Jan. 1, 1901.1 THE TKOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
497 
ANALYSIS OF COSTS F.O.B. COLOMBO. 
Laxa- 
Maha 
St. An- 
Kandal 
pana. 
jiliya, 
drew s. 
oy a. 
Superintendence 
2..? 8 
2.87 
3.2C 
4.(16 
House Cooliea 
.31 
.29 
.26 
.43 
Bungalows 
.02 
,44 
.07 
.01 
Lines 
.06 
.02 
.15 
.33 
Factories, &c. 
.15 
.34 
.29 
.22 
Machinery 
.10 
.33 
.06 
.21 
Cattle 8heds 
.15 
— 
— 
Contingencies 
.41 
.56 
.41 
.61 
Fire Insurance 
.18 
.25 
.33 
.35 
Water Course 
.01 
.17 
— 
Visiting Fees 
.76 

,31 
Supplying 
— 
.01 
Roads, Drains, (fee. .36 
.24 
.79 
,51 
Weeding 
292 
2.16 
8-39 
4 47 
Pruning 
.88 
.69 
.86 
1.89 
Forking 
.21 
.03 
.18 
..59 
Cost of Manure 
1.40 
1.67 
.62 
.40 
Application of 
Manure 
.88 
.51 
.22 
.10 
Tools 
.11 
.04 
.16 
.11 
Stock 
.16 
— 
.01 

Vlncking & Bas- 
kets 
8.65 
10.18 
9.56 
9.18 
Manufacture, 
Packages, &c. 
3.46 
4.21 
3.87 
5.14 
Transport to 
Colombo 
1.30 
1.27 
1.47 
1.85 
Shipping Charges .69 
.69 
.69 
.04 
Sundries 
.04 
.08 
.08 
.08 
Cost in Cents 
per lb. 
24.87 
27.79 
26.85 
30.89 
Plumbago. — The discovery of this mineral on 
Laxapana, wliich was notified to tlie Shareholders 
under date of the 25th January last, has proved 
of much importance to the Company, and the 
Directors are able to add a .sum of £1,585 Is 4d 
to the profits from Plunibaf^o mined and sold up 
to the 30tli June last, and showing the result of 
seven months' work. Mining is being carried on, 
and about 15 to 20 tons a month are now com- 
ing in. The Company is endeavouring to engage 
a competent miner so that the works may be 
developed to the best advantage, for up to the 
present there has been but liitle more than sur- 
face work done. IVIr. George Greig reports that 
there ia evidence of large deposits, and is san- 
guine that the veins will improve at depth, and 
that an increased ontput will be secured during 
the current season. 
The Accounts show that after paying interest 
on debentures, interest to agents, preference share 
dividend, and Manager's commission, Directors' 
fees, etc., there is a balance at credit of Profit 
and Loss of £2 413 4a 8d. The Directors propose 
to write off £300 from Machinery Account; £950 
from Preliminary Expenses ; and £348 16s 3d from 
Debentu e Issue Expenses Account, and to pay 
a dividend of 2 per cent., free of Income Tax, on the 
ordinary shares. In appropriating an amount equi- 
valent to more than 3 per cent on the Ordinary 
Share Capital to the extinction of the two latter 
accounts, the directors believe that they are act- 
ing in the best interests of the Company, and they 
trust that in future years they may be able to 
recommend larger dividends. 
The directors desire to record their thanks to 
Mr George Greig and the Staff in'Ceylon for their 
care and attention to the business of the Company 
(luring tlie period under review. 
DIGALLA CEYLON TEA ESTATE, CO.. LTD. 
Beport of the Directors to be submitted at the 
fourth annual ordinary general mpeting of share- 
holders to be held .it 20, Bistoheap, E.G., on Tuesday, 
4th Uecmber, 1900. 
The Directors herewith submit the general 
balance sheet and profit and loss account for the 
year ending 30th June, 1900 duly audited. 
£ s. d. £ s. d. 
The net amount at Credit of 
Profit and Loss Acoo^int, 
after providing for General 
Expenses, Directors'Fees, 
Income Tax, &c., is .. 500 0 8 
Dividends on the six per 
cent Preference Shares 
were paid for 1899-0(less 
Income Tax) amounting to 346 10 0 
Leaving to carry forward 
to next year a balance of 153 10 8 
£500 0 8 
The Directors agaia regret that the year has not 
been a favourable one on the Digalla estate. 
The crop has turned out 8i per cent under the 
estimate which was formed at the beginning of the 
year, but this can be fully accounted for by the 
fact that the rainfall has been 26 per cent under 
the average of the past eleven years, the average fluc- 
tuation from year to year being only 10 per cent. 
The shortage of crop has rendered the expense of 
cultivation much greater than would otherwise have 
been the case, and this, coupled with a decline in 
the market value of the produce, places the Direc- 
tors again in the position of not being able to declare 
a dividend on the ordinary shares. 
The acreage of 
follows : — 
Tea in bearing .. 550 acres. 
Tea not in bearing ... ... 50 do 
Jang'e .. ... 151 do 
the Company's property is a 
Total ... 751 acres. 
The gross average price realized w.is 6.26d per lb., 
as against 6.84d per lb. last season, and the rate 
of exchange Is 4 15-32d+ against Is 4id. The total 
crop amounted to 201,622 lb. plucked off 550 acres, 
of which 32 acres are in a partial bearing, giving 
an average of 366 lb. per acre. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Cultivation of Egyptian Cotton in India. 
— An experiment which gave definite results in 
Betui (Central Province of India) during the year, 
was the cultivation of Egyptian " Abbasi " cotton 
as an irrigated rabi crop. A small crop was raised 
by one Motilal, Patel of Badora. The crop was 
valued by the Manager, Empress Mills, Nagpur, 
at K96 per bhoja, as against R65 ordinary bani 
The seed was sown at the end of September in 
light black soil, and watered about once a week 
till the end of the cold weather, after which it 
was irrigated once every three or four days. The 
amount of watering was excessive, and had the 
effect of shrivelling the bolls so that although the 
plants were strong and flowered freely, the outturn 
was small. Farm experience has shown that one, 
or at the most two, waterings a month are ample 
for this cotton even in the hottest months. The 
Deputy Commissioner considers that this cotton 
can be grown in Betul as a rabi crop with irriga- 
tion, and that it would be exceedingly interesting 
so see the efl'ect of less watering. The Deputy 
Commissioner is of opinion that if a fair outturn 
can be obtained, the crop should be of the greatesfc 
use to cultivators. This experiment will be pro- 
secuted ivLn\\^x,~Egii-0iMn Gazette, Nov. , 2S, 
