Vol. XV. No. 358. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



.^1 



87 C. 'In this ease it may be said that the effects were 

 almost entirely local. The small deficiency in the bark 

 below the left-hand side of the lower V is probably of no 

 significance. In any case there was no effect on the roots, 

 as was the case in 87 I).' 



The foliowina are the conclusions drawn: (1) the 

 evidence detailed is in favour of a small number of cuts; 

 (2) there are indications that regular prolonged resting 

 periods are of benefit to a tapped area; (3) a tapping cut 

 extending over half the tree's circumference need produce 

 no more widespread effects in the neighbourhood of the 

 tapped area than a cut extending over one- quarter or 

 one-third of the tree's circumference. 



In regard to pricking methods, the following experi- 

 ments were carried out; — 



80 A. — Tree tapped simultaneously by two channels on 

 opposite sides of the tree, each extending from a height of 

 6 feet down to the base. The trees were tapped daily for 

 the first s^ixtcen days of every month. 8t) B. — Two channels 

 at a height of 3 feet tapped together every other day. 

 ^Opposite sides of the tree. 79 A and C. — Two channels 

 6 feet high on opposite sides of the tree. Tapping was 

 commenced at the beginning of every two months, and the 

 trees were tapped every other day. (In the foregoing the 

 Bamber Pricker was used.) 87 A. — (The Xorthway Pricker 

 used.) — Tapping on each side of a channel extending from 

 a height of o feet down to the base. Incisions made 

 herrina-bone fashion ;i.'ternately on opposite sides of the 

 channel. 



The foUowinsj are the conclusions; — 

 The original pricking methods, first introduced in 

 order to obtain the latex in the cells nearest to the 

 cambium, were found to be unsuitable owing to the unsatis- 

 factory nature of the renewed bark. Later modifications 

 have been introduced with the idea of avoiding the 

 cutting off of the downward flow of plant-food said to 

 be caused by tapping cuts. With this idea the trees described 

 had been pricked along vertical, as opposed to oblique, 

 channels. The effects produced on the local food storage 

 had, however, been by no means less drastic than 

 those resulting from ordinary tapping cuts. In the majority 

 of cases, indeed, the effects had been considerably more 

 marked. The untapped bark between the incisions was very 

 poor, and sometimes completely deficient, in reserve starch. 

 The wood behind the tapping channels showed a very poor 

 .starch content indeed. 



These effects are .said to have been probably due, to 

 a great extent, to the formation of wound-wood, which not 

 only required a large amount of reserve material for its 

 formation, but also hindered the lateral transference of 

 reserve material across it. 



The experiments yielded the following results; — 

 (1) That there was a greater withdrawal of reserve starch 

 than is produced by modern paring methods; (2) that the 

 renewed bark was regular; (3) that the percentage of scrap 

 in the total yield of rubber was very high indeed. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICES IN THE LONDON 



MARKET. 



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

 ing report on the London drug and spice markets 

 for the month of November: — 



The month of Xovember started with a fair amount of 

 business being transacted in drugs and chemicals generally, 

 and with very slight alterations in individual values from 

 the previous month. As the month advanced, however, 

 a quieter tone prevailed with most products which come 

 under our review. Among spices, ginger, pimento and mace 

 advanced slightly, while citric acid and sarsnparilla have been 

 easier, as the following details will show. 



tJINGEE. 



At auction on the 2-tth of the month, 236 packages of 

 Jamaica were brought forward, 139 of which sold at the 

 following rates; 69s, to 75.s. for fair to good bold washed, 

 partly wormy. Out of 4.52 packages of Cochin and Calicut 

 offered, 3-1 only found buyers, washed rough mouldy Cochin 

 fetching 28.v. 6rf.; 3.5s. was the price at which sound Cochin 

 was held, and 30s. to 31,s. for brown rough Calicut. 



NUT)IEi;s, .MACE -\ND PIMENTO. 



At the spice auction on the 24th, West Indian nutmegs 

 sold at the following rates: 62's Is. id., 70's to 75's 9d to 

 Kki , and the smaller sizes from i^d. to 5ld. Mace was 

 represented at this auction by 84 packages of West Indian, 

 64 of which sold, good pale fetching 2s. 4c/., fair palish 

 Is. lOrf., and pale and reddish Is. 7d. to Is. 8d.; while for 

 ordinary to fair red, Is. 5d. to Is. 7d. was paid; and for 

 ordinary to good broken, 6|rf. to Is. 3d. per R. At the 

 same auction 14 bags of fair pimento realized 2l-d. per tt> , 

 and 7-5 bags of sittings 1 ^d. per lb. 



S.\RSAPAEILLA. 



At the first drug auction on the 4th of the month, 

 sarsaparilla was in good supply, grey .lamaica being 

 repi-esented by 28 bales, native Jamaica by 48 bales, Litaa- 

 Jamaica by 22, and Honduras by 23. Of the finst, 13 bales 

 found purchasers at from Is. 6(7. to Is. Sd. for part mouldy 

 to fair; only 5 bales of the native Jamaica were sold. Is. 

 being paid for good red, 10(f. for fair red, and 8d. for dull 

 and part mouldy. None of the Lima-Jamaica was sold, and 

 only 4 of the Honduras. 



ANNATTO SEED, KOL.\, LIME OIL. CITRIC ACID, XNT> 

 VANILLA. 



Annatto seed was in abundant supply at the beginning 

 of the month, as many as 123 packages being offered 

 on November 4, none of which found buyers. Kola 

 was also in good supply at this auction, as many as 

 33 packages being brought forward. Sixteen only found 

 buyers at 5Jr/. to 6(7. for fair dried Grenada and St. Lucia; 

 small washed fetched .5]<7., and sea-damaged, part mouldy, 

 ohd. to id. per lb. Quite at the end of the month kola 

 continued in fair demand. Six bags of West Indian were 

 sold at i^d. to bd. per tt)., and as much as 6d. was 

 quoted for good quality. At auction on November 4, 2 

 packages of hand-pressed lime oil from Dominica were 

 limited at 8.<. per R. Citric acid has been dull of sale 

 throughout the month, commencing at 3s. per lb. At the 

 time of writing it has dropped to 2s. lOd. 



At the last spice auction on the 24th, a striking feature 

 was the very large consignment of vanilla, amounting to 1,841 

 tins, 1,0-50 of which were from the Seychelles. There was. 

 a good demand, though it was stated that the beans were of 

 doubtful keeping quality. Of the 1,050 tins of Seychelles 

 700 were sold; 203 tins of Madagascar were offered and about 

 1-50 sold, aijd of ;\Iauritius 320 tins were offered and 170 

 sold, 57 tins of West Indian were also sold at prices varyint', 

 from 5s. 6d. to 7s. 9d. 



