6i4 
THE TROPICAL AORlCULTURlSt. 
[MArcH 1891. 
OPEKATIONS FOE GEMMING IN CEYLON, 
The capital which was conditionally underwritten 
should the preliminary work by the Syndicate prove 
satisfactory was, to the best of my remembrance, 
£250,000, or even £300,000. All hope of the under- 
writers carrying out such an engf.gement must now, 
it is certain, be abandoned. This class of specu- 
lators have, as you have before been informed by 
me, been so fearfully hard hit during the last six 
months, that there is scarcely a penny of available 
capital among all its members. Fully alive to 
this fact, Mr. Saunders tells me he and those 
working with him have quite given up all idea of 
ultimately prooeedmg on so grandiose a scale. 
At length, and for the first time, Mr. Saunders has 
informed me that Mr. Barrington Brown’s report 
was a hopeful one. That report stated in effect 
that, while the conditions as regards gemming in 
Ceylon prevented him from giving full assurance 
as to ultimate success, he felt the conviction 
that its undertaking on a considerable scale had 
a hopeful future before it. He has, since the 
sending in of that report, furnished estimates for 
the machinery. &c. necessary for preliminary working 
on a moderate scale, but the Syndicate, in view 
of the total impossibility of obtaining any public 
subscription at present, has determined upon itself 
commencing work with the £G,000 of its capital as 
yet uncalled up. In pursuance of that intention, 
a practical miner is to leave England for Ceylon 
within the next few weeks, and he will take with 
him steam pumping machinery adequate for 
clearing water from mines of a depth of 100 to 
150 feet, and will begin operations as soon as that 
machinery can be erected. This, as I understand, 
has already been purchased here and is to be 
shortly shipped for Ceylon. At the same time, 
one of the plumbago properties owned by the 
Syndicate is to be simultaneously worked, and 
should satisfactory results be obtained from both 
industries, subsidiary companies may be started with 
a capital of £50,000 each ; or failing any pros 
pect of starting these successfully, additiona 
capital for extension of the work will be sub 
scribed by the members of the Syndicate themselves 
♦ 
THE CEYLON (AMERICAN) PLANTERS’ 
TEA COMPANY. 
A specimen of oue of the paper packages used by 
this Corapaiiy for packing their teas has rtrache.l us. 
It is of" vevj pi'i tty ds sign and intended to hold one 
pound of tea. The printing is executed in several 
colours and looks very attractive. The trade mark of 
the Oomp:.i-- (•■a tlc-pbnnt surrounded by branches of 
tea) is printed in white on a red ground in the 
centre on four sides of the box, together with the fol- 
lowing ioscriptions in suitable type and positions; — 
“The Ceylon Planters’ Tea Company trading under 
the auspices of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon. 
The Ceylon Pianter.s’ Tea Company, New York City, 
trading under the auspices of the Planters’ Association 
of Ceylon. 
Budh-Tea of Ceylon, formerly Buddha, altered at 
the request of tho Buddhist Defence Committee of 
Ceylon. 
“ Inkoumation : — This Company has been formed by 
the Briti.sh tea plant; rs of Ceylon to open up and 
ontrol tho Americau trade in the teas of Ceylon, 
j'hey are intorested in having their teas sold pure, 
understood and properly used. They will not allow it 
'o bo mixed or tampered with in any way, and this 
p.ickagc contains one full pound of Ceylon tea, guaran- 
t(,' d strictly pure and iinadultt ratod. Our hramhi all 
c .mo from the name bu.sh ami differ onjy in tho age of 
tlio leaf. They are sorted by sifting and tho smo.ller 
VUc leaf thh Lt? Uavour, Buds finest of all. 
“Qeades and Pbices.— Bhud (tea-leaf buds) 1 dollar 
and 25 cents a pound ; this brand has the finest flavour. 
TifBn (small leaves) 90 cents a pound ; this brand has 
fine flavour. Bungaloe (large leaves) 65 cents a pound ; 
this brand has good flavour. 
“ Till yon have a local supply we pay freight or ei- 
pressage. The three are alike, except in age of leaf. 
All come from the same bush, and the leaves are 
plucked together. The smaller the leaves the finer 
the flavour : and yet some prefer Tiffin to Blind. 
*' How TO Make Pkefect Tea. — Use an earthen pot 
and have it hot to begin with. Use fresh water that 
has just come to full boiling and has not been boil- 
ing BO long as a minute. Make tea at table, not in 
the kitchen. P, nr the boiling water into the pot, 
pnt the tea in on top of the water, and in from two 
to seven minutes pour into cups or another tea pot. 
Do not let the tea stand on the leaves much longer 
than seven minutes. Use half or a third as much of 
this tea as of China or Japan tea. How to make it 
better than usual but not perfect: — Steep it after the 
old American fashion and use half or a third as 
much as of China or Japan tea.’’ 
Ceylon tea in these packages will no doubt find favour 
with the American public soon. 
^ 
SALE OF ESTATES. 
Harmony estate in the Pussellawa district, hitherto 
belonging to Mr. J. Bussell Grant, has been purchased 
by the proprietors of Nayap ane for K45,000. It con- 
sists of 204 acres of which 115 are in tea. 
Bogart and Lang’s Land estates in the Kalntara 
district — proprietors Messrs. F.D. Mitchell and Donald 
Mackay — have been sold to Mr. Booth, the proprietor 
of Glendon estate in the same district, for £3,500 
sterling. They comprise 779 acres, of which 238 are in 
tea with some Liberian coffee and cardamoms. 
CACAO STEALING ON MAKULUSSE ESTATE, 
BEREDEWELA. 
One Ramasamy kangani of Makulusse esta'e in Berc- 
dewela charged a man by the name of Ukkua Kattadia 
with theft and having the urripe fruit of a cacao 
tree in his possession, without being able satisfactorily 
to account for the same the property of Mukulueee 
estate, whose manager is Mr. Tennant of Beredewela. 
It appears that the complainant noticing a pod that 
had been very recently pulled off near a tree below 
the store, took another two coolies along with him and 
went running along the path which led to the 
boundary of the estate on the Beredewela village 
side. He then saw a man with a bag on his shoulder 
going towards the village. One ran up and caught 
his head ; he then dropped the bag, which contained 
thirty-five pods worth about R6. AVhen the accused 
was asked where he got the pods found in the bag 
he said that while he seized the thief who was carrying 
it dropped it and ran away. 
Judgment. — This i.s a very clear case, and the defence 
is as audacious as it is novel. The accused is a 
very old man about 55 or 66, and I therefore will 
not sentence him to receive lashes, but he richly 
deserves them. I cannot help thinking that the 
accused was not the only thief who had been robbing 
the Makulusse estate. However, his attempt to go 
scot-free by throwing the theft on others has en- 
tirely failed. I find him guilty and sentence him to 
undergo rigorous imprisoumeut for a term of six 
months. (Signed) J. H. Eaton, P. M. 
♦ 
THEFT OF CACAO FEOM SUDUGANGA 
ESTATE. 
The superintendent of Suduganga estate, Mr. L. 
Falkner, charged one Kalimuttn with stealing 22 
pods of cacao valued R2'62i, the propsrty of 
Mr. Hutton. It transpired in evidence that the watcher 
hearing a rustle amongst the cacao, went with another 
maD to tho spot and law eqme Bis or seven men pick- 
