Jan. 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
479 
tion, one in 1,000,000 will hinder the growth of anthrax 
bacilli, while one grain in iive gallons of water will 
entirely prevent their growth. A solution of one in 
500 is 'iiiitatiue to hands and skin, and probably one 
in 5,000 is quite strong enough for ordinary solutions. 
— I am, Sir, Your Obedient Servant, 
FITZGE3ALD PROCTOR, M,R. U.S., England. 
Port-of-Spain, Dec. 6th, 1899. 
TEA CORPORATION LIMITED (OF 
CEYLON.) 
The annual general meeting of the Tea Corpora- 
tion, Limited {of Ceylon), was held at Winchester 
House, Old Broad-street, on Tuesday, the chair- 
man (Mr. Cyril Gurney) presiding. 
The Secretaky (Mr. E T. Bartlett) having 
read tlie notice convening the meeting, 
The Chairman said : Gentlemen, you have all 
received the accounts for the year ended June 
30 last, and I think that I shall best explain 
the results of the year's working by going shortly 
through them. With regard to the working ac- 
count, you will see that the gross amount of 
tea produced on our estates for the year under 
review was 1,2,34, 442 lb. This was by no means 
so large ft crop as we had hoped to secure, the 
shortage being mainly due to the long drought 
and subsequent exceptionally heavy rains which 
greatly interfer^ed with the cultivation in the 
latter" part of the year ; it is satisfactory, how- 
ever, to find that we have an increase of quite 
100,000 lb. on the crop of the previous year. 
With regard to the price the tea sold for — it 
fetched an average of 6Jd. per pound gross, or 
just under 6d. per pound net, after deducting all 
the usual expenses, which amounted to less than 
Id. per pound. The net price of just under 6d. 
was a great improvement on the previou.? year, 
and we are pleased to be able to say that we 
have — after much trouble — been successful in 
effecting a great change for the better in the 
quality and niake of the tea. As you will have 
seen from the report, Mr, Tatham hopes to show 
a further improvement in quality this year^ from 
being able to pluck finer, while at the same 
time increasing the quantity ; we hope, therefore, 
with favourable markets, to show a continued 
improvement this year in the price our tea fetches. 
With regerd to this I should like to emphasise 
what has already been referred to in the report 
— viz., the increased return that may be looked 
for as the result of manuring. As soon as your 
directors got possession of the estates they in- 
structed Mr. Tatham to apply manure where 
lb was most needed, and though this is, of 
course, responsible to some extent for the 
improved quality of the tea plucked this 
year, we have not yet experienced the full 
benefit of this expenditure. During the year 
covered by these accounts we have spent a con- 
siderable sum in manuring other parts of the 
estates, the results of which will continue to be 
felt for the next two or three years. The whole 
of this expense has been charged to profit and 
loss account. The total profit carried to profit 
and loss account is £8,867 19s, from which must 
be deducted rent, oifice expenses, salaries, direc- 
tors' and trustees' tees, &c., amounting to £1,057 
4s 4d, also interest, £3,356 18s 8d, &c , leaving a 
balance of £4,327 Is 9d carried to the balance- 
sheet. With this sum we have written off the loss 
of last year, amounting to £1,620 6s, paid £1,950 
preference interest, and propose to write oft' £393 
9s, from preliminary expenses, carrying forward 
£363 6s 9d. With regard to the year beginninsr 
Juue 30 last, we expect to obtain iully 
1,250,000 lb. of tea. At present, in spite of bad 
pluckings in July and August, which was due to 
previous heavy rains, we have an increase on 
1898-99 crop, and Mr. Tatham is quite sanguine 
that the estimate will be fully obtained — indeed, 
unless something unexpected happens there seems 
little doubt that we shall have an increase over 
last year. The cost of production is estimated 
a trilie higher than last year, but this includes a 
liberal expenditure lor manure, which, as I have 
already said, your directors consider a profitable 
expenditure ; but we have sent out instructions 
that every economy is to be exercised consis- 
tently with good cultivation and management. 
Sales of this year's tea during the last three 
months show that on an average a higher price 
has been obtained than in the same period of 
last year, though there has been no corresponding 
increase in the average price of Ceylon teas. In 
view of these figures, your directors have reason 
to take a much more hopeful view than they could 
this time last year, and think the shareholders 
may look forward to still better results being 
shown in the future. You will remember that 
at the last meeting we said that we hoped to 
be able to arrange for some reduction in our 
agents" charges ; we are pleased lo say both they 
and Mr. Tatham have agreed to a reduction of 
the terms upon which they undertook the busi- 
ness, which will decrease the expenditure in this 
and future years. I think our best thanks are 
due to Messrs. A. Gibbs and Sons, and oiir 
agents and manager in Ceylon, for their 
liberality in meeting us in this matter. 
With regard to the proposal to raise £20,000 
additional debenture stock, we think that this 
would prove of great value to the company's 
property. I should like to explain, however, 
that we do not propose to raise the whole of 
this at once, and so increase the fixed charges 
of the company by £1,000 a year ; but we think 
it is of great importance to the future of the 
company that their property should be fully 
developed. At present there is a considerable 
acreage, especially at Doteloya — about 800 acres 
— which is entirely unproductive. This, if planted 
up, would, we think, prove of considerable value 
to the company and add materially to the capi- 
tal value of the estates, besides enhancing pro- 
fits, which would benefit the shareholders. Mr. 
Hancock, who has lately returned from Ceylon, 
can give you further information with regard to 
this. If the shareholders respond, the directors 
are prepared to do their full share in subscrib- 
ing for the money. You will probably remember 
that in the report last year, and also in the 
more recent circular which was sent to share- 
holders, mention was made of indications of 
valuable deposits of plumbago on some of the 
estates. We instructed our manager to take in 
hand prospecting on the estates which it was 
thought contained veins which it might prove 
profitable to worft, with the result that on thi'ee 
estates plumbago Avas found. On one of these — • 
\iz., Nahaveena — the outturn was very small, and 
only paid the expenses of working it ; but on the 
two others^ — viz., Springwood and Lauderdale^ 
plumbago was found of good quality and in fair 
quantities. These estates were worked, and re- 
sulted in a profit of about £250 on an output 
of 35 tons. It is impossible, however, to go 
on working these veins without some capital 
expenditure. Your directors were approached 
by parties on the spot and by responsible 
people in London with a view to their leas< 
ing the minei'al rights over the compauy'^ 
