828 
THR TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
[Junk i. 1895. 
high state of equipment. Out of the 35.568 acres 
held, no less than 22,42(5 acres are freehold. The 
growth of capital, however, has been so gn at, thai 
unless the profits increase sharply it is somewb it 
doubtful whether the 10 per cent, dividends can be 
maintained in the future. The Preference Bhaeei 
ought to be an excellent investment if obtained at 
a reasonable price. A word of praise must be given 
to the very instructive report issued by this Company, 
which gives far more information than the average 
of such, good in this respect though they arc Xne 
information and tabular matter, without accounts 
run to l(i pp. of pamphlet size, and accounts are 
rendered seperate for each garden. — The Investors' 
lli rinr, of April. 
THE LABOUR SUPPLY QU ESTII ».\. 
The B.I. Agknci 
In a conversation which one of our rep re 
tives had with Mr. Percy Bois of Messrs. Bois 
Bros, the local agents (if the B. 1. Coy. that 
gentleman gave some very interesting informa- 
tion on this subject. In the first place men- 
tion was made of the fact that a number of yeara 
ago Messrs. Adamson, Mactaggart & Co.. l'uti- 
conn, started an agency for the supplying of 
estates here With coolies, but that it had been 
given up because of the paucity of support 
which it received from planter*, and because ii 
was found that the coolies being unaccompanied 
by a kangany and not under advance to 
anybody, were either crimped on hoard or 
"bolted" on their arrival at Golomho. That 
is one instance of the failure of a private 
agency to successfully recruit labour and goes 
to show that the present system of finding the 
coolies through a cangany is the best, provided 
of course that it is properly worked. Benefiting 
from the experience gained in connection with 
this agency and knowing that the great point 
which the planters wished to make sure of Was 
that the money they gave the canganies actually 
went to India, Messrs. Bois Brothers made ar- 
rangements which have been in operation for 
several years and very fairly taken advan- 
tage of, whereby superintendents of estates 
desirous of securing labour could send their can- 
ganies over to Tuticorin to recruit, advance.-? and 
passage back to Cej Ion being only paid to them by 
the B. I. Agent at Tuticorin when they presented 
themselves at the office of the Company with 
the requisite gangs and produced their letters 
of identification. There have been cases, where 
the kanganies returned to Ceylon and said they, 
could not obtain the coolies wanted without money, 
hut these had been the exception, and Mr. 
Bois was glad to say that on the whole the system 
had been found to work very well, and that the 
planters who had tried it were well satisfied with it. 
Anotherdevelopment of it was thatcoolieseould now 
get, at any of the railway stations upconntry, 
through tickets to Madura. With regard to the 
supply he mentioned that up to date from 7th 
April the number of coolies who had arrived was 
8,000 and the number who had left was G.00O, 
leaving a margin of 2,0*10. The steamers were 
specially fitted up for the coolies, and also fitted 
with the electric light, an abundant supply of 
water kept on board, and a man specially told 
off to look after the coolies on each voyage and 
attend to any complaints they might have every- 
thing in reason, being done for their comfort. 
THE EASTERN PRODUCE AND ESTATES 
COMPANY, LIMITED. 
Report to be presented at the eighth ordinary 
general meeting, to be held at Winchester House, 
Old Broad Street, at 12 o'clock noon, on the 29th 
April 1K95. The directors herewith submit the re- 
port and balance sheet for the year ending 3lst 
December 181(4. The profit for the >ear f including 
£34 2s ud balance from last account after payment 
of debentures for £8,000) amounts to l'3C,387 13s lid. 
from which, after providing for interest on deben- 
tures, there remains a balance of £96,406 lis 2d. 
which it is proposed to appropriate as follows : — 
t 8. d. 
Dividend on Preferred Shares .. 37 13 o 
Payment of debentures .. 3.000 0 0 
Dividend of 3 per cent per annum for 
the- year IHM4 on the ordinary share 
capital, being the full ran- per- 
mitted by the A i tides of Association, 
pending reduction of the deben- 
tures below £50.000 .. .. K.H74 1 o 
Balance to be further applied in reduc- 
tion of Debentures .. . . 14.455 0 2 
£tM*4 14 2 
The Deb, -inures now stand at i!14H,8H(i. bavins 
been reduced by the £11,000 appropriated out of 
profit.-, as p. r last |{».port. plus a further sum of 
£10,000 paid out of the Company's cash resources 
in December, 18!>4. This the Director! think may 
be considered satisfactory. 
As shown in the annexed schedule, the Company 
have now 10,(148 acres under tea ci ltivation. of 
which 8.!l7o acres are over four years old. The 
yield of tea in 18(14 was 2.742.000 lb . being slightly 
less than the original estimate owing to tlie some- 
what unfavourable weather that prevailed generally 
in Ceylon during part of the year. The average 
grcss sale price was approximated 8*d per lb. The 
estimated yield for 1895 is 3,051.000 lb. 
SGHKDPLK OF THR COMPAtfY'8 KsTATKS AT 
31st Qkckmbbb 1894. 
Arapolakande. Asgeria and Bulatwatte. Colonna, 
Condegalla, Doombagastalawa, Drouioland, Hope- 
Ingurugalla and Berrewelhv, Kirriruittia. koladenia. 
Eotapatn i and Gongalla. Knmaradola. Kumbukkan, 
Labookellie, Me Jdecoombra. Norwood, Rothschild. 
Sogamma. VVellai Ova and D.indukelawa, and We- 
vekellie. 
Under Tea .. .. 10,048 acres 
„ Cocoa . . . . 561 ., 
„ Coffee .. .. 115 „ 
„ Cardamoms and Sundries 141 „ 
,, Forest Grass and unculti- 
vated Land 
Total 

6.458 
17,323 acres 
TEA IX JAPAN. 
Nothing can be said about New Tea. though the 
crop is supposed to be going on all right. It is too 
early yet for the canards to be floated that annually 
reach Yokohama, but they will come in time — " dis- 
astrous frosts," '"twenty per cent, of the tea crop 
lost," &e. ttc. — Japan Mail. March 23rd. 
Nothing to report aboat Tea. good or bad. though 
the weather has been suitable for leaf growing. — Japan 
Mail, March 30th. 
" THE KELAXI TEA GARDEN 
COMPANY.*' 
Under the above title a new Company i> 
about to be floated with a capital of K300,000 
to purchase and work the Kelani estate in the 
Yatiantota district with nearly 600 acres of 
which half is in tea and bearing. The Di- 
rectors are (,» be Messrs. E. P. Willisford, 
YV. S. Ratlin.; C. L. Davis (who sells the estate), 
Julius and Macindoe — a strong, practical Board 
— with Messrs. Carson & Co. as Secretaries. It is 
scarcely likely the general public will have the 
opportunity of, subscribing : the Directors and 
friends no doubt taking up the shareson privateoffer, 
