ToL. Vir. No. 150, 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



31 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCT?. 



Drugs and Spices on the London Market. 

 Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S., has forwarded the 

 following reports on the London drug and spice market 

 •during the month of November : — 



The spice and drug markets during tlie month of 

 November have experienced a very variable course, many 

 things occurring to alter or impede the usual order of 

 business. Of these causes may be mentioned the higli ami 

 fluctuating Bank rate, and the American crisis. 



GINGEE. 



In the matter of ginger, at the first spice auction on the 

 6th, only 1 barrel of .Tamaica was offered and sold at 70s. per 

 cwt.: 900 packages of Cochin and Calicut were also otferwl 

 and bought in at prices varyuig from 37.S. to \)5s., according 

 to quality. A ^^■eek later, 10-5 packages of Jamaica, and 

 13-5 bags of wormy rough Cochin w-ere offered and all bought 

 in, the latter at 3.0s. 6(7. On the ■20th, 10 bags of washed 

 Jamaica sold at 70.s. to 72.<., and good common at 67-<. At 

 the last sale on the 27th, 156 packages of .Jamaica were 

 ottered and only 6 sold at 53.s. for bold dark, 73.'!. to 7 Cut. 

 being the prices at which ordinary to good ordinary was 

 bought in. 



NUTMEGS, MACE, .\ND PIMEMTO. 



Of the first named, on November 13, 10 cases of 

 Peuang were disposed of without reserve, at the following 

 rates:— 69'.s, at Is. 2d. to Is. 3(7.; S3's, at 7d. to 7U. 

 Forty -seven boxes of Singapore were also sold, SO'.s-, at 7d. to 

 7^,d. Fourteen cases of Ceylon 98'.?, wormy, fetched id. to 

 Aid., and 'H packages of West India were offered and sold as 

 follows slightly wniniy, 7rs, at 5-1(7.; fair, 82's, at (^Id.; 

 Si's, at 6r('.:and 95'.s, at 51(7. per lt>. Similar prices prevailed 

 during the remainder of the month, with a slightly lower 

 tendency in West Indian. On the loth, 10 packages of West 

 Indian mace were disposed of at l.s. 3d. to Is. 4(7. for fair ; 

 Ls. 1(/. to Is. 2d. for ordinary ; and 9(7. for broken. Fair 

 Penang realized \s. 5d.. and wild ilacassar was bought in 

 at I0(/. On the 27th, there was but very little alteration ; 3 

 packages of fair AVest Indian realized Is. 2(7. to Is. 3(7. and 

 Ceylon broken and pickings 9(7. to 11(?. i)er Ih. Of Pimento 

 there has been but very little demand during the month. At 

 the first sale when about 100 bags were offered, all were 

 bought in at 3|rZ. A fortnight later, the quotations were 

 3-rj5(7. to 3^(7. for fair, at which price the whole offerings were 

 bought in, and no furtli(='r change occurred during the reniain- 

 <ler of the month. 



AHROVVROOT. 



At the spice sale on the 6th, 309 barrels of St. Vincent 

 were offered and bought in at 2|(7. to 2^d. for fair to good 

 manufacturing. On the 20th, a few-' cases of good Natal 

 were oll'ered and realized -t(7. per tt). 



SAESAPARILLA. 



At the first drug sale in the mimth, grey .Jamaica had 

 advanced 2(7. to 3d. over previous rates. Native Janiaii-a 

 sold at steady rates, 2 bales of fair red realizing Is. jier It)., 

 and 2 bales of dull red 11(7. peril). Five bales of a kind 

 said to be from Ecuador, but imported via New York, ami 

 resembling' a starchy kind of Ouayai|ud, sold at 9(^ per 11). 

 At the auction of the 21st, 11 bales of grey Jamaica were 

 offered, 9 of which were sold — for good fibrous, ]x. 9(/.: and 

 for slightly coarse and country damaged, Is. 7d. to Is. S,/. 

 per U). Twenty-one bales of Liina-.T;unaica were offered and 

 12 sold at Is. 7(7. for fair, and Is. 4(7. to l.f. 5(7. for rather 

 -coarse. One bale of good red native Jamaica realized ]s. 



per ft)., and 20 bales of a character similar to Guayaquil were 

 bought in at Is. 1(7. per Itj. A recent outcry about the false 

 packing of sarsaparilla, deserves all the publicity that can be 

 given to it, with the view of exposing and preventing such 

 a nefariou.s practice. The Chemist and Drmjijisf of Novem- 

 ber 9, referring to this, says : ' Of late several parcels of 

 Native Jamaica sarsaparilla have been consigned to Londors 

 mixed with red earthy dust and chumps, and occasionally 

 stones have been found packed in the interior of the bales 

 A parcel otlered at the drug auction to-day prove to have 

 been false packed with several pounds of this rufibish — 

 a practice which, if continned, is likely to detract from the 

 ^'alue of the goods and weaken confidence in the artiide. 



KOLA, IJME .TUICE, QUILLAIA, etc. 



At the auction on the 6th, 7 packages of fair dried West 

 Indian kola sold at 2(7. to 21(7. per ft. A fortnight later, the 

 offerings from all sources amounted to 37 packages, fair 

 Ceylon and West Indian selling at 2(7. to 2\d., 1 bag of very 

 mouldy West Indian finding a purchaser at \\d. per lb. On 

 the 27th, some 50 bags of We.st Indian dried were all 

 brought in at 3Ad. per Ih. Of lime jince at the first sale 

 34 packages were offered and 21 sold, fair raw West Indian 

 fetching Is. 2c7. per gallon. ' Oil of lime was represented 

 at the first auction by 20 packages of West Indian distilled, 

 the bidk of which was held at 2s. 3(7. per lb. No other sales 

 occurred during the month. On the 6th., one case of West 

 Indian Oil of bay realized 7.?. 3(7. per lb. Some 22 bags of 

 fair dry Ceylon annatto seeds w-ere offered, and sold at the 

 first auction, at from 2(7. to 2\d. per lb. No other sales 

 were made during the remainder of the month. Quillaia 

 bark has commanded higher prices, 30.s. per cwt. being asked 

 and 35s. for crushed. A large consignment of cashew nuts 

 from Bombay was offered during the month, good white decor- 

 ticated finding purchasers at 47s. 6(7. per cwt. and fair at 44s. 



STOCK REARING IN JAMAICA. 



The x\nieiic;ui Consul nt King.ston contributes the 

 following note on the ronrir^g of animals in Jamaica, to 

 the December number of the 7^S'. f'i>n^iiliir and 

 Trade Reports : — 



The rearing of cattle, horses, and mules is an important 

 industry in .Jamaica. This is known as 'pen keeping,' the 

 pens varying in size from 200 to 3,000 acres, and embraces 

 for a pen of 1,000 acres about 350 to 400 head of cattle. 

 Cattle raising is most largely engaged in by the pen keepers, 

 who rear both beef and draft animals. The English breeds 

 are for the former, and the East Indian cross breeds for the 

 latter purposes. Dairying is not carried on to any great 

 extent, the native cow not being a good nnlkor. .ianiaii-a 

 must therefore draw Lirgely from foreign .?ources for butter, 

 cheese, and condensed milk .supplies. 



Excellent horses arc bred on the island, both racing and 

 wnrk stc.ick. Hor.se and mule breeding is a profitable 

 industry for tlie pen keeper having proper knowledge of its 

 re(|uirements. All heavy draft work is done by mules, for 

 which animals a large home market is created, owing to the 

 fiuit and dyewood indu.stries. For the fiscal year 1906 the 

 export statistics of animals are given as follows : Cattle 

 2,769 head, valued at |S0,G73 ; horses and mules, 273 head, 

 valued at $16,517. Hides to the value of $41,852, and 

 goat skins to the value of $47,292 were also exported. 

 Cuba afforded the princijial market for cattle.; Bee-keeping 

 resulted in export rcturirs of honey amounting to $49,560 

 for the same year. 



