46 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Jt/ly 1, 1^02. 
durinp! the current year. The Dimbula valley, 
which we may note has altered its financial period 
so as to coincide with the calendar year, has 
done fairly well, and is to be congratulated upon 
being able to pub aside a portion of its profits, 
although at the expense o!' a redui^tion in the 
dividead. Tliia is u!ie oni.v f...nipany of tliose 
under review whose shares are i; ,! ' red mi the Stock 
Exchange, and consequently a iictie more general 
interest attaches to it than to the others. The 
Scottish Ceylon, though reducicg its dividend, 
records fairly satisfactory results, considering the 
conditions obtaining, but public interest in this 
company's shares is comparatively small and 
dealings are few. The Alliance is yet another 
company which has been obliged to cut down its 
divided, but has nevertheless got through the year 
fairly well. In view, however, of the considerable 
amount of debentures it carries, and of the fact 
that it has no reserve fund, it can scarcely be said 
to occupy as strong a financial position as some 
cf its neighbours. The Yatiyantota is notable as 
being a producer of low-grade tea at a very cheap 
cost, but the better prices ruling for this class of 
tea at the end of the season hardly compensated 
for the very unsatisfactory quotations obtained 
earlier. At the current range of values the com- 
pany should be able to improve its position. The 
General Ceylon Tea Estates has come in for much 
adverse criticism owing to the general feeling 
that it was brought out at the top of the boom. 
We are glad to see therefore that, thanks to 
drastic alterations in the management, its 
report shows a considerable improvement, and it 
seems possible that there may be some future for 
the preference shareholders, whatever may be 
thought of the prospects of the ordinary. A slight 
reduction in dividend is likewise shown by the 
Eastern Produce and Estates, but the company 
has still been able to find £7,875 for the usual 
liquidation of the debentures, whereby it every 
year improves its financial position, A favour- 
able feature of this company is the fact that 
it possesses a remunerative agency business, 
the profits from which, as stated by the 
chairman at the last meeting, are more than 
sufficient to defray the entire expenses of the 
London administration. 
It is a truism to repeat that the future pros- 
perity of tlie tea industry is bound up with the 
establishment of rational relations between supply 
and demand. In respect of over-production we 
are afraid the best that can be said is that we 
are a little nearer the end of the tunnel than we 
were a year ago. Some slight improvement in 
this respect was certainly shown last year, but 
we have still to face the prospect of the current 
and the following year's production being in 
excess of the demand. We believe, however, we 
are correct in saying that the extensions of 
gardens have now been brought practically to 
a standstill ; and, further, it appears to be gener- 
ally admitted that there has been some very 
considerable abandonment of less remunerative 
areas, and this goes far to compensate for the 
opening up of new grounds. The planting com- 
munity, we are credibly informed, are doing their 
utmost to limit the quantity in favour of 
the quality of production, and, although we are 
not amongst those who believe tliat very miiih 
can be attained by artificial means, the effort 
deserves every recognition, and is decidedly in the 
right direction, The bright spot on the horizon 
is the opening up of fresh markets, which there 
is reason to expect will be prosecuted more vigor- 
ously than ever. The Ceylon Government has aut ho- 
rised an increase in the forced "cess" imposed on 
the planters to defray the expenses of the propa- 
ganda abroad, while a very influential petition is 
being presented to the Viceroy of India with 
the object of inducing the Indian Government lo 
impose a siaiilar cess " on the planters there. 
If this movement be successful the future ener- 
getic cultivation of foreign markets will be 
assured. As regards the value of tea shares, the past 
season has naturally had the effect of greatly de- 
pressing prices, the few exceptions only serving to 
accentuate the general decline. It is probable, how- 
ever, that in many cases the price has been forced 
down unduly, as the result of small sales upon a 
narrow market. Even now we are not prepared 
to advise people to rush into the market, but at 
the existing level as presented in the quotations 
supplied to us from week to week by the Indian 
Tea Share Exchange, it is quite worth watching. 
In particular some of the cheaper preference 
shares, which have been depressed in an undue 
degree as compared with the ordinary issue of the 
same companies, merit attention, since they hold 
out the hope of a considerable improvement in 
capital value sooner or later. We have not 
included any Indian tea companies' results in tlve 
present review, as, although the season in India coin 
cides with that in Ceylon, only one or two reports 
owing to the greater distance to be traversed, are 
so far to hand. In a short time, however, sufficient 
information will be available to enable a fair 
appreciation to be made of the results of the year's 
operations in the great tea gardens of the 
Dependency. — Home and Colonial Mail, May 23. 
. -.^ . 
THE BIGGEST IVORY MARKET IN THE 
WORLD. 
Some day when Mr. Pierpont Morgan is less 
busy than he appears to be at present he may 
turn his attention to an " ivory trust." If he 
does so he will find the big£;est ivory market in 
the world at the London Docks, where the 
quarterly sales of ivory average over £100,000 ; 
70,000 elephants are slaughtered every year to 
keep up this supply. Eastern Siberia exports a 
vast quantity of fossil ivory, chiefly to the 
Continent, where *it is more highly valued than 
it is in this country. African ivory commands 
a higher figure than any other description of ivory 
on the market. The biggest price ever paid for 
a pair of tusks was £188 ; they came from 
Uganda. The average price for ivory in this 
country rules from £30 to £40 per cwt. A great 
deal of ivory used to come here from India, but 
the Indian wild elephant is now getting very 
scarce and of late years India has actually im- 
ported ivory.— TaWer, May 21. 
PRODUCE AND PLANTING. 
The Journal d' Agrimlture Tropicale fer April gave 
a report by the Dutch Consul at Wartaw which dealt 
with particulars relating to the 
COMPKESSBD TEA TRADE. 
According to this report more than 53,000,000 kilogs 
(a kilog is equal to 2-2 lb) of tep, are annually im- 
ported by 
