68 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July 1, 1899. 
"If this be EO the legislation is in the natuie of 
a police regulation, and the word ' quality' is to be 
read as having refjard to the tea as beinj; fraudu- 
lent or deceptive or bad. Tlie desi;(n of the statute, 
then, is to exclude 'impure,' ' tra hy,' and ' un- 
Ti^holesome ' tea. 
" This in effect limits the Vv'ord 'quality' by 
the purpose of the statute as we have claimed it, 
£tnd by the words with which it is associated. 
"The rejection of teas equal in purity, quality, 
and (itness for consumption because containing 
a greater mixture of similar teas broken up into 
fragments known as dust or fannings is unauthor- 
ized by tiie statute. The regulations provide that 
in certain standards the ))ercentage of dust or fan- 
nings must be restricted to 10 per cent., and in 
others that the maximum of dust or fannings shall 
not exceed 4 per cent. 
" It is entirely manifest that the inherent sub- 
stance of the tea is not altered by its being broken 
into small fragments, nor is there any pretence 
that it is thereby rendered any less wholesome or 
fit for consumption. If these teas were properly 
rejected it must have been because the 'quality' 
refers not to the inherent substance of the ten, 
but to its size and packing. We submit that such 
a construction of the word 'quality 'is inadmis- 
sible. It is strained and unnatural. It has no 
justification in tlie reason of the law or in the 
plain meaning of the words, and is inerely a trade 
regulation absolutely unauthorised by the statute. 
" The regulations require the rejection of teas 
not equal to the standard in flavor or cup qual- 
ity, although equal to the standards in every other 
particular, and the defendants have applied and 
are applying that rule. 
"The defendants having prevented the importa- 
tion of teas which the plaintiff is entitled to import 
within the true intent and meaning of the act and 
threatening to continue to do so, should be enjoined 
from such unauthorized acts." — American Grocer, 
May 3. 

REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND 
RECOPvDS AND AGRICULTURE, MADRAS. 
The latest Report on this Depai'tment 
(1898-9) has reached our hands. The opera- 
tions on the agricultural side of this Depart- 
ment are of interest to us just at this time 
when the question of establishing a Depart- 
ment of Agriculture in Ceylon is on the 
tapis. It will be remembered by some that 
the Ceylon School of Agriculture, as first es- 
tablished by Mr. H. W. Green, was to a great 
extent, modeled on the plan of the Madras 
College, while the contents of his "Primer of 
Agriculture for Ceylon Schools " was also 
compiled mainly fi'om a work jwritten by 
the Principal of that College. Whether 
the fact of the Colombo School having been 
established on the model of the Madras Col- 
lege explains an element of demerit or not 
we cannot say ; but it has happened that not 
long ago the latter, like the former, was 
the suV)ject of much adverse criticism. We 
note, however, in reading through the Re- 
port under review that a more liberal and 
up-to-d;i.te system of administration has 
Kni)crseded the old order of things in Madras, 
and we ciirnostly hope that the same change 
for th'i b(^tter will, before long, mark the 
jito^rcyy yl; offiQial, agricultural work in 
this island. For one thing, we are glad to 
find under the head of "Scientific and Na- 
tional Entjuiiy under Imperial Control," that 
Geological Surveying is going on apace in the 
Presidency, and "we read of the examination 
of such minerals as corundum, iron ore and 
mica, with a view to developing the miner.al 
resources of the country. The rest of the 
woi'k of the Department falls imder the 
heads of Meteorology ; Botany (the examina- 
tion of various vegetable products — edible 
and otherwise — from an economic point of 
view) ; Entomology ; Chemistry (chemical ex- 
amination of soils, plants, manui-es, etc.) ; 
Statistics (Agriculture) ; Veterinary (Animal 
Diseases, Breeding) ; Cryptogamy (fungoid 
diseases) ; besides the Control of Agricultural 
Education (including dairy farming), Agri- 
cultural publications, the holding of Shows, 
etc. AVe expect that in all these matters, 
the proposed Department or Board of Agri- 
culttu-e in Ceylon will find ample scope for 
work, to be undertaken, it is hoped, in the 
same liberal spirit in which it appears to 
be carried on ()y the authorities in the Mad- 
ras Presidency. We would draw attention to 
the following reference to the employment of 
men trained in Agriculture : — ■ 
It has Jong been held in this Presidency that it 
would be advantageous if the staff < f the Revenue, 
ITorest, Educational and other Departments were 
leavened by men who had received a thorough course 
of instruction in Agriculture, and of late years this haa 
been specially recognized by placing men who have ob- 
tained the diploma in Agriculture on an equal £ oting 
with B.A. candidates for eroployment in the Revenue 
Department. The report of the Principal of the College 
of Agriculture, for 1897-98, shows the extent to which 
this leavening has been efiected. The total number of 
former students of the College who were employed in 
the Revenue Department at the close of the year was 
102, 41 of them being Revenue Inspectors. In the 
Forest Department under Government, and elsewhere, 
43 were employed, and in the Educational Department 
as teachers of Agriculture, 16, whilst the number en- 
gaged ia direct connection with agriculture and veteri- 
nary practice was 98. 
The income of the Madras Agri-Horticultural 
Society is, we are told, chiefly derived from 
the Government grant (R1:,000). Woidd that 
the local Government could see its way to fol- 
low this example I 
MIDLAND (CEYLON) TEA PLANTATIONS 
COMPANY, LIMITED. 
The following is from the report of the directors 
The directors beg to submit the accounts, duly a'ldited, 
or the year ending December 31, 1898, which they 
much regret to say again show results far from satis- 
factory, owing chiefly to the low prices obtained fcr 
Ciylon teas last year. The receipts for the season are 
£9,074 7s Id ; less working expenses in Ceylon, 
£7,329; leaving gross profit, £1,745 73 Id ; from which 
h^a to be deducted : Debenture interest — 6 per 03nt. 
per annum on £15,000, £900 ; interest on loans, i'269 
7s 2d ; fees to trustees, and auditors, and London 
agents' commission on teas sold, £234 2s 9d ; general 
charges, &., £75 12s lOd ; and the following being 
also chargeable : — legal expenses in connection with 
the mortgages, £146 Ss 7d ; preliminary expenses, one- 
third written off, 1897, £133 5s 7d ; ditto, 1898, £1J8 
53 7d ; manure, cost written off, 1897, £193 53 2d ; 
rice, loss written off, 1897, £132 13s 9d , produce, over 
estimate written off, 1897, £34 15s 8d ; auditors' fees, 
written off, 1897, ^12 123; the deficiency is as shown, 
£519 17s. 
