jANTJARr I, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



495 



SPICES AND THEIR ADULTERATION. 



As spices in a ground state seem peculiarly subject to 

 adulteration, it may not be uninteresting to note a few- 

 remarks of Professor Hilger on the subject. 



AilvHerations. — The commonest sophi-stications of broken 

 and ground drugs appear to consist of (1) admixture with 

 previously-exhausted .spices from the preparation of essenti- 

 al oils ; (2) admixtiure with roasted bread-crust, powdered 

 wood, ground acorns, seeds freed from oil, malt, &c.; (3) 

 admixture with mineral substances, such as clay, brick- 

 dust, powdered porcelain, chalk, ochre, &c. 



Detection.— In the first place, a microscopical examin- 

 ation is necessary, which can be followed by a chemical 

 determination of" the percentage of ash and extract, and 

 in some cases of the essential oil and other volatde pro- 

 ducts, as well as of the alkaloids present in the substance 

 under examination. 



Percentaiie Composition of some of the Commoner Spices in an 

 Unaiiulterated State. 



r,ppei:—'Ash, 3 to 6 per cent; extract (by alcohol), 21 

 to 25 per cent. (Pepper is sometimes adulterated with 

 mezereou.) 



C(nmni»o«.— Characteristic for cmnamon is the presence 

 of raangauese, which in Ceylon cinnamon is about 1 per 

 cent, and in other sorts goes as high as 5 per cent Ash, 

 up to 4 or 5 per cent; extract (by alcohol), 23 to 29 per 



Cloves. — Ash, 4 a 6 per cent; alcaholic extract 32 a 60 

 per cent; volatile oil 9 a 21 per cent. 



Nutmefi. — Ash. 4 a 5 per cent ; extract obtained by sulph- 

 iireted carbon SO a 40 per cent. The kanet nutmegs, 

 which are used for adulteration, consist of bread and clay, 

 kneaded with oil of nutmegs and then dried. 



Vanilla. — Ash, 4 a 5 per cent ; vanilline (according to sys- 

 tem Haarmaun en Tiemann) 2 per cent. 



Safron. — Ash, varieable, to a maximum of 10 per cent. 

 A special test of saffron consits in the blue colour, obtained 

 by strong sulphuric acid. .Saffron occurs adulterated with 

 other flowers, especially with aniiea, sandle-wood, saffron 

 stalks, etc. 



aini/cr. — Ash, at most 5 per cent ; extract by alcohol 24 

 a 28 per cent. — India Mereun/. 



♦ 



SUGAR AND TEA IN FIJI. 

 The important item in this direction is the despatch to 

 Sydney by the barque 'William Turner of the fu-st of the sea- 

 son's crushing from the Colonial Sugar Refining Company's 

 big mill. The cargo consisted of 6,150 bags, equal to 616 

 tons, valued at £18,4.50. The Hero also took up to Mel- 

 bourne 1,601 mats, equal to 35 tons, from the Rewa Plant- 

 ation Company's mills, owned by Melbourne proprietors. 

 The Manhagen, a vessel of double the "William Turner's cap- 

 acity, is now loading from the big mill, and will take a full 

 cargo to Sydney, so" that the company is now reaping sub- 

 stantial re'turn.s for its large initial outlay. Throughout the 

 group the crops are in splendid condition and promise magni- 

 ficent returns. The Penang mill is well sustaining its reput- 

 ation, and the quality of the product lately placed on the 

 local market from that source is spoken of by judges as be- 

 ing all but unsurpassable. A better estimate may be gathered 

 from the fact that it is bringing £44 per ton in Levuka, but 

 it must be remembered that it has the advantage of a penny 

 per poun<l protective duty. 



The erection of the m.achinery at Navua, Serua, and Mango 

 is going forward, with .all expedition, and there is apparently 

 a perfect immunity from serious breakage. Even the Mango 

 exception, mentioned in my last, has, upon fuller inquiry, 

 dwindled down to inconsiderable proportions, and will not, in 

 the managers estimation, entail a loss of over £200. He 

 anticipates that the duplicate of the broken pan will be to 

 hand, and the price be in perfect working order by the begin- 

 ning of the new year, and there mil then be at least 200 

 acres of ripe cane for it to commence on. 



A small quantity of tea grown and manufactured on Mr. 

 .Tames E. Mason'sAlpha Estate, Taviuni, has, during tlie past 

 fortnight, been offered for sale, but that gentleman's town 

 .agent, and its strength and purity of flavour are very highly 

 siiokeu of by those who claim to be judges. The favourable 

 result of the several experiments which have been made at 

 various places on that island leave no doubt as to its capa- 



bility for tea culture, and the industry promises encouraging 

 returns for its more systematic prosecution. That it will be 

 undertaken at some futm-e time, when the labour question 

 has been placed upon a more satisfactory footing, scarcely 

 admits of a douljt. though at the present rate of progress it 

 will probably be many years before it occupies an important 

 position on the list of exports. — Australasian. 



CULTIVATION OF CHINA GRASS. 



During the year 1882, a development took place of the in- 

 terest attaching to the cultivation and use, in manufactures, 

 of China grass, and, with lespect to the supply of the raw 

 material, it has been estimated that the progress achieved in 

 1.SS2 was as much as had been done in that direction during 

 the whole of the fifteen years immediately preceding. 



According to a detailed statement, published by the Central 

 Blatt fiir Textil-Industrie, the principal feature of the year 

 was the extension of cultivation in Europe, the bulk of the 

 supply having been received, previously to 1882, from China 

 and the adjacent islands. 



China gi-ass has recently acquired a position of considerably 

 augmented importance as an industrial product. This sudden 

 advance of a textile substance, in the estimation of the manu- 

 facturing public, is not without precedent. Flax and cotton 

 had, it is remarked, a long period of quiet utilisation before 

 they became such important articles as they now are. The 

 discoveries which gave an unexjiected impetus to their em- 

 ployment for industrial purposes were, it is stated, Witney's 

 machine for treating cotton in the raw stat«, and the flax- 

 spinning m.achine of Philippe de Girard. In the same way 

 China grass owes its present greatly increased favour to the 

 Favier system of treating the fibre ; the introduction of this 

 process having been, in fact, a turning point in its industrial 

 history. 



In Italy, M. D'Humieres has been for several years making 

 experiments in its culture, and he has recently published the 

 fact that, with suitable arrangements, a profit of 33 per cent 

 may be made by the grower. Large plantations have now 

 been organised in that country. Portugal has already planted 

 a million roots; and Spain has also taken important steps in 

 the matter. The plantations in Algiers and Egypt have, it 

 would seem, been materially increased. In .Java, companies 

 have been formed to promote the culture; and it is stated 

 that in various French colonies, as well as in America, steps 

 will shortly be taken to introduce it. France seems, however, 

 to have taken the le.ad in the new movement, and. during 

 1882, several million roots were imported for planting. In 

 the southern departments, fields of China grass are con- 

 stantly becoming more frequent. Fiivier's patent is owned, 

 it is stated, by a company entitled La Ramie Frau<;aise, 

 which is located at Avignon, and has established nurseries 

 in the departments of Vaucluse, Var, Bouches-du-Rhone, 

 Gard, &c., occupying about seventy-five acres. This com- 

 pany intends to" sell plants to the agriculturists, .and to 

 arrange for the purchase of the yield. It will also carry 

 on, for its own accoimt, the preparation of the fibre, and 

 will be therefore able to offer it to the spinners ready 

 for them to operate upon it. 



The spinning of China grass is being developed upon 

 a scale proportionate to its extended cultivation. Before 

 the year ] 880, it is stated that there were only two estab- 

 lishments in Europe where China grass was spun, and it 

 would seem that these could only obtain their .supplies 

 . from the London market. It is remarKed that the estab- 

 lishments referred to have, since then, materially extended 

 the scope of their operations. Six others are said to be 

 now in working order, and, doubtless, others are in con- 

 templation. 



In France, many trials have been made as to the em- 

 ployment of China grass in various branches of textile 

 manufacture, and from the successful results, it would 

 seem that an important consumption of the article is 

 assured. Its introduction in the trimming, hosiery, and 

 cloth branches, has been well received. Some further modi- 

 fications in the spinning of the yarn and a lower range 

 of pieces would, it is said, place China grass in a pro- 

 minent position as a textile material. The Ramie Fraii(;aise 

 Company exhibited last year (at the Avignon Industrial 

 Exhibition, and at the Colonial Exhibition, at the P.alais 

 d'ludus trie iu Paris) specimens of dress goods, cloths, 



