164 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept,  i,  1892. 
COFFEE  NOTES. 
The  eoffee  of  Nicaragua  is  greatly  improving  in 
quality.  It  is  far  superior  to  Brazilian  coffee.  In 
the  department  of  Matagalp®  there  are  2,000,000 
aorea  which  will  soon  annually  produce  ten  million 
pounds  of  superior  ooffee.— American  Agriculturist. 
An  employe  of  the  East  India  Company  in  1607,  Mr. 
William  Keeling,  is  believed  to  be  the  first  among 
English  navigators  to  mention  coffee.  He  first  met 
with  it  in  the  island  of  “ Soootora,”  and  thus  describes 
it:  “The  people  have  for  entertainment  a thing  called 
“ Oobo,”  which  is  a black,  bitter  drink  they  make 
from  a berry  brought  from"  Mecca”;  this  they  sup- 
very  hot,  and  it  is  reckoned  good  for  the  head  and 
stomach. ”—Rio  News. 
JOKAI  TEA  COMPANY. 
SATISFACTORY  RESULTS  IN  A YEAR  OF  DIFFICULTY  — 
THE  ESTIMATES. 
The  twelfth  ordinary  general  meeting  of  the  Jokai 
(Assam)  Tea  Company,  Limited,  was  held  yesterday, 
at  the  offices,  14,  St.  Mary-axe,  under  the  presidency 
of  Mr.  J.  Berry  White  (the  chairman  of  the  company). 
The  Socretary  (Mr.  Henry  Earnshaw)  read  the 
notice  convening  the  meeting.  The  report  and  aooounts 
were  taken  as  read. 
The  Chairman  said  : Gentlemen,  before  making  any 
remarks  on  the  figures  in  the  report,  I wish  to  explain 
that  the  delay  in  issuing  it  and  the  date  of  this  meeting 
have  been  caused  by  our  resolution  to  sell  every  ounce 
of  the  crop  annually  before  making  up  the  accounts  so 
that  none  of  the  figures  need  be  based  on  estimate. 
Last  year  I told  you,  with  truth,  that  the  report  they 
submitted  was  not  only  a record  of  the  best  year’s 
transactions  we  ever  had,  but  was,  I believe,  taking  it 
all  in  all,  the  most  favourable  account  ever  made  by 
any  Indian  tea  company.  Well,  gentlemen,  there  are 
fat  years  and  lean  years,  and  the  year  just  past  had 
belonged  to  the  lean  variety,  although  we  have  a 
fairly  satisfactory  record  to  place  before  you.  We 
have  throughout  the  year  been  attended  by  a 
series  of  misfortunes.  First  of  all,  the  produce  we 
held  over  from  last  year,  aud  which  was  most  cautiously 
valued — so  cautiously,  indeed,  that  I fully  expected 
it  would  realise  more  than  £1,000  over  the  valua- 
tion— resulted  in  a loss  of  £1,657  13s  9d.  No  one  can 
be  blamed  for  this,  as  the  produce  consisted  chiefly 
of  fine  teas,  aDd  within  an  interval  of  a few  days 
an  unexpected  drop  took  place  in  the  value  of  this 
class  of  tea.  We  were  not  the  only  sufferers.  The 
most  experienced  and  astute  wholesale  dealers  in 
Mincing-lane,  who  are  supposed  to  be  even  more  olosely 
in  touch  with  the  market  than  we  are  were  far  heavier 
sufferers  than  ourselves.  We  then  sustained  a con- 
siderable loss  by  the  wreck  of  a river  vessel  in  wkioh 
was  a quantity  of  our  most  valuable  teas,  which  were 
insured  at  the  average  value  of  our  whole  crop,  and 
which  in  this  particular  shipment  was  fully  33  per 
cent  below  the  real  value.  We  then  met  with  the 
culminating  disaster  in  the  destruction  by  fire  of  the 
factory  at  Tippuk.  If  you  will  look  at  the  profits  made 
by  Tippuk  in  the  previous  year  you  will  perceive  that 
the  loss  could  have  been  very  little  under  £5,000.  We 
must  hope  that,  as  we  have  hitherto  been  exceptionally 
fortunate,  no  fresh  disaster  may  occur  for  many  years 
to  come.  Coming  now  to  the  most  important  figures 
in  the  body  of  the  report,  you  will  see  that  the  out-turn 
was  under  the  estimate  by  nearly  100,000  1 b. , the  exact 
figures  being  2,382,0001b.,  against  2,480,000  lb.  The  de- 
ficient rainfall  in  the  autumn  months  wasquitesufficient 
to  account  for  this,  and,  with  the  exception  of  some 
gardens  in  the  Surma  Valley,  I believe  there  was  no 
tea  concern  in  India  which  did  not  suffer  as  much 
from  the  same  cause.  It  is  satisfactory,  however,  to 
know  that  in  a year  of  such  exceptional  drought  as 
prevailed  in  India  last  year  it  was  so  very  little  felt 
in  the  Province  of  Assam.  My  own  conviction  is  that 
we  never  shall  have  a really  serious  drought  iu  that 
provinoe,  owing  to  the  physical  conformation  or  the 
country.  If  our  out-turn  was  under  the  estimates  in 
It  small  degree,  the  expenditure  was  still  smaller  being 
only  £81,000,  against  £89,000  estimated  for.  Our 
gross  income  is  nearly  £106,000,  our  tea  having  sold 
for  a little  over  10|d  per  lb.,  being  183d.  under  last 
year’s  average.  We  should  have  maintained  last 
year’s  average  easily  had  it  not  been  for  the  low 
prices  fetched  by  the  Jamirn,  Joyhing.  and  Subansiri 
divisions  teas.  The  demand  tor  the  various  classes  of 
tea  varies  very  much,  i ot  only  from  season  to  season, 
but  really  from  month  to  month,  and  we  have  hitherto 
tound  it  to  be  the  wisest  course  not  to  confine  our 
output  to  one  quality  only.  While  we  give  a very 
free  hand  to  the  managers,  who,  being  on  the  spot, 
are  best  able  to  judge  what  sort  of  produce  they  can 
turn  out  beet,  we  have  in  central  terms  instructed 
some  managers  to  go  in  for  quantity  and  other 
managers  to  pay  regard  to  quality  alone,  independent 
of  quantity,  and,  as  I have  just  remarked  this  is 
the  most  prudent  course.  But  it  now  appears 
to  us  that  the  time  is  come  for  some  modifica- 
tion of  this  polioy.  The  large  quantities  of 
medium  aud  common  teas  produced  in  several  of 
the  other  tea  districts,  which  are  apparently  in- 
capable in  turning  out  really  fine  tea,  lead  us  to 
believe  that  in  the  future  fine  teas  will  pay  best  in 
Upper  Assam.  We  will,  of  course,  watch  the  market 
attentively  week  by  week,  and  if  any  marked  change 
oocur  we  will  advise  our  managers  by  cable  of  the 
necessity  of  making  an  alteration  in  their  style  of 
pluoking  and  manufacture. 
The  gross  profit  on  the  working  of  the  season 
amounts  to  £25,444  10s  9d,  and,  after  deducting  com- 
missions and  income-tax,  it  leaves  a net  amount  avail- 
able for  distribution  of  £21,586  17s,  from  which  we 
recommend  that  the  usual  dividend  of  10  per  cent 
for  the  year  should  be  paid.  We  have  already  paid 
au  interim  dividend  of  5 per  cent,  in  Deoember  last 
and,  if  you  approve  it,  we  will  pay  the  remaining  5 
p1  r cent,  now,  and  we  will  have  a carry-over  of  nearly 
£1,600.  The  reserve  fund  will  remain  at  the  amount 
it  was  made  up  to  last  year,  namely  £30,000;  but, 
although  it  does  not  come  into  this  year's  account, 
we  have  already  added  to  it  by  the  premium  on  the 
new  issue  of  capital  lately  made.  The  estimates  of  out- 
turn and  expenditure  yon  will  find  in  the  usual  place 
iu  the  report.  They  are  for  2,750.000  lb.  costing 
£100,000  to  nroduce  being  an  average  of  about  8Jd  per 
lb.  for  all  charges  up  to  the  time  of  sale  in  London. 
Taking  into  consideration  the  increased  plucking  area, 
the  estimated  quantity  may  do  considered  small, 
aDd  there  is  no  doubt  that  we  conld  turn  out 
considerably  over  3,000,000  lb.  were  it  not  for  the 
reason  I have  already  told  you,  that  we  have  in- 
structed our  managers  to  pay  more  regard  to  quality 
than  to  quantity.  You  will  perceive  that  we  have 
made  very  considerable  extensions  this  year— over 
365  aoresin  all — the  chief  clearance  being  at  Panitola, 
a division  which  has,  with  the  exception  of  one  year, 
always  given  us  handsome  profits.  This  extension 
and  the  purchase  cf  two  small  gardens  towards  the 
close  of  the  year,  brought  onr  capital  account  np 
to  some  £9,000  over  the  amount  fully  paid  np.  This  ac- 
count has  been  adjusted  by  the  issue  of  1,000  additional 
shares  in  April  lust,  which  with  the  issue  in  pay- 
ment of  the  Wilton  shares,  shows  our  paid-up  capital 
at  the  present  moment  to  be  £231,000.  These  new 
extensions  will,  I believe,  in  the  future,  prove  to  be 
the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  company's  estates. 
Next  cold  season  we  propose  extending  at  Hukan- 
Pukri.  This  garden,  which  for  some  years  past  has 
produced  the  finest  tea,  not  only  in  the  company, 
hut.  in  all  Assam,  is  at  present  under  300  acres.  The 
existing  fixed  establishment,  both  European  and 
native,  could  work  500  acres  without  any  increase 
id  their  numbers.  We  have  at  last  got  the  Bokel 
Sawmills  iDto  nearly  full  work.  Everything  moves 
very  slowly  in  Assam,  and  the  erection  of  these 
mills  has  taken  nearly  two  years  longer  than  even  I 
had  anticipated.  We  have,  however,  made  a good 
start  by  turning  out  nothing  but  first-class  work. 
Larger  profits  oould  have  been  shown  had  less  atten- 
tion been  paid  to  fineness  and  nicety  of  work  in  the 
boxes,  but  the  reputation  we  have  gained  for  the  best 
work  in  Assam  will  in  the  long  run  prove  more  profit- 
