Septemissr t, 1891.] 
THP T^OPfCAL AQRI0ULTURI8T. 
OUVAH COFFEE COMPANY, LIMITED. 
Capital <100, 000, in 10,000 shares of <10 each. 
Diaii cross. 
John Brown, Ejq.,ManBciiiK Director. 
H, H. Fotts, Esq., L. Pamin, Esq., BOward Ooudtr, 
Biq. 
Repost 
To be prfBsnted to the Twenty-eighth Ordinary Go- 
nrral meetioB of (bo Company, to beheld at No. 5, 
Dowgate Hdl, London, on Wednesday, the 29',h day 
pf iTiiIy, 1891, at 1 o'clock p. m. 
The following Annual Accounts are now prcroutcd to 
8t’nr< holders, yia. i-ProBt and Losa Aceonut fo • trojj 
1880-90, Balance Sheet made up to 31et May, 1801. 
Chop 1S89.9o. 
In tho Dlreetora' last Report the coffee crop of tho 
abrv.V acnson was tetimatcd .at 1,400 cwt., and it will 
1)6 soon that the actual weight sold in London amounled 
to 1,4G0 owl. 2qra. S lb. 
Tiie'otal prcceede, incIupiveoF a small qaantlty sold 
in Ceylon, hminnted to <7,719 7s lOd., giving an 
aypr.it'cnf 102a 5d per cwt., against an average oi PCs 
obtained for ♦hoprevirns crop. 
Tbc crt ji of ton was estimated at 250 COO Ib. and the 
actual w( islit told from ttin Companv’a own estates 
wo-. 211,241 lb. BBsideathis2IP,8121l). of tea inaun- 
r.ctur.dfrcm leaf bought from ueighboiiriini ettatos 
were sol’. 
Tho total value of all tea sold was <2O,1U0 Mi Id, 
er an av rag.- of lOJd per' Ib. as compared with lid for 
tee jireyi.r.ns season. 
Tho weight of cinebocH bark sold was 45,500 lb., and 
”10 v.,lii3 £"o3 Ms 9tl, or a.^il ptr 1' .against the, former 
year's .average of 4}d per lb. 
0, e ..a w i j.ip 57 ravt. 1 qr. 23 Ib , realised £'2.)5 12s 
9'l, 111, avorigo sd.iugpiicc bring 88s 3d per cwt. 
n!;i."i; I Shi'for tho formei' yeax’s crop. 
I' vn I ti.HS bo seeu that, the total valuo of all pro 
•lure tnl.i amniii.tcd to <29,22,3 Os 5d. 
London, art, r allowing for Profit ou Exebangu, 
(imi uuted o .,21.025 . is Kl, and deducting this from 
the value of tUo I’rednce, n Profit la ehown on the 
FO.asou’s werknig ef <4,508 5.s Id. To this baa to be 
added th ■ balance of <GS 128 8d, bronghf forward 
from last yenr, giving a total of .£4,0C6 17s 9,1 at Ihe 
credit of I’n lic. and Loss Account. 
An interim devidond ef per cent, on the capital 
o| the Company was paid ou 12 li .lannary latt, tvhioli 
absorbed .£1,500 of tho above named sum, and the 
Directors now rcoommind that <2, SCO bn applied to 
the piyment (fa further dividend ef 2i per cent, 
making 4 per cent, for the year, and that the sum 
of <014 9i 10.1 be writleu eft Maebinerv AcoMimt, 
reducing it to <COO. thus leaving <52 7 b IM at flic 
credit cf Profit and Lois to bo carried forward to 
next aocouut. 
Chop l$i)0.91, 
The Diri^ctors are able to r( port a favourable out- 
look for tills sja.son, and if the market prioeaof tea 
and oonoe arc fairly maintained, they have every hope 
° dividend for the ensuing yeur, 
Iho peats ot green bug and leaf disease, which 
of lato years Imyo done so great injury to the c.ifoo 
bush, have for tho past sniaon been somewhat in 
abeyance, and have thus allowed a fair crop to 
mature, tlie ooffe., crop for l!m eohbou being now 
imateil at - 600 cwt. The ooffoo on tlm estates is 
reported to h i looking „,.u ,he next crop, but 
owing to Iho cspr.cioua iialiir.r of the pe.sia relVred 
'1 ‘®*«.vhow Img this c impa-.tivo 
immnnUy from disease may continue or wl.ether it is 
0 y dn.3 to tav.-nirab e climatic influences. The area 
sill und- r oMUe is 9b, aorcs, and it is not intended 
‘f.fOtntime to replace any of this colfoe with lea. 
and r'^ i r Vi‘ *^”1 ^“'“I'n'-y’s estates is growing 
aua jreldiug well, and tho eatimatod crop for tho cur. 
f/nt „m,,on 280.0001b. which it is thought wiirin, 
becurod. At tbo preseut time, the prioes ruling for 
tea are not satisfactory. 
25 
By the end of the year the Directors hope to have 
tho Company’s three Tea Factories fully equipped with 
maohinerj-, ifeo. 
The area now under tea i.s as follows 1 — 
Tr*. 
Planted Novomber/Deoember 
1888 9 acre*. 
1884 847 „ 
1885 448 „ 
27 „ 
17 
fiT .. 
12 „ 
1886 
1887 
1838 
1889 
1890 259 » 
Total area under tea ... 1185 acres 
As the price of silver rule! high during four months 
of the ourretit sea«on, the proflit on Esohsngo will 
not ha po large a« during season 1889 90. 
^ ™<'™ber of the Board, retires 
on this occasion, and, being eligible, offers himself 
for re-election. 
Mesijrs. Deloitt", Dever, Griffiths & Oo., the Audi, 
tors, also offer themselves for re-election 
July 20 Ii1!V"9l''''’ 
THE EFFECT OF rAf’KTNO HEATED TEA 
IN CHESTS. 
Acoording to our last London Letter some inis- 
iiiiilorstBiiding appaara to have arisen na to a 
tuhject of Ista (Malt with in our columns, namely 
tho_ tendency of ton boxes to absorb damp during 
tli-ir tvmsit homewards in tho sweating holds 
of steamers. 
Probably an insuffioient distinotion was drawn 
during tho diseuseion of this question between 
uiisoasonod woods and those uusuitabla by their 
grail), or from other oauses, for use in the mak- 
ing ot lea box-es. It may, however, we think 
be concluded from tho arguments formerly put 
forward that imperfectly seasoned woods we more 
espooially imble to absorb damp during the passage 
hoinewaruB, while those obmplotoly seasoned would 
be free from such a liability. On Iho face of it 
It would eeeni epparent that tho first olass ot 
theso two, that in which dampness was naturally 
present at tho time of weighing on the estate 
would bo less likely to change weight on the 
journey homewards than the mote completely 
dried and seasoned wood, Suoh would, it would «eem 
have already got its full burden of moisture and 
would therefore ho less likely to change in weight 
"P of more moisture in a 
ship a hold, i er coMra it might perhaps be assumed 
pat a POTfeotly dry seasonod ohest would be likely 
to ccQdily absoib such dauipuo&s ss ruiuht bo 
{ifospt in a vessel's hold. But on giving fuller 
oonsidoraiion to alt the oonditiona attending tho 
packing of tea, and to those which oonatituto a 
thoroughly seasonod wood, those conclusions may, 
we think, very probably be reversed. 
lu the first place, what are the specialities of a 
pericotly seasoned wood, iu the sense that is 
generally understood ? Wo know perfectly well 
that. Bi.asoaing ceiiuot be produced by subjeoting 
the green wood to artitioial heat. By snob means 
you may turn out siiill as dry as a chip ; but it 
is not seasoned. Expose it tn a damp atmosphere, 
and the cells of fibres of Ibo wood commence at 
onoe to absorb damp and tho last state of material 
BO treated is worse than the first. But the essence 
of sfl.i8oniDg is tlie gradual method of its aooom. 
P iBli^ment. Time is rpuired for the oollnlar tissue 
of the timber to contract as its sap and absorbed 
damp dry out. This fact is so well known to 
