208 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept,  i,  1892. 
were  thoroughly  acquainted.  In  regard  to  the  great 
hurricane  of  April  29th  it  had  been  quite  unexpected, 
It  was  usually  considered  that  after  April  1st  in  any 
year  there  was  little  fear  of  any  such  occurrence, 
and  there  was  r o record  of  such  a hurricane  so  late  iu 
the  season.  They  did  not  fear  the  advent  of 
a hurricane  as  such;  it  was  the  particular  season 
at  which  it  came  that  hurt  them;  and  on  this 
occasion  it  was  at  a time  when  the  canes  were  7ft. 
high.  The  extreme  velocity  of  the  wind  on  previous 
occasions  had  not  exceeded  sixty  miles,  while  on 
this  occasion  it  had  been  as  much  as  123  miles.  Up 
to  within  a week  of  the  storm  all  reports  had  been 
favourable,  and  prospects  were  good  for  a very  large 
crop,  and  their  manager  had  been  congratulating  him- 
self on  having  passed  the  critical  time  of  hurricanes. 
The  speaker  then  read  a brief  but  vivid  account  of 
the  awful  calamity.  Making  a survey  of  the  loss,  he 
might  say  that  at  Britannia,  buildings  blown  down, 
&c.,  loss  about  £2,000  ; at  another  estate  buildings 
and  one  mill.  £4,000;  at  Highlands,  roofing  only,  small ; 
at  Beau  Sejour,  roofs  and  huts  only  (?).  As  regarded 
the  loss  in  crop  it  was  almost  impossible  to  estimate 
at  all  closely,  but  their  superintendent  gave  as  a rough 
approximation  that  at  Britannia  it  would  amount 
to  33  per  cent,  at  St.  Valette  60  per  cent,  and 
at  the  other  factories  from  25  per  cent  up  to  33 
per  cant  loss  in  quantity.  Rebuilding  and  repairs 
were,  however,  promptly  set  in  hand,  and  everytbiug, 
it  was  hoped,  would  be  ready  by  crop  time,  and  they 
would  be  able,  no  doubt,  to  purchase  cane,  iu  order  to 
fully  utilise  the  machinery.  Looking  to  the  losses, 
which  would  trench  ou  their  working  capital,  it  had 
been  thought  prudent  not  to  divide  any  profit  either 
on  the  ordinary  or,  indeed,  even  on  the  cumulative 
preference  shareB.  Speaking  of  shares,  he  might  men- 
tion that  it  was  intended  to  call  op  the  balance  doe 
on  the  small  number  of  shares  on  which  ody  Is  had 
been  paid  (about  £1,300.)  They  wero  much  indebted, 
he  would  say,  to  their  local  superintendents  and  assist- 
ants for  the  prompt  measures  taken  on  the  occa- 
eion  of  the  sturm,  and  to  the  prompt  precaution  to 
minimise  losses,  which  might  otherwise  have  been 
greater;  end  in  this  connection  he  specially  alluded 
to  the  bravery  ot  two  of  their  men,  Messrs.  Depre 
and  Remiare,  who  had,  at  great  risk  to  themselves, 
set  free  a valuable  stud  of  horses  and  mules  housed 
in  a building  which  was  just  about  to  fall.  In 
accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the  committee 
of  shareholders,  they  had  acquired  both  the  Britannia 
and  Sanbalette  freehold  properties,  and  filled  them 
up  with  new  machinery  iu  place  of  the  eld  open 
battery  system,  and  had  also  supplied  horse  hoes  and 
ploughs  to  reduce  the  heavy  cost  of  weeding,  both 
of  which  reiuited  in  an  increased  yield.  At  Bnttania 
they  had  aB  much  as  thirty-eight  tons  of  cane  from 
the  aore,  while  the  product  of  sugar  had  increased 
from  3,900  lb,  in  1886-87,  to  5,390  lb.  iu  1891.  At 
Sanbalette  they  had  made  R40,0U0  profit.  With 
regard  to  the  Highlands  Company,  they  had 
secured  the  agency,  and  in  the  Beau  Sejour  Com- 
pany they  had  availed  themselves  of  a favourable 
opportunity  to  acquire  more  Bhares,  and  now 
held  five-sixths  of  the  shares  and  the  con- 
trolling influence.  The  product  of  this  estate,  uuder 
the  effioieut  control,  had  risen  from  5 million  to  8§ 
million  lb.  of  sugar,  while  the  debt  which  it  owed  to  tbe 
Oridit  Foncier  had  been  largely  reduced,  and  in  two 
years  would  be  altogether  liquidated.  Apart  from  the 
service  of  the  debt,  the  expenses  of  this  estate  wereonly 
about  R520.000,  while  the  crop  was  valued  at  R750.000, 
even  extremely  low  prices  for  sugar.  He  concluded  by 
moving  the  adoption  of  the  report. 
Various  shareholders  made  remarks,  critical  or  other- 
wise of  the  state  of  affairs  and  the  position  and  stating 
of  the  accounts,  and  in  reply  the  Chairman  remarked  : 
1 That  the  Company  he’d  no  shares  in  the  Oriental 
Bank.  2.  That  the  liquidators  of  the  Oriental  Bank 
did  hold  shares  of  this  company,  but  that  would  in  no 
way  prejudice  this  company.  3.  The  Oriental  Bank 
had  been  their  baufe,  and  they  had  various  accounts 
with  that  institution,  some  debit  and  some  credit, 
but  no  loss  was  anticipated.  4.  As  to  their  mort- 
gagee, they  were  all  on  fret-rate  properties,  about 
which  they  had  full  information,  and  were  amply 
covered.  5.  In  their  expenses  of  management 
everything  was  done  to  keep  them  down.  6.  As 
to  Ceylon  profits  paying  fur  losses  made  in  Mau- 
ritius, he  had  frequently  heard  this  averred,  but  it  was 
entirely  without  foundation.  Both  countries  were 
doing  their  share  to  contribute  profit,  and  Mauritius 
gave  about  a clear  three  lacs  of  rupees  of  profit.  7. 
As  regarded  the  management  of  their  Ceylon  tea 
estates,  he  did  not  believe  ic  was  more  expensive  than 
tint  ot  other  estates  ; but  shareholders  must  remember 
that  the  company  took  over  mott  of  the  properties 
for  bad  debts,  and  that  of  conrse  there  were  good  and 
bad  properties  among  them,  and  that  in  some  cases 
the  capital  value  was  too  high  to  yield  good  returns. 
As  to  Mr.  Nash’s  management  in  Mauritius,  he  believed 
that  he  was  generally  regarded  as  a man  of  exceptional 
capacity,  and  the  results  of  tbe  wotkiDg  of  the 
t'ttate  showed  this.  8.  As  to  cfcangiDg  the  Dame  of 
the  company,  so  as  to  omit  Orieutal  Bank,”  as 
bad  been  suggested,  there  were  various  difficult  es 
in  tbe  way — c-xpeuee,  &c. — but  this  would  have  their 
consideration 
Various  shareholders  suggested  and  strongly  urged 
that  b'  th  iu  reguid  to  capital  and  profit  and  loss  the 
workiog  of  the  Mauritius  sugar  estates  aud  the  Oeylon 
tea  e state  s should  be  shown  separately  in  future,  and 
the  Cba  rman  was  understood  to  s .y  that  the  sugges- 
tion would  be  kept  iu  view,  though  it  was  quest  onable 
whether  this  would  be  of  advantage  to  tbe  interests 
cf  tte  company,  owiDg  to  the  publicity  which  it  would 
give  in  their  affairs  to  their  competitors. 
After  the  le-electiou  of  the  retiriug  directors  and 
auditors— a suggtstiou  to  appoint  a practical  Ceylou 
man  od  the  board  having  beeu  Legatived — with  a 
vote  of  thanks  to  the  Chairman  the  meeting  con- 
cluded— II.  & C.  Mail,  July  29 oh. 
Coffee  Picking  in  Hamburg. — The  days  are 
gone  when  20,000  men,  women  and  children  found 
employment  in  Colombo  in  preparing  for  shipment 
800,000  to  1 million  cwt.  of  ccff.e.  But  in  the 
London  Echo  we  read  : — 
South  America  sends  annually  to  Europe  millions 
of  pounds  of  unshelled  coffee.  Tbe  bulk  of  this  cargo 
goes  to  Hamburg,  where  there  ore  1,U00  women  em- 
p'oyed  as  “pickers.”  Six  hundred  of  these  women 
are  married,  and  they  are  forbidden  by  law  to  work 
more  tbau  six  hours  a day.  At  a certain  hour  they 
are  obliged  to  return  home  and  prepare  the  midday 
rneai  lor  their  husbands  aud  children. 
Good  Planting. — It  is  not  unsual  (says  the 
Indian  Agriculturist ) to  hear  people  say  that  they 
cannot  understand  why  tiees  die  under  transplanting, 
considering  that  they  give  planting  the  very  beBt 
of  care.  What  is  considered  the  best  ol  care  is 
often  very  bad  care.  It  is  amaziDg  to  see  the  careful 
planter  without  experience  occasionally  on  his  knees 
dressing  the  earth  in  around  tbe  roots  with  his 
liDgers,  for  fear  of  crushing  the  fibres.  It  is 
impossible  to  get  the  earth  properly  packed  around 
the  roots  in  this  way.  In  nurseries,  where  it  is 
presumable  planting  is  thoroughly  understood,  a 
-man  stands  with  a rammer,  while  one  is  putting 
in  the  earth,  and  hammers  the  earth  in  as  tightly 
as  though  he  was  hammering  in  a post.  This 
packs  the  earth  in  more  tightly  than  can  be  done 
by  either  feet  or  hands.  Some  are  afraid  of  crush- 
ing the  roots  with  this  hammering  process  ; but 
with  the  pressure  all  around,  the  force  is  directed 
towards  the  roots  and  not  away  from  them.  It 
is  not  necessary,  however,  to  go  into  any  reasons 
aB  the  universal  experience  of  the  nurspry  is  in 
favour  of  hammering  in  the  earth  as  represented. 
This  is  the  essence  of  good  planting  and  other 
planting  is  decidedly  bad.  Trees  properly  planted 
need  no  staking.  The  fact  that  a tree  needs  staking 
is  a proof  that  it  was  not  properly  planted, 
