, in order to speak with 
authority to the cook or gardener— that one wishes 
always to have the books at hand. " Baker and 
Cook," like its predecessor "Flowers and Gardens," 
was written, we understand, in answer to many 
inquiries and the key-note of its composition is 
to be found in the words of Sir Henry Holland, 
a most distinguished Physician, who had vast and 
varied experience in dinners and dining. In hia 
" Recollections of Past Life " he says : — •' Refine- 
ments in food and furniture may err from excess, 
but their salutary influence is not to be disre- 
garded. Every man is moulded more or less by 
bia daily surroundings ; and the vulgar eye becomes 
insensibly refined by the fairer forms and colours 
brought before it." 
So, from the baking of bread to the last detail in 
the preparation and serving of fresh and whole- 
some food, the authoress has aimed at a simple 
refinement within the scope of every housekeeper. 
The books do not profess to be more than a sort 
of primer in flower-gardening and in culinary 
education, and frequent reference is made to books 
giving more elaborate recipes in various directions ; 
but the books contain the necessary A. B.C. of 
Cookery and Gardening, and with them the novice 
may steer safely in the mysteries of housekeeping 
in the East. 
With the rupee difiBculty ever before them, 
house-keepers must welcome hints that may enable 
them belter to utilize home-grown rather than 
imported foods, and Mrs. Temple-Wright tells us in 
her preface that she hopes these notes " will 
enable hostesEe? to make the best use of the 
cheaper and far more wholesome fresh food 
obtainable in the country, without having to fall 
back on the more expensive European tinned pro- 
visions." She has also gone fully into the subject 
of bread-making and yeast. Over twenty pagea 
are devoted to this subject and elaborate explana- 
tions are given under such heads as the following: 
—The Bakehouse, Bread Clubs, The Oven, Heating 
the Oven SmallOvens; Home Baking; Mill for Grind- 
ing Meal; Wheat for Whole Meal; Atta; Flour ; Kiln- 
Dried Flour ; Testing Flour ; Articles for Bake- 
house Use ; Moulds for Bread ; Yeast-making— 4 
receipts ; Bread-making ; Baking Powder; ( ottage 
Loaves, it'J., and Breads and Buns of many des- 
oriptione. After this come a number of good reoeipta 
for oakea, biscuits, icing, &o. ; and the authoress 
closes this branch of her subject as follows : — 
You will ti'id intense pleusiirc in attemptiog tud 
effecting the Bread-making, etc. described id the 
forcgoicg I'nragrapbs; the aoent of tbe yeast, the eight 
of the lovely bread, freab out of the oven, will iofpire 
* Btker and Oook, a Domestic Manual for India by 
Mrs. K. Torople-Wriiht. Flowers and Gardens in 
India, a Manual lor Beginners, by Mrs. K. Temp'«- 
Wright, Second editioa X693, Hie uon Vf^Wt 
