120 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Aug. 1, 1899. 
NEW COMPANY. 
Anti-Tannic Tea. Infuser, Synd Ld. (02,257). 
—Registered May 24th, with capital £8,000, in £1 
shares, to acquire the bufiiiiess carried on at 180 
West Kegent St. Glasgow, to adopt an agreement 
with John Marshall, to carry on the business of 
manufacturers of and dealers in china, hard-,, 
ware, and household utensils, .ind to cultivate 
and deal in tea, coft'ee, cinchona, and other pro- 
duce. The number of directors is not to l)e less 
than 3 nor more than 7 ; the subsciibers are to 
appoint the first ; qualification £100 ; remunera- 
tion £75 each per annum (£150 for the chairman 
Begistered by King and Co. 77 GreshamSt., E.G.— 
Investors' Guardian, June 3. 
HOW TO M\KE GOOD TEA. 
At the suggestion oi' .t. well-known planter 
interested in the reput.ition of Ceylon ten, 
we printed off 500 carcls and sent them 
on board the ss. "Olynipia, in the hope 
that each recipient of Sir Thomas Lipton's 
generous gift of a 5 lb. -box of tea will take 
care to follow the directions : — 
{With the coiiLpliiiierds and good wishes of the 
Editor " Ceylon Observer."] 
HOW TO MAKE A GOOD CUP 
FROM 
PUKE CEYLON TEA. 
First fill your kettle with fri'sh water; then see 
that it really boils. Next warm your teapot, and 
put One small teaspoonful of tea for each cup required ; 
then pour on the reqidred quantity of boiling water, 
infuse for five minutes, than pour off the tea into 
an 'ther teapot or cups reafly for use. [Milk and sugar 
added according to tatite.] Thus treated, Ceylon Tea 
will give a liquor, pure, delicious and fragrant. 
On no account should a second brew be obtained 
from the same leaves. 
THE INDIAN TEA CAMPAIGN. 
The "Times of Ceylon" has dragged us into the 
arena of its little sparing match with the Madras 
Mail, not " to see fair play," but as a supposed ally. 
iVe must disclaim the honour. Our contemporary 
introduces us in these terms: — " lileanwhile there is a 
little paper, known as Planting Opinion, which is 
prodooed much nearer to the planting districts of 
Southern India than Vae Madras Mail ; and it does not 
back up the separation idea at all. It reproduces the 
iirst editorials on the subject; and is delighted that 
Travancore Associations are subscribing to the central 
fund." We need not go into the geographisal 
question, as our greater proximity to the planting 
districts is a mere matter of yards, if not of 
inches. We would only say, that when, some little 
time ago, we urged South Indian planters to push 
onwards, and to combine for the purpose, we were 
mostly iu favour of South Indian combination. That we 
approved of Travancore subscriptions to the I.T.A. is 
true. Better half a loaf than no bread at all. Our 
Colombo contemporary accuses our IMadras neighbour 
of affecting a lack of perception after the former's 
statement that Ceylon wants the co-operative system 
revised because the present one is unfavourable to 
herself. But the Mail's question was to the point 
" If Ceylon has had less advantage than India out 
of CO operation up to the present time, why should 
she wish to continue a system that is unfavourable 
to herself?" It is, we think, absurd to suggest 
that India has reaped a greater advantage than 
Ceylon out of the joint efforts of their Com- 
missioners. It is perfectly clear that Ceylon 
would not wish to continue co-operation, unless she 
saw something to be gained by it. As for South 
India, she is too small to help her big brethren 
{uatterially, and, conseqaently, if abe co-operates, can 
only expect to reap very small benefits, nnleee stie 
attempts to get an unfair share on the sly. This 
would be a course unworthy of her. Of course, it ia 
impo.^sible for her to conduct a campaign on broad 
lines such n.s those of the Ceylon Planters' Associa- 
tion and the Indin.n Teiv Association, but that she 
can quietly and at small cost bring her teas under 
thfi notice of buyers in varions markets is beyond 
question. Hers i;:i,)]not be a series of massed opera- 
iions, where numerals count for nought so long a3 
the battle is wor.'. On tlie contrary it most be the 
advance of a sru.ili but resolute body of men, bent 
upon mikmg every shot tell, knowing that the "shot 
in the locker" is not over-plentiful. — Planting Opinion. 
TEA COMPANIES' ACCOUNTS. 
There is a proverl) to the effect that " Speech 
is inieixled to conceal one's thoughts," and there 
i:i another coniinon saying t'lat " Fi<^ures can be 
made to i)ri)ve anythiuj,' "' Whatever truth there 
may be in the former, there need be absolutely 
none in the latter ; f(n' accounts properly kept, 
can only sliow, and s-how plainly, facts—&\a.s ! too 
often, haril, iojjioal, stern fa'its. But what can be, 
and often i.s, done, is to unwisely mix up the 
dill'ereiit branches or lieacis of account ; with a re- 
sult followii';,', that no cle;ir perception ot facts, 
as they really are, is jjracticable. It has lon^ 
been a matter oi" complaint, both in England and 
in India, that the accounts of some public com- 
panies are far from being as perspicuous as they 
might be, and ought to be. This is the moieto 
be regretted in India, because so njany shareholders 
are almost permanently absent from Calcutta. A 
man may be, and in regard to tea often is, a 
shareholder in several companies. He takes up 
the accounts he has received, and finds probably 
a different sj'stem and classilication adopted in 
each. He tries to make some comparison, but 
finds it impossible. 
It uiay, theiefore, not be out of place to suggest 
greater uniformity and more particularity of de- 
tail. If it be answered that those concerned have 
it in their power to obtain information at any 
time, on any point, from agents, we would remark, 
in the interests of agents themselves, that it 
would be found to add greatly to their labour 
and inconvenience if such references were at all 
frequently to be made. It may be said, if the 
experience of agents is that such references are 
not as a rule made, we would reply that when a 
shareholder finds his investments unprofitable, 
he will probably be inclined to take a little more 
interest in his affairs than he is now found to do. 
Or if, again, it be argued by the executive that 
it will be time enough to change when sharehold- 
ers think it worth while to demand it, we would 
say, rather anticipate any objections that may pos- 
sibly be made, and show that you are desirous to 
prove that you have nothing to conceal, but that, 
on the other hand, you invite the fullest examin- 
ation of every part of the company's ex- 
penditure. We know very well that dir- 
ectors and agents are blamed sometimes 
unjustly, and held responsible for inevitable 
results, which they have earnestly striven to 
7nitigate the effects of, in the interests of their 
shareholders. The more clearly explanations are 
put before those concerned, the better for all 
parties. 
Speaking generally, we think that a statement 
of expenditure should be absolutely separated into 
garden and Calcutta outlay. By Calcutta outlay 
we mean that really appertaining to Calcutta, and 
not including, as is often the case, garden stores 
purchased, or gaaden payments made, in Calcutta. 
