2 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[July  i,  1892. 
of  the  formation  of  the  Eastern  Produce  and 
Estates  Company  by  the  liquidators  of  the  Ceylon 
Company  when  handing  over  these  properties.  With 
regard  to  these  it  may  be  as  well  to  quote  as  fol- 
lows from  the  report  under  notice.  Referring  to 
the  articles  of  Association,  that  document  states 
that  “ as  the  shareholders  are  aware  provision 
is  there  made  for  the  appropriation  of  profits,  after 
payment  of  Debenture  interest  and  Dividend  on 
Preference  ShareB  first,  for  the  creation  and  main- 
tenance of  a Reserve  Fund  of  £10,000,  applicable 
if  required  for  the.  payment  of  said  interest  and 
dividends  ; secondly,  for  the  redemption  of  debentures 
to  the  value  of  £3  COO  each  year,  and  thereafter 
for  the  payment  of  dividend  on  the  ordinary  shares, 
not  to  exceed  the  rate  of  three  per  cent  per  annum, 
until  the  debenture  stock  be  reduced  below  £50.00''. 
Any  surplus  profits  after  payment  of  dividend  at 
that  rate  to  bs  applied  in  further  redemption  of  de- 
bentures.” It  will  be  regarded  as  most  satisfactory  that 
although  but  a short  time  comparatively  has  passed 
since'  the  Eastern  Produoo  and  Estates  Company 
took  over  the  estates  on  the  stringent  conditions 
above-mentioned,  the  present  report— that  for  last 
year — is;  able  to  announce  that  all  these  conditions 
have  been  fulfilled,  and  that,  notwithstanding  the 
heavy  cost  of  doing  so,  the  directors  are  able  to 
recommend  that  a first  dividend  on  the  ordinary 
shares  shall  be  paid  at  the  rate  of  l-£-  per  cent 
per  annum  free  from  income  tax.  Although  tbis 
liberal  first  instalment  can  be  paid,  there  will 
yet  remain  the  substantial  sum  cf  £7.090  15s  4d 
to  be  carried  forward  to  next  year’s  account. 
Out  of  the  prefi's  of  last  yernoless  an  amount 
than  £10,010  was  drawn  and  paid  cff  the  deben- 
ture stock  of  the  Company.  These  facts  indicate 
how  prosperously  the  properties  have  been 
worked.  We  all  recollect  that  at  the  time  of  their 
being  taken  over  it  was  commonly  said  that  a large — 
an  unduly  large — proportion  of  these  was  com- 
paratively worthless.  During  the  years  of  forced 
economy  necessary  to  the  Ceylon  Company  it  can 
hardly  be  doubted  that  the  estates  were  greatly 
starved,  and  that  their  upkeep  must  consequently 
have  been  greatly  neglected.  That  estates  in  euoh 
a condition  should  have  been  by  judicious  manage- 
ment brought  into  a condition  to  yield  good 
results  speaks  highly  for  those  to  whom 
their  management  has  been  entrusted,  and 
the  Ceylon  public  may  be  congraiulated 
on  the  fresh  evidence  afforded  by  this  report  of 
the  prosperity  and  payingness  of  the  leading  industry 
of  its  island.  It  is  stated  that  9.23G  acres  of  the 
Company’s  properties  is  now  under  tea,  of  which 
6,700  are  over  four  years  chi.  In  all  2,008,000  1b 
of  tea  was  obtained,  the  gross  price  at  which  it 
sold  being  9jd  per  lb.  The  orop  for  1892  is  esti- 
mated at  2,240,000  lb.  Three  estates,  Belgodde, 
Moutefiore,  and  Sinnegodde  Belle  Vue,  have  been 
sold  during  the  year,  the  piroeheds  being  credited 
to  tho  Estates  Reserve  Account.  We  observe  that 
exclusive  of  its  tea  acreage  the  Company  has  108 
acres  under  coffee,  6 24  aere3  under  cacao,  and  358 
acres  under  cinchona,  oardamoma  and  sundries, 
with  a balance  of  6,465  acres,  consisting  of  forest, 
grass  and  uncultivated  land,  tine  whole  making  up 
a total  acreage  of  16,791  aores.  The  meeting  to 
consider  this  report  was  to  be  held  yesterday,  but 
at  the  moment  of  writing  no  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings at  it  has  reached  me. 
4b 
COLOMBIAN  CINCHONA  BARKS. 
The  specimens  of  new  kiud3  of  oinchona  bark  from 
tho  Republic  of  Colombia  to  which  Mr.  Holmes  drew 
attention  at  the  Fharm&oeutioal  Society’s  meeting  last 
Wednesday  (see  below)  w re  exceedingly  interest- 
ing in  themselves,  but  unhappily,  from  a commercial 
point  of  view,  the  existence  of  the  cinchonas  is,  at  the 
present  time  at  any  rate,  of  no  valne.  For  all  practi- 
cal purposes  they  might  just  as  well  flourish,  along 
with  political  economy,  on  the  planet  Saturn  For, 
assuming  that  the  supply  of  the  rich  Negra  and  Tuna 
barks  is  large  enough  to  warrant  their  consignment  to 
Europo,  the  expense  of  bringing  them  over  will  bar 
their  appearance  in  the  market  for  a considerable  time 
to  come.  Colombia  is  one  of  the  most  backward 
counties  on  earth  in  the  matter  of  interna!  communica- 
tion. There  are  practically  no  roads,  aDd  although 
short  tracts  of  railway  have  been  made  here  and 
t.lere,  and  nomerous  concessions  for  other  lines  have 
been  given,  there  is  no  prospect  whatever  that  efficient 
railway  communication  will  be  established  this  cen- 
tury with  th9  region  where  the  barks  grow.  A 
striking  instance  of  the  cost  of  traDepoit  in 
the  country  was  given  in  a recent  paper 
on  the  resources  of  Colombia,  published  by  the 
“Bureau  cf  American  Republics”  in  Washington.  It 
is  staled  there  that  a bale  of  goods  sent  from  the.  Port 
of  Cartbagena  to  Bogota  (the  capital  of  the  Republic; 
has  to  be  unloaded,  loaded  and  warehoused  twelve  times, 
the  last  part  of  the  journey  alone,  and  eighty-mile 
run  by  mules  across  the  Andes,  taking  “from  five  to 
twelve  days  in  good  weather.”  The  cost  of  bringh  g 
merchandise  from  Honda  (ever  600  miles  inland)  to 
Bago'a  alone  is  from  2gd  to  3jd  per  lb.  Tbis  route 
inverted  would  have  to  be  taken  by  Mr.  Thomson's 
cinchonas,  and  it  is  safo  to  calculate  that  the  freight 
upon  them  alone  from  Bogot.4  to  London,  would  cost 
Dot  le-s  than  5d  per  lb.  As  0-per-cent  cinchooa  is 
wo  th  abent  7|d  per  lb.  at  present,  the  happy  grower 
is  rot  likely  to  flourish  on  the  proceeds  of  bis  discovery 
just  yet.  At  the  time  when  tho  bark  prices  began  to 
fall  Co’ombia  was  almcst  the  first  country  from  which 
supplies  ceased  to  come,  and  it  is  believed  that  un- 
less prices  attaiu  at  least  double  their  present  figure 
Ibis  Republic  will  not  resume  its  cinchona  exports  on 
a scnl  jof  any  magnitude.  But  as  common  commercial 
considerations  have  to  take  a very  back  seat  at  the 
Bloomsbury  Square  meetings,  such  matters  can  hardly 
be  expected  to  find  education  there. — Chemist  and 
Druggist,  April  23. 
PHARMACEUTICAL  SOCIETY  OF 
GREAT  BRITAIN. 
EVENING  MEETING. 
As  briefly  reported  last  week,  the  members  of  the 
Society  were  invited  to  a pharmaceutical  evening  at 
Bloomsbury  Square  on  Wednesday,  April  13th.  The 
attractions  were  unusually  bright — a whole  year’s 
collection  of  museum  donations  exhibited  in  the  old 
way,  and  with  microscopic  illustrations  under  the  lens, 
and  enlarged  by  lime-light  lantern.  It  was  a brava 
show  truly ; still,  it  might  have  been  an  ordinary 
monthly  meeting  so  far  ns  mere  number  of  specimens 
was  concerned.  The  audience  was  a fair  on*5,  with  a 
good  sprinkling  of  Minciog  Lane  people  on  the  front 
benohes,  but  the  representatives  of  historic  wholesale 
houses  were  conspicuous  by  their  absence. 
Mr.  Carteighe,  in  opening  the  proceedings,  suggested 
that  the  best  way  to  arrange  the  menu  of  the  evening 
would  be,  first  to  let  Mr.  Holmes  read  a portion  of 
his  paper  relating  to  the  donations  recsived  by  the 
museum  during  the  year,  and  then  to  ask  Dr.  Paul 
to  interpose  with  his  notes  on  solution  of  strychine 
after  whioh  Mr.  Holmes  would  be  invited  to  resume  his 
paper. 
Mr.  Holmes,  who  received  a very  friendly  reception, 
pleasantly  remarked  on  rising  that  the  difficulty  he 
had  was  to  know  where  to  begin. 
* * # 
COCA  LEAVES. 
From  senna  the  Curator  proceeded  to  coca,  the 
botany  of  which,  he  said,  is  still  far  from  being  satis- 
