June 1, 18990 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
841 
The cost of production was enhanced by a further 
rise of nearly Id in the value of the rupee, th;; average 
rate of exchange for the year being Is 4-13'64. 
In accordance with the Articles of AssocuLtion, two 
of the Directors, Mr. Ralph A. Cameron and i\Ir. O J 
Lindsay Nicholson, retire from office, and, being eli- 
gible, offer themselves for re-eleciion. 
The retiring Auditors, Messrs. Welton, Jones & Co. 
offer themselves for re-election. 
C J L Nicholson, Cbaiiman. 
41, Bastcheap, E.G., 12th April, 1899. 
SCHEDULE or THE C05tP.\NY's ESX.iXES AT SlsT DEC, 1898, 
Arapolakande, Asgeria and IJulatwatte, Colonna, 
Condegalla, Doombigastalawa, DroraoUnd, Hope, 
Ingrugalla and Berrewella, Kirrimettia, Kuniar;-dola, 
Kumbukkan, Labookellie, Meddecoombr i, Norwood, 
Rothschild, Sogama, Vellai Oya and Dandukelawa, 
Wevekellie. 
acr^^s. 
Under Tea .. .. .. 10,867 
,, Cocoa . . ... . . 6cJ4 
„ Coffee, Cardamoms & Sundries 367 
„ Fore»t grass and uncultivated land 4,631 
Total 16,499 
^ 
TWO IMPORTANT CEYLON TEA 
COMPANIES. 
The annual Report of the Ceylon Tea Plan 
tations Company, Limited, is always an in- 
structive document. Not that there is mnch 
variety in the prosperous account, the 
Directors regularly render. For twelve years 
this premier Ceylon Tea Company has de- 
clared a dividend of 15 per cent on its ordi- 
nary shares — an almost unprecedented record 
—while building up a Reserve Fund which now 
amounts to ii9o,0fJ(J or considerably more than 
one-third of the capital issued. Last year was a 
poor one for crops in tea as also in coconuts, 
and yet there is no diminution in dividend, 
in the addition to reserve fund, or in the 
writing off for depreciation, while nearly 
£4,000 are carried forward. All this speaks 
well for the good management of the Com- 
pany. The tea in bearing aggregates 8,067 
acres ; not in betiring 496 acres ; while of 
coconuts the bearing trees cover 728 acres and 
those not in bearing 1,424 acres. This Com- 
pany has, therefore, by no means reached the 
limits of its planting crops. The number of 
coconuts gathered in 1898 was 1.180,520 : before 
many years this number should be increased 
to f()ur millions, if not more, from the land 
already planted. 
Another Company, whose Report is before 
us today, is that of the Nuwara Eliya Tea 
Estates Co., Ld.— a Report which, as the 
local Agents Messrs. Leechman & Co. have 
learned by wire, was duly adopted by the 
general meeting of shareholders on 2tth 
April. Notwithstanding several draw- 
backs, this ('ompaiiy has had a faaly 
prospei'ous year, the dividend being (j 
percent, which is satisfactory considering the 
difference in exchange. The Company is 
distinguished for its superior tea, the avei'age 
jn ice realized being so high ;is !)-21d. per lb., 
although the yield from tea in be.iring was 
as heavy as 5451b. per acre. The most pi'O- 
litable return was from Concordia estate and 
e<iualled £11 l)s. Hd. per aci'e, a yield of .>l(!lb. 
per acre and of Hl'liUd. nei' lb. being reaii/.i^d. 
On the other hand, Naseby, which usi'd to give 
the highest profit has fallen olY tt) .")s. Id. 
per acre! This, however, is greatly owing to 
the Factory being under reconstruction diu-iug 
the greater part of 1898, so interfering with 
manufacture ; while the tea bushes in many 
parts suffered severely from frost. No doubt 
further drainage and tree-planting will be 
imdertaken to endeavour to mitigate the 
effects, or pervent the attacks, of frost in the 
future. 
FACILITIES FOR MAKING GOOD TEA 
IN CEYLON:— HI. 
The two rejalies to our Tea Circular from 
the Northei'n Districts are very brief, though 
they are to the point. From Matale East, 
the sole drawback to the manufacture of 
better tea than at present is said to be 
that it is not in the leaf."' That is a tale we 
have heard from more than one old district ; 
and if soil constituents have anything to do 
with the character of the crop produced, the 
complaint is but reasonable. What better 
remedy than judiciously selected manure 
for giving strength and fiavonr to tea? And our 
friend would seem to agree in this verdict ; 
for, although he pronounces the jat of the tea 
generally good, and the soil also good in his 
locality yet ; he thinks that manuring would 
improve the tea and be profitable as well. 
It is here that the aid of the scientist 
should come in, to determine what the defi- 
ciencies of the soil are, and wiiat special 
manin'es are required to give flavour and 
character to the tea. From the Fanwila 
and Wattegama side, the drought of last 
year is mentioned as one of the (tempo- 
rary) drawbacks to the turning out of better 
tea ; while previous chenaing of the land- 
not an uncommon experience, we fancy, in 
the older districts round which villages 
cluster — and full exposure to the South 
West monsoon, are among the permanent 
obstacles. Another possible reason, is said 
to be the lack of appliances for cool 
fermentation. There, too, there is no 
complaint about the jat, though in the 
older places, it is a little mixed. The soil 
cannot claim to be virgin, except in rare 
instances, and it varies a good deal from iron- 
stone and red loamy clays to clays, quartzes, 
gravels, gritty cabooks, micaceous talc and 
plumbago lands. The variety of the soil 
points to the need of differently constituted 
manures to meet deficiencies ; and we are 
glad to find our correspondent express him 
self emphatically in favour of manuring, 
as justified by all analogy, seeing how, a, 
short while ;igo, persistent attempts were 
made m some (juarters, if not to under-rate 
manuring, at any rate to regard it as a 
practice whose advantages had yet to be 
proved. 
In regai'd to Factories, the latter report 
speaks of them as not genei\Tlly deficient in 
withering room, in machinery, or nu)tive 
jiower ; while the fornu'r i('i)cut notes defici- 
ency in withering room, whenever thei'e is 
a rush after a spell of dry weather. With- 
out adeq\iate withering room, good tea can 
thus be turned out only when average 
jiluckings .-ire in pi'ogress ; and that me.-ins a 
v.ii'iable standard which nuist be prejudici;il 
to the estate lu.irks. Tlie labour force is said 
to be ade(ju;ile in both districtis; but that 
has been the experii'nce .Umost through- 
out the planting districts for some 
time past. While ^[atale East has naught 
