124 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aug. 1, 1899. 
shipmeuts for ihe week cudiog Hay 9th were 19,788 
lb, and from January Ist to May 9th they have 
been : — 
1899 1898 1897 1896 
Lb ... 393,275 482,556 443,775 359,404 
Vanilla. — Moderate suijpliea v/ere catalogued today, 
and mostly sold at Is higher as follows : — MadagaHcar, 
8 to 8| inch 15s 6d ; 7 to 7i inch 14s; 6 to 6j- inch 
133 6d; 5 to 5i inch 123 to 12 Gd;; Seychelles, good 
chocolate 5 to 6 inch 17s to IBs ; 4i to 5 inch, 163. 
Bourbon fine hol>1, 8 inch 26s 6d ; 7 to 8 inch 26s ; 6 to 
6|d inch 28s ; 6 to 7 inch 20a ; 5 to inch 28s ; to 
4| inch 22s 6d ; mixed sizes IO3 6d to I3a Gd per lb. — 
jB S' G Druggist, Ja»e 10. 
FROM THE NiLGIRIS :— CINCHONAS. 
Mr. T. C. Anderson and Mr. A. E. Seovell 
returned recently from their trip to the 
Nilgiris, highly pleased with the visit and 
all "they saw. The little Railway np to 
Coonoor is working well now and is a great 
convenience :— three bogie carriages with an 
engine behind make an up-train. The line 
is now being cai^ried on to Ooty itself and 
may be prolonged down one of the Western 
Ghauts. Mr. Anderson met Mr. Stan den, 
Superintendent of the Government Cinchona 
Gardens, who had been on a three months' 
trip to .Java (where he saw succirubra trees 
two feet in diameter), to Dar jiling, &c. He 
thinks very highly of Glen Morgan liybrid 
trees of which there are ' 40,000 of a mature 
age. These Mr. Anderson thinks of coppicing 
this year : his bark has analysed over 6 per 
cent. The seed is very carefully, collected 
only when fully ripe and from mature trees. 
— Tea is also doing well on Glen Morgan. 
KANAN DEVAN PLANTERS' ASSOCIATION. 
ANNUAL REPORT OF COMMITTEl!. 
In presenting the Annual Report, the Commit- 
tee congratulace you on the absence of cholera 
from the District, l.irgely due, they believe, to 
the steps taken by His Excellency the Governor 
Madras to improve the .sanitary condition of 
Bodinayakanur. The success of last year'.s plant- 
ing in "the District, coupled with improved prices 
both for tea and cincltona, make the outlook for 
tlie future satisfactoiy. Coffee prices are unr 
fortanately kow, but crops all rouiul have been ex- 
ception'tlly good this year. Tiie absence of the 
Chairman on a well deserved holiday, and the 
departure of the Secretary, Mr. Sharp, to another 
District, leave blanks in the Associaticn, wiiich 
are felt by aL. The improvenieiiis in Post and 
Telegraph service are greatly appreciated, and it 
is to be hoped that the improved postal facilities 
between these hills and Madras may very shortly 
be extended to Ceylon. The Committee regret 
that tlie inadequate n]edioal grant of the past 
was entirely withdrawn last year, bub trust and 
believe that this District will be put on an equni 
footing with the other Districts in His Highness' 
territoiy in the near future. The Committee 
regret that, while all other South Indian planting 
Districts have had or are having cart-roads cut to 
them, the prospects of a cart-road to this District 
are no nearer than they were a year ago. Your 
Committee are thankful that plague has practi- 
cally disappeared fiom Southern India. Your 
Committee are also thankful to see that the Go- 
vernment of India have under consideration a 
labour ordinance, which will meet the require- 
ments of planters and also give some security for 
advances in the future. There has been an 
abundance of laljour in your District during the 
past year, and now, with better facilities for 
procuring food-stuffs, there seems every likeli- 
hooil that this satisfactory state of affairs will 
continue. Another marked feature with regard 
to the labour swp))lj' is tlie ineieased number of 
old Ceylon trained coolies now coming in from 
their villages to work on these hills for small 
advances of under KIO per he;id. These coolies, 
to a young District with a large acreage of tea 
coming into hearing necessitating trained factory 
hand.s, will be very acceptable. This lesult has 
undoubte<ily been partly luougljt about by recent 
gratuitous advertisements in Ceylon papers, for 
wdiieli the Commitlee desire to thank those wlio 
are responsible. — M. Mail, July 3. 
TEA COMPANY REPORT. 
K.MPiRE OF I^'Dr,^. and cetlo.v tea. 
The directors, in their report for year 1898, re- 
gret that the results for 189S were unsatisfactory 
and disappointing. The year began well; but a.s 
it progressed., several causes contributed to a poor 
result. The weather was, on the whole, ur.favour- 
able. Exciiange advanced from Is 39-32 d, to Is 
4 l-:'ith d, which reduced profits by £1,009. Higher 
ocean frciglits also increased tlie cost of bringing 
tlie tea to market. Tlie tea market was depressed 
until near the doss of the season. No one was 
responsible for thi.-; conjunction of misfortunes, 
aiiclMt should not be forgotten that tlm year was 
one of crisis and difficulty for all tea gardens. 
But the directors regret to have to .add that on 
some of the coiupaiiy s gardens tliere was a mis- 
management and a neglect on the part of the mem- 
bers of tlie stall', which undoulitedly contributed 
to the failure of the year's results. Mr. George 
Moore, a i^.ircctor of the company, who has had 
a long and successful experience in tea planting, 
went out to India in last November, and has spent 
nearly six months on the company's Assam gar- 
dens, investigating the system of working, and 
carrying out reforms. Yvhile bearing testimony 
to excellent work on some of the properties, Mr. 
Moore felt constrained to replace the manager.s 
of three of the company's gardens by more efficient 
men. Having regard to the general position of the 
tea industi-y, and to the improvements which have 
been 'effected in the local organisation at the gar- 
dens, the board hope, with some contidence, tliat 
the year 1899 will result favourably. Including 
the iimount brought forward from last jear of 
£143 os 9d., the availabe profit is £20,084. The 
board recommend the payment of the preference 
dividend of £10,9.50, and a dividend on the ordi- 
nary shares of 4J: per cent, per annum, which will 
absorb £6,988, leaving a balance of £14-5 to be 
carried forword. — //. & C. Mail, June 16. 
« 
Ckylon Tea in Canada.— Frcm a leading 
wholesale mercaanc in Montreal we receiveil 
a conmiunication in which he-s^tiy* : — •• f^eylon Tea 
is selling well here ar.d becomin;,' more popular 
every day ; prices are also up several cents lately : 
incitientally I may say I have had a j^ood season 
and feel bright." 
Tea "Fluff" for Dyeing Purposes —A 
correspondent writes : — " Re the statements 
about shipments of bad tea from Colombo, 
can the London Customs people be making 
a mistake, in supposing that local ship- 
ments of tea 'flirfY' for dyeing purposes are 
meant to be used for tea infusion. This 'fluff' 
has been sev^eral times exported recently^." 
We scarcely think a mistake could be made 
about tea "fluff"; but ought not the cases 
containing it to be marked as for dyeing 
purposes, to prevent any misapprehension? 
