i856 
TOE TKOPICAL AaL'IClLTUllIST. 
[Juke 1, 1899. 
The result of tlie ycai'a v.oi liiug is a (li-liiict im- 
ptoveiiienL upon the previous se;is"n, uoLwiihwliia- 
<lini,' the uiitHvouriihle .veiuhei .oitl i lie coin pa-ra,- 
tively low level of pi ices ijreviului;; chuin<j tlie year. 
The item of i;05a2<«l f^.r inaiiuriiif,' i»'J">;l't 
forward from 1897 ami the wlioh? expentlaure 
under tliis headiii},' iueiined in iSOS hue l»eeu 
debited in lil,^b year's prolit and lom aceount. 
The following taljle ^ive-s llie acrea^'e :ui<l re- 
sults of the year : - 
E:itate. 
Average 
in bear- 
ing. 
a 
Tea Crop 
lb. 
.2S 
. a 
14 
ii'J 00 
31,.S-2 
32.81 
Oi c 
5i:i 
7 51 
G 59 
am 
Working 
Protii. 
i 8. d. 
l,(m 12 10 
812 10 3 
423 9 2 
Aberdeen iWT — 128,710 
CaUayii. 312 — 153,505 
Dunkeld 322 50 lll.p-'b 
Luccombe 717 — T2G3,3U7 
Thornfiald 
ueSr 455 15 230,H84 20.00 6 82 3,ti77 17 7 
UdttBadella310 40 lS0,7ili 27.7G 7.5-.1 5 1 
2^31l05 1,101,10s 30.10 7.00 9,230 14 11 
There was a lo.ss on the Aljenleen working' 
amounting to I'lGS IGs lid making the aetu.i! 
working l)rolit ,1:9,001 ISs Ud. It has been de- 
cided to abamlon 40 acres of the poorest tea 
land at Aberdeen, and by this means it is ex- 
pected that the acreage retained un<ier cultivation 
will give better results in the fnture. 
The following is a tttatemeni of the Acreage of 
the Company's properties as on 1st January, 1899. 
317 — 
342 — 
492 36 
a 
be 
w 
U. 
S 
o — ' 
a> 
H 
6 
14 
23 
7 
52 
119 
22 
75 
200 
83 
4S0 
3S7 
C03 
750 
512 
555 
322 
Aberdeen 
Calsay 
Duukeld 
Luccombe 5j0 
Thorufleld and 
Gleueagles 457 — 
Uda Ridella ^83 40 
Kehelgama — — 
2,5U8 7U 21 75 869 3,609 
The Elstree leaf, which had previously been 
treated at Luccombe, is now dealt with at Duu- 
keld, and in the above Statement the acreage of 
Elstree has been deducted from Luceombe and in- 
cluded in Dunkeld. ' 
The capital expenditure shown in the accounts 
has been chieliy in respect to the rebuilding and 
extension of the Uda Kadella Factory. 
In their last report the Directors referred to an 
issue of £10,003 of 6 per cent Debentures, but of 
these only £8,900 have been issued. 
The Directors are pleased to report that the 
Colombo Agents have voluntarily made a modi- 
fication in their scale of charges, as from the com- 
mencement of the 1898 season, to the advantage of 
the shareholders, 
In regard to the prospects of the current sea- 
sou the"teas so far produced are deriving the 
benefit ot the appreciable advance in market 
values both here and in Colombo, whilst there are 
reasonable' expectations of the yield of the Com- 
pany's Estates being main taiaed at about thequan- 
tity iirotluced last year> 
THE TEA MAKKET. 
In the (ea market prices have luled very etronji, 
often at an advance of A<1 per lb. in the tiud(;et 
Hpeeeli of idie (Chancellor of the Excbequer h* u 
made to s.ay there are shoit KupplicH of BritMi 
grown lea ! Ciiina lea pr<)8pecti> improve wfiile 
the run is lOiiintaiiied on the lower grade*. The 
blending \!mii* who make low-nrice<l tea llieir chief 
outlet have been caught with runninij coutracts 
OU low terras. - L. tt- C. Express, April 14- 
TEA BIJCHTS AND PEST. 
TU TllK KOITOK OF TUB " EKOLISIIMAN." 
bii:,— III ;jjeutally to tlio valuable report bj Dr. 
Guur^^u WitU. and partly piibliahcd iu your iasuu of 
the 10. b iiiBtaiit, (bure are uuder the heading of the 
pira;4r.iph ' P.uv'euiiou better that caret" »ittteiueul«, 
wbiuli, hcwevjc cjrrect they may have been 
in 16Jj> are now at variauee with the aciu&J facia. 
Dr. W.iVi li atja " ibat a much famed ioseclicide baa 
beea iriuu, has proved a failure, and therefore 
uothiiiK fur. her neca bo thou)ih; of." 
List yci'.t exh.iu tivc expunuieiita were carried oat 
ii^ Cai:h;ir ijy tlio rcprosentalivti uf the Chiswick Soap 
Co np my, uf Ujiuwiuk London, \V., with giaal succoaa; 
and thi:j iias re.-tuUcd i.i au cxti^usive use of the 
Chi-iwiok 8ojip Cjoipariy'a compouad by fifty-two 
con.:t:ias in tliat and other districts. It ha<s been a 
geuoially expreised belief tbxt the preveutioa of 
mjsqtiiio blight is au nttor impossibility, b<it prac- 
tical demoosiiatious show that the deslractiou 
wrought on ma. b lahea by this post can be snccesfally 
prcvouttd, if careful bprayiag of the bushes in Jan. or 
Feb ,— and at any time thereafter that the blight may 
appear, — is carried out. 
Patches of tea sulferioK from red spider, white 
throad, ^'reen lly, blight aiid all other similar peeta 
may bvi cleared by one or two applications, and at a 
small cost. 
It wj.3 not nntil 1893-9G that the compound was 
tried, and the exptfrimeuta diuce carried out privately 
in various tjaraoas, by many who at the oat aet 
thorou;ihly disbelieved in its efi&cacy, have proved 
without a shadow of doubt, that many mannds of 
valuable t^a may bs saved at a reasonable outlay. 
The results of the experiments made by planters 
prove quite the contrary to Dr. Watt's statement, 
that •' remarkably little value can be placed in in- 
secticides," and it is open lo anyone who is dabiona 
on this poirt to thoroughly prove for himself that the 
ravages of tea pests may bs prevented, and that the 
greatest beuedts may accrue from the jadicioug and 
thorough use of the compoand. Cantident that the 
spraying of large areas of pest-riddeu bushes, with 
properly prepared insecticides, was possible, and that 
positive relief could be given, the makers of this 
compound spent £1,000 last year in successfully 
demonstrating this fact, and they are now prepared 
to consider the question of providing material for 
any large tract of tea requiring treatment, for an 
equitable share in the value of manufactured te» saved. 
Dr. Watt's hints and suggestioos, as to combination 
and methodical research as to the habits and develop- 
ments of tea pests are excellent, and to the point. 
In the meantime, mosquito blight and other pesta 
flourish, and any relief tnat can be given at a moderate 
cost shoald be welcomed by planters. 
Thos. R. Pabtt. 
"A Slu.mp in QtJiNiNE" is the expressive 
heading in trade journals by a recent mail, and it is 
evident that bark and quinine owners are ia 
luck's way. We hear of one Nilgherry estate 
owner who, early in March, sold his bark to 
the Madras Government Factory at the rate to 
rule on 1st yVpril. Un 29th March the price 
went u]) 100 jier cent, and so the lucky pro- 
prietor has scored, more particularly as there 
has been a fall siuce. 
