Vol. XVII. No. 



THE AGRICULTrF.,AL HEWS. 



ALCOHOL FUEL COMM ITTEE. 

 The Field, October li.i, 191s, draws attention to' the 

 appointment by the Government of a new coraniittfe, under 

 the chairmanship of Sir Hoverton Redwood, delegated to iii- 

 Testigate the possibilities^ of producing alcohol in Great Brit- 

 ain from other tfian articles of human food for the purpose of 

 fuel, and, no doubt, other oomniercial purposes. 



The question of providing some alternative fuel to petrol 

 for motor use is so pressing that iiuich of the article in /'//,■ 

 /•/('/(/ i- reproduced below. 



There is no objection to the use of alcohol as motor fuel 

 beyond a necessity to modify engine design to meet its char- 

 acteristics, or an alternative loss of power as compared with 



•petrol ur benzol, and a diriiculty io starting the engine 



which can be obviated by doing that on petrol. By the 

 admi.xture of a form of ether a fuel callable iif easy starting, 

 and said to possess much of the practical characteristics of 

 benzol is being used in .South Africa, nn4er the name Natal- 

 ite. If the accounts rendered of that fuel be borne out by 

 e.\pericnce, it would appear tl-r. •'■.'- .1-.- V|,,.„ - ,lved 

 for most of our colonies. 



Unfort'jcately in Great Bri-.;i;ij tnere are do ■.otisiderable 

 supplie> of alcohol producing material outside foodstutls such 

 as potatoes, but there is much which, in the ordinary course 

 of ovent.s, is not utilized for any purpose, and so that would 

 be all to the good. It is not likely that in '5reat Britain 

 sound potatoes could be used lor alci'.hol production, for the 

 simple reason that it is an exrravagaiJT. use of food - material 

 of which it is not probable that too much will be produced 

 for .some years to come- Prior to the war pare alcohol 

 reached this country from Germariy at a price of 10</. a 

 gallon— a figure which would not permit the British farmer 

 to raise potatoes with protit : and yet it seems essential that 

 fuel alcohol must not cost very much- more if it is to be 

 a standard fuel. Possibly it is for that reason that Sir Bover- 

 ton Kedwood's committee is limited in its terms of reference 

 to other than articles of human t'lod. Even if and when 

 that connnittee in its report advises a practical programme, 

 there will remain many obstacles to surmount before alcohol 

 or Xatalite, or any other similar blend, can be sold in the 

 same way as petrol -and benzol. Bat an altered attitude on 

 the part of the Inland lleveuue authorities is to be hoped 

 for, which will entirely change the situation as it has been 

 governed in the past. It is no: too much to say that had 

 those authorities been other than antagonistic, alcohol fuel 

 would have been placed ,on the market years ago, even 

 though it could only> have been aii' alternative to petrol 

 at about 'Is. per gallon. No doubt there were serious 

 fiscal difficulties in the way, but there was no sympathy 

 wasted on the desire for an alternative fuel, and nothiuw 

 could be done by private enterprise otielideavour. The chief 

 value of this comiiiittee will come in' the information it will 

 bring regmliije the value of alcohol as a motor fuel. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



The satis I . Ddition of the war news that ha» 



inevailed through the month of October has had its influence, 

 though slight, in the produce markets, sometimes with the 

 tendency towards the lowering of prices, and at other times 

 in the opposite direction. It is, however, too early to expect 

 any real change in either direction, or indeed in any other; 

 CDnsequently buyers are still content to purchai.e only in 

 sufficient quantities to meet the immediate requirements. 

 'J'he following are tlie prbcipal details alTecting We.st Jndiaa 

 products. 



I'LMK.MO, Ol.VliEtt, AM) .^ACE. 



I'imento has gradually advanced in price during the 

 uiontb. due apparently to the fact that its importation can be 

 effected now only under licence. In the early part of the 

 month lid. per lb. was the price asked, but at auctioa 

 on the 17th, sales were effected at l\d. per ft., and 

 at the last auction on the 31st of the month, fair quality 

 sold at from 6;^/., to Id- Ginger was in good supply 

 at auction on the 17th of the month, consisting of 120 

 barrels and 1.54 bags of Japanese, 40 bags of washed rough 

 Cochin, and l>5 bags of limed Japanese. All these were 

 brought in at prices varying from 18;J.v. to 190j. per cwt. for 

 good bold .Japanese. Limed Japanese was held at IS.^v., and 

 the rough washed Cochin at I70.V. Ata\iction on the 24th of 

 the month, ginger was again in good supply, and a small 

 amount of business was done, .Jamaica fetching from 16."ia-. to 

 1S0.S-. per cwt. for middling to good, washed Cochin 170.f., iind 

 Calicut 160y. Some Sierra l.eone was also disposed of at frou' 

 135j-. to 137i-. 6?/. per cwt. At auction on tho 17th of the 

 month, mace was represented by 32 bags of Bombay, and 

 124 packages of ' Singapore. Of the first, .3.f. He/, per lb. 

 was paid for wormy and broken, and for the second, 

 3,>-. 10,/. to 4.>-. for reddish. 



rii'irii;' Ai-rn, aruipwiioot, sah.sai'akii.la, kola, ca.ssja 



VISTULA. 



' 'itric acid has been iu good demand throughout 

 the month, starting at \i. %d. per ft), at; the beginning, 

 and is. \Qh/. to 5.v. at the close. Arrowroot has been 

 in good demand at advanced rates, fair manufacturing 

 St. Vincent being quoted at \s. Id. per B). At auctioa 

 on the 24th of the month, sarsaparilla was in good 

 supply, consisting of 43 packages of grey Jamaica, 8(5 of 

 native Jamaica, 39 of MmaJaraaioa, and f> of Honduras ; 

 23 bales of the grey Jamaica were disposed of at 5.f. to 

 5.f. '2d. per lb, for fair to good fibrous, and i.<. \.\d. for sea- 

 damaged. '.)nly I bale of the native Jamaica was disposed 

 of at 2,f. per lb. for sea-damaged. The Li lua Jamaica and 

 Honduras found no buyers. At this same auction 34 

 packages of kola were offered, and disposed of, good' 

 bright West Indian halves fetching !><■/. to b'((/. per lb.: fair 

 and partly mouldy fetched l^d. to S(/., and small, part 

 mouldy, Qd. to ~i\d. per lb. At this auction 8 packages of 

 Cassia Fistula — all that were offered--were sold at an ad- 

 vance of from 32.V. G;/. to 3 ").>■. per cut. on previous rates, 

 worm}' I lominican reali/.ing as much as 1-5T.V. to 160.>. per cwt. 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LONDON 



MARKET., 



M: i-LiS.. hsia^orwarded the fo'.- 



lov.iijj^ :•. p -.■ ; 'iL T.ljc fjonuori drt^and spice markets 

 for the 7!joj;th ■>;" <4crober- I'^IS: — 



Kapok, the fibre surrounding the seeds of the silk-cotton 

 tree (Eriodeiidron anfraciuosuiii), is being imoorted into thd 

 United States in increasingly large quantities, pnncipilly 

 from .Java. The consumption of kapok fibre in the L'nited 

 .State* amounted to 8,172,830 ft), in 1917, an increase of 4-')-7. 

 percent on the amount used in 19 IS. {The Board of 'J'rndc- 

 Journal, Svjitemn-t !9, 1918.) 



