March  i,  1897.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST 
647 
Rupee,  at  which  rate  the  pi'ofit  for  Season  189fi — 97 
would  equal  £9,063  3s.  I am.  Dear  Sirs,  Yours 
faithfully,  F.  M.  Mackwood. 
The  price  to  be  paid  by  the  Company  has  been 
fixed  by  the  Vendors  at  £92,500,  leaving  £7,500  surplus 
capital. 
The  Vendors  take  payment  in  £16,50  ) of  Preference 
Shares  and  £16,500  of  Ordinary  Shares,  and  the 
balance  in  cash. 
The  Company  buys  the  Estates,  other  than  the 
additional  lands  at  Castlemilk,  as  from  30th  June, 
1896,  and  will  pay  interest  on  the  purchase  money 
at  5 per  cent  from  that  date.  The  Company  will 
repay  the  owners  with  5 per  cent  interest,  the  ex- 
penses already  incurred  on  the  crop  beginning  1st 
July,  1896,  including  all  sound  coast  advances,  and 
will  be  entitled  to  all  profits  from  that  date. 
The  titles  to  the  proposed  addition  to  the  Castle- 
milk property  are  now  under  examination.  This 
property  will,  if  acquired,  be  taken  over  as  from  the 
date  of  transfer,  and  if  this  purchase  be  not  com- 
pleted, the  surplus  capital  will  be  increased  by 
the  sum  proposed  to  be  paid  for  its  acquisition. 
The  above  estimvted  profit  of  .£9068  shows  nearly 
10  per  cent  on  the  price  at  w'iiich  the  Company 
acquires  the  estates.  The  surplus  capital,  it  may 
be  hoped  wilt  be  equally  productive,  as  it  will  be 
mostly  used  in  developing  the  present  estates  or  in 
further  purchases  to  extend  the  acreage,  several  of 
the  estates  being  in  districts  where  extensions  will 
not  be  difficult.  Estimating  the  surplus  capital  to 
earn  6 per  cent,  the  total  profit  would  exceed 
£9,.o00,  which,  after  providing  for  the  Preference 
Dividend,  £3,000,  would  leave  £6,500  available  for 
the  formation  of  a reserve  or  improvements  and 
payments  of  dividend  on  the  Ordinary  Shares. 
There  should  also  be  some  increase  in  profits  as 
the  young  tea  comes  into  bearing.  Allowing  £5 
per  acre  on  the  1,620  acres  forest,  Chena  waste 
and  lands  planted  with  fuel  trees  as  well  as  the 
140  acres  in  preparation  for  planting,  the  cost  of 
the  1,980  acres  planted,  equals  £46  Is  2d  per  acre. 
Mr.  Mickwood  is  willing  to  act  as  the  Company’s 
Agent  in  Colombo. 
Messrs.  Cotesworth  & Powell  have,  for  the  commis- 
sion on  sales  as  previously  charged  and  estimated 
for  in  the  figures  of  the  Report,  agreed  to  provide 
management  in  their  offices  for  a period  of  lOyears 
from  the  30th  June,  1896,  an  I during  this  period 
neither  'the  two  members  of  that  firm  who  are 
Directors,  nor  Mr.  Mackwood  while  Ceylon  Agent, 
will  be  entitled  to  claim  any  remuneration  as 
Directors.  The  above  estimate  of  profit  is  therefore 
free  of  farther  charge  for  management  in  London, 
unless  the  Company  appoint  more  Directors.  The 
only  Directors  of  the  Company  at  present  are  the 
two  partners  in  tse  firm  of  Cotesworth  & Powell,  and 
Mr.  Mackwood,  who  are  the  Vendors  to  the  Company 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  properties  proposed  to  be 
acquired  and  they  have  fixed  the  purchase  price.  In- 
tending subscribers  for  shares  are  to  be  tre.aied  as 
having  knowledge  of  these  facts  and  as  subscribing 
on  that  basis.  The  Vendors  bear  all  the  expenses 
of  the  formation  of  the  Company  up  to  the  first 
allotment.  Applications  for  both  Preference  and 
Ordinary  Shares  will  be  considered  before  applica- 
tions for  Preferred  Shares  only.  Preference  and 
Ordinary  Shares  will  rank  equally  for  voting  pur- 
poses. The  Articles  of  Association  of  the  Company 
restrict  the  borrowing  powers  of  the  Directors, 
without  the  consent  of  a General  Meeting,  to  the 
amount  from  time  to  time  paid  up  or  treated  as 
paid  up  on  the  Shares  for  the  time  being  in  issue 
of  the  Company. 
^ 
INDIAN  PATENTS. 
Applications  in  respect  of  the  undermentioned 
inventions  have  been  filed,  under  the  provisions  of 
the  Inventions  and  Designs  Act  of  1883,  during  the 
week  ending  6th  February  1897  : — 
Apparatus  for  cooling  tea  leaf. — No.  37  of  1897.— 
Nathan  WilHiam  Horatio  Sharpe,  engineer,  of  26th 
Perth  road,  Stroud  green,  London,  for  an  apparatus 
for  cooling  tea  leaf  to  facilitate  oxidation  or  fer- 
mentation, and  for  withering  the  same. 
Improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  black  tea. 
— No  42  of  1897. — Samuel  Cleland  Davidson,  mer- 
caut,  of  Sirocco  engineering  works,  Belfast,  Ireland, 
for  improvements  in  the  manufacture  of  black  tea 
from  the  green  tea  leaf. 
Improvements  in  appartus  for  withering  or  limp- 
ing tea  leaf. — No.  43  of  1897. — Samuel  Cleland  David- 
son, merchant,  of  Sirocco  engineering  works,  Belfast, 
Ireland,  for  improvements  in  apparatuc  for  wither- 
ing or  limping  tea  leaf  in  the  course  of  its  manu- 
ture  int } black  tea. — Indian  and  Eastern  Engineer. 

THE  COCCID/E  OF  CEYLON.* 
Fioriuia  Fiorinise,  Targ.  Tozz.  Adult  male  not  ob- 
served. 
Habitat  on  under  surface  of  leaves  of  the  camel- 
lia plant  and  the  coconut  palm.  Punduloya  (Sep- 
temDer).  I have  not  yet  foundthis  insect  upon  tea 
but  its  presence  upon  such  a closely  allied  plant  as' 
the  camellia  makes  it  extremely  probable  that  our 
staple  product  may  be  attacked  by  this  pest.  Its 
presence  in  large  numbers  upon  coconut  leaves 
must  be  injurious,  the  affected  leaves  turning  a 
sickly  yellow  colour.  The  same  insect  is  said  to 
affect  the  Areca  palm.  The  species  is  widely  distri- 
buted, occurring  in  Europe,  America,  and  Australia. 
But  Mr.  Green  adds  a note  this  very  month  : 
Since  writing  above — this  species  has  turned  up 
upon  tea.  I have  found  it  firmly  established  upon 
a tea  plant  on  an  upcountry  estate  : and  also  upon 
Areca  palms  in  the  same  district. — E.  E.  G.,  Feb.  1897 
But  in  regard  to  identification  of  course’ die  plates 
are  of  most  value.  Regarding  them  Mr.  Green 
writes  : — 
“ I very  much  regret  that,  owing  to  an  un- 
fortunate mistake  between  publisher  and  litho- 
graphers, the  plates  have  been  printed  on  smaller 
paper  than  the  letter  press.  The  difference  was  not 
discovered  until  too  late  to  rectify  the  mistake. 
I find  too  that  my  publisher  has  followed  the 
modern  plan  of  issuing  the  part  unstitched 
which— however  good  it  may  be  for  the  subse- 
quent binding— is  not  a very  convenient  form  for 
present  use. 
“ I trust  however  that,  in  spite  of  these  and 
other  defects,  the  work  may  prove  u.sefnl. 
“ I have  previously  explained  that  I have  been 
unable  to  include  in  this  first  part  tlie  special 
chapters  on  Insecticides  and  General  Preventive 
Measures.  These  will  appear  in  Part  II,  upon 
which  I am  now  at'  work. 
“ The  book  is  to  be  completed,  if  possible,  in 
four  parts  ; but  the  number  of  species  to  * be 
described  is  steadily  increasing.  Since  my  return 
to  Ceylon  I have  already  added  3 or  4 new  species 
to  the  list.'' 
It  is  a small  matter  about  the  plates  : they  can  be 
bound  sepai-ately  from  the  letterpress,  and  the 
great  fact  is  that  they  are  so  clearly  and  so 
beautifully  executed— the  lithographing  and  colour- 
ing being  perfection. 
We  feel  sure  that  no  District  As.sociation  or 
Library  worthy  of  the  name  should  be  without 
this  book.  Indeed  it  is  one  that  ail  Tea  Com- 
panies and  large  individual  proprietors  should  at 
once  supply  to  their  Managers  for  estate  u.se 
THE  TONACOMBE  ESTATES  COMPANY 
OF  CEYLON,  LIMITED. 
iiuceLo  np  ot  rue  iiiird  Ordinary  General 
Meeting  of  shareholders  held  at  Ambewatte  House, 
on  .1  hursday  tlie  2.5th  day  of  February  1897. 
* By  Ernest  Green,  p.e.s 
plates.— London,  D'.dau  & Co,  ’ 
Part  I with  3.3 
