t^ovEMBEii I, 1890.] the tropical AGRICULTURIST. 
The share scrip has been engraved and is being 
printed. 
The prospectus is being printed and will be advertised 
probably by this time. 
Nothing had been done except the formal registration 
(which I read with care and approved of) until I arrived 
at New York, and had the Company not gone on, 
those signing the memorandum would simply have 
lost the Registration fees. I think I have now men- 
tioned the principal matters. There are many minor 
poults which I shall reserve for another time. It is 
no easy matter for a landsman to write in a ship 
going 20 miles an hou- and rolling. 
I wired you from New York on 15th inst. to the 
following purpor : — “ Letter derogatory New York 
parties sent Ceylon. There is no foundation for the 
report. Wo have made careful enquiry and the result 
satisfactory. Sailing 17th. Everything settled and 
papers signed.” My remarks above are in explanation 
of this telegram. 
It is with great pleasure I mention the name of 
Mr. Pineo, whose exerlions are beyond all I expected. 
He has been unremitting in his endeavours to place 
Ceylon tea. Everyone speaks of him as the right 
man to be placed at New York, and many people 
have mentioned him to me as most obliging and at- 
tentive to everyone seeking information. Consequent 
on the new start given to matters in America and 
to Mr. Pineo’s exertions, large orders with credits to 
enable you to draw in cash for the shipments have been 
sent you. Mr. Pineo has been of the greatest assistance 
to me, and I feel assured tint noons could have shown 
more zeal iu pushing our largest Ceylon industry iu the 
new world. It is only common justice to say this of Mr. 
Pineo. 
Wo have no idea in Ceylon of the efforts needed in 
such a vast country as America to push an industry 
liko our Ceylon tea. Our little paid-up capital (some 
RSO.OOO) would have disappeared within the next 12 
mouths. The movement now on foot is to obtain share- 
holders everywhere — iu every city, town and large 
village ; and to do this Messrs. Wattson & Farr will have 
to distribute a vast number of shares by giving such 
shareholders as will loork for the Gompani/, in placing 
Ceylon tea iu the several towns and villages, an addi- 
tional shave fnr eVi ry share they take and pay for. Very 
large sums will also have to bo paid for advertisements, 
&c. Not a cent is to go into the irocket of any men out 
of the capital raised in cash, nor for any purpose until 
the whole of the cash capital (200,000 dollars) has been 
rai.sad and placed in the Treasury. A bond has been 
executed between the New York Directors to this 
effect. 
You will be glad to hear that I have met Mr. Lipton 
first at Chicago and secondly st Now York, and I am 
greatly indebted to him for kindness and attention 
and for the valuable hints and information given me. 
I cannot write too highly of all he did for me. He 
took a personal interest in everything. It is quits 
wonderful what ho is doing in Chicago. I saw a 
property wbioh he had juat purchased for 200,000 
dollars and had paid for it in hard cash. He is a 
very wellknown man in New York and Chicago, an! 
his command of capital enables him to make good 
purchases. I went over his cattle yard and packing 
warehouses. 
We expect to arrive at Queenstown at 1 p.m. 
tomorrow, and at Liverpool at 7 on the morning of the 
21th. We are having a race with the Star Liner 
•‘Teutonic” which left New York half-an-hour after 
us. The two vessels kept in sight for 2 days and were 
thou lost in a fog. IV a think we see the smoke from her 
funnels now, but we are not sure. It is most exciting. 
The “ City of New Vork ” beat the “ Teutonio ” ou 
her last voyage home by 2\ hours — but the “ Teutonic ” 
was first iu on the last outward voyage to New York 
by 3 hours. Tliis proient voyage will pull the thing off, 
and whoever win.s will carry the American Mails next 
time. Tile *' City of New York” is a splendid ship of 
10,500 tons gross. Her accommodation is simply magni- 
ficent, witli a flush deck throughout. She is just a 
floating palace. 
I must now close ; and with all good wishes from 
yourt sincerely, J, J. Qkinunton, 
P. S. — I hope to leave Lon Ion about the ICthOct. via 
France and Italy for Naples and to embark there 
on 25th October ou the “ Khedive ” for Ceylon. 
I can hai’dly write, the vessel is rolling heavily, 
I have backed our opinion (i.e. yours and mine) by 
taking £200 sterling; worth of new shares for each of us 
in the New Americm Tea Company. You will recollect 
that you authorized me to do for you whatever I was 
prepared to do for myself. I liope some of our Com- 
pany’s Directors in Ceylon will take some now 
shares ; also many of our old shareholders. I 
omitted to mentiou that when at New York Mr. 
Wattson (who was at Philadelphia) spoke to me direct 
through the telephone to Messrs. AYattson & Farr's 
office, a distance of 100 miles, so di.stinctly that 
his voice was clear and he heard my reply equally 
distinctly. — J. J. G. 
TOBACCO IN DELI (SUMATRA), AND 
CEYLON. 
The S. S. “ Peshawur ” lias brought us a visitor 
i 1 Mr. Chas. Kitchia, Tobacco planter of Deli, 
who has Dome across to see what prospect there 
may be of taking up or extending the cultivation 
in Ceylon. Naturally, Mr. Kitchia wished to know 
about the laud in the Eastern Provinoe, but he 
considers a country liable to protracted drought as 
useless for his purpose ; nor does he believe in 
irrigation for a European’s plantation. The ex- 
pense over a considerable area would be prohi- 
bitory, and yet the margin for expenditure is very 
great, For, in answer to our mention of the lucky 
hit made in Dumbara when E800 an acre return 
from 50 acres was got in one year, Mr. Kitohin 
remarked that two or three times that amount is 
not uncommonly got in Sumatra. Of course, there 
are good and bad estates there — some wonderfully 
profitable up to 150 p°r cent per annum and 
some barely paying their way. This year has been 
a very profitable one through the high prices paid 
in Amsterdam, and also for Deli tobacco to go to 
America where its fine quality is greatly appre- 
ciated. Manilla has been, in this respect, quite 
superseded by Sumatra. — Mr. Kitchin oonsiders it 
very important that fine tobacco should be guarded 
from deterioration. He thinks that a great draw- 
back to Europeans opening plantations in India is 
the great inferiority and yet abundance of the 
native tobacco. But the cheapness of labour here 
and in India is an immense advantage over 
Sumatra where sometimes R20,000 are spent in 
trying to secure 100 labourers. Mr. Kitohin is to 
run upo luntry : he will probably visit Matale and 
Dumbara and we bespeak for him planting attention 
during his visit to the districts. 
♦ 
COLOXIAL-GROAVxX TOBACCO COMPETITION. 
The following is the report of the Judges in the 
Tobacco Prize Competition ; — 
In makiog their award the judges have had a due 
regard to tlie conditions under which the prize was 
originally offered by the Section, the principal of 
which were (1) that specinisns submitted for conn, 
petition should amount to not less than 400 lb. in 
weight, grown on a commercial scale ; (2) that each 
sample should consist of an average of the growth ; 
(3) that the name of the grower, the locality, and 
total quantity of the growth should be stated; (4) 
aud that the caro bestowed on the handling, sorting, 
and packing of the tobacco for commercial purposes, 
should be taken into consideration. AVith the con- 
sent of the Section the competition was kept open 
more than two months beyond December 1, 1883 — 
the date originally appointed for determining the same 
— in the hope that additional specimens would be 
forthcoming from the Colonies aud India, The judges 
regret, however, that their Ruticipatious were uo^ 
