YoL. VI r. No. 158. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



laS 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and Spices on the London Market. 



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

 following report on the London drug and spice market 

 during the month of March : — 



The iiKJUth of March was .sjjeeially marked in the dvug 

 market by a fall in the price of cocaine hydrnrhli.ri.Ie whirli 

 had for some time been expected, and which, it was antici- 

 pated, woukl still go lower. Six sliilling.s per oz. was the 

 price at which the article was purcliased kt the beginning of 

 the month, and at this date very large piirchases were made. 

 In the middle of the month, however, the i)rice had risen to 

 Gs. ad., and at the last auction on the 26th, 6-s. S./. was pai<l 

 for 175-oz. contracts, and 7s. for 50-oz. ])urchases. It is 

 said that the use of cocaine as an anafesthetio is declining, 

 especially among dentists by whom it has liithn-to been 

 much used. 



The ilealings in other produ<-ts have been of a piucly 

 normal character. 



iJINOEE. 



At the first spice auction on ilarch 4, some 300 pack- 

 ages of Jamaica were offered, and 3.3 sold at Gl.v. for fair 

 small washed, and .57.<. Qd. to .58.>i. for ordinary small. 

 Cochin and Calicut were in fair supph', but small .sales only 

 were made, small plump washed Cochin being held at 

 37.'!. 6f/., and medium bold limed Calicut at 43.s. A week 

 later prices had somewhat advanced, though the demand was 

 .small. Out of 180 packages of Jamaica <itfered only l-") were 

 .sold at 6.5.S. for low medium, and .58.s-. for good common. At 

 the auction on the 18th there was no Jamaica offered, but 

 1 7 bags of Calicut were put up, a few only of which were 

 dispo.sed of at 36.s. for tips, fair ciitting.s being held at 38.s-. 

 At the last spice sale on the ioth, the Jamaica offerings 

 amounted to 420 package.s, 17 only being .sold at the follow- 

 ing rates : 71.<. for middling and .55s. per cwt for i>rdinary. 

 Neither Cochin not Calicut was in demand. 



NUTMEOS, MACE, ANO PIMENTO. 



A slight advance on previous rates in nutmegs was 

 maintained at the first spice auction on March 4. On the 

 1 1th, a quiet tone prevailed at the sale, the offerings at which 

 were unimportant, 28 bags of Singapore- 80\s being bouo-lit 

 in at "lid. per It). On the 18th, 51 packages of West Indian 

 realized the following prices : id. to i\d. for 129'.s to 131? : 

 Aid. to 4i</. for 102's to 115's ; ild. to M for 92\s to 97's ': 

 5i,d. to 6(1 for 76's to 83'.s, and 9rf. for 67's. AVest Indian 

 mace at the first auction was disposed of to the extent of 

 40 packages. Is. 10^?. per Bi. being realized for fine pale, 

 Is. Ad. to Is. 5r/. for fair to good pale and reddish, while 

 for fair to good red Is. 3'/. to Is. Ad. was paid, and IQld. 

 to Is. for broken. These prices were maintained to the close 

 •of the month. Of pimento there has been but a slow 

 demand throughout the month, the prices varyiii<>- from 

 2|d to 2|-^. 



ARROWROOT. 



At the first spice auction on the 4th some GO barrels of 

 good manufacturing St. Vincent sold at 2Jrf. per lb. A week 

 later 30 packages of St. Vincent were sold without reserve 

 at '2d. to 2|(/. for ordinary to good, and 3^(f. for cases. (Jne 

 hundred cases of Natal were also oflered, and .sales made at 

 3fr?. per lb. for sound, and If'/, to M. for an 'of}' colour' 

 quality. At the last .sale on the 25th, ;is many as 200 liarrels of 

 .)St. Vincent were offered, the whole of which was bought in. 



.SAE.SAPAEILLA. 



At the beginning of the month it was stated that there 

 was a dearth in genuine grey .Jamaica, and that only a few 

 bales of native red were to be found here and there. At the 

 drug auction on the 12th, 18 bales of grey Jamaica had 

 arrived, and were sold at advanced ):irices over previous sales, 

 Is. 10(/. to 2ii. being paid for part coarse, and little dark to 

 good grey. Six bales of native -Jamaica were disposed of at 

 from Is. to 1.5. '2d. for ordinary pale and red mixed with 

 yellow. One bale of deep red native Jamaica realized Is. 3rf. 

 per It)., and 10 bales of Honduras were bought in at from 

 2s. Id. to 2s. 4(7. per lb. A fortnight later fair red, partly 

 sea-damaged, fetched l.<. 2d. to, Is. 3<i, didl red and yellow- 

 mixed, also partly sea-damaged,, l.s. to Is. 2d, and common 

 mixed dull red and yellow, partly damaged, .^old at 9''. to 

 UhJ. peril.. 



KOLA, OIL Ol-' LIME, ANNATTO, QUILLAIA, ETC. 



At the first sale of the month 40 packages of kola nuts 

 were offered and 15 sold ; 10 bags of dried, bold Grenada at 

 '2\d., and 5 bags of mouldy dried Jamaica at '2ld. per lb. 

 ( )n the 25th, 36 bags of small and medium darkish, dried 

 West Indian were offei'ed and all were bought in at 2^(7. per lb. 

 On the same date 3 eases of West Indian oil of lime were 

 sold at Is. M. per lb. In the middle of the month some 

 35 bags of good bright Ceylon aimatto sold at from 3|(:7. to 

 4(7. per lb. A consignment of 305 bales of Quillaia bark 

 A\,is reported as having arrived in Liverpool from Valparaiso 

 in the early part of the month, but details of sale had not 

 come to liand at the time of writing. Sweet West Indian 

 distilled oil of oranges was (i|Uoted in the middle of the 

 mouth at 7.V. Qd., and bitter at 5s. Qd. per lb. There have 

 lieen small sales of good bright Tripoli strip orange peel at 

 f^hd. per lb.; the market has been firm in chillies, good fair 

 but stalky Mombassa being held at 24s. 



MOTOR POWER IN AGRICULTURAL 

 OPERATIONS. ^ 



In a letter to the Imperial Commissioner ' of 

 Agriculture, Dr. Francis Watts has pointed out that 

 the rapid development of mechanical tillage in Antigua 

 (see Agricultural JS^civs, Vol. VI, p. 337) has naturally 

 resulted in an increased demand for (Iraught power 

 for the agricultural implements used. Mules aro 

 reported to be scarce and dear, and attention has 

 therefore been drawn to the po.ssibility of the introduc- 

 tion of motor power for the purpose. 



In England and .\merica motors are used to some 

 extent in agricultural operation.s, and it is possible that if 

 a maker sent out a machine with a skilled man to manage 

 it, for the purpose of demonstration, they might be found 

 suitable for use in these islands. One of the most prominent 

 among the English firms manufacturing agricultural, motors 

 is the Ivel Agricultural Motors, Limited, London. Another 

 firm is ;\ressrs. H. P. Sanderson & Co., of Bedford, who report 

 that they are sending motors to several British colonies, e.g., 

 the Sudan, P>ritish East Africa, South Australia, etc., as well 

 as to many foreign countries. The latter firm give particu- 

 lars of two motors of 36 and 20 horse power respectively, 

 manufactured by them. The fowner will haul 4 to 5 ton.s, 

 and in England will plough 'I acre per hour. The latter will 

 haul 2 to 3 tons and plough i acre per hour. They w[\[ 

 also drive machinery. The price of the former is £360, of 

 the latter, £290. 



] )r. Watts points out that there is a good field for 

 <lemonstrati(in in Antigua, and the machines might also be 

 tried at Barbados and St. Ivitt's. 



