Vol. Vir. No. 163. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



239- 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and Spices on the London Market. 

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

 following report on the London drug and spice market 

 during the month of May: — 



The condition of the niiiiket throughout the month of 

 May was characterized by its general dullnes.s, and though 

 a month had elap.sed since the previous drug sale the 

 demands at the first drug auctinn on May 7 were excep<lingly 

 slow and without iutei'est. In the matter of i)roducts affect- 

 ing the West Indies the following are the chief items : — 



(iIN(;EE. 



At the first auction of tire montli Jamaica was not 

 represented, but some 300 bags of new crop Cocliin and 

 Calicut were offered and bought in. In the following week, 

 however, a very large offering of Jamaica was made, amount- 

 ing to 1,180 packages, of which 3.50 were disposed of at the 

 sale and afterwards, at steady rates, common fetching from 

 o5s. to .5(54-. and good ordinary to middling QOs. 6d. to 67.s-. 

 Fair medium to bold plump \\'ashed Cochin realized at the 

 same sale 37s. Some African was also offered and bought 

 in at 2.5s. to 26s. per cwt. On the 20tli, Jamaica was again 

 brought forward in large quantity, some "700 packages being 

 offered. The demand, however, was slow, but at the auction 

 and afterwards some 500 [lackages were dispcised of at the 

 following rates ; good 76.<. to bO.v., fair to good common, 

 56.S. to 62s. 6d., and common 51s. These prices were a general 

 decline of from Is. to 2s. on previous rates. There was 

 a fair supply of Cochin and Calicut at this sale, but only 

 80 bags were disjjosed of ; rough Calicut fetched 34s., and 

 washed Cochin was bought in at from 37s. to 38s. Jamaica 

 ■was again in good supply at the last sale on the 27th, over 

 900 packages being brought forward, 600 of which found 

 buyers at the sale and afterwards. The (juotations were — 

 good to fine washed from 80s. to 87s , bold 72s., dull washed 

 62s. to 65s., small to good common ols. to 60.<., and very 

 common 51s. to 52s. 



NUTME08, M.\CK, ANI> i'lMENTO. 



At the first spice sale some 299 packages of nutmegs 

 were offered and disposed of at irregular rates. A week later 

 125 packages of West Indian were offered apd about 100 sold 

 at steady rates. No quotations were made later. About 

 72 packages of West Indian mace were brought forward ;it 

 the first spice auction and disposed of at the following rates ; — 

 Is. id. to Is. 5d. for good pale and reddish,,. Is. 2d. to Is. id. 

 for fair to good red, and 10'/. to Is. 3(/. for ordinary broken 

 to good pale. Very slight changes occurred in these prices 

 at later periods of the month. Pimento at the first auction 

 was very slow of sale : 183 bags were offered and all were 

 bought "in at 2Jr/. to 2f(7. per Iti. On the 20th, 510 bags 

 were offered and 300 sold, barely fair to fair fetching 2^(7. to 

 2Jc/. At the last sale, 235 bags were offere<d and all bought 

 in at from 2\d. to 2Jf/. per ib. 



jiKEOWEOOT. 



At the beginning of the month there \Yas no demand for 

 this article, the whrjlc of the offerings at the first sale being 

 bought in. At the second auction on the l+5th, 98 barrels of 

 St. A'incent were sold without reserve at from l|rf. to 2(7. 

 for ordinary to fair manufacturing. A week later there was 

 a .slight advance in prices, 38 barrels being .sold out of 

 70 offered, at 1|(7. to 2^f7. for the same quality, .\bout 

 20 bo.Kes of good Natal were also offered kt this sale and 

 bought in at ild. per R. The latest ■ qiwtations for the 



month for ordinary to fair manufacturing St. Vincent were 

 '2d. to 2]'/. per ttj. 



SAKS.\I'.\KII.LA. 



Prices of this drug have remained steady throughout the 

 month for nearly all descriptions. (Jrej' Jamaica still remains 

 exceedingly .scarce. At the first drug sale on the 7th, 

 20 [lackages of grey Jamaica uere offered and all were sold ; 

 l."i Viales fetched 2.<. to 2s. 1</. '.fjer lli. One shilling and 

 seven pence to 2s. was paid for water-damaged. Ten bales 

 of native -Jamaica fetched Is. 1</. to 1,<. 2(7. per lb. for fair 

 red, Is. fur ordinary yellow, and 9i/. for sea-damaged. Some 

 bales of pale yellow to dull reil soM at Is. to Is. 1-/. 



KOL.V, TAMARINUS, LIMK.n'ICE, ETC. 



Eighty packages of kola were offered at the first sale, and 

 52 .sold. They consisted of West African from St. Thome, 

 which sold at l-i(7. per Itj. Fair dried West Indian and 

 Ceylon realized from lirf. to 1 i,' per lb. Tamarinds have 

 appeared during the month from both India and the West 

 Indies, .^t the first .sale, 32 barrels of new crop Barbados 

 were sold at 15s. per cwt. in bond, another 6 barrels 

 of Nevis being also disposed of at the same price. The 

 following week, 5 casks of fair Calcutta were also sold 

 without reserve at lis. 6c7. pei- cwt., and at the last 

 sale -tl packages of Barbados were disposed of at 13s. to 14s. 

 per cwt. in bond. Of lime juice, 3 hogsheads of goofl pale 

 raw West Indian were offered at the first auction and realized 

 Is. 2(7. per gallon, while for 7 puncheons of similar (piality 

 Is. 3'7. was paid. Two cases of West Indian distilled oil of 

 lime were sold at the first auction at Is. lOd. per ft). At the 

 close of the month Is. 10(7. to 2s were the quotations for this 

 quality oil of lime, ^^'est Indian distilled orange oil, of 

 which 1 case was offered at the beginning of the month, 

 fetched 5s. per ft). A large quantity of cashew nuts, the 

 source of which was not stated, were offered about the 

 middle of the month and 5 bags described as ' husky' were 

 sold without reserve at 24s. per cttt. 



SCHOOL GARDENS AT BARBADOS. 



The latest report (1907) of the Inspectors of 

 Elementary Schools, Barbados, contains the following 

 reference to school garden work in the colony : — 



\\\' have made little progress under the head of Agri- 

 cultural Instruction, and we are not likely to make much 

 until the Legislature allots a special grant for the subject. 

 We have, however, n(jt retrograded. About the same number 

 of schools took up the subject as in the year before, and the 

 number of passes is about the same. Some of the school 

 gardens that were less satisfactory than others have been 

 given up, but the work in the better gardens has improved. 

 At the -Vpplewhaite's local show in December last, the 

 e.xhibits numbei-ed 122, and were distinctly better than at 

 any previous show. There is a great difficulty in obtahiing 

 land for school gardens in this island, ami even sites for 

 school buildings cannot easily be procured. 



Our opinion is that moder school gardens might be 

 started in suitable localities where the pupils from neigh- 

 bouring schools would receive instruction on one afternoon in 

 every week. If their work couhl be supervised by an officer 

 connected with the InqKrial Department of Agriculture 

 success would be assured. This plan has been- adopted in 

 British Guiana, and the cost is defrayed by the Government, 

 while the gardens are un;ler the ehntrol of the Department 

 of Science and Agriculture. 



