22 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[July  i,  1896, 
><OTES  FROM  OUR  LONDON  LETTER. 
London,  ]\Iay  h. 
CKYLON  TKA  CO.MPANIKS. 
With  this  letter  there  is  posted  to  you  the  reports 
of  the  Scotti.sh  Ceylon  Tea  (.'ouipany  [sec  page 
1‘2],  ami  of  the  llunasgeria  Tea  Company  [see 
pa<'e  21].  The  lirst  ot  tliese  two  bodies  pro- 
po.ses  a linal  dividend  of  H)  per  ceiiL  making 
witli  the  interim  one  paid,  a total  of  L>  per  cent 
for  the  year,  free  of  income  tax.  In  addition  to 
this  division  7 per  cent  has  been  jtaul  on  the 
preference  shares,  but  £838  is  set  aside  lor  <le- 
preciation  on  the  Buildings  and  .Machinery  item, 
and  £852  13s'  9d  remains  to  be  carrietl  lorward. 
'riie  tea  crop  of  last  year  was  067,0-19  lb.  being 
7,U49  lb.  in  excess  of  the  estimate.  The  llunas- 
"’eriya  report  proposes  a diviileml  of  only  4 per 
cent  tor  the  year,  but  a sum  equal  to  ai)out 
anotber  2^  per  cent  is  devoted  to  the  extin- 
<niishmcnt  ot  the  Suspense  Account.  The  average 
selling  price  of  this  Comi)any’s  tea  had  been 
6-57d'iier  lb.,  and  the  yield  per  acre  400  pounds 
as  against  347  pounds  in  the  year  previous.  789 
acres  are  reported  as  under  tea,  and  30  only 
under  cacao. 
In  the  report  of  the  recent  meeting  of 
the  Eastern  Rroduce  and  Estates  Company 
you  will  note  the  .satisfactory  statement 
contained  in  the  speech  of  the  Chairman 
that  since  this  Company  was  formed  to 
take  over  the  business  of  the  defunct  Ceylon 
Company  it  has  paid  oil  £73,0i.'0  of  the  £195,0U0 
of  tlebentures.  Perhaps  few  of  the  lea  com- 
panies connected  with  your  Island  have  had  to 
struggle  against  similar  conditions  of  dilliculty 
as  this  one  has  had  to  surmount.  The  division 
of  prolits  was  hemmed  in  by  restrictions  of  a 
most  stringent  character,  and  there  were  those 
who  at  its  inception  deemed  that  it  would  prove 
impossible  to  succeed  against  these.  However, 
this  has  been  achieved  already  to  a very  large 
extent,  ami  ere  long,  thanks  both  to  good 
management  and  to  some  degree  of  imod  luck,  the 
sharelioldcrs  may  expect  to  rea[>  the  full  benelit 
of  their  long  waiting 
INDIAN  'I'KA  COMDANIE.S. 
Re])orts  of  several  of  the  Indian  tea 
conqianies  have  appeared  this  week,  and  may 
be  contrasted  with  those  of  the  Ceylon  companies 
already  sent  you  as  to  the  results  narrate<l.  The 
Mungledye  Company  can  only  pay  its  dividend 
on  its  jucference  shares,  carrying  forward  the 
small  balance  of  £380.  'I'lie  Chaidwar  (.'ompaiiy 
will  pay  lU  per  cent  dividend  for  the  year.  The 
Tinigri  Conqiany  pays  a diviileml  of  ’ a similar 
amount  and  carries  forward  £101.  The  Borelli 
Company  cannot  go  beyond  a4  percent  dividend, 
hut  carries  forw.ard  £3,0i  3.  The  Southern  India 
Estates  Company  is  more  lucky,  being  able  to 
pay  a dividend  of  10  percent. 
Tomorrow  will  M'itness  the  o])enlng  of 
PLANTING  NOTES  FROM  HATTON. 
Dkai!  “ OiJSKnvKU,”— Monsoon  come  down  here 
on  Sunday  pretty  well— rain  2-00,  and  yesterday 
1 2D.  This  brings  our  rain  up  to  last  year’s 
quantity. 
Those  were  rather  interesting  notes  in  your 
paper  a few  days  ago  from  some  old  “fo.ssil” 
on  old  Kadugannawa  ; but  he  might  have  given 
us  his  opinion  why  the  old  district  went  out  .so 
suddenly.  Mamoty  weeding  and  want  of  brains, 
I fear,  was  the  cause.  Your  correspondent  seems 
to  think  there  is  still  a kick  in  the  old  “oss”: 
if  so,  I would  not  mind  having  a shy  at  some- 
thing with  him  if  he  is  not  “ kelaveno  potchi,” 
whicli,  I fear,  he  is  when  he  can  go  back  to 
Mariawatte  being  in  coll'ee  and  a “nundi” 
■\-.Ji.C.  being  a contractor  on  the  railway  to 
Nawalapitiya.  That  must  have  been  about  the 
time  Adam  was  a boy,  and  the  writer  of  this 
in  “swaddling  clothes.” 
This  has  been  a good  year  for  leaf,  but  the  auld 
cry  “No  labour”  lias  been  in  every  planter’s 
mouth.  Now  the  tune  will  change  to  “No  work 
for  those  poor  coolies.” — Gor. 
MARKET  FOR  TEA  SHARES. 
Thursday  evening,  May  7. 
Though  the  oliicial  list  does  not,  this  week,  show 
qnite  so  many  advances  in  quotations,  the  buying 
of  nearly  all  the  shares  named  in  the  list,  as  well  as 
those  not  so  quoted,  continues  on  an  increasing  scale. 
Mincino  L.vne  continues  very  firm,  and  both 
Indians  (of  which  the  supply  continues  rapidly  to 
diminish)  and  Ceylons  have  hardened  in  value. 
Cevi.on  Sii.vkes  ; C.  T.  P.  Go. — There  is  nothing 
fresh  to  report  excepting  a small  transaction  in  the 
7 per  cent.  Prefs.  at  £18. 
Eastekn  Pkoduce  and  Estates. — Business  in  the 
Ordinary  £5  shares  of  this  company  is  a particular 
feature  in  the  Ceylon  share  market,  and  a large 
number  of  shares  have  changed  hands  at  .'i.J  ex  div.; 
they  now  ask  ,5:[. — li.  iC  0.  Mail,  May  8. 
THE  AMSTERDAM  MARKET. 
Oiir  Am  teidam  coiTo.spomlent  writes  on  May  5th 
that  GO  tons  of  Van  llonten’s  host  coco.a-butter  were  sold 
that  day  by  auction  with  good  competition  at  extremely 
firm  rates,  pric- s avei aging  70  58c  per  halt-kilo.  Details 
concerning  last  week’s  Amsterdam  cinchona-auctions  show 
tliat  the  ricliest  parcel  of  bark  offered  in  .sale  was  one  of 
U bales  crushed  Ledgei  iana,  analysing  10'83  per  cent  of 
suli)h:ite  of  quinine.  It  realised  40]c  j>er  half-kilo.  The 
princj))al  fe  ture  of  the  .sales  was  tlie  excellent  ilemiiid 
for  fine  druggists’  ((uills,  fur  which  liiglier  rates  were 
readily  bi.l  tuan  have  been  known  for  a long  time,  (iooil 
bioken  quills  and  root  were  also  well  completed  for 
ord  narv  and  medium  quality,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
quite  neglected.  ’J'he  .Java  cinchona-sliipnients  duriTig  Ai)ril 
have  been  as  follows  : 
ISOG  1805  ijiQ.i  iggo 
Amsterdam  Hi.  D).  p,.  p, 
April  -IIAOKO  015,000  515,000  Oltt’soo 
.la.iuary  1 to  April  ;J0 
. ”,.l  2,000  2.477,000  ’2,088,000  2,530,000 
— Chciiust  and  hvugnid,  May  9. 
THE  INDIA  AND  CEVI.ON  EXlIIlimoN 
al  Earr.s  Court.  Before  next  writing  it  will  ))rob- 
ahly  he  possible  to  record  the  impression  of  a 
personal  visit  to  this.  From  all  we  oiitsider.s 
hear,  Ceylon  is  not  likely  to  make  a show  ade- 
quate to  her  jiroper  representation  by  the  side 
of  India.  If  this  should  prove  to  be  tlie  case, 
we  must  regret  that  any  iittempt  was  made  to 
inelude  the  name  of  ( 'eylon  in  tluit  given  to  the 
Show.  Invitations  to  attend  tomorrow’s  eeremony 
have  l)een  freely  distributed  among  jiress  reju’e- 
sontatives,  and  the  Cnjfon  Obscrccr  will  not  he 
unreiu'e.'sentetl  ut  it. 
THE  TEA  MARKET 
continues  to  rule  very  firm,  imports  (chiefly  Coylon) 
being  on  a small  scale.  The  Clearing  House  trans- 
actions, backed  by  cheap  money,  point  to  present 
prices  being  maintained  well  into  the  summer  moiDhs. 
The  remnants  of  lirst  crop  China  passing  out  of 
importers’  hands  sell  at  disastrous  rates,  but  it  is  a 
misnonior  to  describe  these  teas  as  lino,  whereas 
standard  quality  of  strength,  quality,  and  aroma 
woul  1 yet  command  remunerative  prices.  Dcliyeries 
continue  on  the  most  satisfactory  scale  for  Indian 
ami  C'cylon,  hut  not  of  China.  5 ava  Tea  now  comes 
m for  a fair  share  of  attention,  especially  wlierc 
quality  IS  conspicuous.— A,  ,t-  c'.  L'rprcuis,  May  8. 
