Sept,  x,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
165 
able.  Tbe  Hukan-Pukri  mill,  like  everything  else  at 
that  factory,  has  done  well.  You  will  be  glad  to  see 
that  we  continue  to  devote  the  utmost  care  to  the 
maintenance  ol  the  health  and  ge  neral  welfare  of  our 
native  labourers.  We  have  spared  no  expense  in  the 
construction  of  improved  and  permanent  houses  for 
them,  in  getting  a thoroughly  reliable  supply  of  pure 
water  laid  down  to  all  the  factories,  and  in  other 
works  for  their  comfort  and  advantage.  The  expen- 
diture on  these  improvements  has  baen  very  costly — 
indeed,  had  it  not  been  for  this  outlay,  we  might  have 
doubled  our  reserve  fund  during  the  last  three  years  ; 
but  all  this  has  now  nearly  cnrne  to  au  end  and  the 
diminution  will  be  shown  in  our  new  yeat’s  accounts. 
The  next  paragraph  in  the  report  refers  to  the  prices 
ruling  during  the  past  year  for  Indian  teas,  and  their 
consumption.  All  teas  brought  fairly  remunerative 
jates  until  the  end  of  October,  when  a change 
Dime  over  the  market.  Fine  teas — that  is,  teas 
bringing  from  Is  3d  to  2s  6d  per  lb.— main- 
tained their  value,  while  medium  and  inferior 
class  teas  fell  quite  25  per  cent,  lower  than  bad 
ever  been  known  before.  In  o'her  words,  Pekoe  and 
Pekoe  Souchong,  which  in  ordinary  times  averaged 
from  10d;  to  13d.,  fell  to  a point  varying  from  4§d.  to 
8d.  As  these  medium  teas  formed  tbe)great  bulk  of 
the  produce  of  the  majority  of  our  divisions,  it  naturally 
affected  our  gross  receipts  very  considerably.  Our 
Jamira  division  barely  covered  expenditure,  and  the 
Subansiri  division  actually  showed  a considerable  lo‘S. 
Even  allowing  for  a normal  tall  in  prices  such  un- 
satisfactory results  were,  I am  sorry  to  say,  due  to 
other  causes,  which  are  remediable,  and  we  will  take 
measures  to  prevent  their  recurrence. 
The  figures  of  the  home  consumption  are  for  each 
year  from  January  1 to  December  31,  and  for  1891 
do  Dot  appear  to  be  very  satisfactory  for  Indian  tuas, 
and  show  a Blight  falling  off  in  consumption  ; but 
since  then,  for  the  five  months  ended  May  31,  a great 
increase  in  consumption,  amounting  to  7,000,000  lb. 
has  ocourred.  The  consumption  of  China  teas  show 
the  usual  steady  decrease.  As  I led  you  to  expect  in  my 
address  last  year,  we  have  continued  our  policy  of 
annexation.  The  two  small  gardens  we  have  acquired 
on  the  North  Bank  are  notof  much  account,  and  were 
so  much  neglected  that  they  will  require  expe  sive 
reclamation.  Their  acquisition  was  desirable  lrom 
this  point  of  view — t!  at  they  wereon  the  border 
of  our  gardens,  and  evidently  worked  by  their  native 
owners  in  a manner  that  would  prove,  and  had 
proved,  a considerable  nuisance  and  some  loss  to  us. 
These  people  have  no  capital,  have  no  regular  estab- 
lishment of  imported  coolies,  and  worked  these  small 
patches  of  tea  with  discontented  or  worthless  coolies 
from  our  gardens.  The  settling  down  of  bad  charac- 
ters almost  in  the  midst  of  our  own  people  was  a bad 
example,  and  tended  to  unsettle  those  in  our  employ. 
After  some  little  judicious  outlay,  these  gardens,  I 
have  no  doubt,  will  prove  as  remunerative  as  the  ad- 
j ining  cultivation.  The  acquisition  of  the  estates 
of  the  Wilton  Company  is  a different  matter  alto- 
gether. These  estates  comprise  nearly  1,000  acres 
— 996  acres  is  the  actual  figure — of  tea.  About  500 
acres  of  these  are  acres  nearly  as  good  as  aDy  of  our 
own  properties,  although  not  in  such  a high  state  of 
cultivation  ; 200  acres  are  fairly  good,  but  require  re- 
claiming— that  is,  filling  up  numerous  vacancies  and 
carrying  out  a proper  system  of  drainage  ; 200  acres  are 
qu'teyounr,  and  in  three  or  four  years’  time  will  be  about 
the  best  portion  of  the  estates  ; 100  acres  are  of  a very 
poor,  low  China  plant,  the  abandonment  of  which  I 
have  advised,  but  have  left  to  the  decision  of  the 
superintendent  to  do  so  or  not  when  he  has  had 
further  experience  of  this  year’s  working.  The  chief 
value  of  the  property,  in  my  eyes,  was  that  it  con- 
tained 8,243  acres  of  freehold  land  in  the  immediate 
vioinity  of  the  railway.  Now,  I consider  that  this 
laud  alone  is  w-irth  the  price  we  paid  for  th  i en- 
tire property.  As  no  more  fee-simple  land  will  be 
granted  by  Government.  I hold  that  this  is  quite  worth 
£3  an  aore,  and  the  whole  property  has  only  cost  us 
£21,000.  Although  the  tea  on  it  is  not  up  to  our  own 
standard  of  cultivation,  it  will  with  the  more  liberal 
treatment  that  we  will  give  it,  yield  a good  profit  from 
the  outset,  nearly  equal  per  acre  to  the  other  divisions 
of  the  company.  Although  the  season  has  not  been  a. 
bumper  one,  we  have  had  the  prudence  of  our  policy 
practically  demonstrated.  By  judicious  extensions  ancE 
acquisitions,  our  interests  are  spread  over  such  a wide 
urea  that  the  fire  at  Tippuk  or  the  loss  in  working  at 
Jamira  and  Subansiri  has  had  only  a trifling  effect  on 
the  general  result  of  the  year.  A new  factory  has  been 
erected  at  Tippuk  and  is  tow  being  used.  Our  posi- 
tion is  exceptionally  strong.  We  hold  our  cultivation 
at  the  very  low  average  of  £35  per  acre,  and  this 
includes  two  sawmills  and  23  miles  of  light  railway,* 
and  over  22,000  acres  of  freehold  land. 
The  Chairman  concluded  by  moving  the  adoption 
of  the  report  and  accounts.  (Applause.) 
Mr.  William  Halford  seoonded  the  motion. 
Mr.  Rostron  remarked  that  last  year  reference  was 
made  to  two  articles  which  they  had  on  their  estate — 
indisrubber  and  rhea.  He  should  like  to  know  if 
the  difficult  problem  of  discovering  machinery  suitable 
to  tur.i  them  into  marketable  articles  had  made  any 
progress  during  the  jear.  He  trusted  that  iu  the 
extensions  to  their  property  that  might  be  made 
every  eff  rt  would  be  made  to  get  estates  as  chiaply 
as  possible.  He  should  also  like  to  know  how  the 
company  stood  in  reference  to  the  competition  of  the 
Cevl  n tea  trade. 
Mr.  Seaton  said  he  noticed  that  the  estimates  of  cost 
was  a little  higher  this  year,  and  that  at  a compara- 
tively low  rate  of  exchange.  No  doubt,  the  estimate 
was  a pretty  full  one,  but,  the  heavy  expenditure  on 
machinrry  having  come  to  au  end,  he  should  have 
expected  to  see  a reduction  in  the  estimated  cost.  Ho 
complimented  the  board  on  the  satisfactory  state  of 
affairs  disclosed. 
The  Chairman  said,  in  reference  to  the  rhea  and 
indisrubber,  although  no  machinery  bad  proved  ac- 
tually successful,  he  thought  they  were  getting  to  it 
very  closely.  He  was  himself  interested  in  two 
syndicates,  and  thought  they  had  very  nearly  found 
out  the  proper  machine.  They  had  50  or  60  aores 
of  rhea  under  cultivation  ; but  it  would  not  be 
worth  while  to  put  it  on  the  market  until  there  was 
a larger  area.  They  hal  very  good  accounts  of  the 
indiarubber ; but  betore  it  could  be  tapped  the  trees 
they  were  planting  out  now  must  have  six  or  seven 
years  growth.  As  to  not  being  too  extravagant  in 
the  rate  they  gave  for  gardens,  he  thought  their  last 
transaction  showed  they  were  not  likely  to  err  in 
that  respect.  He  thought  the  laud  for  which  they 
ba  t paid  £3  an  acre  would  be  extremely  valuable  be- 
fore long.  Ceylon  teas  had  affected  them,  and  brought 
down  the  price  for  medium  and  low-class  teas  ; but 
Ceylon  tea  was  really  taking  the  place  of  China  tea. 
They  could  not  turn  out  tbe  fine  liquoring  tea,  and  if 
Indian  tea-growers  gave  up  making  the  coarser  teas 
they  knew  that  no  other  part  of  the  world  could 
compete  with  them;  therefore,  with  the  change  of 
policy,  he  did  not  think  they  need  apprehend  that 
Ceylon  would  interfere  with  them.  Ceylon,  as  he  said, 
was  taking  the  place  of  China,  and  they  would  always 
want  a certain  proportion  of  Indian  tea  to  give  strength 
and  backbone  to  their  tea,  as  the  Chinese  did  before. 
(Hear,  hear.)  Replying  to  a shareholder  as  to  the 
rate  of  exchange,  the  Chairman  said  it  was  estimated 
at  Is  4d  this  year,  and  he  had  no  doubt  it  would  not 
exceed  that.  The  estimated  cost  was  not  lower  than 
the  last,  because  they  were  allowing  for  making  a 
much  finer  article.  They  hoped  that  the  tea  which 
came  home  this  year  would  average  Is  per  lb.  which 
would  give  them  a re* urn  of  16  per  cent.,  and  he  did  not 
think  anyone  need  grumble  at  that.  (Applause.) 
Mr.  Thomas  Carritt  confirmed  the  opinion  expressed 
by  the  chairman  as  to  the  relative  positions  of  Indian 
and  Ceylon  teas,  and  said,  as  far  as  he  could  see,  the 
quality  of  the  latter  was  falling  off  every  year.  In  the 
past  year  the  Ceylon  people  said  they  were  going  to 
pluok  more  finely,  but  the  quality  was  poorer,  whilst 
the  quantity  was  not  so  large  as  they  expected. 
* N.B. — Have  any  Decauville  or  other  railways  been 
formed  on  Ceylon  estates'? — Ed,  T.A. 
