THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[July  i,  1896 
£ s.  d. 
9,471  0 5 
SCOTTISH  CEYLON  TEA  COMPANY, 
LIMITED. 
HALF-YEARLY  REPORT. 
The  Directors  have  now  the  pleasure  to  subnul 
to  the  shareholders  the  accounts  and  balance-sheet 
for  the  year  ending  3Ist  December  loJo. 
The  net  prolits  for  the  year 
amount  to  £8,801  9s  8d, 
which,  with  £609  lOs  9d 
brought  forward  from  pre- 
vious year,  gives  a total 
sum  available  for  distribu- 
tion of 
An  interim  dividend  on 
the  ordinary  shares  of  5 per 
cent  (free  of  Income  Tax) 
was  paid  in  September  1895, 
absorbing 
Dividends  on  the  7 per  cent 
preference  shares  have  also 
been  paid,  amounting  to  . . 
It  is  now  proposed  to  pay 
a final  dividend  on  the 
ordinary  shares  of  10  per 
cent  (free  of  Income  Tax), 
making  15  per  cent  for  the 
year,  absorbing 
To  add  to  Reserve  Fund 
(raising  it  to  £6,000 
And  to  write  oil  for  depre- 
ciation on  buildings  and 
machinery 
2,050  0 0 
630  0 0 
4,100  0 0 
1,000  0 0 
838  6 8 
8,618  6 g 
Leaving  a balance  to  carry  forward  to 
next  accont  of  .4 
£852  13  9 
THE  TEA  MARKET 
has  furtlier  developed  in  buoyant  lone.  China 
Tea  is  in  better  tlemand  ; and  no  wonder,  seeing 
the  heavy  drop  in  prices  for  tlie  first  crot»  leaf 
still  lield  by  importers.  Indian  growtii  sliows  the 
most  marked  advance,  the  lower  grades  as  mncli 
as  Id.  per  lb.  from  the  lowest  i)oint.  Sni)plies 
are  becoming  much  reduced  as  deliveries  are  on 
a large  scale.— L.  and  C.  Express,  May  1. 
MARKET  FOR  TEA  SHARES. 
Tliunsday  Evening,  April  .30,  1896. 
There  has  been  further  strong  buying,  at  advanc- 
ing pi'ices,  of  jnost  of  the  better  known  tea  shares, 
and  again  the  “Official  List’’  (juoted  advances  in 
no  less  than  five  of  the  leading  shares — Jorehaut 
shares  having  been  twice  advanced  within  the  week. 
Even  unquoted  shares  show  in  many  cases  advances 
in  price  since  a few  weeks  ago. 
Mincing  Lane  is  again  firmer,  with  an  all  round 
advance  in  prices,  consequent  on  the  shortness  of 
the  supply  of  Indian  still  left  out  of  the  1895  crop  to 
come  to  the  hammer. 
Quoted  Shares. — East  India  and  Ceylon,  both 
Ordinary  and  Preference  are  asking  for  a price. 
Unquoted  Shares.— Ceylon  Shares. — C.  T.  P.  Co. 
Ordinary  have  again  been  taken  at  30.f,  but  some 
shares  are  now  offering  ex  div.  The  Prefs.  are 
wanted,  but  ask  £18  or  so. 
Eastern  Produce  and  Estates  Co. — A large  busi- 
ness has  been  done  in  the  shares  of  this  company 
at  prices  rising  to  .5?  x.d.,  and  also  in  the  new 4|^  per 
cent  debentures  at  105.  We  now  quote  the  compaun 
in  our  table,  as  it  is  the  largest  single  tea  company 
in  existence,  having  over  11,000  acres  under  cultiva- 
tion (tea,  coffee,  &c.). — U.  ami  C.  Mail. 
Although  all  the  buildings  and  machinery  on  the 
Company’s  estates  continue  to  bo  in  efficient  order, 
i",  has  been  thought  advisable  to  continue  writing 
down  their  cost,  and  the  amount  which  it  is  now  pro- 
posed to  write  off  represents  10  per  cent  on  their 
value  as  it  stands  in  the  Company’s  books  at  31st 
December. 
The  estimate  of  made  tea  from  the  Company’s 
estates  for  the  year  was  6(!  1,000  lb.,  and  the  actual 
out-turn  was  668,049  lb.,  shewing  an  excess  over 
estimate  of  7,049  lb.,  which  the  Directors  consider 
vary  satisfactory. 
In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  a total  of  220,743  lb. 
Tea  WAS  manufacUirod  for  others,  the  tea  actually 
turned  out  by  the  Company’s  factories  during  the 
year  thus  amounting  lo  888,7921b. 
The  average  yield  per  acre  was  433  lb.,  which 
shews  a steady  advance  on  the  figures  given  in  last 
report. 
The  average  price  realized  in  the  London  market 
was  a fraction  lower  than  previous  year,  being 
8’904d  against  9'233d  in  1891,  and  9.190d  per  lb. 
n 1893. 
The  Ceylon  Manager,  Mr.  Kerr,  who  is  now  on 
his  way  home  on  short  furlough,  reports  that  all 
the  Company’s  estates  are  in  good  condition,  and 
his  estimates  for  the  current  year,  which  have  been 
framed  with  his  usual  care,  foreshadow  another 
aitisfactory  year’s  working  of  the  properties. 
The  acreage  of  the  Company’s  estate  remains  un- 
altered at  1,963  acres,  and  no  extensions  have  been 
made  to  the  area  under  tea  cultivation,  which 
stands  at  1,707  acres,  of  which  1,544  acres  are  in 
full  bearing. 
The  Directors  again  take  the  opportunity  of  ex- 
pressing their  appreciation  of  the  services  of  both 
tho  Ceylon  and  London  staffs. 
In  accordance  with  the  articles  of  Association  Mr. 
Donald  Andre.w  retires  from  the  Hoard,  and,  being 
eligible,  offers  himself  for  re-election. 
]\1r.  -L  !'>•  Laurie,  C.A.,  also  offers  himself  for 
re-election  as  Auditor 
11.  L.  lORREH,  Chairman. 
London,  1st  May  1896. 
PLANTING  AND  PRODUCE 
A New  Indian  Tea  Company. — The  Rorholla  Ass;  a u 
Tea  Company,  Limited,  has  been  formed,  with  a 
capital  of  £50,000,  to  purchase  as  from  January  1, 
1896,  the  well-known  Borholla  ’Tea  Estate,  situate  in 
the  Golaghat  district  of  Assam.  '.L’lie  estate  comprises 
an  area  of  about  2.932  acres,  1,538  of  which  are  held 
in  fee  simple,  and  1,394  are  held  under  leases,  all  of 
which  are  direct  from  the  Government  of  India,  and 
the  greater  part  renewable  in  perpetuity  under  the 
Government  regulations.  There  is  therefore  ample 
room  for  large  extensions,  which  will  be  made  as 
circumstances  permit.  The  cultivated  ai'ea  is  520 
acres,  ten  of  which  are  in  their  first  year,  leaving  510 
in  full  bearing.  The  directors  of  the  company  are 
Lord  Kingsale,  managing  director  of  the  .Mor.an 'I’ea 
Company,  Limited,  East  India  Avenue,  E.C.,  late  of 
Assam,  and  Charles  Lionel  Prescott  White,  Esq 
Kniphill,  Cobham,  Surrey,  proprietor  of  Lungsoong 
'Tea  Estate,  late  of  Assam.  Frederick  William 
Jamieson,  Esq.  (Messrs.  F.  W.  Jamieson  and  Co.), 
9,  Mincing  Lane,  E.C.,  merchant,  late  of  Assam,  will 
join  the  board  after  allotment.  Tho  offices  of  the 
company  are  at  9,  Mincing  Lane,  E.C. 
PoPULARisiNu  Tea,— If  the  British  public  does  not 
increase  its  knowledge  of  tea  and  learn  the  reason 
why  Indian  and  Ceylon  teas  have  displaced  China  it 
will  bo  due  to  indifference  on  the  subject.  In  va- 
rious towns  lectures  on  tea  arc  given,  and  in  some 
instances  representatives  of  tho  tea  trade  ai'o  tho 
lecturers.  Mr.  Allen  Cooper,  the  Southampton  re- 
presentative of  Messrs.  Appleton,  Machin,  and  Smiles, 
recently  entertained  about  fifty  ladies  and  gentlemen 
at  that  firm’s  sample  and  tasting  rooms,  126,  High 
Street,  Southampton.  Mr.  Cooper  gave  a short  ad- 
dress on  the  different  growths  of  tea,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  remarks  said  the  displacement  of  China 
teas  by  the  growths  of  India  and  Ceylon  was  due  not 
only  to  the  superiority  of  the  Assam  (riant  itself,  but 
also  to  the  better  mode  of  ()re])aration  eni))loyed. 
iho  use  of  niachinery,  introduced  by  British  skill  and 
energy , had  reached  such  a (ritch  that  in  some  gar- 
dens tea  was  fully  manufactured  within  eight  hou.’s 
