356 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  [Nov.  i,  1895. 
The  distribution  last  year  was  as  follows;— 
Bengal  123,000.733  lb. ; Bombay  2,828,746  lb. ; Sindh 
1,067,359  lb.;  Madras  2,149,006  lb.;  Burma  53,472  lb. 
Total  129,099,316  lb. 
To  the  quantity  of  tea  given  nbove  as  exported 
from  British  India  should  be  added  about  780,000  lb. 
exported  from  Tiavaucore  and  Cochin. 
Then  on  cinchona  back  : — 
Cinchona  hark  is  the  only  separate  item  of  im- 
portance in  the  group  “ Drugs  and  Medicines,”  and 
this  article  has  rapidly  lost  a great  measure  of  its 
importance  in  .recent  years  owing  to  the  competition 
of  other  countries  having  so  lowered  the  price  of  the 
drug,  which  planters  once  thought  would  be  the 
source  of  untold  wealth,  as  to  make  it  what  is  com- 
monly called  “ a drug  in  the  market.” 
The  exports  would  have  been  even  smaller  during 
the  last  two  or  three  years  if  their  volume  had  not 
been  kept  up  by  the  bark  sent  for  sale  from  estates 
whose  owners  got  rid  of  their  trees,  root  and  branch, 
finding  chinchona  bark  not  worth  the  expense  of 
cultivation.  But  though  the  bark  has  ceased  to 
justify  the  expectations  once  formed  of  it  as  an 
article  of  export,  and  India  will  probably  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances  never  be  a large  exporter  ot  the 
article,  the  cultivation  of  the  tree  by  the  Government 
has  had  a most  useful  effect  in  supplying  large 
quantities  of  febrifugal  alkaloids  and  the  sulphate 
of  quinine  to  the  fever-stricken  population  of  mala- 
rious regions  in  India. 
It  is  of  interest  to  quote  the  following  in  view 
of  .Mr.  Crawford’s  local  Cutch  Company  : — 
Cutch. — This  trade  has  not,  as  figures  go,  a flourish- 
ing  aspect,  the  ex 
ports  being : — 
Cwt. 
Rx. 
1890-91 
156,493 
236,355 
1891-92 
197,059 
317,296 
1892-93 
229.816 
382,484 
1893-94 
187,115 
337,890 
1894-95 
155,032 
292,136 
The  limitation  of  the  trade  is,  however,  ascribed 
by  the  Chief  Collector  of  Customs  in  Burma,  whence 
the  bulk,  of  the  article  is  exported,  not  to  absence 
of  demand  but  to  absence  of  supplies  due  to  “the 
Government  having  further  limited  the  issue  of 
licenses  in  some  of  the  cutch-producing  districts  and 
to  the  period  allowed  for  cutch-boiling  having  been 
reduced  from  six  to  four  months ; also  to  the  ex- 
tension of  forest  reserves.”  The  demand  from  out- 
side markets,  he  says,  was  fairly  good. 
And  finally  there  i.s  mention  made  of  trade 
across  the  frontiers  North  and  North-East,  a.s  well 
as  North-West  ol  India  wliicli  includes  some  tea  : — 
1893-94.  189i-‘.l5. 
Tea : Rx.  Rx. 
India  ..  ..  ' 40,7.54  33,727 
Foreign  . . . . . . 59,999  46,328 
THE  CONSOLIDATED  ESTATES  COMPANY, 
LIMITED. 
The  General  Managers  have  the  pleasure  to  submit 
their  ^Fourth  Annual  Report  and  Balance  Sheet,  to- 
gether with  Statement  of  Accounts  for  the  Crop 
Year  ending  30th  .Tune,  189*. 
The  Profit  and  Loss  Account  shows  a balance 
(including  £160  8s  lid  brought  forward  from  last 
year)  of  £2,700  13s  lOd  after  paying  Interest  on  the 
Debentures,  and  an  Interim  Dividend  of  4 o/°  on  the 
Preferred  Shares. 
Out  of  this  sum  th->  General  Managers  propose: 
To  pay  a Ba'ance  Dividend  of  4 o/<,  on 
the  Preferred  Shares,  which  will  absorb  £320  0 0 
To  set  aside  for  redemption  of  five  per 
cent  of  the  Debentures  at  103  ...  618  0 0 
To  write  off  from  the  Factory  Account 
the  sum  of  ...  •••  ...  800  0 0 
To  pay  a Dividend  of  8 °/o  on  the  Or- 
dinary S aies.  which  will  require  ...  800  0 0 
Carrying  forward  the  Balance,  viz;  162  1310 
£2,700  IJ  10 
The  following  shows  the  resnlt  of  the  year’s  work- 
ing,  viz.:— 
Net  proceeds  of  Crop,  viz.  :— 
Average  net  Price 
£ 
s. 
d. 
Tea,  300,084  lb  .About  t^l.  per  lb. 
...  8,622 
5 
11 
Interest  on  Account 
36 
13 
9 
8,668 
19 
8 
Expenditure  on  Estates,  viz.: — 
Messrs.  Geo.  Steuart  & C.  ’s  draft 
...  4,707 
18 
7 
Postages  and  Telegrams 
0 
5 
0 
4,708 
3 
7 
Bonus  remitted  to  Superintendent 
185 
0 
0 
4,893 
3 
7 
Net  Profit  on  Cultivation 
...£3,765 
16 
1 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  crop  was  slightly  in  ex- 
cess of  the  estimate — being  300,084  lb  as  against 
estimate  of  300,000 — and  exchange  was  somewhat 
more  favorable  than  was  anticipated ; while  on  the 
other  hand  the  average  price  realized  for  the  Com- 
pany’s  Tea  was  rather  lower  than  that  current  when 
the  last  report  was  issued,  althongh  slightly  above 
the  average  price  obtained  the  previous  year. 
The  Shareholders  are  aware  that  the  Company 
has  recently  acquired  four  new  estates  on  terms 
which  the  General  Managers  be  ieve  to  be  favorable, 
and  to  promise  satisfactory  resu  ts.  For  conveni- 
ence of  ref  erence  the  following  approximate  pari- 
culars  of  all  the  esiates  now  held  by  the  Company 
are  appended: — 
Acres  Planted 
with  Tea 
be 
.9 
cj 
c Z 
o 2 
O 
& 
^ ‘.2  V 
^ ce 
a « 
lo 
c 
Pe.  ? 
Pd 
93 
iff 
z 
Wattegodde 
Tallagalla 
Kllagalla 
Hoonooc'otua 
and 
Hennewille 
The  last  four  Estates  have  been  purchased  as 
from  let  July  1895  and  therefore  the  working  of  them 
does  not  appear  in  the  Accounts  now  presented  which 
are  for  the  Crop  Year  ending  30th  June  1895. 
The  following  are  the  Estimates  of  the  current 
season’s  crops  (1895-96)  of  the  Comp  my’s  Estates : — 
Dimbula 
895 
800 
Nil 
Nil 
95 
Kaliitara 
499 
268 
22 
204 
15 
Matale; 
445 
207 
13 
20 
205 
Kotmale 
713 
588 
20 
,55 
50 
2552 
1853 
55 
279 
365 
Wattegodde 
Tallagalla 
Ellagalla 
Iloonocotua 
and 
Hennewille 
Expenditure,  at  1,/lJ 
per  Rupee, 
R82,958=  £4,666  7 9 
32,983=  1,855  5 10 
25,903=  1,457  0 10 
Crop 
300,0001b.  Tea 
140,000  „ „ 
90,000  „ „ 
66,.344  = 3,731  17  0 240,000  „ „ 
j ■ 
R208,188  =£11,71011  5 770,000,,  „ 
On  the  basis  of  exchange  as  above  and  at  he 
prices  now  current  for  Ceylon  Tea  tlm  foregoing  Es- 
timates if  rea'ized  would  show  very  satisfactory 
results. 
It  is  proposed  to  plant  70  more  acres  with  Tea 
on  Tallagalla  and  a few  acres  on  Ellagalla  and 
Hoonoocotua  during  the  cuirent  season.  The  cost 
of  these  extensions,  and  of  a smal  outlay  for  requi- 
site machinery  and  withering  accoiamodation,  is  esti- 
mated at  about  £8')0.  This  will  be  charged  to  the 
Factory  and  Extension  Account,  but  the  General 
Managers  propose  to  continue  ihe  present  poliev  of 
writing  off  libarally  from  this  Account  out  of  Re- 
venue in  prosperous  years. 
The  Preferred  Shares  to  the  nominal  amount  of 
£9,000  Nos.  801 — 1,700,  both  inclusive,  and  Ordinary 
Shares  to  the  nominal  amount  of  £9,000  Nos.  6,001— 
6,900,  both  inclusive,  which  were  issued  on  1st  J uly 
