B6 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [July 1, 1901. * 
over trading, by buying bills on natives in 
the way they have done; the consequence is 
that the place is full of goods, for which 
there is a limited sale. Bills cannot be met, 
and large stocks are held practically in 
pawn, stocks which should never have been 
imported, The best thing those interested 
could do with them would be to send them 
back to Europe. 
CEYLON DIRECTORS AND COMBINATION. 
(To tlie Editor, Home and Colonial Mail.) 
— The remarks from the chair at the recent 
ineetiiius of Ceylon tea companies, so far as they 
refer to. the queatio i of over-production of tea, are 
singularly unsatisfacLoi y : 'I'hey bring into pro- 
mineQce the question of whether directors are 
justified in taUing upon themselves and imposing 
upon their constituents the risks involved by 
ignoring the present and prospective perilous po- 
sition of the tea industry. The statistics of the 
last half-dozen years show, in spite of increased 
consumption, that there has been during that 
period a continually increasing excess of pro- 
duction over consumption to the extent of 
upwards of 50 million pounds of tea. The 
leading brokers are urging upon producers 
to take note of the Board of Trade returns, and 
warn them that, if surplus production is to go on 
increasing on the present scale, prices are likely to 
be even«f urther reduced. Yet, with these and other 
equally serious facts before them, what was the 
attitude of the directors at the recent meetings ? 
Several advocate a policy of drift, glibly disposing 
of, the difficulty by stating that matters will right 
themselves by the simple law of supply and de- 
mand ; a simple law, certainly, though, in the 
sense they intend it, not one to be contemplated 
with equanimity by shareholders. Then with re- 
gard to the late proposal to curtail output by 
mutual agreement as a remedy — which, by-the- 
bye, has fallen through entirely from the supine 
indifference or active opposition ot Ceylon 
planters — some directors excuse themselves 
by expressing the opinion that it was not 
practicable, that it is difficult to get plan- 
ters to combine for such a purpose. Indian 
planters showed that it was quite possible. Others 
were of opinion that there would be a sufficiently 
reduced yield, because a system of plucking finer 
lefJ would be adopted by planters, though a refer- 
ence to their own estimates of yield for the current 
season showed that they had framed estimates for 
an equal or increased yield. Expression was given 
to an opinion that it was even doubtful whether 
times were so bad that any combined effort to alter 
the position of the tea market was necessary. It 
would be interesting in this connection to know at 
what point such combination would become neces- 
sary. It is said there are some 70 or 75 per cent, of 
Indian and Ceylon tea companies that are not pay- 
ing. Some companies are calling up the unpaid 
balances on shares, others are re arranging their 
capital. Bankers are hesitating about giving facil- 
ities for credit to companies. Large areas of 
new plants are coming into bearing. As no 
agreement exists among planters as to output, the 
current season's crop may be as heavy as, or even 
heavier than, the last, for probabilities are that 
those plui'terH who commenced the season by pluck- 
ing finer leaf in order to reduce output may revert to 
coavBer plucking and a larger yield if prices should 
not sufficiently improve, and in the face of the 
present vast accumulition ot tea in stock it is most 
likely prices, even for fine teas, may be disap- 
pointing. 
Can tuch a state of things be considered as not 
sufficiently serious to render some co-operative 
movement necessary? 
It was remarked by one director— whose ut- 
terances, however, were somewhat of the hot and 
cold order— that " planters have it absolutely in 
their own hands, on the day they combine, to alter 
the whole complexion of the tea market." Let 
planters then see to it that they combine, lest the 
tea market alter the whole complexion of the 
planting community. 
There need be no denying the fact, indiscrimin- 
ate tivalry— in other words, cut-throat competition 
— has reached its limit. We have passed the 
(lays of long profits, when wild and reckless 
rivalry was possible. We are now in a period 
of close-margin profits, when all kinds of 
combination among buyers, carriers, &c., beset 
the industry on all sides. 
Shareholders are usually slow to attribute blame 
to those who represent ihem, except in times of 
disaster, when, of course, it is too late. They 
are, however, becoming anxious. It has even 
been suggested that a shareholders' league might 
be serviceable.— Yours faithfully, 
James Hodges. 
Birmingham, May 21, 1901. 
[Uur correspondent is in error in stating that 
the excess of production over consumption is to 
the extent of upwards of 50 million lb. Last year 
it was 20 million lb. in excess, and the pre- 
vious year 14 million lb.] 
GREEN TEAS FOR EGYPT AND 
NORTH AFRICA. 
A colonist recalls an enquiiy made of him 
in Egypt ten years ago for "green teas" 
which were said to be in great request for 
the Soudan. He wishes to know if sample« 
of Ceylons are being sent to Egypt, Tunis, 
Algeria and Morocco ? 
A Cure for Dysentery.— Dr. Mougeot, whose 
investigations into the subject of a cure for 
dysentery have been attracting attention in Saigon 
for some time past, now claims to have discovered 
a remedy for the disease. This is the seed of the 
plant named Brucca Sumatrana, belonging to the 
family Simarubacece, which is found in those 
parts of Southern China, Lower India, the island 
of Sunda and tropical America where the malady 
prevails in its more virulent form. Both the tree 
and its seed are known in the vernacular of it« 
/i.t»&ito< by the name of feostt or kosam. It may 
be remembered that several years ago the scientist 
Roger discovered a bacilus which was held to be 
the cause of dysentery. In experiments which he 
conducted upon animals. Dr. Mougeot found that, 
wherever these bacteria were most numerous in 
the bowels, the use ot the k98u seed, which, by 
the way, is about a centimetre in length and lies 
hidden within a small oily kernel, led to their 
utter destruction. He usually administered from 
six to ten seeds on the first day and twelye on 
the second, in which time a change for the better 
generally became apparent. Dr. Mougeot claims 
that 871 out of 879 cases experimented upon 
proved successful. — Pioneer, Jan« 2. 
