Sept. 1, 1902,] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTl/RlSr. 
Total revenue for 1901 
„ . Expenditure for 1901 
„ Surplus for 1901 
R486,323-98 
401,821'57 
R84,502-41 
Declared Value of Exports, 1901 ... Rl,417,5l5'19 
„ ,, Imports, „ ., Rl, 149,646-21 
Hotels. — Only one, small and uncomfortable. 
No cyclones. 
Principal merchants: Affoi & Co. ; Bonstead, Sons 
& Co.; Baty, Bergae & Co.; D' Bmmerez & Co.; E. 
Lanier & Co., Said & Co.; L Deltel, Son & Co.; P. 
Marvanji & Co.; Temooljeecfe Co. ; K C Obetty & Co.; 
BndK S K Naiken & Co. 
TEA BOXES :—VENESTA, LIMITED. 
(Extracts from Proceedings at Fourth Annual 
General Meeting;.) 
It requires many tons or millions of feeb of 
Venesta boards to amount to the total turnover 
of last year, namely £54,500, as well as 
a great deal of hard work in the manufacture, 
disposal, and shipment of the goods. Perhaps I may 
here point out that this turnover has been created 
on an available working capital of about £3,000 — 
which may possibly convey to you some idea of the 
care and close attention that has been necessary 
in the management of the business. I am glad to 
be able to add that the six months now closing 
show further proportionate increa.ses, and unless 
any unforseen circumstance arise the totals for 
1902, both in export and home trade, should show 
a larger turnover than in any previous year. 
The export department has been aflected by 
the general conditions of the tea industry. Several 
of our buyeis of tea chests held over rather large 
stocks of chests from 1900, and the restrictions in 
the picking of teas reduced the quantity of chests 
required for the season. As you will see by the 
report, our total shipment of tea chests for the 
year 1901 was 296,000 while for this year in this 
first six months I am glad to tell you we have sold 
258,000 tea chests, and expect by the close af the 
year to hnish*^vith sales of about 350,000. Mr 
Penny, who has recently returned from Ceylon 
and Australia, has, as might be expected by his 
energy and ability, done good service tor the com- 
pany, and cleared up some important points of 
difhculty, and while visiting several of the tea 
gardens has brought the advantages of our tea 
chests practically before the managers and growers, 
from which good results may be looked for. 
I regret to have to tell you that the lead mill, 
which ought to have been completed last June, 
did not get to work until November, and then not 
successfully, and therefore did not contribute to 
the profits of the year. The reason for this was 
that our consulting engineer made some errors 
in his design of the mill, and consequently altera- 
tions have had to be made in the machinery, which 
has caused considerable delay in completing the 
plant, together with some loss of profit. You will, 
however, be pleased to hear that these diffi- 
culties have been overcome and that the mill is 
now in good working order and capable of turning 
out all the lead we require for all our trade. The 
working of this lead mill and the convenience we 
experience by being able to ship all the necessary 
pans and fittings of our tea chests from our own 
factory will greatly facilitate the working and con- 
tribute to the profits of the bu.siness. We have 
now a staff of experienced work-people (about 
lOU), who have acquired an expert knowlege of how 
to put our boxes, cases, and fittings together, and 
)Ye aiQ a,Uo fortunate ia possessing m elticieuti 
foreman of each department, all of whom are con- 
trolled by our able and excellent works manager, 
Mr Whitt, who has always shown con.siderable 
interest and intelligence in the performance of his 
duties. The Kussian bu.sine.ss has shown further 
increase in the department of furniture, seating, 
hat boxes, &c. The works at Keval, which occupy 
a space of about thirteen acres, part of 54^ acres 
owned by the company, and employ about 
1,500 hands, are well maintained, and consist of 
some of tlie most modern macliinety suitable for 
the purposes of the business, worked by electricity 
of about 900 to 1,000 h.-p. The factory specially 
erected for the manufacture of Venesta boards is 
capable of producing about 30,000;000 ft a year.- 
Home and Colonial Mail, July 4. 
TRE.E-GROWING AT A HIGH ELEVATION 
IN CEYLON : 
THE BEST-WOODED PLANTATION IN 
THE ISLAND : 
ABBOTSPORD REVISITED. 
We suppo.se we may, without presumptioH, 
speak of the Tea and Cinchona plantation 
identified with the name of the late Mr. 
A. M. Ferguson— and with that of his son, 
the present proprietor,— as, without excep- 
tion, " the best-wooded " private estate in 
the island. The late proprietor took a 
special delight in getting seed and plants 
of trees likely to grow in the soil and at 
the elevation of Abbotsford from every 
quarter he could hear of in India, Aus- 
tralia, JavcL, the Straits and England or 
Scotland. There were, of course, many 
failures ; but also many successes in his 
introductions and for the last si.x: years of 
his life he had the great advantage of 
the counatd and aid of the present Manager 
of tlie Estate who knew a great deal about 
Forestry before ever he came to Ceylon. The 
result is that, so far as the introduction and 
cultivatijn of a great variety of Australian 
Eucalypts and Acacias, Javanese "Albizzias," 
Himalayan Toons, Birches and other trees, 
Japanese and English Firs, with pines and 
oaks ; and a considerable variety besides, — 
Abbotsford presents an " e.Kperimental 
plantation " in Upper Dimbula, comparable 
— longo intervallo- to even the " Hakgala 
Garde ns " on the other side of the rtiuge 
facing Uva. Indeed the experienced and 
enthusiastic Superintendent of Hakgala was, 
some time ago, astonished and delighted 
to see the conjunction in Lower Abbotsford 
of so many palms— Australian Corijplias and 
even Carijota flourishing : difficult if not im- 
possible to grow in his colder climate— along 
with English, Himalayan and Japanese 
introductions. One of the finest English oaks 
we have seen in the island is here— a tree 
of, perhaps, 25 feet high ; but, curiously 
enough, it practically stopped growing six 
years ago and does not now make an inch 
a year in growth. An oak and a palm, 
within a few yards of each, form an inter- 
esting conjunction. We have not seen the 
CJangaroowa " Albizzias " — which are realis- 
ing R15 each, no doubt greatly because 
of their proximity to the Kan'dy timber 
nrarket — but it would be hard, we think, to 
beat the trees of this descriptiou ou Ablipts- 
