26 o 
tHE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Oct. I, 189L 
combinations siach as these, as they tend to keep down 
rates and reduce the cost of managemerd. I am 
glad to have the opportunity of stating that the com- 
panies’ superintendents, managers, and assistants are 
working well, and have as a rule given us satisfac- 
tion. I do not think I need detain you any longer. 
I am happy to be able to give you so satisfactory 
an account of our first year’s working, and, whilst 
we must expect ups and downs sometimes, I trust 
when we next meet I shall have an equally satis- 
factory report to make. I have pleasure in proposing 
the following resolution ; — “ That the balance-sheet and 
profit and loss account for the year ending November 
30th, 1896, with the auditors' certificate and the 
directors' report thereon, be and the same are hereby 
received, approved, and adopted ; that the dividend 
at the rate of 5 per cent., less income tax, paid to 
November 30th, 1896, on the first preference shares of 
the company be and the same is hereby confirmed ; 
that a dividend at the rate of 7 per cent, less income 
tax, to November 30th, 1896, on the second prefer- 
ence shares of the company be now sanctioned and 
declared ; and that a dividend of ten per cent, less 
income-tax payable August 14th next, be now sanc- 
tioned and declared out of the balance of the profits 
of the year on the amount paid upon the ordinary 
shares of the company, ,i'65,000 placed to credit of a 
reserve, fund, and the balance of £14,236 6s 4d carried 
forward to next year. 
Mr. Buchan.vn seconded the resolution, and Mr. 
Caeuitt, in the course of a few remarks expressed 
approval of the steps which the directors were taking 
in the way of increasing the growth of fine teas, 
Belling the Travancore property, and extending the 
trade to Russia. 
The motion was unanimously adopted. The audi- 
tors were reappointed, and after a vote of thanks had 
been passed to the chairman, the proceedings termi- 
nated . — Olasyow Paper. 
INDIAN PATENTS. 
Aug. 21. 
Applications in respect of the undermentioned inven- 
tions have been filed, under the provisions of the In- 
ventions and Designs Act of 1888, in the office of the 
Secretary appointed under that Act, during the week 
ending 7th August 1897 : — 
Improvements in Apparatus for the Drying or 
other Treatment of Tea Leaf. — No. 306 of 1897 — 
Samuel Gleland Davidson, merchant, of Sirocco En- 
gineering Works, Belfast, for improvements in appara- 
tus for the drying or other treatment of tea leaf, 
tobacco leaf, grain, malt, fruits and other substances. 
Improvements in the Method of and Apparatus for 
Extracting Oil from Seeds.— No. 448 of 1896. — William 
Robert Harri'-on, consulting engineer, and Edwin 
Stwhenson, oil refiner, both of Hull in the county, 
of York, for improvements in the method of and 
apparatus for extracting oil from seeds or other 
oleaginous substances. (Specification filed 2nd Aug. 
1897.) 
Improvements in Tea-Rolling Machines. — No. 333 
of 1892. — John Brown, engineer, of London, for im- 
provements in tea-rolling machine-. (From 7th Aug. 
1897 to 7th Aug. 1898 . — Indian and Eastern Engineer. 
THE HISTORY OF THE SWEET PEA,— 
SUPPOSED NATIVITY IN CEYLON. 
In tire Florist's Exchange for July 17, Mr. S. 
B. Dicks contributes an article on this subject, 
with illustrations copied from some of the older 
books. Mr. Dicks traces the sweet pea to John 
Banhin’s Historia, 1650. The plant itself is a 
native of Sicily, but one form of it was considered 
to have come' from Ceylon, and was accordingly 
called by Burmann, Lathyrus-zeylanicu.s. The 
word “ liobis,” which has misled Mr. Dicks, of 
course applies to Burmann himself I How the 
mistake arose of considering the Sweet Pea tis a 
native of Ceylon, we cannot tell. For those with 
leisure, it wouhl, no doubt, form an interesting 
subject ot enquiry. It is Certain that neither 
Baker, in Hooker’s Flora of British Indta, nor 
Trinien in Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon, admits 
the plant as a native of the island, though it is 
likely to have been taken there.— Crarc/f)!t)’'s 
Chronicle, Aug. 7- 
VALUE OF TEAK. 
In an article in 2'imher (London) on the value 
of teak for structural and mechanical purposes, 
the claim is put forth that such wood is really 
the most durable timber known and of especial 
importance to shipbuilders, being very hard, very 
light, easily tvorked, and, though porous, strong 
and lasting. It is soon seasoned, shrinks but 
little, and on account of its oily nature does not 
injure iron. In southeastern Asia it is net only 
considered the best material for ship construction, 
but for house carpentry and other work where 
strength and other lasting (jualities are requiretl. 
It is rarely attacked by ants of the whiter 
species, and its rare durability renders it specially 
valuable in a climate like that of India, where 
the elements causing decay are so numerous and 
powerful, where dampness brings on rapid de- 
comi)osition, and where the white ant devours 
without sci'uple. In the operation of cutting this 
wood is frequently girdled one or two years before 
it is felled. 
♦ 
CITKONELLA OIL. 
Mr. J. C. Umney communicated, in a skilful 
abstract of his paper at the 34th annual meet- 
ing of the British Pharmaceutical Conference 
held at Glasgow from August 9th to 12th, the 
interesting fact that the native distilled oil of 
citronella has not so high a specific gravity as 
that distilled by two English firms in the East : — 
He and Mr. R. S. Swinton have investigated the 
reasons for the difference, and find that the native 
oil contains a large percentage of a heavy and high- 
boiling sesquiterpene, which reduces considerably 
the odour value. The “ English ” oil is of finer 
aroma on this account, and Mr. Umney explained 
that the low specific gravity of the native oil is 
not an indication of impurity. The difference re- 
ferred to is probably due to the use of steam-heat 
by the English firms in distilling, and of fire-heat 
by the natives ; at any rate lavender oil distilled 
by steam is found to be of much finer odour than 
the oil distilled by fire-heat as done at Mitcham. 
Mr. Umney also mentioned that Sir Walter Gilbey 
is experimenting in the cultivation of lavender at 
Elsenham, in Essex . — Chemist and Druggist. 
THE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY, CEYLON. 
This school started work on the 15th of April with 
six students (a limited number), three of whom were 
drafted from the Forest Department, and the remain- 
ing three selected from the students of the School of 
Agriculture after competitive examination. The follow- 
ing is a list of the subjects taught, with the names 
of the teachers annexed : — 
Forestry . . Mr. Broun, Conservator of Forests. 
Mathematics.. Mr. Walter Parys, 
Forest Law . . Mr. F. M. de Saram, Advocate. 
Surveying . . Mr. Dyson Blair. 
Botany . . Mr. Drieberg, Superintendent, 
School of Agriculture. 
The course of trainingas at present arranged covers 
one year. During the atter part of the year the 
students were taken on 1 tour by the Conservator of 
