215 
September i, 1890.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
at the rate of 462 lb. per acre. The tea was 
produced at a cost of only 6d, and sold for only 
8|d. The result, as we have said, was a dividend 
of 13 per cent, notwithstanding the low price at 
which the teas sold. The Moabund Company showed 
a dividend of 15 per cent. Its capital is down 
at £35,007; acreage 713; capital per acre £49; 
acreage mature 596 ; yield 322,000 lb. at the rate 
of 542 lb. per acre. The tea was produced at 9d 
and sold for 1/2|, the very highest value in the list. 
The Doom Dooma Company divided 14 per cent. 
The capital of this Company is down at £116,100 ; 
acreage 1,671 ; capital per acre £69 ; acreage mature 
1,403 ; yield 877,000, a rate per acre of 625 lb. 
The tea was produced at so low a cost as 71?d 
per lb. and sold for l/0,’,,d. For the 34 Com- 
panies of which the working results for 1889 are 
given, we get the following details ; — 
The paid up capital ranged irom £354,644 to £20,000. 
The total acreage ranged from 9,326 to 600 acres. 
The capital per acre ranged from £1.54 to £21. 
The mature acreage ranged from 7,520 to 510 acres. 
The crop of 1889 ranged from 2,674,000 lb. tol43,000 lb. 
The yield per mature acre ranged from 721 maximum 
lb. to 246 lb. minimum. 
The cost of tea per lb. ranged from ll|d to 5gd. 
Value of tea per lb. in bond (including seed etc.) 
ranged from Is 2fd to 6|d. 
We must not omit noticing the generally high 
bearing rate of the mature acreage. We have 
already noticed the maximum of 7211b. per acre. 
Then we have 645, 632, and 625 ; next come 
575, 563, 642, and 515 ; below 500 but above 400, 
we get 489, 486, 467, 466, 462, 452, 441 , and 
427. So that there are 16 companies out of the 
34, or nearly one half, the average yield of whose 
estates is over 400 up to over 700. The number 
of estates which range below 400 but above 300 lb. 
are 10, so that 26 out of the 34 companies 
got average yields above 300 up to over 700. 
In looking at this yield and comparing it with that 
of Ceylon estates, it must be remembered that the 
vast proportion of the Indian tea estates were opened 
on virgin soil of special richness, there being no 
old coffee estates, more or less washed and worn, 
to lower the average. Considering how on?- average 
yield is affected by the low yield of old coffee 
estates, we compare fairly well with India; in specially 
favourable cases, such as that of Mariawatte 
“ beating creation.” 
The results under the head of dividends for the 
year show that, of the 34 companies, 1 gave 18 per 
cent ; 1 gave 16 ; 1 gave 14 ; 1 gave 13 ; 1 gave 
12J ; 7 gave 10 per cent ; so that 12 companies, or 
more than a third of the whole, divided 10 per 
cent and upwards. We have a dividend of 9 per 
cent in case of 1 company ; 1 gave 8 ; 1 gave 
7 ; 9 gave 6 per cent ; 1 gave 5^ ; and 1 gave 5. 
So that 14 companies gave dividends from 5 per 
cent up to 9; and 26 out of the 34 gave dividends 
ranging from 5 to 18 per cent. A dividend of 3 
per cent is opposite 1 company and 2J per cent 
against another. 
In the first case, that of the Land Mortgage 
Bank of India, where no dividend was declared, 
the profits were nearly £14,000. There were good 
reasons in this case for not dividing any of the 
profits, as the losses of previous years had to be 
made up. In the second case of no dividend, tbe 
profits were £11,116. Then comes a case with 
£748 profits ; two others with £1,602 each. The 
only esse of absolute loss, the sum being £2,531 
is that of the Endogram Company with £40,000 
capital ; 1,089 acreage ; .£36 capital per acre ; 1,064 
mature acreage ; yield 272,000 at the rate of 255 lb., 
the lowest yield recorded. The [tea cost lO^d to 
produce it and sold for only 8d. 
Leaving this exceptional case out of view, tlio 
results of the working of the leading Indian 
Companies seems by no means discouraging, 
especially in view of the considerable fall in the 
selling prices of teas compared with those which 
prevailed a few years ago. Not many planters in 
Ceylon, we suspect, can beat the Indian record of 
minimum cost of production, 6i}d per lb. But in 
this direction of economical working, so as to 
reduce cost of production it is evident we must 
proceed, if the Ceylon tea enterprise is to 
continue profitable. Meantime efforts to open upi 
new markets must not slacken. 
♦ 
CATTLE DISEASE IN SOUTTIE.EN INDIA, 
CEYLON AND THE STRAITS. 
While waiting for the disposal “ a press of 
other matter,” in order to resume our discussion 
of the question started by our correspondent 
“Truth” as to the necessity for stringent mea- 
sures of quarantine, stamping out and so forth, 
to combat cattle disease in Ceylon, evidence as strong 
as it was unexpected has been afforded of the cor- 
redness of the views we expressed, by a resolution 
of the Government of Madras. In this resolution 
tbe expenditure fora lengthened period in attempting 
to carry out measures such as “Truth” demanded and 
the Ceylon Cattle Commission of 1869 recommended 
is declared to be money wasted, and the whole 
machinery for watching and segregating cattle has 
been abolished. The Government of Madras have 
come to tbe conclusion we expressed that stringent 
measures of repression are impracticable, looking 
at the circumstances of the country and the 
character of the people, and that we must look 
for gradual improvement with advancing intelli- 
gence. We deem it quite probable that “ Truth ” 
will say : “ The action of the Madras Government 
only renders stringent quarantine and other 
measures on our part the more necessary.” 
What would better please our pro-bovine friend 
are the details of very stringent legislation in 
Perak, following that in force in the Straits 
Government, whereby quarantine precautions are 
applied equally to cattle and human beings, power 
being reserved to “stamp out” the former, with or 
without compensation. The subject is so interesting 
and in many aspects so important, that we shall 
devote another article to its discussion. The misery, 
of course, is that when rinderpest breaks out 
amongst the wretched native cattle, badly fed and 
worse tended, it does not confine its ravages to 
animals comparatively worthless but destroys valu- 
able imported animals, treated in the most liberal 
and humane fashion as they may be. The following 
is from the Madras Times of August 6th 
The fiat lately went forth (or the abolition of the 
Cattle Disease Department in this Presidency. Govern- 
ment was led to take this step, on the report of the 
Agricultural Committee that the money expended upon 
attempts to cope with cattle-disease bad been practi- 
cally wasted, and that until the spread of education 
has effected a change in tbe attitude of the lyots, it 
would be wiser to suspend tbe attempts to directly 
combat the evil. The Agricultural Cemmittee stated, 
that “ in dealing with diseases which, owing to the 
customs of cattle-management arid the conditions 
of the country, spread with immense rapidity, and 
find a victim in every stall, we deem it hopeless 
for many years, to attempt directly preventive and 
curative work over the whole area of tbe country, 
aud we are absolutely convinced, that the present 
method of placing solitary inspectors, themselves iri- 
sufliciently educated and trained, in charge of a whole 
district, with but little supervision aud no possible 
chance of obtaining local influence over so vast an area, 
is radically wrong. lYe look forward to a time, when 
