ToL. VIII. Xo. 186. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



191 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and Spices on the London Market. 



Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S., lias forwaider! the 

 following report on the London drug and spice markets 

 for the month of April : — 



The c-ondition of the drug and spice markets throughout 

 the month of April remained much ai^ it has done for .'■ome 

 time past. As usual at this period of the year, two forces 

 are at work whicli go far to disorganize the ordinary routine 

 of business, namely, the Easter Holidays, and the anticipa- 

 tion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Rudget proposals. 

 The latter have been this 5"ear so long delayed, being made 

 kfiown only on the last day of .April, that at the time of 

 writing little or nothing can be faid of their effect on colonial 

 produce. 



The follow-ing are the in-incipal items nf West Indian 

 produce which have occupied attention in the London 

 jnarkets during the month :— 



At auction little or no attention was given to ginger in 

 the earlier part of the month. Private sales, however, were 

 effected at increased rat-es of from _.••■. to .>.<., medium Jamaica 

 fetching from 60s. to 65s. jier cwt. At the auction on 

 the 21st, some 117 packages of Jamaica were sold at 

 the following rates : Fair to good coii.mon 54.s-. to STn., 

 small washed 58?. to 60.s'.; fair to good washed realized 

 fils. to ()9.f. At the same auction, as many as 896 bags of 

 <>)chin and Calicut were offered ajid bought in at the follow- 

 ing prices : Fan- to good washed i-ough 40s. to 45.'--., fair 

 brown Calicut 45.'.'., and rough and fair cuttings 40.«. Some 

 t'air limed, slightly mouldy Japan was also bought in at 35.<. 

 On the 28th of the month. Jamaica was again in fair demand, 

 -il2 i)ackages being offered and 120 .sold at GT.f. for good 

 bright, 62.S. to 64.S. for fair washed, and 55.v. for good 

 ordinary. A small ijuantity of Calicut .sold at ol.v. Cyl. for 

 small native cut, 46s (id. for cut tips, and 37.s. 6*/. for brown 

 tips. Unsorted native cut brought in a price of 56s. to 60s., 

 while 42s. Ctil. was paid for washed rough (VhIhu. 



NUT.MEGS, M.\CE, ANIP I'IMKNTO. 



No special quotations have been made during the month 

 in the case of nutmegs. Mace has remained firm. At the 

 auction on the 21st, 27 packages of West Indian found 

 buyers at the following rates : Fine pale 2.s. ; good pale 

 la. 5?rf. to Is. 10c?. : and fair Is. 7d. to l.«. Sd. Ordinary 

 fetclied Is. 6(7., and broken Is. 3d. to Is. 4d. per It). A week 

 later the sales amounted to 15 packages of West Indian, at 

 prices sliglitly lower than in the previous week. Pimento 

 throughout the montli was in veiy ipiiet demand. At the 

 -sale on the 21st, 123 bags were f>ttere<l and bought in at 2J'/. 

 per B)., and a week later 157 bags were brought forward and 

 all \jought in at the same rate. On the 6th of the numth, 

 4 cases of West Indian distilled oil of pimento were put 

 forward and disposed of without reserve at 2s. Hd. to 

 3a. :id. per ft. 



.4RROWROOT. 



)!ut little attention has been given to this article during 

 die month. On the 21st, 238 barrels of St. Vincent were 

 oflered and the whole bought in at 2(1. to '2ld. for medium 

 to good manufacturing. Bermuda was rejjresented by 20 

 kegs, 12 of which found buyers at 2s. Id. per Jb. 



S.VRSA!'Ai:lLLA. 



At the drug auction on the 7th, grey Jamaica was 

 represented by 8 bales, 4 of which sold at Is. 4(7. per lb. for 

 fair, the remaining lots of better rpiality being bought in at 

 Is. 5(7. per lb. Fourteen bales of native Jamaica were 

 disjiosed of, out of 18 ottered, at 11J(Z. to Is. per tt). for dull 

 palish to good red. Nineteen bales of Lima-JamRica were 

 offered and 13 disposed of at Is. 1(7. per lb. for fair to rather 

 roughish and chumpy, while Is. 9r?. per lb. was the reserve 

 price at which 4 bales of Honduras were held. On the 

 22nd, tliere was no grey Jamaica offered. Lima-Jamaica was, 

 however, reiuiesented by 4 bales, all of which were sold at 

 Is. 3(/., being an advance of Id. ])er lb. over previous prices. 

 The same advance was ]iaid for 13 bales of native .Jamaica — 

 all that was offered — fair to good red realizing Is. to Is. 1(?., 

 and dull pale I'ed 10i(7. to 1 U?. 



LniK .lurci';, lemon .iuice, oil ok lime, etc. 



On the 6th of the month, West Indian lime juice was 

 represented at the auction by about 40 puncheons. Is. to 

 l.f. 2(/. per gallon being paid for very pulpy to pale. (Jood 

 pale raw was firmly held at l.t. 3(7. per gallon. On the 

 28th, the ]irices stood thus : Best pale West Indian 

 l.<. id., frtir Is. 3(7., and good Is. 2(7. per gallon. At the 

 auction on the 21st, a single puncheon of brown .Jamaica 

 lemon juice was disposed of at 11(/, per gallon. At the .same 

 auction 10 ca.ses of West Indian distilled oil of lime were 

 offered, 3 cases of which realized Is^ dd. per It)., and 6 cases 

 from Is. in(/. to 1.S-. 11(?. perltj. 



MANUFACTURE OF OIL OF LEMON 

 AT SICILY. 



The United States Consul at Messina lately 

 furnished the following report on the method of prepar- 

 ing essential oil of lemon which is adopted in Sicily : — 



In order to prepare the essential oil, the peels are first 

 soaked in water for some four or five minutes for the purpose 

 of softening the envelopes of the oil vesicles, and rendering 

 easier the expression of the oil. The peels are then carried 

 to the expressing room, which is usually darkened, and kept 

 as cool as pos.sible, to guard against any changes in the 

 character of the delicate and unstable oil. 



In the expressing room eadi workman is seated on 

 a low stool, and has before him a glazed earthenware bowl, 

 across which, and resting in depressions in the rim, is 

 a wooden rod run through a good-sized sponge. In his left 

 hand the workman holds another sponge, often cup-shaped, 

 again.st which he presses the outside of the peel, giving this 

 a circular twisting motion. By this means the walls of the 

 oil cells are broken, and the oil is squeezed out into the sponge 

 to drip into the bowl. In this the oil ri.ses to the top of the 

 water, and can be decanted off The oil is filtered into large 

 copper containers, in which it is stored to await sale. 



Various machines have been tried fia' expressing the oil 

 but so far without success. The amount of oil obtained will 

 vary largely according to the district and the season, but will 

 average from 0'7 lb. per 1,000 lemon peels to 1 lb., and, in 

 rare cases, to as much as 1 1 lb. 



A later report of the L^.S. Consul refers to the fact 

 that the effect of the earthquake at, Messina has been 

 largely to increase the price of the essential oils of orange 

 and lemon. He expresses the opinion, however, that the 

 disaster has been utilized by speculators to some extent to 

 bring about an artificial value in these products, and that 

 prices may soon be expected to reach their normal level. 



