THE TROPICAL AGEI.CULTUEIST. 
[Sept. 1, 1902. 
baga, as against 10,900,000 bags the previous year ; 
and this, together with the crops from other countries, 
proving largely in excess of the world's requirements, 
caused a heavy fall in prices. 
The Brazilian crop for the current season is expected 
to be considerably less than that of the past year, and 
the Company's estate' manager estimates the yield 
from the Dumont property at about half that of the 
previous year. 
The heavy crop that had to be dealt with necessitated 
the purchase of additional railway rolling-stock, and 
also an increase in the buildings on the Company's 
property, the expenditure on which has been charged 
to capital account. 
Mr P R Buchanan, owing to prolonged absence in 
India, has ceased to ba a director of the Company and 
the Board has elected Mr H K Rutherford to the 
vacant office of chairman. 
it is with extreme regret the directors have to 
record the death of their colleague, the Hon H A 
Lawrence, who took the deepest interest in the affairs 
of the Company. 
Mr H E Rutherford and Mr Stratton Boulnois 
retire on this occasion from the Board, and being 
eligible offer themselves for re-election. 
The auditors, Messrs Jackson, PiTley, Browning, 
Husey & Co., also retire, and again offer themselves 
for re-election. 
TEA CO.iIPANY'S REPORT. 
Empire of India and Ceylon Tea. — The directors, in 
presenting the accounts made up to December 31 last, 
state that the rainfall during 1901 was, in Assam, very 
short in the early months, and the weather was, on the 
whole, rather unfavourible for quality and outturn. 
In the Dooars it was favourable. In Ceylon the weather 
was generally unfavourable. The company's gardens 
in Assam obtained an average price of 7'87d., against an 
average priceof 8*76d for the Assam Valley. Its gardens 
in the Dooars obtained 6-25d, as against an average for 
the district of 6'65d. - The gardens in Ceylon secured 
6 06, as against 6 I5d for the district. Although one 
property in Assam was highly successful, on the whole 
results were disappointing, except in theDooara group. 
On the Dooars gardens expenditure shows an increase 
due to the whole outlay on Tasati being charged to 
revenue. This garden is by no means in full bearing, 
and left a loss on the year of nearly £2,400, but it is 
confidently expected that it will be able to give a good 
account of itself henceforward. In Assam and Ceylon 
aubstantia! savings were effected, but not sufficient to 
compensate for the fall in the price of tea. The 
Ceylon crop was short, and the board has again to re- 
cord a loss on the working of the gardens. In the au- 
tumn of 1901 radical changes were made in themange- 
m ent, and while it was too late to expect good results 
in 1901 as a consequence of those changes, the board ia 
fai rly confident that 1902 will make a better record. 
So far the year shows an increase in output and a 
redaction in cost. The present low range of price is 
• likely to promote the sale of Indian tea in markets out- 
side the United Kingdom. The profit and loss account 
shows a balance of £9,292, to which must be added 
• £5 536 brought forward from last year. The half-year's 
dividend on the preference shares held over from 1900 
was paid in December, 1901, and the directoia now re- 
commend the payment of half the preference dividend 
due for 1901, £5,475, and that the balance of £3,879 be 
carried forward.— and 0 Mail, Aug 1 
Spanish Coconut Oil.— The Gaceta de Bind- 
rid of July 9th contains an order authorising 
the temporary admission ot coconut or coprali 
for use in the' manufacture of coconub oil, which 
must be exported within a maximum period of 
one year, through the Custom House of Barcelona, 
for the firm of Garcia and Co. of Sans. There 
will be a rebate of sixty per cent of the duty 
paid on coprah on importatioa.— C/vewsi and 
■ pruggist, August g. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Cinnamon.— The third quarterly auctiotts , 
took place in Mincing Lane on Monday last 
when 800 bales were offered and 500 sold. The 
sale is reported to laave passed off with fair com- 
petition. Notwithstanding this, however, un- 
worked firsts and seconds are saidjto have fetch- 
ed prices from Id to 2d lower than in last sale. 
SiSKloULTURK IN SlAM. — Siam is evidently in- 
tent upon improving her sericulture. Yesterday 
six Japanese men and two women, all experts, , 
recommended to the Siamese by the Japanese 
Government, arri\od by the ss. "Kawachi Mara" 
en route for Bangkok, having been engaged for 
a term of years. Certain districts of Siam are 
extremely favourable for the cultivation of the 
silkworm, the rearing of which would seem to 
be an employment well suited to the lethargi- 
liabits of the Siamese. — Straits Times, Aug. 4. 
Shooting in Ceylon : a good bag.— 
Ceylon is not yet by any means depleted 
of the big game necessary to provide fi good 
day's hxinting such as was enjoyed in the 
old days when the planter "led a glorious 
life of a pioneer hunter on the threshold of 
paradise." Messrs. Tranchell and Dickson's 
experiences at Paiiawa, in the wilds of the 
Batticaloa district, prove this to be the case, 
Mr. Dickson has had a unique and exciting 
experience, but .apart from that little affair 
of his Avith a wounded and infuriated bear ; 
the sport was excellent and the bag obtained 
sufficient to turn other Ceylon hunters greeii 
with envy. Such bag should be the means 
of attracting sportsmen to the Island, espe- 
cially in view of the failure of the grousfe 
prosjiects on the Scottish Moors ! 
Old King Coffee.— In view of the frequent 
mention of coffee in our columns recently, 
in connection with the affairs of the Dumont 
Company in which Ceylon men hold large 
shares, and with the enterprise carried into 
the Far Eastern Colonies also by Ceylon 
planters, it will be of interest to read what 
is said of the prospects of our old staple 
nearer home. Not a few of our old planters 
have found a home in Southern India, wherB 
the outlook seemed bright at one time. 
There has been, unhappily, a change for the 
worse ; and this is what an Indian paper of 
recent date says : — 
"The decline in the Indian coffee industry ia 
strikingly shown by the latest published figures. 
The average production of the last five years 
was under 20 million pounds, as compared with 
34 million pounds in the preceding five yeaira, 
and the quantity produced last year was less 
than half the quantity produced ten years ago. 
The cause of this decadence is the severe com- 
petition of Brazilian coffee, and the absence of 
a domestic market. The exports, apparently, 
exceeded the production during the past tea years, 
but this discrepancy is explained by the greater 
accuracy witii which the export statistics are 
kept. The United Kingdom and France take 
between them considerably more than half of 
the total output of Indian coffee ; and the state 
of' the industry may be judged from the fact 
that, since ISOt, the London prices have decreased 
more than fifty per cent; la view of these 
figuresj observes the Lahore paper, there seferaa 
no escape from the conclusion that; coff§9 
dootoQcl iaclH9try in tUifs co«ntry,'JJ 
