Feb.  I,  1897.J 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
537 
MARIAWATTE  OLD  100-ACRE  TEA  FIELD 
STILL  GIVING  NEARLY  1,100  LB. 
PER  ACRE. 
We  !ue  iiuleljLcil  tu  Mr.  .Salinoncl,  tlie  Manager 
of  Mariawatte,  for  the  following  extremely 
satisfactory  return  : — 
“Mariawatte  Estate  Tea  Crop  return  for  1896. — Total 
acreage  467  acres ; total  yield  410,436  lb.,  being 
878  lb.  per  acre  all  round ; of  which  the  original  100 
acre  field  has  contributed  1,090  lb.  per  acre.” 
This  lOO-aere  field  is  now  18  years  old  and  that 
it  should  still  give  nearly  13  maunds  of  made 
tea  per  acre  is,  we  fancy,  unique  in  the  historj’- 
of  tea  c\iltiv,ation.  From  our  “ Handbook  and 
Directory”  we  quote  the  jiast  recoid  of  Maria- 
watte : — 
“ Mariawatte  Estate  original  104  acres  planted  1879. 
— Yields  : 1884,  1,050  lb.  per  acre  ; 1885,  over  1,13,3  lb. 
per  acre;  1886,  1,018  1b.  per  .acre;  1887,  1,115  1b.  per 
acre.  The  acreage  of  young  and  old  tea  plucked  over 
in  1887  was  307  acres  and  the  total  yield  was  184,695  lb. 
or  600  lb.  per  acre,  and  when  it  is  considered  147  acres 
of  this  was  only  3-year  old  tea,  the  yield  may  certainly 
be  called  magnificent — Mariawatte  yield  for  1889 
over  424  acres  was  625  lb.  per  acre ; the  original 
hundred  acres  gave  in  1889  1,094  lb  per  acre;  in  1888 
the  yield  from  this  field  was  1,023  lb.  per  acre ; in 
1890  the  crop  was  321,167  lb.  or  767  lb.  per  acre  in 
bearing,  the  old  104  acres  giving  140,144  lb.  or  1347  lb. 
acre — no  manure  for  two  years.  In  1891,  the  yield 
was  over  120,362  lb.  or  1,114  lb.  per  acre  ; For  1892, 
it  was  417,80  I lb.  for  the  estate — the  old  100-acre 
field  giving  1,114  lb.  This  was  planted  in  1879  and 
from  1884  has  given  over  1,000  lb.  an  acre,  the  highest 
return  being  1,347  lb.  in  1890.  The  average  for  nine 
years  is  1,1.30  lb.  For  1893,  1894  and  1895  we  may  say 
that  the  yield  of  the  old  Tea  is  still  keeping  up  to 
over  1,100  lb.  per  acre  and  has  every  appearance  of 
continuing  its  large  yield,  owing  to  the  systematic 
application  of  bulky  manure,  say  over  20  tons  per  acre 
one-thii'd  of  estate  being  so  manured  every  year.” 
♦ 
THE  “FORESTS”  AND  THE  “NINETIES.” 
I.S  HISTORY  REPEATING  ITSELF  IN  CEYLON 
PLANTING  ? 
The  gentleman  who  wrote  the  first  Essay  on 
Coflee  Planting  in  Ceylon  early  in  the  “ forties” — 
a planter  and  afterwards  a merchant  (member 
of  a firm  still  in  existence),  writes  to  us  from 
England,  under  date  Dec  23rd 
“ Tea  Companies  are  Stirling  weekly  and  as 
each  Company  comprises  three  or  four  properties, 
very  soon  75  per  cent,  of  your  tea  gardens  w’ill  he 
in  the  hands  of  Companies,  a rather  prominent 
indication  of  the  drift  of  proprietary  public 
opinion,  though  in  any  case  the  enormous 
sums  paid  are  inducements  wdiich  few  can  allow 
to  pass  by.  We  have  had  all  this  in  Ceylon 
before,  except  that  individuals  not  Companies 
were  the  buyers  and  for  tea  we  had  coffee.” 
THE  RAGALLA  TEA  ESTATE,  LIMITED. 
directors’  report. 
Report  of  the  Directors  to  be  submitted  to  the 
shareholders  at  the  ordinary  general  meeting,  to 
be  held  at  39,  Lime  Street,  E.C.,  on  Tuesday,  29th 
December  1896,  at  1 p.m. 
The  directors  beg  to  submit  their  report,  and 
also  statement  of  accounts  duly  audited  for  the  year 
ending  31st  July  last,  on  which  date  the  balance 
at  credit  of  profit  and  loss  account,  including  T840 
15s  5d  brought  forward,  stood  at  T2,035  5s  2d. 
Against  this  an  interim  dividend  of  8s  per  share 
was  paid  on  1st  July  last,  and  it  is  proposed  to  pay, 
on  1st  January  next,  to  shareholders  on  the  Register 
at  this  date  a farther  dividend  of  4s  per  share,  free 
68 
of  income  tax,  iu  respect  of  the  3,100  shares  fully 
paid  as  at  31st  July  last,  making  altogether  six  per 
cent  for  the  year. 
During  the  year  the  crops  realized  in  London 
were  : — 
Tea,  188,535  lb.,  at  a gross  average  of  10.42  per  lb. 
Coffee,  373. 0-20  cwt.  do  92s9dpercwt. 
The  following  are  the  acreages  now  in  tea  on 
Ragalla  aud  Halgran  Oya  estates : — 
In  bearing.  Partial  bear-  Young  Tea.  Total, 
ing. 
Acres.  Acres.  Acres.  Acres. 
623  193  117  933 
The  total  acreages  being  as  follow:— 
Ragalla.  Halgran  Total. 
Tea 
Acres. 
722 
Oya. 
Acres. 
94) 
Acres. 
9.33 
Tea  and  Coffee . . 
— 
117) 
Timber 
73 
— 
73 
Patna,  &c. 
204 
181 
385 
Totals  . . 
999 
392 
1391 
During  the  season  under  review,  the  directors 
authorised  further  expenditure  on  capital  account 
to  the  extent  of  £2,070  5s  4d,  as  shewn  in  the  ac- 
counts, this  sum  being  spent  on  machinery,  build- 
ings, roads  and  drains,  nurseries,  and  general  im- 
provements. A new  down  draft  sirocco  drying 
machine  was  purchased,  together  with  the  neces- 
sary appliances.  Considerable  additions  were  made 
to  the  coolie  lines,  thirty-six  new  rooms  having  been 
built  ; new  caddies  were  also  built  aud  the  old 
ones  and  approaches  put  in  order.  The  item  of 
roads  and  drains  includes  the  cost  of  draining  482 
acres,  this  important  work  being  practically  finished 
on  the  estates,  only  about  30  acres  remaining  to 
be  done.  The  purchase  of  tea  seed  amounted  to 
50  maunds,  the  cost  of  this  being  charged  to  nur- 
series account. 
As  already  advised  to  shareholders,  a further  issue 
of  800  ordinary  shares  of  ,£10  each  has  been  made 
for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a new  factory  on  Ra- 
galla estate  at  a cost  of  about  £7,000,  and  to  pro- 
vide for  other  improvements  which  it  is  estimated 
will  involve  an  outlay  of  about  £1,000  to  £1,500. 
The  estimate  for  Ragalla  and  Halgran  Oya  estates 
for  the  year  are  as  follows  : — 
£ 
Tea  Crop.— 275,000  lb.  at  9d  per  lb.  nett  10,312 
Coffee  Crop. — 200  cwt.  at  90s  per  cwt.  nett  900 
Profits  on  Leaf  Purchase,  Caddies 
aud  Manufacture 
£11,212 
500 
£11,712 
Less  Expenditure  in  Ceylon  for  up- 
keep ; rupees,  96,768  at  exchange 
Is  3d  ..  ..  ..  6,048 
Gross  Profit  ..  £5,664 
The  directors  having  obtained  the  sanction  of  the 
shareholders,  also  completed  the  purchase  of  the 
Kelburne  estate,  at  a cost  of  £35,000,  as  from  1st 
July  last,  from  which  date  profit  on  the  working 
will  accrue  to  the  Company,  and  have  every  reason 
to  believe  that  the  addition  of  this  estate  to 
the  Company’s  properties  will  prove  of  great  value. 
The  provision  for  the  purchase  was  arranged  by 
the  issue  of  7,000  cumulative  6 per  cent.  Pre- 
ference Shares  of  ,£5  each,  all  of  which  have  been 
taken  up. 
Under  clause  97  of  the  articles  Mr.  M.  P.  Evans 
retires  from  the  Board,  but  being  eligible  offers  him- 
self for  re-election. 
The  appointment  of  Auditors  also  rests  w'ith  the 
shareholders  under  the  articles  of  Association,  and 
Messrs.  Fuller  & Wise,  the  present  Auditors,  ’ offer 
themselves  for  re-election. 
C.  E.  Sthachan,  Chairman, 
17th  December  1896. 
