Feb. 1, 1899 ] THE TROPICAL AGEICULTURIST. 
537 
CEYLON TEA AT COOLGARDIE. 
Ill view of tlie part which Ueylon is to take 
in ihe fortlicoining exhibition .at Coolgardie, 
realers will no doubt peruse with interest some 
notc^ of a conversation which one of our repre- 
sentatives hail with Mr. J. L. Denny (formerly 
of Ceylon) and now of Messrs. Russell, Denny 
& Co', Ltd., Stock and Sharebrokers, and Mining 
Engineers, of Penh, Fremantle and Kalgoorlie, 
the" headquarters of the firm being at Pertli which 
is about 328 miles distant by railway fioni 
Ciiolgardie. The firm, of which Mr. Denny is a 
partner, only started business about eighteen 
months ago, but so much energy and enterpri.-e 
has been displayed by them that they are now 
looked upon as one of the leading firms in the 
<5ol()ny, and from the nature and extent of their 
business they are in a position to speak with 
fome degree of confidence as to the industrial 
position of the country. " I cannot tell you off- 
hand," said Mr. Denny, " the exact area of 
Western Australia, but you may form some idea 
of it when I mention that it is as big as France 
and Germany put together and that, incredible 
as it may seem, the population only numbers 
170,000. The resources of the country are very 
great and you can understand how, for the 
development of the-e, the Government should be 
anxious to encourage settlers both as capitalists 
and labourer.?. This is one of the objects which 
I hope may be attained by the Exhibition, and 
as the population increases the greater will be 
the demand for such produce as Ceylon is able 
to sjpidy, if only you get a footing early, and 
see that your interests are persistently pushed by 
some one who knows tea and knows Australia, 
following up the advantage you may gain 
at the Exhibition by steady and determined 
efTort. The Australians themselves are enter- 
prising and appreciate that quality in others. 
There is some Ceylon tea imported, but tliis is 
indirectly done and the quantity is by no means 
large. I myself took over some Ceylon tea with 
nie"bufc, of course I could not give the time or 
attention to the business that it requires, although 
I never fail to praise and recommend it as I 
can conscientiously do from my experience here 
as ngainst the very inferior sorts used there and 
which are sold at about Is per lb. The people 
there like a very strong flavoured tea, and I am 
sure that if you could, at the price I have men- 
tio'.ed, sup|)ly them with ^uch a tea they 
■would take to it. There are two brands chiefly 
sold there, but the quality, as I have said, is very 
inferior to anything I have ever tasted in Ceylon; 
and although no doubt it would take some time 
to overcome the competition by the retailers of 
these teas, I am certain that in the end the 
victory would be yours if you set about the 
campaign in a thorough and energetic manner. 
I believe the average consuniptiou per head per 
annum is about 6 lb. and that I think is an 
inducement to those engaged in the Ceylon trade 
to have a look in. The Exhibition will I am 
sure be a great success as an Exhibition and will 
attract visitors from all parts of the colonies, 
affording a sjilendid chance for advertising your 
])roduct. The tea room will, I am convinced, take 
well, and I think that tlie free distribution of 
samples would be attended with good results. 
The work mu.st not begin and end with the F.\- 
liibition, but be vigorously prosecuted afteruMi d ; 
and a warehouse or wareliouses should be pro- 
vidcd where retailers could conveniently get tlieir 
nppliea at whatever time tUey ree^uired tbem.". 
"Gold," continued Mr. Denny, " has now been 
found at the 500 ft. level, so tliat the industry 
is an assured tliintr for a long time to come. 
There is a variety of other minerals, coal especi- 
ally. The last reports were excellent and the 
Government aie, I believe, now using the coal 
themselves. Then there are splendid prospects for 
those who wish to go in for agricultural^ pur- 
suits, whether as cultivators or sheep farmers, 
and the Government are offering facilities to the 
people to come and settle upon the land. The 
tixes are being cut dawn, and duties reduced 
B> as to remove the complaints that were made 
by miners and others from the eastern colonies 
that they could not afford to fetch over their 
families and settle down in Western Australia 
owing to the cost of living. A scheme has now 
been settled (principally through the instrument- 
ality of the Premier, Sir John Forrest) to pump 
water from Helena Vale to Coolgardie, a distance 
of 330 miles in order to improve and cheapen 
the supply, the rate for which has been very dear 
hitiierto — so scarce indeed was the water that it was 
difficult to get it at any price. At present low grade 
mines are shut down because they cannot be worked 
at a profit, but the result of this new water scheme 
will be that many will be re-opened, and of 
course that means an influx of po))ulation. Tak- 
ing all these things into consideration the colony 
is bound to go ahead and it would be a great 
mistake if Ceylon were not now to make a 
strong effort to secure a firm footing in the 
market." 
♦ 
The Sarapiqui Estates Company, Limited, 
(Costa Kica) have for Directors Gilbert D Jen- 
nings, 28 Gracechnrch Street, London E C ; Os- 
wald C Magniac, Hay's Wharf, Southwark, S E ; 
J Loudoun Sliand, 24Kood Lane, E C ; J Huntley 
Thring, J.p., Alford, Castle Carey, Somerset; K 
P Macfarlaiie, 13 Albany Street, Edinburgh ; F 
H Phipps, 8 Great Tower Street, London, EC. 
The Directors have just made an issue of regis- 
tered mortgage debenture stock for £10,000. The 
estate comprises 23,190 acres of freehold land 
selected out of a district of Costa Rica best 
adapted for coflee planting, and also suitable for 
cocoa, rubber, tobacco and other products. On the 
property are timber trees of great value. The sur- 
vey shows of cellar alone 5,0l..0 trees of 12 tons each. 
Ample power is obtained for the saw-mill and 
other machinery by means of natural water courses. 
The total outlay on machinery amounts to 
£2,187. Up to tiie present time 639 acres of 
fore>t have been cleared and 339 planted with 
coffee. When this attains maturity a yield of 
coffee may be expected of 15 cwt. per acre. The 
?ii'ality of the shipments up to date is of the 
inest, and commands high and well-maintained 
prices. The yield from trees already in bearing, 
the crop from which is now being secured, shows 
a substantial margin over cost of production, more 
than sufficient to pay the interest on the deben- 
tures now issued. A village has been erected to 
secure permanent labour, and already .30 to 40 
houses are built. It is expected that a largo sum 
will, in course of time, be realised by sale of 
land to other planters, the whole of which will 
be applied to the redemption of debentures until 
they are extinguisiicd. The present issue of de- 
bentures bears interest at 6 per cent, and will 
be secured by an effective mortgage on the Com- 
pany's property, registered in Costa Kica, in tb^ 
naniea of Euglisb trustees, 
