632 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March 1, 1899. 
t) wliich must be added R6,187 07 balauce fi-oni 1807. 
An iuteiim dividend of 10 p«r cr-nt ivbs rbing R19,UO0 
Was paid laet Angiist, and the Directors ptopoiic tbat 
a fiuthcr dividend at tliejate of 15 percent absoibiiig 
1128, SOU be doolared and made payable on 20th instani, 
that R2,r)00 be ti;inaferred to the'roserve fund to In-ing 
tliis fund up to R17,5I)0, equal to 25 per cent of tbo 
share capital, leaving a remainder of R5,181'84 to ba 
cai-ried forward. 
It will be seen that the property represenlinp; capital 
st iuds in ihe balance sheet at approximatdv R20tJ per 
acre cultivated, as compared v,i(,li about R204 in ttie 
previoua ycfi.r'H accounts, and that the profit is Udl 
per acre in bearing, and 25 '.il p(-r cent ou tb<- capital. 
The total tea crop was 5'18,:jU(; lb. or 12,;tuG lb. 
mnro than estimated in the last rtport (though 
4l),;Ut lb. less than was eutiniate I when the balf- 
yoai ly meeting was held — the latter pru't of the j ear 
havin;-,' been unfavourable.) The plucking area was 
805 acres. The total nuauiity of tea for disposal 
was 5,01,820 lb. including 3,52H lb. made from pur- 
chased leaf, of which Gti,'l'.)3 lb were sold locally, 
averaging 2Cr78 cents per lb., and 183,300 lb. were 
shipped to Londois of which 85,153 lb. Inid Ptill to 
be accounted for ; but the average obtained for the 
453,(;7(i lb. as yet accounted for is 2l)'32 cents per lb. 
The cost of the tea delivered to buyers or put on 
honrl ship, including all chargfs and depreciation of 
baild nga and machinery, was 20'20 cents par lb. (being 
180 cents less than in l8;)7./rha net v tlue reali'^ed 
fro n sales) a portion be:ng estimated) was 2'.) 81 
cent-; per lb. (being -13 of a cent lets tb 'n for the 
previous crop.) The sum written off for deprecia'.ioa 
represents '5'J of a cent per lb. of ihecott. 
The Company's property consisted ou the 3l8t 
Djoember 1898, of :— 
Planted Yielded lb. 
in in tea per 
acre. 
f 172 acres tea 
983 
acres 
tea. 
208 
100 
42 
6 
52 
12) 
08 
37 
75 
31 
27 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
188.1 
1887 
188S 
1889 
1890 
18')l 
1892 
18<)4 
1895 
1S9G 
1807 
1893 
1898 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do 
do u 
do 
da 
6701 
607 
G20 
834 
.i « 
7G1 
921 
a: u 
tn ot 
830 
?<r. 
6l!2 
Z 3 
> JO 
537 J 
in bearing 
do 
do 
'2,j! acres cocoa and Factory site 
293 do Forest, &c. 
Total 1,253 acres, as per last report. 
During the year 13,000 more para rubber trees 
ana 3,860 more cocouut trees have been planted at 
an expendiuire of 111,326 borne upon the year's 
revenue account. 
The directors propose an extension of 10 acres tea 
in 1899. 
The estimated crop for 1899 is 555,000 lb. tea. 
Mr, D Fairweather retires from the Board in terms 
of the articles of Association, and, being liigible, 
offers himself for re-election. 
The shareholders will be requested to elect an 
Auditor for the current year. 
Planting Uinnion UNDERSTANDS that a Madras 
i\xn\ is abou!. to plant an acre or two ot Wynaad 
land wiili roses, with a view to the manufacture 
of attar. 
BAKi.iiY Show.— The Madras Government a£;ree 
with the Board of llevenue in considering that 
another year ni.ay show an improvement in tiie 
• 1-isnlts of the .show to be lield in the Nilgiris and 
tltat one at least of the judges should have an 
PLANTING AND rKUDUCTB. 
( Fiom the Udnprnsellawa Planters' Astociaticn 
Annual I'rjiorl for tSUS U J 
There have been five geneial tneetin^a held duiini; 
theye.irand the uuiuber of estatea registered 26, th<' 
Eanit! Hs last year. 
Tea.— This has not been a very favourable seaaon for 
yield excnpl in fome cases ucur lo KandapoU, the 
drought having been too i-ccre fur Ihc ini.l.ile nn I 
liwer divisions of llie diiitrict. The prices »l-o b ivc u it 
been so good, but they stilt niuiulain about the rf'iriner 
value in excess of the L judon average. The aoreage m 
bearing is 7,985 acies. K^tiuiatcd to yield in IWJ'J 
3,Hi;i,0iJ0 lb. which iscqaal lo 3'Jtj lb. per acre 8f{aiDst 
lb. per acre in 1898. 1 he area in Ufaiing will b« con- 
siderubly increased during the next two or thtt-c yt-ars. 
CoFFKK. — This product is now almoht a thing of the 
past. Tiio existing patches have boeo all planied with 
tea, and when the present crop is pi. ked, Mhich i>« a 
good one, the inont of the busiies will be cutout. 
().\iti>AM0M». — Thes" aie beirij; planted at the lower 
end of the district under gievilU-aB as a Iri'*!. 
RoAns. — The di.<trict cart road has been lately much 
iinpioved by widcuiug out eoiiio of the sharp corner*, 
but a good deal more has to be done iu thi8 dircc'iun, 
and rixihvay is badly wanted in many plict-s. Tliii 
Association has approached the Colonial iiecielary on 
the subject. The perraaneul way has been kept in lar.v 
f iir order throughout the year, but an ii;suffi;ii iii supply 
of rretal has been laid cu the last ihrec miles Iroui 
Amherst to St. Margarets to lant for 12 niilec. 
MiNoB Roads.— 1- was sus^gested to continue the 
can road from the P. W.D. Bung low on DclmNr to 
the Hospital, how«jvei Government preferred lo widtn 
the exinting pith and ihey have made a very fair road 
of it. With the exception of tiie KHndapol.i-Uiook-Ki.le 
portion which is in a disgraceful stale, ail the minor 
roads in the diAtrict are iu fair order coatiiWi ing very 
little has been spent on them since this timf last year 
Postal. — The Receiving Ofi&ce at Ragalla ba« been 
80 well i^upporled that the district is still of the opinion 
that a Post and Tel<»graph Oflfice should be established 
there and the P.M.G. has been asked to include the 
cost of this in his estiiiiale for the current year. 
During the present year the Kawara Eliya Coach ng 
establishmeiu has been running a coach daily 
each way from Raga'da to Niuuoya which has 
been a great convenience to the upper end of the 
district, but it has been of little use to the lower 
end owing to the fact that it leaves Ragalla at G 15 a.m. 
and returns at 7 p.m. The P.M.G. was approached 
to give a mail subsidy to this coach, but the sum 
the proprietors asked was more than Government 
are prepared to give : however it is to be hoped soma 
arrangement will be arrived at to obtain this end. 
Light Railway. — This is rgain uiider the consider- 
ation of Government and a Commission has been ap- 
pointed to obtain further details as to the up and 
down traffic. 
LABovn. — Most estates have baen working short 
time for mouths on account of having too many 
coolies during the slack season and there will bo 
quite suiflcient for the busy months. Coast advances 
are being reduced considerably wherever large sums 
are outstanding. 
LADonR Federation.— Out of a total of 26 estates, 
28 have joined aud it is to be hoped that the others 
will do so shortly. Influenza was at one time rather 
bad, but with the exception of this the health of the 
coolies has been fair. 
Plague.— Sites for camps have been chosen by the 
Medical Officer for the Estates aud most Superin- 
tendents are prepared to carry out the Government 
instructions if necessary. 
Finances. — The funds are sufficient for all require* 
ments. 
Agricultural Chemist.— The e.state selected for 
Mr. Kehvay Bamber to vieit is St. Leonards, 
Planters' Benevolent Fund.— This fund has not 
been so well supported as it might have been : however, 
it is to be hoped that more subscriptions from the dis> 
ttiot will b§ sent in during the next twelve moaths, 
