Vol. VIIL No. 182 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



121 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and Spices on the liondon Market. 

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

 following report on the London drug and spice market 

 during the month of February : — ^ 



No change in the condition of trade in .■apices and 

 drngs in Mincing Lane since our last communication can be 

 recorded. The month of February, indeed, has been one of 

 almost remarkable dulness. It was not until the middle of 

 the month that the supplies of new and old drugs assumed 

 even a normal jiosition, and at the last spice and drug auctions 

 on the 24th and 25th re.spectiveiy, very smull supplies were 

 brought forward, with a corres[io8ding limited demand. 

 With regard to West Indian products, the following are the 

 details : — 



IJINGKK. 



At the first spice sale on February 3, 82 barrels 

 of Jamaica were offered and dispiwed of at 60s. to 63.s. 



■for fair to good bright, and 55«. to 60s. for good 

 middling. Cochin was represented by^ 125 bags, all of 

 which were liought in at 40,s. per cwt. for fair to washed 

 rough. It was reported that several hundred bags of washed 

 Oochin had been .sold privately at 35,«. per cwt. At the 

 succeeding sale, no .lamaica was offered," and only a small 

 supply of Calicut, which was bought in. On the 17th, the 

 offerings consisted of 27 bags Jamaica ratoon, which 

 were bought in at 45s. ; 107 bags of wa.shed rough 



•iCochin, and 20 cases of good small native cut Calicut, 

 all of which were bought in, the first at 38s. per cwt., and 

 the second at 55s. No further quotations were made in this 

 article during the remainder of the month. 



NUTMElJS, MACE, AND 'piMENTO. 



Very little attention has been given to nutmegs during 

 the month. At the spice sale on th« 10th, large nuts were 

 quoted at an advance of id. to Id. per 5). over previous 

 l)rice.'5. At the same sale West Indian mace was in good 

 demand, 35 packages being offered and .sold at the follow- 

 ing rates : fine. Is. 1 Iff. to 2s. Id. ; good pale. Is. 8c?. to 

 Is. 9d ; fair. Is. 6rf. to Is. 7(7. : and ordinary. Is. 4(7. to 

 Is. 5(7. 



Of pimento, the market opened on the 3rd with a few 

 bags of fair, which realized 2c7. per lb. out of a total offering 

 of 75 bags. On the 10th, some 250 bags were bought 

 in at 2^(7. per H). On the Nth, 164 bags were offered, 

 • of which 10 were sold at 2d. per lb. for fair. At the last 

 sale on the 24th, all the offerings, amounting to 136 bags, 

 were bought in at 2(7. to 2^(7. per lb.. , 



ARROWROOT. 



Of this article, there is very little to report. Thirty 

 bales of St. Vincent were offered on the 17th, all of which 

 ■ were bought in. On the 24th, some 20 barrels of good 

 Natal were offered and bought in at 4i(7. per lb. 



SARSAPAEILLA. 



In the early part of the month, grey Jamaica was scarce, 

 but at the last drug auction on the 25th, 9 bales of 

 genuine grej' Jamaica realized from Is. to Is. .5(7. per B). 

 The details of the last drug auctions of the month are as 

 follows ; (.)n the 11th, there was no grey Jamaica or Lima- 

 Jamaica offered. Five bales of dull red native Jamaica were 

 brought forward and bought in at Dh per lb. .Some 40 bales 

 ■of Honduras and Guatemala mi.ved, were also offered and 

 retained at Is. 3(7., lid. being the highest bid. 



On the 25th, the offerings and sales were as follows : 

 Grey .lamaica, 30 bales; Lima-.Iamaica, 36 bales; native, 

 7 bales. All the.se were dis})cjsed of at the following 

 rates : Grey, fair to good, Is. 4(7. to Is. od.; roughi«h. 

 Is. to Is. 1(7.; fair to goixl Lima- Jamaica, from Is. 1(7. t'> 

 Is. 2(7., and conunon dark chumpy. Is. For good, red, native 

 Jamaica, Is. to Is. 1(7. was* paid ; for fair red, 11(7. to HA. ; 

 and for ordinary yellow, 11(7. At the same auction, 2i 

 bales of Honduras were also offered, and 1 1 sold with- 

 out reserve at Is. 3(7. to Is.- 4(7. per BE). 



KOLA, LIME .JUICE, OIL OF LIME, TAMARINDS, ETC. 



In the middle of the month, 6 bags of dark, slightly 

 mould}'. West Indian kola- found buyers at \id. per D). ; 

 4 bog.sheads of palish raw Jamaica lime juice were also 

 sold at Is. 1(7. per gallon. At the end of the month, ft 

 cases of fair West Indian distilled oil of lime were offered 

 and bought in at 2s. 3(7. At the .'<ame auction a ease of 

 West Indian oil of bitter orange was .sold at 5s. per lb ; !(► 

 other cases, about the (juality of which there was some doubt, 

 were i^ithdrawn. TamariiKls were represented by 13 bar- 

 rels of rather dark Barbados, which wei'e held at lis. io 

 bond, an offer of 10s. 6(7. being refu.sed. Twenty casks of 

 fair black Calcutta were aln> offered and bought in at 14s. 



PIGEON PEAS. 



The pigeon •pea,{CaJanus lmficiis\ which i.s gj'0\vii> 

 on a fairly extensive scale in the West Indies i'or food 

 and green-dressing purposes, is known in the Eayk 

 Indies as ' dhall,' and the methods of cultivation ami 

 uses of the crop form the subject of a leaflet lately 

 issued by the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



The pigeon pea plant — as is generally known — grows to 

 a height of 6 feet or more, *he mature pods being from 3 to 

 5 inches long, and containing from three to five seeds. Pigeoi» 

 peas resist drought to a remarkable degree, and form a very 

 useful crop for restorative purposes on worn-out soils. Ii> 

 India it is estimated that there are no less than 700,000 acre* 

 under this cultivation : the pulse, either split or ground into 

 flour, forms, in combination with rice, the staple diet of 

 millions in that country. 



Pigeon peas do best on alluvial soils, or medium clay 

 loams, containing a fair proportion of lime. In India it i.» 

 frequently grown as a mixed crop with sorghum, or eve»» 

 rice. Generally, however, the best returns are obtained^ 

 and the soil is most benefited, when the crop is gr(3wn alone. 



Pigeon pea plants do not usually yield their produce until? 

 about six months after sowing ; if the land is not imniedi 

 ately required, successive crops of pods may be obtaineil? 

 from the plants. 



When pigeon peas are grown alone, and on fairly goo<l 

 soil, the yield ■ f pulse may be as high as 2,000 lb. per acre, 

 and 500 lt>. per acre is a very ordinary return. When the- 

 peas are use(l for human food, it is found best to free thenir 

 from the husks or outer .skin before cooking. The>e husk* 

 may, of course, be given to cattle or goats ; the foliage of 

 the plants is suitable for fodder, or, with the stalks, may be 

 buried in the soil as a green manure, thus forming a useful 

 supply of humus. 



Tlie pigeon pea is hard3', and does not suffer much frorii> 

 insect or fungoid attack'.' At St. Kitt's. Iiowfvir, some- 

 plantings are reported to have been damaged ly tlie net-wing- 

 bug. .\s green di-essing, although it supjilies a large weight— 

 of vegetable matter, it does not cover 'i -.Tniund so weH 

 as cowpeas, woolly pyrol, velvet boans, Bengal beans, etc. 



