THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept,  i,  i8q6. 
It;  6 
Mr.  Gordon  Bois  said  the  sale  t-liey  had  heard  of 
was  4 cents  per  lb.  over  the  rate  they  had  taken. 
Mr.  Gwatkin  asked  for  an  exjtlaiiatioit  of  the  item 
“ llents  collected  in  (!)oloniho  U.'lUO.” 
The  CliAiDMAN  said  they  collected  in  Colombo 
the  rent  of  the  po.st  oHice  on  the  estate.  He  then 
proposed  the  adoption  of  the  report,  amotion  which 
was  unanimously  a<;reed  to. 
Mr.  John  Jtroposed  and  Mr.  MoiK  seconded  : — 
“That  a dividend  of  G per  cent  on  the  capital 
of  the  Company  be  ]>aid.” 
The  Chairman  said  they  now  had  to  appoint 
directors.  According  to  the  articles  of  asso- 
ciation the  three  directors,  Messrs.  F.  W.  Bois, 
W.  D.  Gibbon,  and  W.  B.  Kingsbury,  retired, 
but  they  were  eligible  and  oll’ered  themselves 
for  re-election. 
Mr.  Moiu  said  he  had  much  pleasure  in  pro- 
posing that  the  retiring  directors  be  re-elected 
for  tlie  present  j'ear. 
Mr.  Gwatkin  seconded,  and  the  motion  was 
unanimously  adopted. 
The  Chairman  said  they  had  to  appoint  an 
auditor  to  audit  the  accounts  for  the  year  1896- 
97.  The  directors  had  ap])ointed  Mr.  John  Guthrie. 
Mr.  Gwatkin  proposed  and  Mr.  Ma.son  secon- 
ded the  election  of  Mr.  John  Guthrie,  as  auditor 
for  the  year  1896  97  at  a fee  of  K.50.  Agreed. 
Mr.  MoiR : — Could  you  tell  me  what  the 
estimates  are  ? 
The  Chairman  replied  that  the  directors 
were  rather  against  giving  estimates  because 
they  were  disappointing  unless  realized.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  estimates  only  came  down 
yesterday,  and  they  had  not  gone  into  them. 
Mr.  Gordon  Frazkr  asked  how  much  of  the 
130  acres  bracketed  together  in  the  report  was  three 
years  old  and  how  much  lour  years  old  tea. 
The  Chairman  replied  that  they  were  sorry 
they  ivere  obliged  to  bracket  them  together.  It 
was  quite  impossible  to  tell  the  difference  in 
age.  Mr.  Mason,  whom  he  had  consulted,  told 
him  it  was  very  difficult  to  tell  the  propor- 
tions, and  for  that  reason  they  were  bound  to 
bracket  them.  Mr.  Mason  would  confirm  what 
he  had  said. 
Mr.  Mason  remarked  that  the  land  was  ojiened 
in  little  pieces,  and  that  if  he  could  have  told 
the  proportion  of  three  year  to  four  year  old 
tea  he  would  have  put  it  in. 
The  Chairman:— Mr.  Mason  says  thefour  year  old 
tea  is  giving  from  200  to  220  lb.  an  acre.  Al- 
though the  yield  at  that  rate  did  not  pay  ex- 
penses it  was  the  yield  above  that  that  would  pay 
the  profit.  1 may  mention  as  of  interest  that 
all  the  young  tea  coming  on  is  superior  to  the 
old — it  is  a better  jat. 
Mr.  Mason  It  is  a better  jat  and  in  very 
much  better  soil. 
Mr.  Gwatkin  asked  what  was  about  the  elevation. 
Mr.  Mason  replied  that  the  elevation  of 
Verellapatna  was  from  4,200  to  4,500  feet  and 
of  Doomoo  from  3,500  to  4,200  the  average  was 
about  4,300  feet. 
On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Gordon  Frazer,  a vote  of 
thanks  was  accorded  to  the  chairman,  and  this  closed 
the  proceedings. 
PINE  HILL  ESTATE  COMPANY. 
(By  Tdegraj)h.) 
Kandy,  Aug.  22. 
A meeting  of  this  Conqiany  was  held  in  the 
olllce  of  Messrs.  Borrett  & Fisher  this  afternoon 
at  12-30.  Present Messrs.  Mackwood,  Bowie 
Evans,  Prance,  Trimen,  Wright,  Borrett,  and  by 
proxy  Mr.  Waddilovo.  The  Tost  re.solution  rc 
selling  Nahakettia estate  M-as  passed,  the  purclmser 
being  Mr.  Lipton  for  the  amount  set  down  in 
the  resolution.  Regarding  the  second  resolution 
it  was  decideil  that  K40  per  share  be  used  for 
reducing  the  capital,  utilizing  jjart  of  the  money 
received  by  .selling  Nahakettia,  the  balance  to 
be  placed  in  the  suspense  account  till  the  di- 
rectors decide  what  should  be  done  with  the 
same.  No  other  business  Avas  transacted.  The 
directors’  meeting  immediately  followed  the  Com- 
pany meeting,  when  the  accounts  were  examined. 
Tlie  resolution  referred  to  is  as  follows  : — 
To  authorize  the  Directors  to  sell  Nahakettia 
estate,  .situated  in  the  district  of  Haputale,  be« 
longing  to  the  Company,  at  or  for  the  price  or 
sum  of  one  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  rupees 
(11190,000)  as  from  the  1st  day  of  July  1896, 
as  per  jiowers  conferred  under  clause  No.  100  of 
the  Articles  of  Association  ; and  to  decide  on 
the  best  mode  of  dealing  with  the  money  re- 
ceived by  sale  of  the  Nahakettia  estate. 
THE  PACKING  OF  TEA. 
A friend  writes  asking  us  if  the  pre.sent  system 
under  which  tea  is  packed  for  shipment  can 
be  considered  altogether  satisfactory.  In  his 
opinion  it  seems  to  be  capable  of  improvement, 
and  he  suggests  certain  directions  in  which  he 
thinks  it  possible  that  this  might  be  effected. 
We  are  not  preji.ared  to  ourselves  offer  any 
opinion  upon  the  suggestion  he  has  made.  But 
we  feel,  that,  however  crude,  however  impracti- 
cable they  may  be,  any  contributions  upon  the 
subject  might  set  more  practical  minds  think- 
ing with  advantage,  and  we,  therefore,  while 
declining  any  responsibility  for  them,  proceed  to 
recite  brielly  what  has  been  written  to  us  on 
the  topic.  The  argument  used  as  the  basis 
for  the  discussion  is  that,  ])ractically,  under  the 
present  system,  tea  is  packed  in  two  cases, 
one  metallic,  one  wooden.  The  objection,  it  is 
pointed  out,  to  metallic  casings  of  all  kinds  is 
their  liability  to  injury  by  rough  handling. 
The  casing  of  tea  lead  is  open  to  this  liability, 
hence  it  has  to  be  iirotccted  by  wood.  The 
present  operation  is  therefore  a dual  one,  and 
necessarily  therefrom  costly.  In  theory  the 
perfect  system  would  be  a single  metallic  case. 
But  if  this  is  cubical  there  must  be 
straight  edges,  and  it  is  these  that  are  the 
most  open  to  injury.  The  solution  to  this 
ditliculty  would  be  to  make  such  metallic  cases 
circular  in  form.  But  to  this  our  friend  ac- 
knowledges a fatal  objection.  It  would  add,  he 
thinks,  fully  25  percent  to  the  space  required 
for  ship  stowage,  and  this  Avould  mean  an 
addition  in  a corresponding  ratio  to  freight 
charges.  But  if  the  present  dual  casing  is  to  be 
abandoned,  it  involves  for  the  protection  of  so 
perishable  an  article  as  tea  a single  metallic 
case  of  some  sort  or  other.  We  are  asked  whether 
it  would  not  be  jiossible  to  use  two  forms  of 
such  cases,  the  one  having  concave  facings,  the 
other  convex  facings.  In  stowing  the  form  of  the 
one  would  lit  into  the  form  of  the  other  and  so 
effect  solid  stowage.  It  is  suggested  that  plates 
of  some  suitable  metal,  ready  stamped  with  the 
concavities  ami  convexities  and  with  tail  and  top 
ends  included  in  the  form  of  the  sheets,  could  be 
readily  and  economically  shipped  to  us.  All  that 
would  have  to  be  done  here  would  be  to  solder 
the  single  edge  and  the  cut  portions  of  the 
ends.  The  meaning  of  our  correspondent  seems 
to  be  that  the  sheets  should  be  corrugated  in 
such  a formas  when  beat  into  cubical,  or  nearly 
cubical  sha))e,  there  should  not  be  any  dclined 
