Ogt. 1, mi.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUEIST. 
261 
The total area under cultivation at 30th November 
last was 16,08G acres, namely, 1-1,441 acres tea, 944 
acrts coffee, 701 acres cinchona. The estimated 
crops for the current jenr are 2.217 225 ib of tea. 
942 cwts Gf coffee, and 248.u00 lb of cinchona baik. 
As explained in the circDlar letter of 7th August, 
addressecl to the shareholders, Mr P R Buchanan, the 
special adviser to and visitor for the Board proceeded 
to India by the mail of January last and he, along 
with the managing ogerlts in Calcutta and Colombo, 
and the Company's visiting superintendents, has been 
abie to effecG considerable economies in working with- 
out impaiiing the efficient up keep of the estates, 
which should help the results of 1901 and subsequent 
years. Jn the circular of 7( h August, above referred 
to, and in the circular of 9Lh uhimo, the Directors 
gave information regarding the petition of the tea. 
industry and the prospects of the Company. 
In terms ol the articles of association one of the 
Directors, Sir Robert D Moncreiffe, Bart., retires at 
this time and is eligible for re-election. 
The auditors, Messrs Alexander Sloan & Co., C. A., 
retire, and offer themselves for re-election. 
POSITION OF TEA AIS^D ADMINISTRA- 
TION OF TEA COMPANIES. 
The Financial Times has published several letters 
of late on the position of tea from a shareholder's 
point of view. The main object most of the corres- 
pondents have in view is the necessity for accelerating 
the production of annual reports and bringing pressure 
to bear on directors, so that there shall be no keeping 
back of inforEn3tioD. 
Mr. George S=ton, writing to onr contemporary on 
the position of tea and the administration of tea 
companies, sa.ys:—" It is now, I think, generally ad- 
mitted that the chief cause of the present disastrous 
position of the tea industry is to be fi^uud in the undue 
additions to the planted area, which have been 
made during the past ten years or more. The earlier 
large extensions were made by new companies , which 
were formed avowedly with" the object of planting 
out entirely new g.ardens. These were, of course, 
the original and chief sinners in the race of com- 
petition and over production, but they had this excuse 
that, to all appearances, the Indian exchange was 
progressively falling, and there seemed every reason 
to believe that this favourable influence would 
continue. Since 1894 or 1895, however the principal 
extensions have been made, as additions to 
their areas, in all the different districts by the 
older companies, which already possessed large 
productive properties, "and they have been made 
with a full knowledge of impending unfavourable 
conditions — a high rupee and dropping prices for tea 
It has been contended, however, by the administra- 
tions of these companies that this couise was prudent, 
and was forced upon them by the necessity of pro- 
viding against a known depreciation of their older 
gardens. Granted that this contention was right, it 
was to be expected that the entire cost of such im- 
provements would be charged to revenue. But what 
do we find to be the case ? Of all the leading com- 
pmies only a few— notably the Assam, the Joiehaut, 
Biam.'ipootra, Chubwa, and (in a measure) the Assam 
Fiontie.v — fol owed this course, and their additions 
to area were ot modest extent. Nearly all the other 
large companies carried the cost of these additions 
wholly, or in very large part, to block account. 
Some of them— wfse in their generation— made fresh 
capital provision at a favourable time. Doom Dooma, 
owing to the exceptional soundness of its finance, 
could always raise fresh capital when required ; 
Jhanzie issued capital at the 'top of the tea boom 
at almost Coubol rate of interest ; Jokai issued 
preference capital,, and also accumulated a real 
invested reserve. But what of others whom we 
shall allude to alphabetically to avoid invidious dis- 
jjnotion ? The JDooars Cgmpany has more than out- 
spent its entire reserve ; the Empire Company has 
done the same, and now suspends preference dividends; 
the Imperial Company, the Luugla Company, the 
Makum, the Nedeem and Singlo Companies all deve- 
loped their gardens on borrowed money, and either 
have had, or will have, to raise heavy prior ' barges, 
which practically cut off shareholders for a series of 
years from any hope of dividends. Possibly those 
responsible for these laches will point to English rail- 
way administrations, and say they have ' sinned in 
good company ' but this iike folly of our railway 
kings is now, 1 think, generally condemned both by 
the financial Press ai d by public opinion. Railway 
companies moreover" had the excuse that these heavy 
betterments were forced on them by the public demand 
for increased facilities and by Government pressure, 
Tea men had no such excuse, and in any case two 
blacks do not make a white. The prevention of such 
errors of the past, with a due control of the policy 
to be followed in the future, is a work well suited for 
the Tea Shareholders' Association, the formation 
of which has been advocated so ably in your 
columns; this question, moreover, touches very closely 
on the matter of the appointment of auditors, 
so ably treated of by one of your correspondents 
only a few days since, as depreciation and additions 
to block are essentially an auditor's matter." — Home 
and Colonial Mail, Aug. 9. 
THE l^YASSALAND COFFEE COMPANY'S 
ESTATE. 
SALE WITHDRAWN AFTEE A BID OF £300. 
The auction sale of the Nyassaland Coffee Com- 
paiiy's estate was held on the 7th ult. but the 
higfie.st bid was £300, and the estate was with- 
drawn. The plant on the estate was also with- 
drawn on account of tiie low figures offered. — 
Central African Times, July 13. 
Tea Growing in Louisiana.— From the thir- 
teenth annunl report of the Agricultural Ex- 
periment Stations of the Lonit-iana State Univer- 
sity and A and M College, for 1900, jusfc received 
we learn : — 
Tea Plants. — In co-operation with the United States 
Department of Agriculture, this Station is growing 
over six hundred tea plants, with a view of testing 
practically the raising and curing of tea leaves. The 
success of the industry in South Carolina has sti- 
mulated the Department of Agriculture to try it else- 
where in the South. 
It will take some time yet before six hundi-ed 
plantp.develop into plantations of thousands of acres 
required to enable America to do without foreign 
tea ! 
Test for Exhausted Tea.— Dr. Nestler in the 
Journal de PJiarmacie d' Alsace-Lorraine, puts forward 
a test to determine whether tea leaf has been previ-' 
ously used or not. Professor Tickhotnmow's test 
is said to be untrustworthy. This depends on the 
production of a greenish tint by unused tea after 
two days' standing in a solution of acetate of copper. 
Tea which has been twice infused, however, will 
sometimes give this colour. Dr. Nestler's test ia 
as follows : A little of the tea is crushed between the 
fingers and placed on a watch-glass. This is covered 
with another watch-glass, and heated gently. On the 
upper glass there is soon an appearance of small 
drops, and after ten minutes' heating crystals of 
theine are vi-.uble to the naked eye. The identity of 
these crystals can be shown by hydrochloric acid and 
a solution of chloride of gold, which gives a more 
or leis yellowish prisms of a silky, long, sleudeif 
