210 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURLST. 
[Sept. 1, 1898. 
man. We know, of course, intimately, what he has 
done for us. You have only to rend his annual 
reports oa our various estates to see in every line 
the care, trouble, and anxiety that this company 
gives him out there ; so that you may rest as- 
sured that your interests are cared for not only 
by Mr. Campbell but the whole of the staff, who, 
I believe, are well selected, and are doing all they 
can in the interests of the company. I think 
that is satisfcictory on that point. With regard 
to what has happened in four years, I may say that 
in 1894 you had something like 5,000 acres under tea 
cultivation, and when I was out there I drafted a 
scheme for the further extension of the tea on the 
estates and the development of the forest and other 
lands. Practically that programme has been carried 
out, and we are now at about the end of those ex- 
tensions. Although we have sold nearly ] ,000 acres 
of tea land, at the present moment we hold as large 
a quantity of tea land in bearing as we held in 1894, 
and we have 1,600 acres not in bearing; so that alto- 
gether we hava 1,500 acres more than we liad in 1894. 
But not only that. We have added in that lime, I think, 
280 ACHES OF CACAO, ABOUT 80 AORKS OF CAKDAMOMS, 
AND 1,000 ACRES OF COCONUTS. 
That is a great work to do in that short time, and it is a 
great work to do without a large sum to do it with. 
You have not felt it further than not getting a dividend 
this year. lvalue those extensions at between £70,000 
and fQf^.OOO, and ycu have been quite unaware during 
these four years that that has been done. 
The profit of 1894 was £12,700, while this year it has 
amounted to £16.700, practically over the same acreage 
of tea. Since, as has been mentioned, we have sold 
1.000 acres. Well, I think that when you consider that 
this year which we have just passed was the very 
worst year that Ceylon has ever experienced in the 
tea enterprise, you cannot but say that we have done 
extremely well. (Applause.) And we should have done 
a great deal better if the conditions of 1894 had ob- 
tained in 1897-98. We would have ]nade nearly £12,000 
profit with the exchange ruling then and the price of 
tea ruling then. These are matters, however, over 
which we have no control ; but as to those malteiR over 
Which we have control— good cultivation and good ma- 
nagement — I say we have done extremely well. If that 
ia the true position of affairs, although you may not 
feel inclined to give any credit to this board for it, still, 
I hope you will give full credit to the management in 
Ceylon for what they have done. (Applause.) Now, 
those who do not know about our estates say : "It is all 
Very well talking like that ; I see that oiher estates 
are making 400 lb. or 5001b. tea an acre, whereas we 
only get 340 lb. tea per acre." In answer to that, 
I may say that we cannot control a yield. The estates 
We have to manage were not of our selection ; they 
Were handed do* n to us. They are some very excel- 
lent ' estates and some very indifferent estates, and 
you cannot increase the yield more than the nature 
of the soil and climate will permit, except by further 
manuring. There was a certain amount of manuring 
done in 1894, but I say the funds of the company 
would not allow us to expend a largs sura in manur- 
ing, and I thought it better to stop manuring and 
extend the tea cultivation. Now that has been done 
We will revert to manuring. We have 700 acres to 
manure, and the yield will increase ; but we could 
not face that expenditure previously, and I think it 
was better that we do not attempt nay manuring, 
because in the four years we have been able to get 
the benefit of all the various experiments made by 
others, and we shall be able to arrive at a better 
system than was in vogue four years ago. That, 
I think, explains the question of yield ; and now 
I will say a few words with regard to the futiue. 
I will not say what we are going to get next year, 
or the year after, or any year, as I cannot predict what 
the exchange will be or the price of tea will be. 
But I think it will be a great satisfaction to you 
to take away the following, namely, that if the 
present conditions as to the price of tea and 
exchange, if those two conditions prevail, and if 
the whole of our tea ia in bearing, and we get the 
lilie iimouut of cocoa from oui* estates, which have 
done exceedmgly well this year the Ceylon portion 
of the company ought to pay 10 per cent on the 
capital value of the estates as tbey stand in the 
books, that is to say, ought to pay £-i3,0o0 or £24,000. 
That is, I think, a very fair prospect, and it is a 
prospect we cannot grumble at. You must remem- 
ber that these were not selected estates, or they 
might yield 20 per cent or S'l per cent, but under the 
conditions in which this company was formed I thick 
if we do that we.shall do extremely well.— y/. and C J/<u7 
July 22, • 
EucAL.iPTUS PiLULAKLS, Sm.— We think we 
have heard of this tree upcountrj-. It is tlie 
" Blackbiitt " of Queeaslaud and is thus di«- 
cribed : — 
The Blackbutt is a very large tree, generally growing 
straight and tall, and attaining a general height of from 
GO to 100 feet, with a circumference varying from « to 
15 feet or more. On good soils it attains a height of as 
much as 200 feet, with a diameter of as much as 15 feet 
It attains perhaps the biggest bulk of any tree in Au»- 
tralia. 
And of its uses we are told :— 
It is close and very straight in the grain. It i« 
much used for house carpentry (especially as flooring- 
boards), in shipbuilding (decking and planking), for 
wharves, piles, bridges, and culverts, and any purpose 
where strength and durability are required. It is ex- 
tensively used for fencing purposes, splitting into posts 
rails, and even palings very easily. It is also used for 
telegraph poles and ships' masts, and to nome extent 
for railway sleepers. It is useful lor wheelwright " work, 
and is one of the best timbers for woodpaving. It also 
furnishes one of the best of charcoals. 
Its liability to gum-veins has prejudiced the timber 
of the Blackbutt in public favour. When free from 
them. It 13 second in point of durability, hardness and 
strength only to Iroubark. From observations of the 
timber of this tree, I think the veins exist only in the 
butt portion of each tree (that part covered with the 
rough bark), aud are found chieliy in old trees. Ex- 
cept when thoroughly dry, it furnishes but an indiff- 
erent fuel. In seasoning it shrinks a good deal but 
warps very little. Fencing posts have been known to 
last for fifteen and twenty years, and rails for a much 
longer period. It is very liable to the attack of white 
ants; indeed, many trees are hollow, or " pipey," aud 
infested with these insects. Trees growing on dry opes 
ridges furnish the best timber. 
The bark, though inferior to stringybark, is useful 
for roofing and flooring bush buildings. When exposed 
however, it does not last long, but when under cover 
it hardens and lasts a long time. 
The tree yields a kind of a ruby colour, quite trans- 
parent, and entirely soluble in spirit or water. It con- 
tains about 64 00 per cent, of kino-tannic acid. 
The Blackbutt is a tree of very rapid growth, and 
the leaves of the young saplings are opposite, sessile, 
and of a lanceolate shape. It commences to flower at 
from about five years of age. A ship's most 60 feet in 
length and 14 inches square has been obtained from a 
tree twenty-one years of age. It attains the biggest 
bulk of any tree in Australia, and in the sister colony 
(New South Wales) there are some giant speciTiens of 
this tiee. The following are three of the largest :— 
1. The " Bulli Big 'Tree," situated on the Bnlli 
Mountains, a little below the "Elbow," forty-two miles 
south of Sydney, said to be the largest tree in New 
South Wales. Girth, from buttress to buttress, at 
ground 57 feet 6 inches girth at 3 feet above the 
ground, 45 feet; girth at 6 feet above the ground, 40 
feet; estimated height, 90 feet (the head is broken 
off). Measured March, i891, by J. H. Maiden, Consult- 
ing Botanist, Sydney. 
2. A tree in the lllawarra district, Girth, 45 feet; 
height about 300 feet. Measured bv Messrs. Camara 
and K.irton. 
3. A tree at Gosford. Girth, 25 feet at 6ft. from 
the groaud; height, 156 feet, 
