Dec.  I,  1896.]  THE  TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
4J7 
paritculars  up  dep>exture.s  of 
CEYLON  TEA  COMPANIES. 
Per  cent.  Debs.  Interest 
£ jjay.able. 
Alliance  Tea  Co  ..  0 30,000.  .Jan.  & Julya 
Bandarapolla  Tea  Co.  ..  5 9,000..  ,,  b 
Battagalla  Estate  Co.  ..  5 4,000..  ,,  c 
Burnside  Tea  Co.  of 
Ceylon  ..  5 15.000.. d 
Caledonian  (Ceylon)  Tea 
Plantation  Ltd.  ..  6 15,000.. Jan.  cfe  Dec.e 
Carolina  Tea  Co.  . . 7 36,000.  .Jan.  & July/ 
Ceylon  Land  and  . . t 4. 
Produce  ..  ) 5 28,700..  ,,  f/ 
Consolidated  Estate  . . 
Ceylon  & Oriental  Ests. 
Duckwari  Tea  Planta- 
tions 
Eastern  Produce  A Ests. 
Galalia  Tea  Estates  and 
Agency  Co. 
Oooniera  Estate  Co. 
Haputale  Co. 
Kelani  Valley  Tea  Asso- 
ciation 
n • • 
Kellie  Tea  Plantation  . . 
Madulsima  Colfeo  & Cin- 
chona Co. 
NuWiira  Eliya  Tea  Ests. 
Nahalma  Estate  Co. 
Oriental  Estates  Go. 
M • • 
Poonagalla  Valley  Ceylon 
Company 
Rangaila  Tea  Estates, 
Limited 
Scottish  Trust  and  Loan 
Company 
Sunnygama  Tea  Co. 
United  Planters  of  Ceylon 
6 42,200..  ,,  li 
4^  65,000..  i 
6 6, 000.. .Tune  A Dec./ 
4i  122,500  .k 
5 .55,01)0..; 
6 4,000. . December?)! 
5 7,700.../ 
5 13,4.50.  .Jan.  A July/j 
6 250..  „ I 
5 8,500...; 
5 10,500. . 
6 30, 000.. Jan.  & July 
6 10,000..  „ m 
6 15,000.. Aprl.  & Oct.« 
^ 17,400. . 
6 12,500.. Jan.  & Julyw 
6 20, 000..  0. 
6,900.  .p. 
6 10,000.  .Jan.  A July?? 
5 68,950..  „ )• 
Mitchell  A Giunt,  101,  Leadenhall  Street, 
Oct.  1896.  London,  E.C. 
a Eedeemable  at  par.  1905.  h Redeemable  1st  Jan. 
1899  at  par.  c In  private  hands,  d Redeemable  31st 
Dec.  1901  at  par.  e Redeemable  at  par.  at  various 
dates.  /'  Redeemable  at  .fl20  at  discretion  of  Direc- 
tors. (j  Issued  for  terms  of  j'ears.  h Redeemable  by 
drawings  5 p.c.  per  annum  at  £103.  i Redeemable 
after  10  years  at  £105  at  discretion  of  Directors  or 
after  20  years  at  par.  j Held  privately,  h Redeem- 
able by  minimum  drawings  of  ,4'7,500  on  31st  Dec. 
at  £105.  I Redeemable  1916,  but  after  1906  redeem- 
able with  bonus,  5 p.c.  m Redeemable  1905.  j Held 
privately.  Ic  Eedeemable  at  various  dates.  I Re- 
deemable at  par.  at  short  dates,  j Held  privately. 
m Redeemable  at  option  of  Directors  at  .£105  after 
31st  December  1897,  tenure  16  years,  n Repayable 
at  par.  1920,  bht  after  1st  Oct.  1904,  on  12  mouths’ 
notice  at  par.  and  3 p.c.  will  be  paid  on  those  paid 
off  1st  Oct.  1905.  n Redeemable  21st  Dec.,  1900. 
0 Redeemable  1913,  but  after  1903  may  be  redeemed 
at  £105.  p Repaid  as  they  mature,  q Preference 
Stock  authorised  to  redeem  debentures  15th  July, 
1897.  r No  information. 
MARKET  FOR  TEA  SHARES. 
[From  Our  Special  Corre.spondext.] 
Thur.soay  Evening,  November  5,  1890. 
Mu.sine.ss  in  Indian  Tea  Companies’  .shares,  though 
interfered  witli  a little  ^ by  the  .sympathetic 
influence  of  the  uncertainty  pending  the  American 
ITesidential  election,  has  continued  steady 
throughout  the  week,  and  strong  investment  buy- 
ing still  goes  on.  Some  of  the  best-reputed  stocks 
have,  moreover,  risen  to  quite  record  prices. 
The  BuUionist  of  last  Saturday  (October  31) 
published  an  intere.^ting  and  intelligent  article 
on  the  Preference  Shares  of  Indian  Tea  Companies. 
Iheir  article  coniines  its  attention  to  those  shares 
which  still  yield  approximately  per  cent.,  that 
is  among  the  olficially  quoted  stocks. 
ft  may  l?e  noteil  that  Jok.ai  Fret’s.,  and  Dooars 
Company’s  I’rcfs.,  as  well  as  tliose  of  the  Ceylon 
T.  P.  Company,  cannot  now  be  purchased  to  pay 
more  than  about  3;/-  per  cent. 
Mdncing  Lane  seems  to  have  no\v  in  a great 
measure  recovered  from  tiie  position  of  weakjioss 
chronicled  during  the  past  few  w'ceks,  and  tlie 
tendency  is  now  again  rather  upwards. 
Reports  from  fndia  indicate  the  prospect  of 
the  later  teas  showing  better  quality  than 
characterises  those  now  being  sold  under  the 
hammer  here. — H.  cO  C.  Mail. 
THE  FERTILITY  OF  THE  SOIL. 
In  a recent  article  dealing  with  the  formation  of 
the  soil,  the  various  agencies  at  work  in  this  highly 
important  operation  were  oiuinerated  and  described. 
It  was  pointed  out  that  while  geology  gave  us  a valu- 
able indication  of  what  the  natui’c  of  the  soil  was 
likely  to  be,  it  could  furnish  little  information  on 
the  subject  of  soil  fertility.  To  study  this  subject, 
which  is  surrounded  with  much  difficulty,  we  must 
have  recourse  to  other  sciences,  more  especially  agri- 
cultural chemistry,  and,  as  the  latest  researches  have 
shown,  to  bacteriology.  At  first  sight  the  subject 
seems  much  simpler  than  in  reality  it  is.  We  are 
inclined  to  think  that  all  that  is  required  is  a know- 
ledge of  the  soil’s  composition.  No  doubt  such  know- 
ledge is  by  itself  of  very  geat  value,  but  it  is  insuffi- 
cient to  solve  the  problem.  For  one  reason,  there 
are  properties  in  a soil  which  exert  a very  im- 
portant influence  on  its  fertility.  These  are 
known  as  its  mechanical  or  physical  proper- 
ties, and  include  the  state  of  division  of  its 
particles,  its  porosity,  and  its  heats  and  water  ab- 
sorbing powers,  Ac.  There  are  also,  factors,  other  than 
those  mentioned,  which  have  a most  important  in- 
fluence on  fertility,  which,  however,  we  need  not 
concern  ourselves  with  in  this  place.  These  are 
climate,  altitude,  exposure,  and  the  nature  of  the 
season.  The  significance  of  these  is  undoubtedly 
enormous,  the  influence  of  the  last  named  being  pro- 
bably more  potent  than  that  of  any  other.  But  valua- 
ble las  the  study  of  the  nature  of  such  influences  is, 
it  is  not  likely  to  lead  to  any  practical  results,  since 
it  is  sti’d  out  with  the  power  of  man  to  alter  in  any  way 
the  climate  of  a country  or  the  nature  of  the  season; 
whereas  the  study  of  the  composition  and  properties 
of  the  soil  is  likely  to  furnish  us  with  knowledge  we 
may  turn  to  a practical  account. 
When  we  come  to  study  the  composition  of  the 
soil  we  are  met  by  unexpected  difficulties.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  know  of  what  sub- 
stances it  is  formed,  but,  further,  what  are  the  exact 
forms  in  which  certain  of  these  substances  arc 
present.  This  is  a problem  which  chemistry  is 
still  unable  to  solve  satisfactorily.  The  ques- 
tion is  further  complicated  by  the  fact  that  the  soil 
is  not  a substance  of  stable — i.c.,  unalterable — com- 
position, but  is  constantly  undergoing  a process  of 
change.  Indeed,  it  may  not  inaptly  be  likened  to  a 
gigantic  chemical  laboratory,  in  which  the  most 
varied  operations  are  constantly  taking  place,  and  in 
wdiich  chemical  changes  of  a most  involved  and 
subtle  character  are  being  effected.  Another  reason 
of  the  difficulty  of  the  problem  is  to  be  found  in  the 
unsuspected  world  of  minute  life  with  which  the  soil 
is  teeming,  which  play  a most  important  part  iu  the 
promotion  of  vegetable  growth,  and  which  are  ever 
busily  engaged  in  preparing  and  elaborating  for  their 
use  food  materials  which  the  crops  of  the  field 
require.  As  rve  know  but  little  of  the  nature  of 
these  chemical  changes,  and  of  the  conditions  under 
which  the  microbic  denizens  of  the  soil  carry  out 
their  imporlant  functions,  it  will  be  at  once  seen  how 
it  is  that  such  ignorance  should  hamper  us  in  our 
study  of  the  important  problem  of  the  fertility  of 
the  soil. 
