Vol. XVri. Xo. ill. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



31 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LONDON 



MARKET. 



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

 lowing report on the London drug and spice markets 

 for the month of November 1917: — 



In reviewing the conditions of the drug and spice liiarket 

 during the month of November, it is necessary to say that 

 the business of five weeks, instead of the usual four weeks, 

 ■comes under review, as the 1st and 29th of November both 

 fell on a Thursday — the day of the week on which the drug 

 auctions are always held. Witli regard to the condition of 

 the markets from week to week, but little or no change can 

 be repsrted, either in supply or demand, since our report for 

 ■October. Buyers do not proceed beyond satisfying their 

 immediate wants, and with regard to prices the general 

 tendencies are upwards. The following are the principal 

 items of interest. 



<".ixi;er. 



At auction on the 8th of the month ginger was in quiet 

 •demand. Some 812 packages of Cochin and Calicut were 

 brought forward, and 114 sold at 6.5s. per cwt. for brown 

 rough Calicut: sound was all bought in at from 72s. to Us. 

 •Some 100 bags of Sierra Leone were bought in at 60s. 

 A fortnight later ginger was again in steady demand and in 

 plentiful supply: 420 packages of Cochin and Calicut were 

 brought forward, and 281 sold, (37s. M. being paid for fair, 

 washed, rough Cochin, and 60s. for bold, brown, rough 

 Calicut. Some 100 bags of Sierra Leone were also offered, 

 and bought in at 60s. per cwt. 



.MACE AX1> PIMENTO. 



Mace has commanded slightly advanced piices on previous 

 rates, and has been in good demand. Thus at auction ou 

 November 7, 4 cases from Java of fine, bold, palish realized 

 4s. 2d. to is. 3d. peril)., while 2 other cases from Penang of 

 bold character, but somewhat wormy, fetched 4s. to 4s. 2d. 

 Some 20 cases of Bombay were also disposed of at l^d. to 

 S\d. per tt). Towards the end of the month soma 31 cases of 

 flat, red Singapore were disposed nf at 3s. Sd. to 3s. lOd. 

 Pimento has been in good demand during the month. At 

 auction on the 7th, 500 bags were offered and sold at 4-|(i. per 

 K)., a price that was slightly less towards the end of the month, 

 when 434 bags were offered, des^^ribed as the result of 

 a Prize action. 



-SARSAPARILLA. 



It was reported in the early part of the month that the 

 prices generally of sarsaparilla had advanced, and that 

 2s. 3cl per Bf>. was asked for Mexican. On the 1.5th of the 

 month the offerings at auction were as follows: grey Jamaica 

 10 packages, native Jamaica 8, Me.xican 17, and Honduras 

 :^. None of the grey Jarjaica was sold, 4s. per lb. being 

 asked: while 7 packages of the native Jamaica found 

 buj-ers at the following rates: 2s. 3d. to 2s. id. per B). for red 

 and yellow mixed, and \s- lOd. to If. llrf. for dull red partly 

 sea-damaged. Of the 17 bales of Mexican, -5 only were 

 disposed of at 2s. 3d. perfc. : out < if the 9 bales of Hon- 

 duras 3 only were sold at 3s. 3s?. per lb. 



CITRIC ACID, ARROWROOT, LIME OIL, CASSIA FISTLLA, 

 KOLA, and TAMA KINDS. 



Citric acid has remained ac from 3s. 2},d. to 3s. Sd. 

 throughout the month. It has been stated, however, that 



it is the intention of the Italian Government to advanca 

 the price of the raw material by 60 per cent. At auction 

 on the 1st of the month arrowroot was in very full 

 supply, amounting to several hundred barrels of fair to 

 fine manufacturing St. Vincent, part of which was disposed 

 of at from o]fd. 10 6}jd. per Jb.. a price which varied only 

 slightly throughout the month. The price of lime oil in the 

 middle of the month was 75. per B). for distilled, and l<3s. for 

 hand-pressed. At auction on the 17 th of the month 

 77s. 6d. per cwt. was asked for Cassia Fistula pods. Kola, 

 was in good supply at the auction on the l-5th, as 

 many as 161 packages being offered, and sold at from Q^d. 

 to 9hd. per ft), for medium :o bold, dried Java halves. At 

 the same auction the large consignment of 1 88 barrels of 

 Antigua tamarinds was disposed of at 35s. 6d. to 37s. 6d, 

 per cwt. : and for Montsetrif, 37s. 6c?. to 39s. 6'?. was paid. 



TANNING POSSIBILITIES IN THE WEST 



INDIES. 



The tanning of locally produced hides and skins has 

 been undertaken more or less successfully in most of the 

 West Indian islands on a small scale from time to lime; 

 Jamaica being the only one, as far as the writer of this 

 article is aware, where the industry is carried on somewhat 

 extensively and scientifically in fairly large tanneries. In the 

 smaller islands, such as Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia and 

 Antigua, there are small attempts made at tanning by 

 individuals here and there, with a very limited output. In 

 some of these cases the product has nDt been able to compare 

 favourably with imported leather. 



Owing to the difficulty under present conditions of 

 obtaining imported leather, renewed interest has been 

 shown in this direction. In Antigua for instance, Mr. Collens, 

 Superintendent of Agriculture, at a meeting of the local 

 Agricultural and Commei cial Society in August 1917, pointed 

 out the possibilities of a local tanning industry, as was noticed 

 in Vol. XVI , No. 404, of this .Journal. In St. Lucia, we learn 

 from information supplied by Mr. E. Buckmire, Agricultural 

 Assistant in that island, that most of the leather Msed by the 

 shoemakers there is locally tanned, but that the quality is 

 inferior to imported leather in durability and resistance to 

 wet. 



Mr. Buckmire repoit; that the tanning industry ia 

 St. Lucia has been gradually developing for more than twelve 

 years, and that skins are now being tanned in almost every 

 district of the island, but in no case is it carried on as 

 a man's sole occupation, nor is there any regular tannery. 

 The bark of the mangrove is the usual material employed ia 

 the process, and sometimes also the bark of a tree known 

 locally and in some other islands also as 'Bois tan' {Byrsonin^.i, 

 spicata). 



It seems desirable that the tanning industry should 

 be encouraged and developed; and for this purpose the 

 improvement of the quality of the leather ought to be aimed 

 at. In the fiist place the co-operation 01 individual tanners 

 might lead to the construction of a properly equipped tannery, 

 where competent workmen might obtain a remunerative wage, 

 enabling them to devote their whole attention to their art. 



In the second place, research might be made into local 

 supplies of tanning material, for as is well-kcown, there are 

 a number of indigenous or naturalized plants which are quite 

 rich in tannin. Thus the quality of the leather might be so 

 improved as to be able to compete fairly at a lower cost 

 with that imported, and leather enough turned out to 

 supply local needs, if not for export. 



