428 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dec. 1, 1899. 
Legal procoedingB were taken in five instances of 
tea adulteration, and two fines were iDflicted. 
Addltehated Coffee. — Of the 1879 samples of 
coffee examined 10 per cent were condemned. As 
naual, many samples were reported to contain large 
quantities of chicory. 
Tea Eefoem and Dock Chaeges. — With reference 
to the comments on this subject which have appeared 
in the Prochice [Marlcets Heview, and which we have 
reproduced, that journal remarks in its issue of last 
Saturday that these comments have led to a good 
deal of criticism, especially on the subject of the 
dock charges. " Our figures," it says, " were com- 
piled from the dock books themselves by one whose 
Bole occupation it is to look after such matters, but 
the items are most obscurely given by the companies, 
and it is indeed impossible for any one except an 
expert to make head or tail of them. Our object 
was, however, to secure absolute accuracy, and aa 
we find on close scrutiny that some of the items 
(notably the bulking and taring, in which, after re- 
ference, we believed we were right) are inaccurate, 
we append a corrected statement of dock charges on 
Indian tea in this port, and a comparison of 
them with those on other goods. This comparison 
is the important point and not fractional differences 
in details. The errors afiected by our critics, which 
we gladly correct, affect this comparison to the extent 
that we overstated the Indian tea charges com- 
paratively 3s 63 per ton, they working out at 52s 6d 
instead of 56s. Warrants and weight notes were not 
included by ua in tea, which would practically cover 
this small balance, but we are content to take 
the smaller figure. What possible reason can there 
be, except gross mismanagement and monopoly, for 
the charges on Indian tea being four times more 
than those on Indian coffee ? To satisfy our critics 
we now give the following corrected charges on one 
ton of Indian tea landed and sold at public sale 
taking twenty chests to a ton : Landing and housing 
rate, at Is 6d per chest £1 10s ; public sale charges, 
at 4d per chest, 6s 8d; bulking and taring each, 
chest, at Is 5d per chest, f i 8s 4d; and ten week^' 
rent, at ^d per chest, 8a 4d ; giving a total of 
£3 13s. 4d. Prom thia a discount of 10 per cent, is 
deducted, leaving a balance of £3 6s, and then again 
to this has to be added the charges for weight notes 
and warrant stamps, which are 8d and Is respectively, 
thus giving a net total of £3 7a 8 " 
Coming Down Handsome. — The Tea Trade Section 
of the Mincing Lane branch of the Lord Mayors Trans- 
vaal Widows and Orphans' Fund has made a hearty 
response to the call for subssriptions. Tea companies, 
growers, agency firms, importers, brokers, dealers, dis- 
tributors, and warehouse-keepers are doing their best 
to swell the fund, which already reaches £8,000. The 
tide of subscriptions flows bountifully, thanks to ihe 
energy of those who are working in the good cause. 
We hope shortly to publish a list of the subscribers. — 
Home and Colonial Mail, Nov. 17, 
THE CEYLON LAND AND PKODUCE 
COMPANY, LTD. 
London, Nov. 17. 
Being in the City, I looked in at the an- 
nual meeting of that very prosperous insti- 
tution — 
THE CETIiON LAND AND PBODUCE CO. , LD. 
— to find the Chairman (Mr. James Wilson) and 
his CO- Directors and the Secretary (Mr, Loch,) 
and four or five shareholders taking the 
Report as read ; while Mr. Wilson (having 
a heavy cold) handed his address to be read 
by his son. It was both practical and in- 
teresting. 
As last from Ceylon I ventured to second 
the adoption of the Report, congratulating 
the shareholders on continued prosperity, 
due largely to judicious management, but 
also to the low rate at which their fine 
properties stood in the Company's books, 
showing the prescience of the original 
founders of the Company and of Mr. Wilson. 
I called attention to the gi-eat extension of 
cacao-planting now going on in Trinidad in 
supersession of sugar, as a reason for some 
caution, and thought care should also be 
taken in planting coconuts among tea At 
the same time I corroborated the view that, 
with attention and liberal cultivation, there 
was no reason for alarm in regard to tea 
blight or cacao canker. 
Mr. Seton (the well-known tea share- 
broker, &c.) followed with some weighty re- 
marks, as an expert on the financial position 
of the country, arguing that it was a pity 
with so m.any shares not fully paid, ad- 
ditional capital should be called up, and 
dealing also with blight from experience in 
Assam. — Capt. Brebner and another share- 
holder took the same view about the calling 
of new capital, and it was also suggested 
that the Company should get a quotation on 
the Stock Exchange. 
But the Chairman and Mr. Seton both 
showed that this was really not worth, the 
trouble it involved and indeed it might re- 
quire the remodellingof theCompany dc novo ; 
while the Chairman also showed that they 
could not call up the balance of capital due 
on shares without paying off debentures and 
the time had not come for that yet. H» 
also mentioned that the coconut palms on 
Peradeniya were prosperous and seemed to 
do no harm to the tea ; that the cacao now 
being planted was Forastero and he called on 
Mr. Lewis (of Messrs. Lewis and Noyes, 
cocoa brokers) to refer to cacao. 
This Mr. Lewis did in a very reassuring 
way, saying he did not think West Indian 
cocoa would ever compete with the Ceylon 
article which had special qualities of its own. 
That great efforts had been made in Trinidad 
to prepare similar quality, but without 
success, and he had no fear for the future. 
(Still, it is a fact that the price of Ceylon 
has fallen from the maximum a good deal, 
and that it is not now rated in value so much 
above the West Indian cocoa, although the 
price is still satisfactory. — Mr. Lewis also 
mentioned that Ceylon cocoa was used for 
special purposes by the manufacturers. Alto- 
gether the discussion was an interesting and 
instructive one, as regards tea, cocoa, coco- 
nuts and rules of finance). 
Thanks were duly moved to the Chairman 
and Directors, and, on my suggestion, the 
resolution was extended to include the 
Visiting Agent and Estate Managers in 
Ceylon ; and I testified to Mr. Anderson, of 
Peradeniya, being one 'of the most reliable 
and hard-working planters in the island. This 
was readily agreed to, and the Chairman 
promised to convey the unanimous thanks 
of the meeting to Mr, Anderson and the 
different superintendents. 
One announcement made by the Secretary 
(Mr. Loch) gave general satisfaction, namely, 
that a register of shareholders was to be 
kept open for inspection at any time. 
