620 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[March i, 1898. 
outlet from there to Bogawantalawa via Agar’s Laud 
is made into a ridable road, and Mr. Horsfall s horse 
was the first to pass over it. Mahawale estate 
is closest to Ratnipura. and is owned by the Maha- 
wale Tea Co., Ltd.,— when completed it will be over 600 
acres. The cart road goes through the estate, but 1 
expect it will be over a year before the section h'oni 
Malwala to Ratuapura (or vice versa) will get finished 
(5 miies) for cart traffic and from there to Wewal- 
watte is another 11 or 12 miles, but the difficulties 
are so great that it will take years to make, and 
may even have to be abandoned in monsoon months 
before completion. The Company have leased the old 
stones used in coffee days by the Commercial and Uva 
Coffee Companies. These will present a lively ap- 
pearance and busy all over when tea, rice, tea seed 
and machinery and factory fittings come pounng in, 
but at present are being used on a small scale. H. J. 
NORTHERN DISTRICTS PLANTERS’ ASSO- 
CIATION, CEYLON. 
THE ANNUAL REPORT. 
After the signing of the minutes of last meeting 
the Hon. Secretary) read the following report of 
the past years’s work ^ 
During the year two general and four Committee 
meetings have been held in Kandy. The change of 
venue has not been quite so successful in securing a 
larger attendance of members as could have been 
wished, though the improved train service is now as 
convenient, as could well be arranged. ^ 
The roll of members is slightly below last year s 
muster, 88, being then reported as having paid sub- 
scription against 85, this year, but several votes have 
been lost through groups of estates being incorpora- 
ted into Companies, which register only one vote for 
the whole group. Your aid is unvoked to try and 
get in new members in the current year. Balance at 
credit Association is R79'03 against which is due to 
Mr. E. E. Green R75 for his book on Coccidoeof Ceylon. 
Tea crop estimates have been collected with consi- 
derable care with results that may be regarded as 
satisfactory, no less than 6,734 acres being reported 
as not yet in bearing, not including consicffirable 
acres being opened by native cultivators. Eftorts 
were made to get in some of these figures, but letters 
to proprietor or superintendent were return^ through 
dead letter office as “ not called for.” The only 
effective way in future will be to try and get figures 
from the larger factories buying leaf. 
Figures collected to date are as follows. 
40,294 acres planted 33,560 in bearing 14,652,660 lb. 
tea. To these must be added : — 
2 492 acres planted and 2,371 in bearing, no returns 
’ ■ - ■■ ■ 1,184,800 
15,873,450 
Against last year . . 14,114,891 
received, estimated to yield 
Total 
Showing increase of - 
Acres. In 
Planted. Bearing 
. . 1,732,559 lb. 
Estate 
Yield. Average 
Allagalla 
Kegalla 
Knuckles 
Kelebokka 
Hunasgeria and 
Elkadua 
Wattegama and 
Dumbara 
Matale N. & W. 
MataleE. 
Raiigala and 
Madamaha- 
nuwara 
Nilambe 
Hantane 
2,366 
1,860 
4,261 
4,712 
1,903 
1,337 
3,957 
4,455 
1,042,600 
670,000 
1,705,500 
1,723,000 
547 
501 
431 
386 
3,030 2,981 1,147,000 384 
2,805 
4,957 
7,746 
1,931 
3,298 
6,300 
5,889 5.194 
5,512 4,575 
841,500 
1,130,500 
2,877,650 
1.711.400 
1,136,100 
2.288.400 
486 
555 
466 
329 
600 
42,786 35,931 16,837,450 
17,000,560 
Average per acre 440 lb. 
Hantane and Nilambe are bracketed together in 
order that the figures may agree with those arrived 
at by the sub-Committee appointed to deal with 
the official estimate of the tea crop. The Secretary 
has not the acreages of the Nilambe District either 
planted or in bearing, but has added the figures 
giving as approximately the yield of the Nilambe Dis- 
trict, excluding estates which were included in Hantane. 
Railway Time Table . — The efforts of the Association 
to get an improved service on Matale-Kandy line 
may be regarded as satisfactory as regards the tra- 
velling public, though complaints are made gainst 
the mail service since night mail was taken off. 
The new time table practically received unanimous 
support from members present at various meetings 
and deputation and the thanks of the Association 
are due to His Excellency the Governor and to the 
General Manager, C. G. R. for the concession of 
afternoon trains. The thanks of the Association are 
also due to the General Manager and staff for their 
efforts to meet the convenience of travellers and 
consignees of goods daring the serious interruption of 
traffic caused by the big slip on the Allagalla incline. 
Lkuwela . — Efforts are being made to try and get 
a siding here for loading and unloading goods, a want 
which is very much felt. 
Hill Tramways . — Although Teldeniya returns showed 
that a steam tramway would at once give good re- 
turns, nothing more has been heard of the results 
of meetings, &c., in the Rangala District and of 
reports sent in to the commission. 
Post Office . — It is to be regretted that equal energy 
was not displayed by this Government Department. 
Bitter complaints have been very general of the 
irregularity and infrequency of mails throughout the 
district caused by non-use of goods trains and extra 
runners during the block on the Railway incline. 
The Ukuwela office still remains only a receiving 
office in the hands of the Station Master, C. G. E. 
much to the inconvenience of residents in the 
district. The efforts to secure a proper Post office 
this year being unsuccessful owing to the “several more 
urgent cases where Government is unable to sanction 
for the present the necessary funds.” 
Labour . — Generaily the districts have been better 
supplied this year, large numbers of coolies having come 
in from the coast. The proposed labour federation is 
in the hands of Parent Association and matters may be 
left to your committee. A sub-committee has drawn 
up a set of rules, which has been adopted by General 
Committee to be brought before next annual general 
meeting. Your committee commend the Federation to 
the hearty support of proprietors and Superintendents 
in the district. 
Benevolent Lund . — This is deserving of more gen- 
eral support and the Committee urges on members its 
claims and would refer them to the last annual report 
recently circulated for evidence of its usefulness. 
3Iines & Machinery Ordinance . — Rules in connec- 
tion with this new ordinancehave been sent by Govern- 
ment for circulation among members and copies were 
recently posted out. 
Ferguson Memorial Hall . — The foundation stone 
was laid by Her Excellency Lady Ridgeway in Kandy 
on Tuesday 29th June, 1897, and the contractors are 
now busy at the foundation trenches. So we may hope 
ere long to see the walls rising. 
Indian P'amine Fund . — Your Association made spe- 
cial efforts to secure support and nearly Rl,400 were 
collected and sent in to Mr. Philip. 
Consulting Entomologist . — His Excellency deserves 
the thanks of planters for allowing a small grant to 
Mr. Ernest Green, Hony. Consulting Entomologist, 
for conducting experiments. Mr. Green has drawn up 
a scale of fees and his services are at the disposal of 
members on very reasonable terms. 
Cacao Disease. — Mr. Willis, the new director of 
Botanic Garden, Peradeniya, has been very ener- 
getic in publishing three numbers of a circular on 
this subject, all of which have been reported in 
the local papers, and copies have been sent to most 
of your members through the courtesy of the Dir- 
ector, Royal Botanic Garden. 
