Vol. IX. No. 218. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



287 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LONDON 



MARKET. 



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

 following report on the London drug and spice market, 

 for the month of July : — 



The markets in drugs and spices still continue quite of 

 an ordinary nature, and this notwithstanding that, at the 

 time of writing, the holiday season is in its fullness. A few 

 articles in the market still attract a large share of attention, 

 such, for instance, as Buchu leaves and India rubber. With 

 regard to the first, the greatest interest was taken at the last 

 drug sale on July 28, when .some very keen bidding took 

 place over a quantity — in all 6 bales — of round Buchu, 

 4s. 8d. to 5s. lOd. per ft. being ])aid for fair to good green; 

 ovals realized 2s. to 2s. 2d. per lb., showing an advance of 

 Id. per B). over previous prices. India rubber, at the time of 

 writing, is having a decided tendency to decline, fine hard 

 Para being quoted at 8.s. M, which a fortnight back realized 

 10?. 6rf. 



The following are some of the [irincipal details of West 

 Indian produce: — 



GI.VGER. 



The month opened with little or no demand, and at the 

 first auction no Jamaica was offered; (,'aiicut was represented 

 by 254 [mckages, none of which, however, was sold. At the 

 second auction on the 13th, Jamaica was in steady demand, 

 1.30 packages being disposed of at the following rates: 

 middling 58.?., ordinary to good oO.v. to 54.«., and rhatoon 

 46s. to 48s.; 60s. was the price asked for good bold, brown 

 Calient, 90s. for bold cut Calicut, and 6.o.v. for medium lUt, 

 at which prices all the oflferings were bought in. No further 

 change has taken place in this article. 



NUTMECS, M.\CE, PIMENTO .\SD -VRROWROOT. 



At the spice auction on the 20th, nutmegs were repre- 

 sented by 385 packages of West Indian, most of which 

 sold at irregular rates. At the same sale, mace was 

 represented, also, by 50 packages of West Indian, which 

 sold at the following rates: for good Is. l\tl. to 2s. 1</., 

 fair Is. S<1. to l.s. 9rf., mixed Is. 6d. to Is. Id. But 

 very little change has taken place in Pimento during 

 the month; 2|d was the price paid at the second 

 auction on the 13th. On the 20th, -'(S bags were offered, 

 and part sold at 2|(f. to 2|(i. A week later, a consignment 

 of over 130 bags was offered, part of which sold at 2^(7. 

 per B). For arrowroot there has been but very little demand: 

 106 barrels of St. Vincent were brought forward at the 

 .spice auction on the 20th, and the «hole was bought in 

 at 2c?. per lb. 



SARS.'VPAEILL.\. 



At the drug auction on the 14th, sarsaparilla was repre 

 sented by 25 bales of grey Jamaica, 23 of Lima-Jamaica, 

 and 22 of native Jamaica. The whole of the grey 

 Jamaica was sold at rates from Is. Id. to Is. 3d., for 

 ■qualities varying from inferior rough and chumpy to fair. 

 Of the Lima-Jamaica, 7 bales out of 23 offered found 

 buyers, lOld. per lb. being paid for 4 bales of ordinary, 

 .-somewhat chumpy. Of the 22 bales of native Jamaica, only 

 9 were sold, 1 fetching lie?, per lb. for fair red. and another 

 Xd. per lb. for inferior yellow; for the other 7 bales of dull 

 yellow to good red, 9-/. to I0\d. per tb. was paid. At the 

 auction on the 28th, sarsaparilla was again in good supply; 

 1 1 bales of genuine grey Jamaica were offered, and ail .sold at 



from l.s. 2d. to Is. 3d. per lb. Native Jamaica was represented 

 by 26 bales, buyers being found for 6 bales only, 3 of which 

 realized lOd. per lb. for fair red, and the remaining 3 

 were .sold without reserve at .S</. to Shd. per B).: 16 bales of 

 Lima-Jamaica were brought forward," and 4 sold, 2 fetching 

 9),'7. per Tb, and the remaining 2, 10c?. per lb. Three bales 

 only of Honduras were offered and none sold, Is. 3rf. being 

 the price asked. For 47 bales of Guatemala character offered, 

 the whole was bought in at 9c?. per lb. 



LIME JUICE, OIL OF LIME, TAMARINDS. 



At the beginning of the month there was a steady 

 demand for lime juice, Is. Zd. being paid for good pale. It 

 was reported that the market had been cleared of cheap and 

 inferior quantities. At the last auction in the month a bid 

 of Is. for pale raw West Iixlian was refused, Is. 3c?. being the 

 price asked. The arrivals amounted to 118 packages from 

 Dominica. For West Indian distilled oil of lime. Is 5rf. 

 to Is. 6</. per tt). was paid towards the end of the 

 month, 21 packages being reported as having arrived 

 from Dominica, and later 1 1 packages of hard pressed West 

 India were reported, four of which sold at 6s. jier lb. Tamar- 

 inds were in good supply, at the auction on the 13th, as many 

 as 109 packages being offered; 72 barrels were from Barbado.s, 

 39 of which sold at from 12s. to Hx. per cwt. in bond. 



In my summary of the markets for the month of 

 May, published on page 207 of the Agricidturat News 

 for Junu 25, an error occurred with reference to nut- 

 megs and mace. Referring to the advance in the prices 

 of nutmegs over previous rates, the figures should be 

 \d. and Id. per lb , instead of l.s. 4(7. to Is. 2<^.; the same 

 with regard to iiiace, instead of l.s. 'Id. to \d. per lb., it 

 should read .','/. to \d. 



THE BANANA INDUSTRY OF COSTARICA. 



The total e.xport of bananas during 1909 was 9,365,690 

 bunches, having been a decrease of 69 per cent, from the 

 quantity exported during 1908. 



The following figures serve to illustrate the situation of 

 the banana industry of Costa Rica, which industry grew up 

 very rapidly and steadily until 1907, and since then, has 

 remained more or less stationary as regards area planted: — 



Percentage of 

 Bunches exported, increase on export 

 of the previous Year. 



1905 7,283,000 -f 20-07 



1906 8,872,729 +21-82 



1907 10,165,759 +14-57 



1908 10,060,009 - 1-04 



1909 9,365,690 - 690 



In -July, the exiiort ta.x, for twenty years to October 29, 

 1910, was fixed at Ic. (gold) per bunch exported, by decree of 

 Congress; this measure, ensuring the industry, as it does, 

 against any greater or additional ta.xation, will give confid- 

 ence to planters, and will enable the United Fruit Company 

 to enter into contracts with the growers for their fruit; and, 

 in conseijuence, the area under bananas is once more being 

 increased, and some railway extensions are in progre.ss to 

 carry the produce of the new plantations. 



The bananas exported in 1909 were shipped as 

 follows: to the United States 7,861,861 bunches, and to the 

 United Kingdom (Bristol) 1,503,829 bunches, making a total 

 of 9,365,690 bunches. (Diiilomatir mid Consular Rep<yrts, 

 Annual Serits, No. 4469.) 



