552 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[February 2, 1891, 
CEYLON GEMMING COMPANIES. 
It would Beem as if thei’0 must have been a 
very strong divergence of opinion expressed in the 
Reports of the two experts who were sent from 
home to examine into the question of Gemming 
in Ceylon, Every endeavour has been made to keep 
the nature of these Reports from becoming public, 
and to a great extent this effort has been suc- 
cessful for we are without the details of what 
has been written either by Mr. Barrington Brown 
or by Mr. Fahey. 
As regards the gentleman first mentioned it 
seems to be certain that he regards the prospect 
before systematic Gemming in Ceylon to be sahs- 
factory ha having been overheard to express that 
opinion to Sir Arthur Havelock at the meeting 
held in London to represent to our then new 
Governor, the views of those interested in this 
matter on the Gemming Ordinance passed by Sir 
Arthur Gordon shortly before his departure. But 
if the information which had reached our London 
correspondent may be fully relied upon, Mr. Fahey 
did not adopt so favourable a view, and the result 
is that those who sent him out to Ceylon have 
decided that it is not worth their while to incur 
further expenditure and have wound ^ up the 
Svnaicate formed to undertake preliminary in- 
vesti'^ation. In the absence of more authoritative 
information we must accept the matter as stand- 
ins in this position. We cannot, of course, argue 
upon what Mr. Fahey may have reported 
const quent upon the very simpm fact that we are 
without knowledge of the reasons which deter- 
mined him upon making a report of the ohar- 
,:,cter ho appears to have done. We may accept 
the statement that his Syndicate has closed us 
venture, as conclusive proof that the expert it 
employed has expressed an opinion adverse to further 
attempts by it. We should have much liked to 
know upon what the difierent views expressed by 
the two experts were based. We are told tnat 
Mr Fahey, while admitting the existence of a 
number of gems in Ceylon, did not think that the 
cost of systematic search for them could be lepaid, 
?rthe extent, at all events, of leaving a margin for 
Barrington Brown, as we have said, is 
strongly of a contrary opinion. How far ha may 
have reached suob a oonolusion upon the possible 
collateral profit to be obtained during the searoh 
Lr other minerals, such for instance as plumbago 
and mica we cannot of course say. Little has 
bLn as yet in the way of the importation 
of machinery for developing the mines former y 
existent of the first mentioned of these minerals 
by the Company working on the Overton and 
oth«r contiguous estates, but we have been told 
time Lb not sufficed for this. Evmythmg, 
however, now seems to promise tnat those 
who have invested capital in the first actual 
Gemming Company started will . not have done 
BO without profit. The question as it seems 
to omselves to stand between the two experts is 
as to whether the search for gems per se can be 
made to pay, whether that can be attained without 
collateral aid to be obtained from the develop- 
ment of other mineral resources possessed by us 
Whl 0 his question remains unanswered we mus 
be left v^^holly in doubt as to how far the expert 
alone are antagonistic to each other, or as to 
hew far they may run on parallel lines, une 
thiL only is certain-that while those who employed 
Mr Fahoy have abandoned their project, the gent o- 
wbreent out Mr. Barrington Brown are 
a m hopeful of future suocess. We suppose there 
pin bo no doubt that the latter expert carries 
more authority by virtue of special and varied 
experience. However, it seems probable now, 
that until full recovery has been made from the 
financial crisis which has lately overshadowed 
the London money market, we shall have to wait 
in our present condition of uncertainty. Much 
will doubtless depend upon the further success 
which may be achieved by the Gemming Company 
now at work. Of profitable returns, it has 
already secured a certain measure. Whether this will 
prove sufBoient to warrant further investment 
in Gemming in Ceylon is more than can at present be 
said. When that Company issues its first Report, we 
may be in a position to write more certainly of 
the prospect before us ; but at the present time 
we must hold our judgment in suspense. 
^ 
TEA LEAD-PAPER. 
We call attention to Mr, T. 0. Anderson’s letter 
respecting “Clark’s Patent Paper Tea Lead” in 
answer to our remarks of the other day. We had 
forgotten how many testimonials to its good quality, 
Clark’s patent paper lead had secured. In a private 
note Mr. Anderson says : — 
“ I have seen Mr. Seals of Messrs. Somerville & Co., 
and he says he has never heard of any unfavourable 
report on the paper lead, and that he uses it for eain- 
ples. I regret that planters won’t give it a fair trial. 
I do not want to make money out of it, unless it is uni- 
versally adopted; and anyone may use it provided they 
use good lead and not ruia the thing by using perforated 
cheap lead.” 
In this connection and in regard to several other 
patents of value to tea planters, would it not be 
well to form a standing sub-Oommittee of the 
Planters’ Association for 1891-92, to consider and 
examine all improved or economical means of 
cultivating, preparing and shipping tea that might 
be laid before them. It might be called “ The Tea 
Improvements Committee,” Many individual plan- 
ters cannot aSord the time to examine, or fear the 
risk attaching to, some new and perhaps good thing. 
Now a report by a disinterested, impartial Com- 
mittee could not fail to be exceedingly useful as 
a guide all round. 
CEYLON TEA FOE, RUSSIA. 
A Peemanent Russian Oommeecial Auency in 
Colombo. 
The following translation of an editorial in a lead- 
ing Russian paper will be read with interest: — 
(From the Abroe Vremya, Dec. let.) 
We recently wrote about the development of tea 
plantations in British India and Ceylon, which 
we ought to work to our own advantage and the 
disadvantage of China. We now find a very interest- 
ing paragraph in the St. Petersburg Vedomosti in 
connection with that subject. That paper says : 
“The enormous sums of money which we yearly 
pay for tea to the China merchants and the 
London tea brokers, could be profitably spent in arrang- 
ing to keep up regular communication by our steamers 
between Russia and Ceylon. The business relations 
with China are getting each year more and more 
difficult, as the China men have quite adopted all the 
ways of usual business speculation, viz., as soon 
as the so-called tea season begins they all form a 
sort of confederation buying up all the new teas com- 
ing from the hills, increasing at the same time the 
prices for second qualities and condemned teas, which 
were not sold the last year. The European Agents 
getting uneasy about the non-appearance of high 
quality and new teas in the markets of Foochow, 
Hankow and Shanghai are easily caught in that trap 
and buy for high prices condemned or adulterated teas, 
