Vol. Vlir. Xo. 184. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



159 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and Spices on the London Market. 



j\Ir. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S., h^s forwarded the 

 'following report on the London dru^^nd spice marivets 

 •during the month of March ■ — 



But very little change can be reported in the condition 

 of the spice and drug markets since onr February report. 

 •Ill some articles March has seen a slighlj improvement, and 

 among such may be mentioned West Indian mace and 

 nutmegs. The general tone, however, remains dull, which 

 coiulition is attributed to current and prospective disturb- 

 ances, such as the Balkan difficulty, the changes in the 

 American tariff, and the inevitable British budget. 



The following details will show .the position held 

 by West Indian products : — • i 



GINfiER. => 



At the first spice sale on the 3rd of th^ month no .Jamaica 

 ■was ottered, but some 350 bags of new crop Cochin were 

 bought in at from 3Ss. to -lOs. for fair to 'good washed rough. 

 Some .Japan was ottered and also bought in at 'i-x. per cwt. 

 A fortnight later, Cochin and Calicutrwere represented by 

 500 packages, all of which were bought in at the following 

 prices: Bold and medium native cut all 75.s-.; medium and 

 small from 53.f. to 55s.; brown rough and washed Cochin, 

 at 40s. ' On the 24th, no Cochin or Cali<mt was ottered, but 

 Jamaica was represented liy 97 packages, for which there 

 was a good demand at advanced rates, railging from l.«. to is. 

 per cwt., the prices realized being as follows : Fair bright, 

 61.S-. M. to 63s.; middling to good middling, 59s. to 61s., 

 and good ordinary small, 55s. to 57.S. per cwt. .Japanese 

 was quoted at this auction at 32,s. &d. On the last day of 

 the month a still firmer tone prevailedj' although no sales 

 were ettected. Fifty-one packages of good dullish washed 

 Jamaica were ottered and bought in at 62s. to 70s. per cwt.; 

 ■washed Cochin was also held at 40s., aiid, Japanese at 32s. 6(/. 



NUTMEGS, MACE, AND PIMENTO. 



The otterings of nutmegs at the firstauction on the 3rd 

 ■were unimportant. On the Nth, however, some 210 packages 

 of West Indian Avere disposed of, at an aflvance of \d. per lb. 

 over previous prices, while some 33 packages of Singapore 

 were offered without reserve at cheaper rates. A week later, 

 prices again advanced generally, 19 packages of West Indian 

 being ottered and disposed of at 5i{^. f8r 85's, b\d. for 87's 

 to 88's, and 4-^fL for 92's. Singapore'was represented by 

 66 boxes, all of which were bought in at'7|(/. to 8f?. for 78's 

 to 79's. At the last spice .sale on March .^1, the market stood 

 thus : 5fc7. for 80'.s, ohd. for S5's, .5*/. for 89's, 4Jrf. to M. 

 for 107's, and 4rf. for 108"s. Fifty-seven boxes of Singapore 

 ■were ottered at this auction, 45 of which were sold without 

 »-e.serve at 4|rf. to M. for llO's. -, 



^lace, at the first auction on tlief 3rd, realized from 

 Is. 6'/. to Is. 7'/. per lb. for fair jiale, and Is. for broken, 

 8 packages of West Indian selling at these rates. On the 

 17th, prices had risen \d. to '2d. per lb., /18 packages of West 

 Indian realizing for good palish l.<. 8</,j to l.s. 9(/., for fair 

 red 1.?. 6rf., and for broken ].<;. 'id. pe? Di. A week later 

 prices had again advanced. Twenty-six cases of Java were 

 ■offered r^-nd disposed of, fair pale fetchi^^ig 2s. \d., and good 

 pale and reddish Is. lOrf. At the last auction on the -3 1st, 

 West Indian fair sold at Is. 8tZ., and broken at Is. 3*/. (Jood, 

 flat, red Java fetched Is. lOf/. per It)., 3 cases out of 23 ottered 

 being .sold at this rate. Pimento at the beginning of the 

 month was cjuotcd at '2d. per B)., at whiflli price all the otter- 

 ings, consisting of 100 bags, were disposed of at the auction 



on the 10th. A week later 275; bags of ordinary fair were 

 offered and bought in at 2^1/. p^r tti., which price remained 

 steady to the end of the montln 



SARSAPAE.JLLA. 



On the 25th, some 15 bales-of grey Jamaica sarsaparilla 

 were offered and sold steadily at from Is. 4rf. to Is. 5'/. per ft>. 

 for roughish to fair, and Is. id. for damp and country 

 damaged. Seven bales of fair Lima-Jamaica realized Is. \d. 

 to Is. 2(/., and a more chumpy quality fetched Is. Twelve 

 bales of native Jamaica were ottered, 7 of which were sold 

 at Is. \d. to l.s. '2d. for fair to good red. Is. for palish red, 

 and \\d. for ordinary dull red, and yellow mixed. 



KOLA, LIME .rUICE, TAMARINDS, ETC. 

 1 



Of kola, in the early [lart of the month, 2 bales of fair 

 dried Jamaica halves sold at 1 ^rf. per lb. At the same period, 

 8 hogsheads of Montserrat lime juice, good pale raw, were 

 ottered and disposed of at Is. 3'/. per gallon, a price which 

 held for a similar ipiantity at a later period of the month. 

 On the 10th, the offerings of-tamarinds amounted to 95 

 packages, 10 only of which found purchasers at 7s. 6d. per 

 cwt. in bond, for ordinary dry pali.sh Antigua. At the auction 

 on the 17tli, 97 Isarrels of Barbados were ottered and bought 

 in at 12s. per cwt., in bond. In> chillies there has been firm 

 demand. Sierra Leone being quoted at 50s. for gooil, and o5.s. 

 for fair Nyassaland. Malta strip orange peel, at the end of 

 the month, was ottered and bought in at 10c?. per lb., while 

 at the same auction 5 cases of : dull strip were disposed of 

 without reserve at \d. per lb. 



ARENGA SACCHARIFERA. 



J, 



Several palms are cultivated for their sugar-yielding 

 properties, of which the most important is the wild date 

 (Phoeui.i- si/h't'sti'is). Another palm \'aluable for the same 

 reason, and which is largely grown in ilalay and other parts 

 of the East Indies, is Arcm/a xaei'/tari/tra. This species has 

 been introduced into Jamaica, and BuUetin 1J^2 of the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

 mentions it as being among the plants introduced into the 

 United States last year by the Department. The specimens 

 were imported from Java. 



Sugar is obtained from the palm by evaporation of the 

 sap that flows from wounds made in the young inflorescence. 

 This palm is a kind that need.s much room and light, a fact 

 which prevents the establishment- of closely planted groves of 

 the palms that otherwise might be very profitable. About 

 100 trees form the maximum jhat could develop per acre of 

 land. , 



The tree fio'irishes best iu .Java at an altitude of about 

 1,800 feet. A sugar yield cannot be obtained from it until 

 it has reached :.t least its ty\elfth year, and its term of 

 production lasts from three to five years. During this 

 period a .single tree may return as much as 450 lb. of 

 sugar. At this rate, an acre bearing 100 trees would yield 

 about 20 tons, which works oitt at rather more than 1 ton 

 of sugar per acre per annum. Catch crops may be grown 

 beneath the young palms for the first few years, but at the 

 end of the sugar-producing period the land must be cleared 

 and prepared for a fresh [ilanting. 



Arciiija .farc/idrifoa is .■iojnetimes referred to as the 

 .sago palm, since the heart of the,stem contains large quantities 

 of farinaceous matter. A vaiipty- of sago is obtained by 

 washing and granulating this [lith. 



