Nov.  2,  1896.] 
THE  TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
335 
SUPPLY  OP"  TEA  CHESTS. 
As  the  manufacturing  season  draws  to  a close  and 
Managers  become  busy  with  their  estimates,  the 
annual  recurring  anxiety  as  to  the  supply  of  tea  boxes 
for  the  ensuing  season  manifests  itself,  and  though 
the  majority  of  planters  are  apt  to  adopt  the  motto 
“ aj)res  moi  le  dehu/e"  in  reference  to  the  matter,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that,  as  years  go  on,  the  difficulty 
of  procuring  an  ade.][uate  supply  of  seasoned  wood, 
locally,  will  intensify.  We  are  willing  to  admit  that 
timber,  like  coal  in  Assam,  is  plentiful  enougb,  but 
the  getting  either  out  to  a market  at  a reasonable  cost 
is  the  hitch.  We  noted  in  our  issue  of  the  19th  that  a 
Ceylon  firm  were',  getting  a consignment  of  pine 
shocks  from  the  Baltic  and  our  correspondent  ex- 
pressed surprise  there  at,  venturing  on  the  assertion 
that  India  could  supply  Ceylon  with  all  her  require- 
ments, but  if  we  experience  a difficulty  in  meeting 
our  own  wants,  we  most  assuredly  cannot  export. 
Of  Course  we  know  that  the  forests  in  the 
tea  districts  are  not  the  only  ones  in 
the  country,  and  that  were  the  So  Uhern  India  tim- 
ber tracts  thrown  open  unreservedly,  Ceylon  could 
•btain  ample  wood  from  the  Palghat  jungles,  but 
teak  from  its  weight  and. difficulty  of  working,  is  by  no 
means  the  best  fitted  wood  for  tea  chests,  irrespec- 
tive of  the  powerful  smell  when  not  thoroughly  sea- 
soned, and  all  other  suitable  timber  is  being  more 
jealously  conserved,  and  very  rigiitly  so,  year  by  year, 
by  Government,  the  Forest  Department  apparently 
having  at  length  fully  awakened  to  the  importance 
of  securing  the  rainfall. 
Some  two  years  ago  we  suggested  that  an  attempt 
mighc  well  be  made  to  obtain  pine  or  fir  from  the 
Siberian  forests  via  Vladivostock,  but  can  we  wait 
until  the  Railway  puts  that  port  in  connection  with 
those  forests  ? And  would  it  not  be  more  satisfac- 
tory to  open  negotiations  with  the  “ lumberers  ” of 
British  Columbia  via  Vancouver?  The  forests  of 
Northern  Canada  along  the  line  of  the  Pacific  Railway 
could,  for  a long  time  to  come,  furnish  India  and  Cey- 
lon wiffi  tea  shooks,  and  our  planters  might  find  a 
new  market  by  tapping  that  of  the  dominion 
from  the  north,  without  sending  their  teas  all  across 
the  Atlantic,  in  most  cases  via  the  United  Kingdom, 
with  all  the  drawbacks  of  transhipments  and  passing 
through  the  hands  of  half  a dozen  sets  of  middle- 
men. Could  the  pine  woods  of  Northern  Asia  or 
America  be  opened  up  freely  for  the  tea  trade  re- 
quirements, we  might  be  content  to  wait  until  some 
enterprising  firm  set  about  initiating  the  project 
without  casting  about  for  some  novel  material  for 
our  boxes.  We  have  heard  it  advanced  that  pine  is 
too  fragile  to  stand  the  rough  treatment  our  tea 
chests  are  subjected  to,  but  the  tea  interest  is  suffi- 
ciently strong  now  to  insist  upon  more  careful  hand- 
ling and,  moreover,  the  breakages  among  the  kero- 
sine  oil  cases  are  so  few,  comparatively,  as  to  show 
the  wood,  though  light,  is  stout  and  strong  enough 
if  ordinary  care  is  observed  in  its  treatment.  Whether 
some  more  suitable  matei'ial  could  be  devised  for 
packing  our  teas,  those  mostly  concerned  must  think 
out  for  themselves.  Many  suggestions  have  been 
made  and  experiments  tried,  but  somehow  all  return 
to  the  lead  lined  wooden  chest,  though  should  a 
trade  be  opened  with  Central  Asia  no  doubt 
the  packs  made  from  pulp  would  be  found 
the  best  that  could  be  adopted,  though  when 
the  question  of  opening  up  a trade  in  that 
direction  crops  up,  wo  are  inclined  to  think 
that  a better  chance  of  accomplishing  success  lies  in 
the  Persian  Gulf  route  to  the  Kerbha  River,  than 
up  the  difficult  passes  and  over  the  rough  mountain 
roads  of  Turkistan  or  through  Cabul  to  Samarcand. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  the  wood  of  Indian  tea 
chests  is  far  two  heavy,  and  no  advantage  is  gained 
in  using  ic,  for  the  complaints  from  Australia  last 
season  regarding  broken  boxes  showed  that  we  cer- 
tainly gain  nothing  in  strength  ; a comparison  between 
a China  and  Assam  chest  is  remarkable.  True  the 
former  is  strengthened  by  being  cased  in  paper,  mats 
and  split  cane,  but  when  we  come  to  look  closely 
into  matters,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Chinaman’s 
piictual  box  is  decidedly  a far  superior  article  to  our 
own,  chiefly  because  the  material  employed  admits 
of  being  more  easily  worked  up,  and  were  we  to 
adopt  the  light  pine  in  lieu  of  the  thick  heavy  wood 
at  present  in  vogue,  we  should  got  a better  chest 
and  one  thoroughly  seasoned,  hearing  in  consequence 
less  about  loose  packing.  With  the  low  rates  of 
freight  now  ruling  it  would  no  doubt  pay  to  send 
one  of  the  four-masters  w'ith  gunnies  and  rice  to  San 
Francisco  for  disposal  there  on  ship’s  account,  then 
letting,  her  run  up  to  Vancouver  for  a cargo  of  pine 
(either  in  logs  or  planks)  for  this. — Indian  Planter’s 
Gazette,  Sept.  2(1. 
THE  PINE  HILL  ESTATES  COMPANY, 
LIMITED. 
An  ordinary  general  meeting  of  the  .shareholders 
of  this  Company,  was  held  at  the  Company’, s oliice.s, 
No.  20,  Bail  lie  Street,  at  12-.30  today. 
Present : — Me.ssrs.  H.  St.  C.  Bowie  Evans  in 
the  chair,  li.  E.  Prance,  ,1.  A.  McGillivray,  C. 
C.  Herbert,  E.  W.  Bois,  i-epresenting  Mrs.  M.  E. 
Bois  and  C.  G.  Ryan. 
Representing  by  jiroxy  were  Messrs.  John 
Masternian  and  F.  M.  Mackwood,  Mrs.  M.  F. 
Thorne,  Mrs.  G.  Prance,  Mr.«.  A.  G.  S.  Hughes 
and  Mrs.  E.  L.  Beven. 
Proposed  by  Mr.  H.  St.  C.  Bowle  Evans, 
seconded  by  Mr.  C.  C.  IlKunERTand  carried  that 
the  report  of  the  directors  be  adojated. 
Proposed  by  Mr.  C.  C.  Herbert,  seconded  by 
Mr.  C.  G.  Ryan  and  carried  that  a final  divi- 
dend of  4 per  cent  on  the  paid  up  capital  of  the 
Company  be  paid  at  once  making  a total  of  7 
per  cent  for  the  year. 
Proposed  by  Mr.  C.  G.  Ryan,  seconded  by  Mr. 
C.  C.  Herbert  and  carried  that  Mr.  H.  St.  C. 
Bowie  Evans  be  re-elected  a director  of  the 
Company. 
Proposed  by  Mr.  F.  \V.  Bois,  seconded  by  Mr.  J. 
A.  McGillivray  and  carried  that  Mr.  John 
Guthrie  be  re-elected  auditor  for  season  1896-97  on 
same  fees  as  before. 
The  Chairman  then  went  on  to  say  that  the 
directors  regretted  that  a dividend  of  7 per  cent 
only  could  be  declared,  but  that  the  profits  for 
the  current  .season  (1896-97)  would,  they  hoped, 
enable  them  to  declare  a good  dividend,  as  if 
the  crop  netted  50c  per  lb.  a 16  per  cent  dividend 
would  bo  realised.  He  also  pointed  out  that 
by  the  figures  shown  in  the  Report,  Pine 
Hill  and  Wavahena  has  earned  13.^  per  cent  for 
the  past  season  and  Nahakettia  only  a little  over 
2 per  cent  and  it  was  therefore  owing  to  Naha- 
kettia that  the  dividend  was  so  small.  Naha- 
kettia, he  was  glad  to  say,  had  been  sold,  and 
the  Company’s  position,  wdth  t!io  largo  Reserve 
Fund  amounting  to  10  per  cent  of  rbe  reduced 
Ca[)ital,  was,  the  Directors  C'.;,i  nlcred,  a very 
sound  one. 
After  the  above  biisinc.ss  was  concluded  the 
meeting  resolved  itself  into  an  e.xtraordinary 
general  meeting  and  conlirmed  the  following 
special  resolutions: — 
1st.— That  the  Directors  be  authorised  out  of 
the  purchase  money  arising  out  of  the  sale  of  the 
Nahakettia  Estate,  amounting  to  Rl90,000,  to 
refund  to  each  Shareholder  of  the  Company  a 
sum  of  Forty  Rupees  per  share  in  reduction  of  the 
Capital  amount  subscribed  in  respect  of  such  share. 
2nd. — That  the  Capital  of  the  Company  bo 
reduced  from  113.3.5,000  in  3,5.50  share  of  RlOO  each 
(being  the  amount  to  which  the  Capital  of  the 
Company  was  increased  by  special  resolution 
passel  on  the  19th  May,  1894,  and  confirmed  on 
the  16th  June,  1891.)  to  11213,000  in  3,550  shares  of 
R60  each. 
