Jan. 1, 1901.J 
THE TROPICAL AGEICULTURIST. 
495 
PEPPER, COFFEE AND TEA IN THE 
WYNAAD. 
THE WYNAAD TEA COY., LTD. 
The oldinary general meeting of the ^^■ynaad 
Tea Company, Liniitea, was held at the «mc-e ot 
thecon,pany', 7, Mincing Lane, E.G., on Monday 
last. The chair was occupied I'y Mr: J O bandeisun, 
chairman of t!ie company. 
The Chairman, in moving the adoplion of 
tlie report and accounts, said: When the direc- 
tors had the pleasure of meeting yuu last year i 
remember I told you we tln.UKht the prospects tor 
the then cnrrent season, viz., 1S99 19u0, were en- 
couraging, and that we looked for a crop of 
78 000 lb. of tea, 20 luns of pepper, and 18 to 
«>o' tons of cofTee. Unfortunately, these crops were 
not marketed, so our hopes have been disappointed. 
Had we secured those crops they would have 
oiven us within about £200 to £300 of t!ie work- 
rn<' expenses of the season, which was all the 
board looked for. 1 he pepper and tea crops 
turned out fairly well, but coffee failed us, and 
we picked barely ten tons, while the price real- 
ised was very low in consequence of the state 
of the market; hence the deficiency of £1,446 
17s 4d, as stated in the accounts. I wouid, how- 
ever like to point, out that this deficiency is so 
large because £1,266 18s 5d has been credited to 
the block account, being the proceeds for the tea 
from the acreage which is not yet in full bear- 
in" The latter part of the season was a most 
trying time for both coffee and tea, . s they had 
the longest di ought in the Wynaad experience 
for many years, which drought injured the cufFee 
trees to such an extent that we picked, as I have 
already told you, half our estimate, and ic was 
only very late in the season that the board was 
aware of this serious deiiciencv. With regard to 
the tea crop, up to the end of October we were 
fully 7.000 lb. ahead of the estima.te, but the 
lono- drought stopped the fiushiog of tiie bnshes, 
ancT the final outturn was about 2,000 lb short of 
what we had expected. Our pepper crop turned 
out larger than the previous year, although rather 
below the estimate. To turn to a more [deasant 
snhiect, I am g ad to b^ able to report that the 
outlook for the current season is so far satisfac- 
lory, although the past monsoon Ins been aa 
exceedingly heavy one, indeed so heavy that some 
miles of the Ghat (the Government) road) was 
washed away. (Ihis damage has since been re- 
paired.) Mr. R K Walker still considers his esti- 
raat'.s'are fairly safe. At the date of the last 
letter from our superintendent, viz, October 13, 
he" reported that the quantity of manufactured 
tea was 67,4531b. which was 27,266 1b ahead of 
last year, thus we have received nearly half our 
estimate, and we have the heaviest months to 
come. He said that although some li'tie injury 
had been done to the pepper viires by the 
excessive rains, he did not think it necessary to 
revise that estimate. I have, however, the plea- 
sure to report that we have ju^-t sold the crop at 
the price of 64d. per lb. being v^d. per lb, more than 
last year. As to colfee, the latest report is, they 
were expecting to I egin picking the crop about 
the enii of October, and hoped to get the estimate 
of 35 to 4i> tons, but as every coli'ee grower kuows, 
there are always so many surprises in store for 
Lim up to the very last hour of harvesting his 
crop, that it is quite impossible to depend upon 
eatitiHte. I do not think the directors will sell 
this crop for arrival, as prices ruling are so low 
that it is better to take the chance of the 
market improving. I should like to call your 
attention to the fact that we have planted a 
further fifty acres with tea, making the area 
now opened up to 630 acers, so that year 
after year we may expect an increasing 
yield of this product, Our cost of produc- 
tion is, I am g ad to say, very moderate, and 
compares favourably with other tea-producing 
countries' At presen t we estimate we can put our 
tea, f.o.b., at slightly under 4d per lb, and as the 
yield per acre increases, that| figure will, of course, 
be further reduced. You will notice from the 
report that the policy^ of the board will contin 
to be the developm nt of this tea industry 
indeed, we would have liked to have planted a 
further fif*y acres during this season, but, in 
in face of the deficiency for the working of 
1889-1900, the directors decided to await 
the result of this current year's trading, before 
any further capital expenditure was autho- 
rised. The directors, however, after having 
consulted Mr. R K Walker, decided to plant, as 
a catch crop, a certain area of the Adelaide 
Estate with chillies, and also to put out a small 
quantity of ledger bark seed which they were able 
to procure from the Government gardens in Java. 
The cost of this work will be trivial, so you see, 
gentlemen, your directors in England, and Mr. 
R K Walker in India do not allow the grass to 
grow under their feet ; indeed, they watch the 
welfare of your company with the greatest care, 
and at the same time endeavour to work the 
estates with every possible economy compatible 
with efficient management and sound cultivation. 
— Home and Colonial Mail, Nov. 9. 
THE UKUWELA ESTATES COMPANY, LTD. 
ANNUAL REPORT. 
Report of the Directors, to be submitted to the 
shareholders at the second annual general meeting 
to be held at Ingram House, 165, Fenchurch Street, 
London, E.C-. on Friday, the 16th day of Novem- 
ber, 19110, at 2-30 p.m. The Directors beg to submit 
herewith the accounts of the Company and their 
report for the year ending 30th June, 1900, showing 
a balance at credit of Trading Acoouut of £2,373 Is 9d. 
After payment of Debenture Interest and Establish- 
ment charges, there remains a disposable balance, 
including £37 12s 7d brought from last year, of 
£1,190 lis 7d, and which the Directors have dealt 
with as follows : — 
One-third of Preliminary expenses 
written off . . £226 15 11 
Depreciation of Machinery, 
Plant, &o. . . 100 0 0 
Preference Dividend for Year 567 0 0 
Dividend on the Ordinary shares 
at the rate of 3i per cent, per 
annum • . 264 5 0 
Balance carried forward to nest 
year ... 32 10 8 
£1,190 11 7 
Ovv-ing to the very dry weather which prevailed 
during the greater part of the year, the crop secured 
amounted to only 273,510 lb. Tea, being equal to 
790 lb. Tea per acre over the plucking area of 346 
acres (33 acres of vehieh were plucked for the first 
time), against 927 lb Tea per acre, from 313 acres 
plucked during the former year. 
The net average price of the Tea was 5'02 pence 
per lb. against 5'12 for last season. Cocoa and other 
credits amounted to £478 Os. lid, against £201 38. 
3d. secured last year. 
