Skpt. 1, 1898.] 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRIGULTUEIST. 
211 
BETTER PUICES FOE. TEA WITH 
INCREASED PLUCKING. 
DI3IBULA VALLEY (CEYLON) TEA COMPANY, LIMITED. 
The .'•econd ordinary geneivJ mseting of the share- 
holders of the Dimbula Valley (Ceyloci) Tea Company, 
Limited, was held oa Tuesday at the offices of the 
company, 16, PhilpotLme, E.G. Mr. James Sinclair 
(chairra 111 and managing; director) presided. 
The Secretary (Mr. Bertram F. White) read the 
notice couveuing the meeting. 
The Chairman said : Gentlemen, — The report and 
balance-sheet for the year just passed, having been 
in your hands for some time, may betaken a.=; read. 
(Hear, he?.r,) Bat in moving their adoption I should 
like to tell you a little more than a report usually 
discloses. You will be all the more anxious to have 
this in the face of the reduction of our dividend. 
Looking at the class of properties you own, and the 
quality of tea they will always produce, 7 per cent is 
not a bad return, yet I am bound to confess the re- 
sult of the year's working has been a great disappoint- 
ment to your directors. If I could have stood here today 
and only echoed that the complaint of most tea com- 
panies — viz., that the poor result was allowing to high ex- 
change and the cost of rice — I conld have done 
so with a certain amount of complacency. No 
doubt we were handicapped to some extent by 
high exchange. If exohage had been all, whilst you 
might have seen a sum carried forward some £800 
less than if exchange had ruled as during our first year, 
your dividend need not have been reduced. If our 
crop had been gathered and produced at what it should, 
the less by exchange (some ±'800) would not have 
brought our dividend down. Gentlemen, ahnost 
every tyro knows what it should cost in any given 
district to put a pound of tea free on board ship 
in Colombo. About that there is no mystery, but 
when I tell you that the Dimbula Valley tea cost 
34 cents per lb it will be apparent that it can only be 
attributed to mismanagement on the other side. For 
the previous year, when our staff of European 
supervision and labourers was cot thoroughly organ- 
ised, and when in the nature of things, work must have 
been more costly, it cost but 29 cent. That was under 
difiereiit management, however. The Dimbula Val'ey 
teas should run to, at the outside, not over 28 
cents per pound, free on board ship. But gentle- 
men, this was not our only loss. Our crop 
should have been nearer a million pounds than 
833,0110. iMost of this loss was caused by under-pluck- 
ing, for it was perfectly apparent on my visit to 
the estates in Febru;iry that the bushes had been 
uuderplucked. Langdale estate, which we piirchased 
last year, was a disappointment as regards prices 
realised for the tea. Prior to our acquiring this estate, 
the teas had been sold locally, and were bought 
entirely for the Russian market, realising a high 
average, but when we shipped to London we could 
not get over Gi-d per pound. Attempts on the estate 
to improve prices by varying the style of manufac- 
ture proved abortive until my visit last February, 
when certain changes were made, and the teas are 
now selliug at pi ices satisfactory for the season of 
the year. To these causes, gentlemen, more than 
to loss by exchange, or even low prices (only Jd 
below "the previous year), is to be attributed the 
falling off in dividend. Of course, it is but temporary, 
and with the management now engaged we shall soon 
return to onr original dividend. Gentlemen, I am 
quite sure if we are to have a hard time in Ceylon in 
regard to tea that the Ceylon planter will rise to the 
occasion. I can remember very well in the old days 
when we thought that coffee could not be produced 
tinder £10 per acre, and to our surprise a few years 
after, when wo were compelled to do .so, we found 
that we could place our coffee in Colombo at £5 an 
acre. I have no doubt, although not to such a large 
extent, some reduction can be made in the 
cost of the production of tea. Iq London, so 
far as expenses go, the company is on the 
Biost favourable terms, When it was formed y/Q were 
careful to keep our hands perfectly free. We aro bound 
to no agents in any shape or form on this side or in 
Ceylon hence we can command the easiest terms. That 
I think, is a matter the shareholders may be con- 
gratulated upon. Well, gentlemen, besides visiting 
Ceylon three times at practically no expense to the 
company, I have this year, in view of the losses we 
have sustained, waived my managing director's fee, and 
my colleagues their remuneration as far as commission 
on profits go. We do not mean to make this a precedent 
and we have only done so because we feel satisfied that 
not only will there be no need for us to do it again, but 
that one day in the not far distant future you will 
reimburse us. You will observe that all preliminary 
expenses have now been paid, aod that a mortgage for 
£5,000 which fell due January Ist last has been paid 
off. This mortgage carried interest at 6 per cent, o.ni 
to this extent the company has been relieved. Yon 
will Jiotice that over £,=^,000 has been spent on capital 
account, some explanation of which you will except. 
The whole of this outlay has been made to enable us to 
produce our teas at the minimum of cost, so that if 
Ceylon is to have a pinch for a period, we shall be ia 
the best position for taking the last cent of value pos- 
sible out of our green leaf at the lowest possible cost. 
One of the most serious questions for many districts in 
Ceylon is^that of fuel. Well, by removing factories to 
centres where there is a plentiful supply of water for 
power by which steam power is superseded, the ques- 
tion of fuel has been with us reduced to infioitesimal 
proportions. For our seven estates we ha,ve now but 
three factories, all worked with water power. Another 
very important point, namely, that of superintendents, 
has been put on a proper footing, for I know nothing 
that handicaps proiit-making more than continual 
changes of European supervision. This can only ba 
obviated by making each charge large enough to justify 
good salaries, and so be in a position to retain good men 
when you have proved them to be so. Our estates 
were happily so situated that we have been able to 
combine four of the smaller gardens into two charges 
under two superintendents, instead of under four a3 
formerly. These combinations, besides the ad- 
vantages named, tend towards greater eco- 
nomy all round. With a further outlay of 
some £."i00, to complete Belgravia factory we 
shall have three of the most substantial factories in 
Ceylon, equipped with the very best machinery and 
competent to turn out 1| millions of tea, a quantity 
which I hope in the not very remote future I may be 
able to tell you we have secured. Our crop this year 
should run well over 1,000,000 unless we have a return 
to the somewhat untoward weather which prevailed this 
year up to May 15th. We are, however, already for the 
first quarter 30,000 lb. ahead of last year at same time 
and our prices so far are somewhat better ; hence I 
think I am safe in predicting abetter result altogether. 
T do not think I have anything more to add, and I now 
beg to move the adoption of the report and ao" 
counts. 
Mr, .5]neas R. McDonnell seconded the motion. 
Mr. W. F. Laukie said he had visited some of tha 
company's estates with the chairman, and he found 
them in perfect order as regarded all general workman- 
ship and maintenance, and that the prospects for the 
coming year were exceedingly good, certainly mora 
promising than they had.been Ijefore. He agreed with 
all the chairman had stated with reference to the posi-« 
tion of the different estates. 
PRODUCE AND PLANTING. 
Natal Tea.— Mr. Hulett, who is the pioneer of tea- 
planting in Natal, does not intend to confine tha 
supply to South Africa apparently. There is a London 
ofilice at of. Great St. Helens, for the supply of 
Halelt's Auti-Dyspeptio Natal tea in packets. It is 
probable that the Natal Government will further pro- 
tect tea by increasing the duty to Gd per lb. and in 
the case the Natal tea enterprise will receive 
impetus, 
