.Tax. 2, 1899.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
4G3 
THE CEYLON LAND PRODUCE 
AND CO., LL). 
Deserve.? a special word of editorial commend- 
ation in this year of general depression for the 
h 'ndsonie way in whicii its tea, caoao and eoflee, 
under {;oud management in Ceylon and ai home, 
have kept U)i tlie sjilendid dividends of the past 
few years. This time, apart from the 6 per 
cent fxiiaranteed to Preference Shareho'ders, tliere 
is no abatement in the 15 per cent and 5 per 
cent bonu.s usually given to the ordinary share- 
holders. We congratulate all concerned and e'^pe- 
cially the Directors and Ceylon Estate Mana^'ers, 
on so good a result in this year of high exchange 
and low pi'ices. 
Tlie sheet of statistics for nine years furnished 
by the Directors is extremely iiiteresting : it 
shews theii crops of tea have ri^^f^n from 334,84:'2 
lb. in 1890 to 75.S,lol lb. in 1898, the average 
per acre improving from 314 to 460 lb. ; hut 
the average price ftdl fiom 9'4f)d to about G"2k1. 
In cocoa the fall is about the same from 95s lid to 
6Gs 7d Jier cwi. on an average, the crops increasing 
from l,'2'24cwt. to 2,52.1 esvt. and thereby enabling 
the splendid dividends to be kept up. 
THE COMING VEHICLE FOR 
CEYLON :— TONGAS. 
This is the Indian tonqa, a two-wheeled car- 
riage peculiarly fitted for service on hilly or 
rongh roads and with restive bullocks or horse'.' 
Mr. Rudolf, a native of Aberdeen and a world- 
wide traveller, is at present upcountry paying 
his annual visit to Ceylon. He comes on this 
occasion from Toronto last, where, I niay mention 
in passing, he saw the elsewhere, familiar adver- 
tisement of " Cey on tea" leconiing general. Mr, 
Rudolf has travelled a good deal in LkUh, and 
having seen these vehicles used largelj' in Gov- 
ernment service to and from the hill-station of 
Simla, and noticed how badlj' in need we are in 
this island of some such conveyance, he is of 
opinion that their introdu'jtion into Ceylon would 
prove a great public boon. The weight of (arul 
in) the vehicle can be regulated, according as the 
course is u|) or down-hill, by means of a screw, 
aud the aninial.s are yoked in with such security 
that their wildest antics cause comparatively 
little ann.oyance. For fuller details of this (ralian 
cart I must refer you to Mr. Rudolf liimself 
who hopes to call when he arrives in Colombo 
two or three days hence. The idea of getting 
such a veliicle introduceil here was borne in \ipoa 
him very strongly when he noticed how heavy, 
unwieldy, badly balanced and full of jolts is 
tiie ordinary liiied carriage that residents in, and 
visitors to, rhe island have hitherto had to put 
up with. — Com. 
♦ 
Sunflower.— The iiercentage of oil in the 
Russian sunlluwei ranges from 16 to 28 per cer t. 
On the average about IC jier cent of oil can be 
extracted by expression cold after cru'^hing the 
seed. 'J'his is the highe.-t quidity of oil, nml any 
additional nmount that ndght be extracted by 
steaming wouhl lie lower grade. It is estimated 
that 50 bushids nf seed may be liarvested to the 
acre, and rouelily ihe yield would bo about a gal- 
lon (tf oil to a bu hid of seed. These are foreign 
figures, where thecrop is grown for the oil.— Oi/, 
Paint and Di nq Brporter. 
AMSTERDA:"*! bark and QCININE 
MARKET. 
Our Amsterdani representative wires us that the 
result of the bark auctions in Amsterdam this 
week was an advance of '62 cents in the unit, 
the average unit working out at 4'67 Dutch cents 
]ier half-kilo (rather under 17-20d per lb) 
against 4 05 at the last auctions. A very 
satisfactory feature again was the snuill amount 
bought in. The lowest price for 2Iamifactwcr's 
bark was 6if cents antl the highest 45 cents, and 
and the lowest for Druffgists' was 8^ cents and 
the highest 99 cents. Tlie tone of 'the market 
was firm. Out of 7,181 packages oliered, 6,724 
sold. — B. and C. Cheimist, Nov. 4. 
CEYLON FISHING CLUB. 
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. 
The annual meeting of the above Club was held 
at the HillClub at 2 p.m. on the 26th Nov. when the 
tollowiBg were present :— Messis. Ross Clarke, C. 
H. Bagot, North C. Davidson, Maitland, Turner, 
W. L. Mnrray-Menzies, H. V. Masefield, J. M. Pur- 
don, F. G. Saunder and S. M. Burrows. 
The annual Report was read and passed. 
Proijosed by Mr. Masi:field and seconded by 
Mr. B.\GOT : — " That not less than 75 per cent be 
reared in sn;all stew ponds : Messrs. Bagot, Ross 
Clarke. J. M. Furdon and Maitland undertake to 
make small stew ponds." 
Resolved : — " That Messrs. Andrews be asked 
to send 25 per cent of rainbow trout ova, the total 
bill not to exceed £60 and a special shipment of 
these trout to be sent.'' 
Proposed by Mr. Turner and seconded by Mr. 
Bagot : — " That the cl^se season next year com- 
mence on October 1st ami end on March 1st." — 
Carried. 
Resolved : — " That the attention of members be 
earnestly invited to the fact that theie is a record 
book at each of the Hotels and at the VAwh, in 
Nuwara Eliya ami at theHorton Plains, and mem- 
bers are requested either to entei- their catches in 
the books or to send a list monthly to the Hono- 
rary Secretary for entry. " 
Proposed by Mr. Bagot and seconded by Mr. 
Maitland : — " That the Boaid of Improvement 
be requested to revert to the old ariangement and 
close Lake Gregory for carp fishing during the 
trout close season." 
ANNUAL EEPORT, CEYLON FISHING CLUB 
NOYEMliER, 1898. 
MEETKG.S. 
The last annual Report was read at the general 
meeting held in November 1S97 ; and after that 
date two meetings were held ; one on February 
22nd 189'*, at which it w;is resolved that the Coiii- 
mittee should be empowered to "fence" streams 
in charge of the Club, and that a sanctuary be 
formed on the Horton Plains ; and one on April 
9th 1898, at which arrangements were made for the 
distribution of the available fry. 
FINANCK. 
The financial position of the Club continues to be 
quite satisfactory: and, after paying all liabili. 
ties, the certilied balance toourcredit on Oct 31st 
(when our (inar.cial year closes) was R941 79. In 
spite of "low p ices and high exchange tlie interest 
taken in the Fishin- Club continues steady and 
encouraging. The subscriptions of members 
during the year amounted to R51 ; as nuainst 
R7S0 in 1897 ; while licenses brought in R12(J8'50, 
as against K1S85 for the preceiling year. Eleven new 
