June  r 1897.] 
rHE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
865 
IMPERIAL  CEYLON  TEA  ESTATES, 
LIMITED. 
Report  of  the  Directors  to  be  submitted  at  the 
Animal  Ordinary  General  Meeting  of  Shareholders, 
to  be  held  at  the  Company’s  0f3.:es,  9th,  Fenchurch 
Avenue,  London.  E.C.,  on  Thursday,  22nd  April,  at 
3 o’clock.  The  Directors  have  pleasure  in  submitting 
the  General  Balance  Sheet  and  Profit  and  Loss 
Account  to  the  end  of  1896,  duty  audited. 
The  nett  amount  at  credit  of  Profit 
and  Loss  Account  is  . . . . T.3993  4 10 
It  is  proposed  to  pay  a Dividend  of 
5 per  cent  (free  of  Income  Tax)  on  the 
three  issues  of  Shares  from  the  respec- 
tive dates  that  they  rank  for  dividend, 
viz  : — 
Shares  : — Nos.  1 — .5,21.5,  from  1st 
Jan,  to  .31st  December,  1896. 
Shares  : — Nos.  5,216 — 7,200,  from  1st 
March  to  31st  December,  1896 
Shares  : — Nos.  7,201 — 9,000,  from  1st 
June  to  31st  December,  1896. 
This  will  absorb  . . . . £3,959  11  8 
and  the  balance  will  be  carried  forward. 
The  result  of  the  Company’s  operations  has  not 
been  as  satisfactory  as  was  originally  anticipated. 
This  is  partly  due  to  the  disappointing  working  of 
the  Mottingham  andBinoya  Estates  from  the  1st  July, 
1895,  until  they  passed  into  the  actual  possession  of 
the  Company,  and  partly  to  the  high  level  of  ex- 
change during  the  year,  as  compared  with  the  mo- 
derate prices  ruling  in  the  Tea  market,  in  addition 
to  which,  the  change  in  Proprietorship  and  Super- 
intendence of  the  several  Estates,  acquired  since  the 
Company’s  formation  has  somewhat  disarranged  the 
working,  and  affected  the  profits. 
The  Company’s  properties,  however,  are  now  all  in 
thorough  working  order,  and  the  Colombo  Agents  re- 
port favourably  of  the  prospects  of  the  present  season. 
The  Directors  are  satisfied  that  the  Shareholders  may 
look  with  confidence  to  much  better  results  in  the 
future  than  is  shown  by  the  first  year’s  working. 
The  following  is  the  total  acreage  of  tea,  &c.,  forest 
and  waste  land,  and  the  crops  secured  to  end  of 
Tea 
Coffee 
Forest 
Acreage. 
Acreage. 
Waste. 
Binoya  . . 
. . 441 
— 
458 
Mottingham 
221 
— 
37 
Edinburgh 
382 
— 
50 
St.  Vigeans 
185 
— 
— 
Friedland 
163 
— 
2 
Nonpareil 
200 
200 
149 
1,592 
200 
696 
Tea  Crop 
Coffee, 
Cinchona 
in  lbs. 
in  bushels. 
in  lb. 
Binoya  . . 
211,990 


Mottingham 
105,328 
— 
— 
Edinburgh 
132,378 
34 
— 
St.  Vigeans 
51,215 
— 
— 
Friendland 
41,522 
— 
— 
Nonpareil 
. . ~ 
863 13-16 
39,260 
542,443 
897 13-16 
39,260 
The  tea  crop  figures  represent  the  quantity  des- 
patched by  each  estate,  from  the  date  on  which  it 
was  taken  over  by  the  Company, 
THE  ALLIANCE  TEA  COMPANY  OF 
CEYLON.  LIMITED. 
The  Directors  have  pleasure  in  submitting  the  ■ 
general  b Uance  sheet  and  profit  and  loss  account 
for  the  year  ending  31st  December  1896,  duly 
audited. 
£ s.  d.  £ g,  d. 
The  net  amount  at  credit  of 
profit  and  loss  account,  in- 
cluding the  balance  brought 
forward,  is  . . 5^120  10  8 
An  interim  dividend  of  5 per 
cent  was  paid  on  17th  Sept, 
amounting  to  . . 2,500  0 0 
It  is  now  proposed  to  pay  a 
final  dividend  of  5 per 
cent  (making  in  all  10  per 
cent  per  annum,  free  of 
Income  Tax),  which  will 
absorb  . . . , 2,500  0 0 
and  to  carry  forward  to  next 
year  a balance  of  . . 120  10  8 
— 5,120  10  8 
As  will  be  seen  from  the  accounts,  the  directors 
have  acquired— for  the  very  moderate  sum  of  £541 
16s — the  Kehelgama  estate,  adjoining  Aberdeen.  The 
property  is  322  acres  in  extent  and  will  be' valu- 
able for  Aberdeen  as  a Timber  Reserve.  The  capital 
expenditure  has  been  further  increased  by  outlays 
on  tea  clearings,  buildings,  &c.,  amounting  to  £1,615 
5s  2d,  against  which  the  directors  have  written  off 
£300  for  depreciation  of  machinery,  &c.  The  direc- 
tors have  also  entered  into  arrangements  for  the 
purchase,  as  from  the  1st  January  last,  from  the 
Dunkeld  Estate  Company,  Limited,  of  the  Dunkeld 
Estate,  in  the  district  of  Dikoya  and  adjoininn-  the 
Company’s  Elstree  property.  This  should  pro^ve  an 
advantageous  -arrangement,  as  Dunkeld  is  a valuable 
tea  garden  and  is  very  centrally  situated  for  working 
in  with  the  Company’s  other  estates. 
The  average  exchange  for  the  year  has  been 
Is  2 31-64d  as  compared  with  Is  1 29-61d  last  season, 
and  this  has  materially  increased  the  sterling  amount 
of  the  estate  expenditure. 
The  following  is  the  total  acreage  of  tea  now  in 
bearing,  forest  and  waste  land,  and  the  crops  secured 
in  1896. 
Forest, 
Tea  in 
Waste," 
lb.  of 
Bearing. 
Grass. 
Tea. 
Aberdeen 
387 
93 
137,545 
Calsay 
351 
36 
109i260 
Luccombe 
..  717 
200 
245,030 
Gleneagles 
222 
— 
90.442 
Uda  Radella 
450 
105 
167,368 
Thornfield 
255 
35 
1.3.3,147 
Kehelgama 
. . 
322 
Total 
. . 2,382 
791 
882,792 
As  compared  with  last  year  these  figures  show  that 
the  tea  in  bearing  has  been  increased  by  143  acres 
and  the  production  of  tea  by  58,294  lb.  The  re- 
ports from  the  Agents  and  Managers  in  Ceylon,  con- 
tinue to  be  of  a satisfactory  character,  and  the 
directors  look  forward  with  confidence  to  a favorable 
result  from  the  present  year’s  working. 
MANGOES  IN  ENGLAND. 
“ Imi»eriaUst”  in  the  C(Aonies  and  write.s  : 
—The  con.signmeiit  of  tropical  fruit  from  Queens- 
land to  the  Agency  hero  arrived  in  excellent 
condition  so  far  as  tlie  mangos  went,  but  the 
pineapples,  unfortunately,  were  spoiled.  There 
were  about  sixteen  case.s  in  all,  and  one  case  of 
mangos  in  line  condition  was  sent  to  the  Queen. 
Case.s  of  the  other  mamjfos  rveiit  to  l\Ii- 
