830 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[June i, 1898. 
0 27 inches less than the measurement, this balance 
being the.water that bad overflowed from the bottle. 
10. Thus, so far a^s tire recorded measurements go 
they may be accepted as correct. Whether they represent 
the actual rainfall is another matter. There are other 
possible causes of error to be considered : — 
(a). Splashii.g, caused by raiir drops falling on ground 
covered by a film of water. It is possible ilrat during 
the greatest inte}'isily of the fall there may have been 
some slight spiasliiug into the funnel of Uie gauge; but 
the protection afforded by the grass, and the height of 
the mouth of the gauge above the ground level could 
not but prevent this from being of importance. 
{h). The presence of tall trees on the windward side 
of the gauge is a much rrrore serious cause of error. 
While part of ihe heaviest rain was falling, a wind, des- 
cribed as “ irroderate ’'here in this forest, but “ strong ” 
at Kanukem tank, 11 miles away to the north- 
east was blowing from the west, and veering round 
to the south-west, in which directions 2 leafy trees, 
93 feet high, are so near as certainly to intercept 
a coirsiderable quantity of rain if it fell at an in- 
olinaticu even much steeper than 45 degrees. It is 
impossible to even guess ihe loss from this cause; 
but it may safely ba asserted that there must have 
been t-orae, and that possibly it was considerable. 
(c). The loss of rainfall while the bottle and re- 
ceptacle were removed in order to bo emptied. This 
cannot Te estimated; its total amount must have 
been very small. , . . „ , , i rv, 
11. My general conclusion is thai most probab'y the 
actual rainfall was in excess of the recorded amount.^ 
12. The only unusual circumstance connected with 
this rainfall is its steady continuance for so long a 
period ; and with regard to this iact the independent 
testimony of Mr. S iniiiugam, the District Engineer, 
and of villagers at liodalikkalla, 7 miles to the north 
east is conlinnatory. According to Mr. Sanmugam, 
the ram began at Kanukeni tank at about noon on 
the 15th and lasted until afternoon on the 16th 
December I have myself at tlie Dedutn Oya works 
measured an intensity of 1| inches per hour for 5 
consecutive hours. ^ 
13 At Kai ukem there is the evidence of the 
District Engineer, Mr. Sanmugam, at Kodalikkalla, 
that of the villagers, atNedunkeni, lliat of the Medical 
Officer and dispenser, that the heavy rain set in 
from the west. Towards evening the wind was blowing 
from the south, and on the following moinmg from 
the north-east, from which direction the wind was 
also recorded on the 15th morning at 9-30 a. m. Thus 
the storm was clearly cyclonic, as was to be expected, 
and the centre of the depression must have worked 
round from ihe north to the west of Nedunkem. 
Eegarding its earlier and later movements nothing 
19 known — I am sir, your obedient servant, 
13 Known. X (Signed) H. PAKKER, 
Irrigation Assistant, F. R. Met., Soc., &g. 

OUR I’KINUIPAL TEA COMPANIES. 
In the Ceylon Observer and Tropical Agricul- 
turist, will l>e found full reports from our 
own rcpicscnlaLivc of Ihe proceedings at_ the 
annual meetings of the Ceylon Tea Plantations, 
and Eastern IT'oduce and Estates Companies. 
The Chairman of the former, Mr. H, K, Ruther- 
ford, never fails to have useful information to 
iiniiart in his annual deliverance, and the present 
occasion is no exception to the rule. He shows us 
how each penny up or down in exchange means 
£150,000 into, or out of, the pockets of the Cey- 
lon tea planters; and that from this cause alone 
last year gave £250,070 less iirolit than 1895— 
■\vlien 6xchiin^e wa-s specially favourabiG. Then 
the Indian faiiliue and dear rice made a difference 
last year of £100,0('0 ; w Idle the lower price of tea, 
7(1 tier 11) lower last year than in 1695, lessened 
the prolits by £300,000 -thus giving an aggregate 
loss to our tea industry of no less than £710,000 or 
equal to £2-5s iior acre of tea in bearing. 
Is it fitly wonder after such a result, that 
there should be more than talk about ahandon- 
meiit, more specially considering the area 
tliat, tirobably even in 1895 did not earn £2-5s 
per acre ? For the future, Mi’. Rutlierford is 
hopeful : he thinks we have seen the worst ; 
but that manifestly depends on the decision of the 
Currency Committee, while such elements a.s 
Plague and War must also be taken into account 
a.s possibly interfering with the prolits of the 
industry. No Company, however, occupies a 
stronger position than that of the “ Ceylon Tea 
Plantations ’’ and both Mes.srs. Rutherford and 
Talbot were enabled to s]reak with confidence 
fis to its future. The latter ha.s come to believe 
ill artificial manuring to a certain extent, while 
the evidence afforded of the coconut invest- 
ments proving satisfactory, is very le-assuring. 
Mr. Lindsay-Nicholsoii represented even more 
extensive interests as Chairman of the 
meeting of shareholders in the Eastern 
Produce and Estates Company ; but with a 
heavy burden of debentures, the ordinary 
shareholders here, are glad to have less than half 
the dividend of their more fortunate neighbours. 
We think the Chairman was too sanguine in antici- 
pating the total abolition of the tea duty 
next year. Apart from the possibility of war 
(which would mean ,an increased duty), the 
most that can he anticipated, we think, is a 
reduction to tw’opence a lb. which w'ould still leave 
a collection of revenue exceeding two millions 
.sterling. Mr. Liiulsay-Nicholson did justice to 
the Ceylon staff, and their duties will he better 
understood in view of the figures given by the 
Managing Director showing that 14,500,000 lb. of 
tea— or one-eiglith of our entire crop — represented 
the Company'.s Agency business la.st year ! Mr. 
Cameron very properly dwelt on the great im- 
portance of developing the trade in our teas 
outside the United Kingdom and more es- 
pecially ill Russia and • America, to ■which 
he favours direct shipments from Ceylon. 
The other tw’o Companies whose proceedings are 
reported — the Highland and Poonagalla— are, of 
comparatively minor importance ; but Sir George 
Pilkington well shewed how much the spirit of 
“economic working” had entered into the minds 
of Directors in devising wire shoots and one conve- 
nient, common factory for the Poonagallagroup, in 
order to save labour. Sir George spoke out on the 
Currency question and no less so on the bad policy 
of planters .shipping home large quantities of 
inferior tea. Everywhere at present, one blessing 
is recognised as arising out of the trouble of 
“ hard times” and that i.s the check which has 
been, and mu.st he, given to the planting of 
further areas with tea. 
The Copperah Market. — Since our last report 
prices have been very unsteady, while the arrivals 
■were few and there was keen conipetiton. Monday 
opened with rates closing at R48’60 for fairly dried, 
on Tuesday the market moved to R49, aud on Wednes* 
day it stood easy at that price. On Thursday there 
was a jump of one Rupee and an estate parcel 
of 61 candies was closed at R60. On Friday there 
was piuch uneasiness aud closing rates stood at R53’25 
per candy, with an advance of R3’25 on the previ- 
vious day’s prices. This was an unprecedented jump, 
due more to the fact that a shipment for Odessa had to 
be closed, than to an actual upward move in the Euro* 
pean market. Today there was a still further rise of 
fifty cents, and next week it is believed, will open with a 
slump in the market. According to day’s private ad- 
vices, there is a downward tendency in prices in the 
London market, with which local sympathy will before 
long btt evinced.— Local "Examiner,” May 14, 
