March l, 1899,| THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
647 
THE RUANWELLA TEA COMPANY, 
LIMITED. 
The Annual Eeport. 
ACKEAGE. 
Tea iu full bearing . . 358 Acres 
Tea not in beariug . . 16 „ 
Jungle and waste land .. 199 ,, 
Total.. 573 Acres. 
The Directors now snbtnit the Accounta of tlie 
Companj for the past year. 
The crop secured amoiiuted to only 18.8,510 lb. Tea 
•gainst an estimate of 200,000 ^1. The shortfall of 
'16,490 lb. is due to the ahuormally bad season ex- 
perienced, and this estate lias suffered iu common 
with most others in the district. 
The average price realized was 30'90 cents per lb., 
•gainst 32'39 cents last year, ani cost delivered in 
Colombo amounted to 22 4 1 cents per lb. 
The usual provision has been made for deprecia- 
tion on buildings and machinery this year, after 
-which a sum of E7,922'27 stands at the credit of 
ptofit and loss account. To this must be added a 
balance of I19,408'99 brought forward from last year, 
less a sum of R8,000 which was passed to the credit 
of depreciation account in terms of the resolution 
passed at the last general meeting, making a total of 
li9,331'26 at credit of profit and loss account. The 
pirectors recommend the payment of a dividend at the 
rate of 3 per cent on the paid-up capital of the Com- 
pany and thit the balance of Rl,381'26 be carried for- 
ward to the 1899 account. 
The estimate for the current year is 200,0001b tea 
•gainst an expenditure on working account of R43,417. 
No capital expenditure is anticipated this year. 
In terms of the Articles of Association Mr. F G A 
Lane now retires from the Board, but is eligible for re- 
election 
The appointment of an auditor for the current year 
will rest with the meeting. 
Coffee in Northern Burmah.— In order to 
get rid of the leaf fungus, a Toungoo planter 
writes:— "We are burning down everything 
except small fields, linhtly attacked which we 
are s|)raying with lime sulphur and blue stones 
with what success we hardly know yet." After 
this fresh seed is to be tried . 
Protecting Orchard.? from Light Frosts.— 
It was, we believe, William Saunders,* the chief 
of tlie Government E.xperiinent Gardens at 
Washington, who, some fifty years ago, insisted 
that llie text books were wrong in teaching that 
heated air ascended — that is, ascended in an active 
sense. It was, rather, pushed up by the heavier 
cold air pressing against it. It seems a slight 
distinction, bat it has imtnense practical impor- 
tance. For instance, those who understand this 
smile at the Florida Orange grower, who builds 
fires around his orchard to make smoke when he 
fears a trost is coming. He lightens tiie atmos- 
phere at the same time among the trees, and 
ni lUes it all the easier for the heavy cold air to 
push in and take its i)lace. The modern thought 
to spray with water i.s more pliilosoi)hical. Water 
is a good conductor of heat, and would add to 
the chances of resisting cold by the bent it would 
abstract from its surrouinling.-^. Horticuliuii.?ts 
have long known that evergreens are quite hardy 
in a moist atniospbeit", when tliey would easily 
succumb under the same temperature in a dry 
one.— (Meehan's Monthly.) 
' Who asked us at Washington in Mara i 1884 if 
we knew a periodical in llie East ludics which hi 
valued much and filed regularly — 7'lie 'I'ropictil 
4yncH tuiift of Ceylon !— En. T.A. 
A SCRAMBLE AFTER "IBEX" IN 
NORTH TRAVANCORE. 
(Bji a couple of Uld Ceylon Honda.) 
We started off from T's bungalow shortly after 
7 a.m., wending our way up through the upper 
portion of the estate, and amongst last year's 
planted tea, and eventually got up to the pataua 
land where the accent was very steep, both of 
US having to calcli hoLl of tufts of grass and 
"nilln," — the pataiia nillti which i« very plentiful 
all amongst these hills and is short, only 
being from a loot to l.'i inches higli. 
The hillH all ai)ouh this quarter, wore 
a beautiful blni.~li purple colour during .Sep- 
tember and October last, the niliu then being all 
in bloom and very much resembling heather in 
the distance. On we went up, but had not gonp 
very far, before we struck an elephant track, and 
tramped along it for a short distance, when all of 
a sudden we 
DE.SCRIED SOME IBEX 
away upon some very steep rocky arrass land ; they 
did not seem to be much afraid of us. We could 
make oixt that they saw us very well, and stood look- 
ing down at, I should say, about 200 to 300 
yards distance. After a short consultation we 
proceeded, keeping to their left, and scrambled up a 
very rough steep bare p.itana, interspersed with slab 
rock and boulders, and on to a large ledge about 
which we proceeded. Shortly afterwards T with 
his rifle went alone, got up to within about 150 
yards, and let drive at the biggest in the herd 
wliich numbered about 20; but the rifle being of 
too small a bore tlie wounded buck went on, 
lagging beldnd the herd, and eventually they 
all got into a place where it was impossible to 
follow them. These animals are evidently experts 
at climbing, and will go with ease where it is 
doubtful if any other four-footed animal could follow 
tliem. Soon another was wounded in the same 
herd, but we got neither, and somewhat unwill- 
ingly came ay/ay, for it was no use waiting. We 
returned to the elephant track ami up we went, 
getting on to moie level ground but still steep and 
rough, along which the elephants had evidently 
passed a few days before, judging by the drop- 
pings which plentifully be streweil the path. We 
were glad to come across a small mountain stream 
with which we slaked our thirst. Lighting a pipe, 
we went on upwards, and at last getting to the 
saddle of the ridge had a fine view a^^ ay to the 
north and west of 
" ANEIMUDI," 
this being the name of the mountain on which we 
were, some 9,200 feet in elevation and the highest in 
India .so((</i of the Himalayas. Put we were not 
within l,oUO feet of the top, and from the side we 
were on, it was impossible to get up ; so we struck 
away to the left, and ascended anmlier bill i o 
the westward, amusing ouvsehes by setting ti a 
to the short patana grass as we v,-ent up. The ascent 
was very gradual, and quite a relief from the 
stiff path we had just left. The grass being very 
short, only some five or six inches long, and dry 
as tinder, it burned away slowly, but lt.fc the 
ground very clean, and in a condition which ought 
to make it a good feeding ground for the Ibcx 
and Sambur laier on when we get a shower or 
two to make the young grass shnot. Ruttonnr 
tale. We got near the top of this hill, I beir g 
ahead, when we descried three line Ibex lyiiip' ii 
a rocky ridc;e. I took them for bushes at 6r.t 
sikcht in the distance, but T's " ea^le eye '' saw at 
once that they were Ibex: so we bobbed our heads 
