Sept,  i,  1896.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  171 
CEYLON  TEA  C0?^IPAN1ES  AND  THEIR 
DEBENTURES. 
V'^icis.sitncle.s  liave,  writes  a London  correspondent, 
Ijeen  exjierienced  of  late  by  Ceylon  tea  com- 
panies at  home  in  the  disposal  of  some  of  the 
debenture  stock  recently  issued  by  them.  It  is 
not  easy  to  realize  wliat  has  been  the  cause  for  this. 
It  seems  only  natural  to  expect  that  an  assured 
interest  of  six  per  cent  would,  with  the  present 
value  of  money  as  low  as  it  is,  prove  tempting 
to  investors.  It  does  not  seem,  however,  that 
these  are  very  ready  to  subscribe  for  the  deben- 
tures of  newly-started  companies.  Those  com- 
panies that  hav'e  establislied  tlieir  position  do 
not  seem  to  find  the  least  dilHcnlty  in  placing 
the  whole  of  such  stock  that  they  may  desiie  to 
issue.  But  in  their  case  it  is  the  shareholdeis 
wlio  readily  snbscribe  for  them,  and  they  rarely 
have  occasion  to  resort  to  the  general  public. 
It  is  a curious  fact,  that  while  new  tea  com- 
panies have  little  or  no  diliiculty  in  disi)Osing  of 
their  ordinary  shares,  the  same  facility  is  not 
experienced  as  regards  those  on  which  a li.xed 
rate  of  interest  is  guaranteed.  The  explanation 
of  this,  our  correspondent  sup))oses,  lies  in  the 
desire  for  a gamble.  The  jjnblic  will  ventiiie 
freely  when  a chance  lies  before  it  of  high, 
if  risky,  profits  while  it  holds  back  from 
the  more  moderate,  though  more  assured,  ])rolit 
to  be  setmred  from  debenture  stock  investment. 
In  a sense  this  tendency  of  the  present  day — 
one  that  is  nearly  all-perv.ading— is  greatly  to 
be  regretted,  but  there  .seems  little  cliance,  at 
all  events  for  the  present,  of  its  being  superseded 
by  a sounder  and,  as  it  seems  to  us,  wi.ser  one. 
And  the  subject  invites  us  to  consider  another 
feature  in  the  case  of  companies  formed  or  in 
contemplation  for  the  acciuirement  of  tea  proper- 
ties in  Ceylon.  Every  month  almost  sees  more 
and  more  disposition  to  transfer  estate  property 
in  this  island  into  the  hands  of  joint  stock 
limited  enterprise.  We  hear  the  rpiestion  fre- 
quently asked  whether  this  be  a Iiealthy  sign, 
or  if  it  bodes  well  for  the  future _ of  our  tea 
Industry?  Those  who  liold  that  it  does  rot, 
rely  grkatly  on  the  argument  that  there  is  goiirg 
on  a steady  withdrawal  of  personal  interest  in 
the  cultivation  of  estates  that  sooner  or  later 
will  be  found  to  ])roduce  ill-ell'ects.  Certainly 
that  direct  personal  interest  is  becoming  greatly 
limited.  The  proportion  of  acreage  that  is  now 
cultivated  by  resident  proprietors  is  narrowing  in 
a ratio  that  seems  to  threaten  such  direction 
witli  almost  entire  extinction  ere  very  long. 
Our  correspondent  calculates  that  at  the  ju’esent 
time  quite  two-thirds  of  this  acreage  is  directed 
by  paid  sujjerintendence  that  has  no  personal 
ijroprietory  interest  in  the  land  (lealt  with. 
There  arc  many  who  hold  tliat  this  fact  must 
i^rodnce  results  that  niay  have  a sensible  ellcct 
on  the  future  of  onr  chief  industry.  It  is  asserted 
by  these  that  in  the  pa.st  all  the  iiioneering  was 
done  and  the  most  favourable  results  secured  by 
men  who  cultivated  their  own  land.  That  these 
loved  it  with  almost  a fatherly  allection  load 
much  to  do,  it  is  contended,  with  the  energy 
that  has  time  after  time  imlled  the  island 
through  successive  crises.  Will,  it  is  asked, 
that  stimulus  be  as  fully  present  should  we 
an-ain  have  to  go  through  such  hard  times  as 
have  been  again  and  again  experienced  in  our 
plantino-  history?  It  is  dillicult  to  avoid  ac- 
knowledgments tliat  there  m.ay  be  much  force 
in  the  apprehension  contained  in  such  a qnes- 
tion.  Time  alone  can  insure  it.  Meanwhile  it 
is  undoubted  that  the  freedom  as  to  working 
capital  and  the  widesjuead  interest  in  the  island 
l»roduced  by  joint  stock  endeavour  is  a stimu- 
lant not  to  be  despised  ; and  perhaps  this  ad- 
vantage may  in  the  long  run  fully  counterpoise 
that  which  it  is  urged  we  are  abandoning. 
C' 
TEA  IN  AiMERICA. 
New  York,  July  15. 
New  crop  Formosas  have  been  here  about  a week. 
They  are  Savoury  but  thin  in  the  cup  and  not  re- 
garded as  very  desirable  quality  for  teas.  An  in- 
voice of  900  half-chests  sold  at  29c,  which  is  regarded 
a very  high  average.  Other  Blacks  generally  are 
very  dull  and  steady.  Greens  are  doing  little  better. 
Congous  steady.  There  is  a great  deal  of  activity 
in  the  campaign  in  favour  of  machine-made  teas. 
The  commissioners  here  advertise  in  the  daily  papers 
very  liberally  and  are  fostering  a demand  in  this  and 
neighbouring  cities. 
Today  at  noon  the  Montgomery  Auction  and 
Commission  Compaii}^  will  sell  ,'),00.S  packages,  viz  : 
693  half-chests  Moyune ; 414  half-chests  and 
boxes  Pingsuey  ; 136  half-chests  Japan,  basket- 
fired  and  sun-dried ; 763  chests  Congou ; 3.5  boxes 
Capers  ; 161  packages  India,  Java  and  Ceylon  Pekoe, 
including  all  grades ; 7b9  half-chests  and  boxes 
Amoy,  an  attractive  assortment  of  desirable  clean 
leaf-teas  ; 342  half-chests  Foochow  ; 1,640  half-chests 
and  box(S  Formosa,  including  the  celebrated  “Black 
Bear  ” mark. — American  Grocer,  July  15. 
THE  CA.STLEREAGH  TEA  COMPANY. 
On  .3rd  August  the  interim  dividend  warrants  of 
7 per  cent  jiayable  on  1st  August  were  sent  out 
by  this  Company  in  respect  of  the  half  year  ended 
the  30th  .June  la.st.  To  the  30th  June  there  had 
been  secured  00,230  lb.  tea  against  the  original 
estimate  of  180,000  lb.  for  the  year,  and  this  has 
been  sold  at  the  nett  average  price  of  40 '.39  cents 
per  lb.  Although  the  total  amount  obtained, 
owing  to  better  prices,  is  almost  the  same  as  last 
year,  the  crop  secured  to  t he  30th  June  was  less 
than  that  at  the  same  date  in  1895,  but  on  the 
other  hand  195  acres  have  been  pruned,  whereas 
in  1895  all  the  pruning  remained  to  be  done  ; and 
a crop  of  200,000  lb.  is  now  looked  forward  to, 
As  this  is  also  allowing  for  35  acres  of  tea  to  be 
left  alone,  as  it  was  over-plucked  when  young, 
the  prospect  appears  to  be  exceptionally  good, 
while  we  hear  that  tlie  estate  is  in  excellent 
order. — Local  “Times. 
THE  NEW  DUTY  ON  COCOA-BUTTER. 
SiK, — Referring  to  your  article  on  “ Cocoa-butter  " 
in  the  current  issm-  of  tlie  Chemiat  and  Grur/yint,  we 
beg  to  poi;:t  out  ti  t,  although  in  our  letter  of 
July  8lh  we  slated  tiiat  cocoa-butter  formed  50  per 
cent  of  the  whole  cocoa-beau,  we  named  this  as 
the  exact  percentage  possible  of  extraction,  and  we 
regret  that  we  led  you  thereby  into  supposing  that 
it  was  usu.al  to  extract  all  this  quantity  in  the 
preparation  of  cocoa  powder,  which  is  not  the  case. 
The  actual  amount  varies  with  different  makers  of 
pure  cocoa,  from  23  per  cent  to  30  per  cent  of  the 
whole  material. 
We  also  further  stated  that  the  husk  of  cocoa, 
which  is  subject  to  a duty  of  2s  per  cwt.,  formed 
16  per  cent  of  the  whole  bean.  We  would  point 
out  that  this  is  not  the  only  loss  in  manufacture, 
and  that  22  per  cent  to  23  per  cent  more  exactly 
represents  the  whole  waste. 
If  you  will  compare  these  figures  with  the  others 
you  quote  you  will  easily  understand  the  cause  of 
variation  in  the  percentage  of  final  product  obtained 
by  various  makers.— Yours  truly, 
July  15.  C.  Barry  & Co. 
— Chcudst  and  JJruyijisi , July  18. 
