38^ 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Fkb. 1, 1899. 
MARKET RATES FOR OLD AND MEW PRODUCTS. 
(Prom Lewis <& Peat's Fortnightly Pricts Cuirtnt, London, January 21U, lt98.j 
No Price Current having reuchud us by latest Mail, we omit the uiiuul 4UOtiitions 
and fill with other matter. 
UDUGAMA TEA AND TIMDER COMPANY. 
LIMITED. 
The annual meeting of tlie Udugania Tea and 
Timber Company was held at the ollices of 
Messrs. Mackwood & Co. on the 31.st Jan. \\h>tii 
there were present :-Mes.srs. Ilajley (in tiic chair), 
H Eigg, Hon. J N Campbell, .Messrs. H Creasy 
and CiUibray, veprescnting the Hon. E H Johnson 
and Mr. E M Mackwood. 
The report of tlie directors was nnaniniou^^ly 
adopted by tlie meeting and Mr. Hayley, the 
retiring director, was re elected, while Mr. H J 
Scott was re-appointed auditor. 
The report is' as follows': — 
Tour Directors eubmit to theShareholders the ac- 
counts for the year ending 30th Sept., 1898. 
They regret to report a very aerioua deficiency iu 
the crop of tea from Saumarez, Ginidoniiue and 
Homartola. The estimate was 100,000 lb. but only 
119 737 lb. were harvested— a deficiency of 25 par cout, 
uiDo'n the estimate and over 22 per cent upon the pre- 
vious year's crop. Such a large reducf.on in the crop 
has increased the cost of the tea very considerably 
and has resulted iu a heavy loss. All tlKS estates lu 
the district were very short of their estimates. 
The estimate for'tbis yeir from the above eatatas 
is 116 000 lb. but it is hoped that the crops will be 
increased next year to 150,000 lb. by a roinrn to 
manure. The loss on these estates amounted to 
B8,lG2-9. 
Mamina.doi.\.— The new clearings have come on 
fairly well especially the last 80 acres at Nakiadenia 
these will' gave a large crop next year. The first 
100 acres were cut down during the year, and yielded 
18 781 lb The crop this year for these 100 acres 
and a small return from the next 100 acres ia 
estimated at 50,0U0 lb. 
Factory — Diffioulties with labor, due to the number 
of Sinhalese employed in plumbago mining, caused 
the contractor to be very late with this work, and the 
manufacture of our tea in the neTV factory was not 
commenced until the end of September. All the Com- 
uany's tea is now being manufactured there, and the 
results so far justify your Directors in taking a more 
honeful view for the future. Hitherto the Company a 
tea has been made in a miserable, inadequately fur- 
nished building, with no proper withering rooni, and 
it 'has been absolutely impossible to make good tea. 
Now we have a new factory with amply water power, 
ulenty of withering accommoaation, and good machi- 
nerv The prices obtained have already shown 
a marked improvement. The Company has now, in 
addition to the 500 acres of tea onHomadola.Saumarez 
and Giuidomine, 300 acres on Maminadola gradually 
roming into bearing, This year's crop is estimated 
at 166 000 lb., next year we should obtain 250,000 lb. 
Sawmills —The result of the year's working has been 
very disappointing. There is a loss of RgSi^)!-. This 
Jos! occiured at the beginning of the year ; during the 
latter portion we have made a fair profit. On the oOth 
Sentember 1897 the stock of tea chests was 15,000, 
but as the demand had been very poor for some time, 
many of these chests were lost through white ants 
and drv rot, which caused a serious loss to the Com- 
nanv It was not until March and April that we were 
able to find a ready sale at better prices. In barrels 
we have done better at the end of the year than 
flnrine the first six months, when we made only 4oO 
aeainst 1,280 for the last six months ^Ve have now 
B steady demand for our boxes and we shall make 
more barrels. We hope, therefore, that some profit 
pay]>9 macle during the current year. 
PLANIINli NOTES. 
Indian andCi:vix)N Tkas.— The tea sales for the 
year are over. Tlie small .sale of 17,101 packages 
Indians on Monday lafet went ofl' wilh-jut any 
noticeable chan!.'e. Teas " for price " and f!,tMji\ 
liquoring teas were in doniaud, but there was do 
increase of price all loiind. The cm tain waa rung 
down ou an avera<;e for Indian gtiaeii tea* of • 
well uigh a recoid ol cheaiMuss for this particular 
article. Ceylon still inainlaints precedence in tliis 
respect, lier 17,61.3 jtackatien having realized fully. 
Planting and FRonnF-ss in Fiji. — We are 
permitted to extract from a letter dated Fiji 
I)eceml>er lOtli :— 
" I am hard at it trying to make good my lost 
time by utilizing my experience in eucb a way a** to 
get on iu the service. With a practical basiness oiui 
and a hard worker like our proeent Governor, thin is 
made passiblo for he is prepared, aa yoa alw«.ys 
advocated, ' opening up the laud and facilitatioK the 
eni|)loyiuent of the labour at the command of the 
colony.' Good laud must not be idle and what U not 
n> cesaary to one tribe may be leased by another 
tribe or failini; that and Europeans or Indians reqair- 
ing it, facililiea are given for the leasing of Euch 
land. The Govcrumrut have acquired the ler;.ee of 
many thousand acres of laud iu the monntaiuB of 
Vitilern which was nnoccupied by the natives and 
excellent collee (no diaease) is grown at D.irivatu 
which IS situated there — facilities of the easiest kind 
will be given to intending planter.^ when they come. 
A broad cart road is nearly finished from J«vuua 
Bay up to Darivater, and it is at last to be the saui- 
toriuni in deed as well as in name, i sent you a paper 
J' iji Times, in which the message of His Excellency to 
the Legislative Council was published. It is without 
doubt the most statesmanlike paper which we have yet 
had from any of our governors and is only the thin edge 
of the wedge. You will see that he proposed appoint- 
ing ex-Provincial Inspectors to try and save natives 
from dying out — each to get £350 to £500 per annum. 
is pegging along at Mago and Cicia in bis usual 
style and has had a fine season and Kood price for 
copra over £10 per ton. I am going to plant a lot of 
coffee for taxes instead of maize." 
The Sarai'IQUI Estatks Co. has for its ob- 
ject the development of valuable plantation pro- 
jierty in Costa Kica and is of local interest 
because old Ceylon planters like Messrs. J. L. Shand 
and K. P. Macfarlane, who have visited the spot, 
have reported most favourably of the forest land, of 
the coffee planted and cropping and of the proper- 
ties sienerally. Mr. Li. D. Jennings, a city merchant 
of high rejuite, is Chairman, and his fellow-Directors 
include Aj^essrs. J. Hnntley Thring, J. L. Shand 
and O. C. Magiiiac ; and accortling to otir contem- 
poraiy's correspondent, tlie shareholders include 
" millionaires" in Messrs. Whithead, Hope Morley 
and anotlier. According to the Chairman's address 
at the recent annual meeting, there are 339 acres 
planted with coffee np to date and 300 acres more 
cleared ready for plantiua'; and steps are being taken 
to develop rubber and tobacco. Thelabourditiicuity 
has been overcome, and there i.s a good jirospect of 
early, cheap transport by rail or river, -or both, 
has a competent and influential local Manager 
Finallj' the Company in Mr. Lara {brother-in-law of 
the President of Cost a Rica who, by the way, is on 
a visit to London and has sent for Mr. Shand ainon^ 
others to confer with) and a capital mercantile 
and shipping agent in Mr. Eord. Altogether, 
the Sarapin[ui Cenipany promises well, 
