6^0 
THE TROPICAL AGRICtJLTURIST. [March ), 1902. 
The following figures show the quantity offered 
locally in public sale for the last fonr years, with 
the average prices obtained for complete invoices 
sold :— 
1898 .. 35,958,819 1b .. Average 35 cents. 
1899 .. 38,H77,318 „ .. „ 38 
IVOO .. 47,681,826 ., .. „ 34 „ 
1901 .. 51,044,000 „ ., „ 33 
, The following formed the Committee for 1901; — 
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CHAMBER OF 
COMMERCE {ex officio). 
Buyers ; — Messrs Crosfield, Lampard & Co, Tarrant, 
Henderson & Co, Finlay, Muir & Co and F F 
Street Esq. 
Sellers :— Messrs Whittall & Co, J M Robertson & 
Co, Geo. Steuart & Co., and Bosanquet & Co. 
The number of members belonging to the Association 
is 45, against 42 in the previous year. 
The accounts for the past year made up to 3lst 
December, 1901, and submitted to you duly audited, 
shew a credit balance of 111,396-34. 
LIST OF MEMBERS. 
Messrs Aitken. Spence & Co, Baker & Hall, Bath- 
gate, Pim & Co, E Benham and Co, Eois Bros. & Co, 
Bosanquet & Co, Carson & Co, Crossfield, Lampard 
& Co, Colombo Commercial Co, Ltd, lion J ISI 
Campbell, Darley, Butler & Co, Delmege 
Forsyth & Co, Delmege, Reid & Co, 0 H 
DeSoysa Esq, Dodwell & Co, Fiulay, Muir & Co, 
Forbes & Walker, Framjee Bhikajee & Co, Galaha 
Ceylon Tea Estates & Agency Company, Ltd, Gordon, 
Frazer & Co, E John & Co, Leechman & Co, Lee 
Hedges & Co, Lipton Ltd, Lewis Brcwn & Co, Mack- 
wood & Co, Mclntyre Bros, Murdoch & Branwell, 
Odell & Co, J M Robertson & Co, Rodewald & Heath, 
Rowley & Davies, Geo. Stenart & Co, Schulze Bros. 
& Co,, Somerville & Co., Skrine & Co, Stcherbatchoff 
Tchkoff & Co, F F Street Esq and Tarrant, 
Henderson & Co. 
The Trading Co, (successor to "AG AKoosnetzoff & Co") 
Messrs Tokmakoff, Molotkoflf & Co, Turner, Edgar, 
Esq, J H Vavasseur & Co, E & H A Webb and 
Whittall & Co. 
ACCOUNTS. 
Dec, 31, 1901.— To Advertising R39'2-86, Printing 
84"75, Clerk's Bonus R50, Sundries R3'96, Balance car- 
ried down with Bank of Madras Bl,396 34.— Rl,877 61. 
Jan. 1. 1901.— By Balance Rl,387-61 ; Dec. 31 Mem- 
bers' Subscriptions R450, Entrance Fees for Member- 
ship R40, R490;-R1,877-61. By Balance brought 
down Bl,396-34. 
Colombo, 12th February, 1902. 
» 
TEA IN AUSTRALIA, 
Evetyone drink"! tea. Indeed the tea-drinking capa- 
city of Australians has almost passed into a proverbf 
It becomes therefore a matter of very wide-reaching im 
portance ia a community so constant in appreciation o^ 
" the eup that cheers and not inebriates " thatadequatg 
precaution should be taken to protect us from th 
danger of inferior brews. There is reason to believ 
that for some years the quality of our tea imports ha^ 
been declining. In the desire to meet the demand for 
cheapness importers have been sacrificing quality to 
price, and among recent shipments there have been 
some which have been declared " unfit for human 
conaamplion." China and India have been sending 
UK their trash, and it ia high time that a stringent 
check Bhould be imposed upon this method of slow 
foiBoninK. Public opinion will support the Custom 
iouHR officiaU in llielr endeavour to raise the standard 
of teas iinporlf d into the Commonwealth. Importers, 
however, are dlHHatiBfied with the process of judgment. 
A chemical standard has now been adopted and tea 
■which fails to come up to tlie mark is liable to be 
^eetroyed. I'irms in the trade complain that the 
analytical test is not in accordance with expert concla- 
sions and that the teas have been condemned which 
cannot reasonably be cieemed unfit for liuman con- 
sumption. They think it still harder that no oppor- 
tunity should have been given to communicate with 
the shippers, and that they should not be allowed to 
re-ship the teas and tiy the chances of other countries 
where the standard of purity is less severe. There is 
a variance of sta .dard, for in England teas 
have been accepted which have been condemned 
in the United States. It has also happened 
that a big line of tea rejected by the Meloonrne 
authorities as unfit for consumption h.is been sold in 
London, and declared by customs of&cials there to be 
perfectly wholesome. There is no reason why equita- 
ble consideration should not be given to these repre- 
sentations. As long as tlie community is protected 
from bad tea mercantile reqniremenis ought to be 
studied. Another matter to «hich some attention 
might be given is the manner in which consumers 
are cheated Isy tricks ot the Ira^'o. Teas are being sold 
in fancy wrappers at short weight, and sellers are 
not always superior to the meauness of weighing in 
the paper when they sell over the counter. A person 
who buys a pound of tea is entitled to get a poui d 
of tea, and those who by devious methods rob 
him of an ounce or so in the pouud are practically 
guilty of fraud. — Austiulian I'dprr. 
e- 
THE NILGIRI GAME ASSOCIATION. 
OoTACAMUND, Feb. 2.^. — On Thursday, the annual 
general meeting of the Nilgiri Game and Fish Pre- 
servation Association took plice at " Primrope 
House." Besides the President (Collector) and Hony. 
Secretary (the District Forest Officer^, only seven 
members were present. 
The Association considers that game on the Nil 
giris has increased owing to measures adopted to 
protect it ; (1) by the grant of discretionary power 
to the Collector to refuse licenses to notorious De- 
stroyers of game, who hitherto obtained licenses 
freely. These men, it is thought, will in future be 
brought more under control by this means. (2) 
By Badagas and Kurumbers having been frequently 
and successfully prosecuted for slaughtering game. 
Their propensity to do so for fresh meat is believed 
to be almost incurable, and to be kept under only by 
constant watchfulness, and even then the evil will, 
it is thought, only be mitigated, not eradicated. 
(3) By asking Managers of estates to prevent their 
coolies poaching, which otherwise is extremely diffi- 
cult to detect. (4; By dealing with shikaris, who 
are known to egg on young and excitable sports- 
men to shoot miniature and undersized stags, 
whereby undesirable trophies are the only thing- 
procurable. 
Of imported game birds — the Association has ob- 
tained jungle and pea fowl, — the red variety of the 
former from Ganjam and the latter from the 
Godavery. The latter have been liberated at Itha- 
lar, in the neighbourliood of which they formerly 
used to thrive. The red jungle fowl are with Sir 
Frederick Price who has undertaken their domesti- 
cation. The pea fowl are to be protected by the 
reservation of the tract in which they have been 
set free, but this alone, it is believed, will not save 
them from the depredations of vermin, since already 
the feathers of some of the young birds have been 
found strewed about the localities indicated. 
As a further concession to the members of the 
Ootacamund Hunt, permission to shoot jungle sheep 
with shot is to be continued. During the past 
season 14 of this game were destroyed in this man- 
ner, and the Hunt did not complain of the hounds 
being diverted from their legitimate quarry. The 
disturbance and destructon of sambur, contended for 
by the Uon'ble Mr Stokes, will be continued in the 
future on the same linea as iu the past, namely, to 
