17^ 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Sept. i, i8S6, 



investigating the extent and prospects of cinchona 

 plantinjr, and are contn-t to publish the usual board 

 of trade statistics without <|uestiou. The work will 

 devolve upon an enterprising American paper. — Oil, 



I'aiid mill Drvij Iltporii'i'. 



THE QUININE MARKET. 



P.y the time the Reporter is published, the present 

 anxiety over the probable outcome of the bark sale 

 on Tuesday will either be relieved or deepened. The 

 interest manifested in ti.<! developments on that day 

 is unusual, and in some ,quarters there is a faint hope 

 of a strengthened market, altliough every indJcntio>i 

 points directly against it in the shape of alleged 

 immense shipments of bark, loss of confidence and de- 

 moralized traders. The bark market especially is char- 

 acterized by an absence of confidence, which did not 

 emanate so much from the increased suppHes as from 

 the manner of conducting business at the sales. 

 Many operators in this market place little or no im- 

 portance in the wired intelligence from abroad as 

 to prices realized per unit for bark. They had their 

 confidence shaken by evidence of crookedness to 

 blind the unsuspecting public, and do not accept as 

 reliable the tests as announced at the sales. This 

 growing suspicion is confirmed by a correspondent 

 in the current issue of the Tropical AQricidturist 

 who calls attention to the wide difference in analysis 

 and value between a test made by a chemist employed 

 by the planter and the analysis and valuation made 

 in London. The difference was twenty-two cents 

 per pound 1 The first analysis showed a smaller 

 amount and to every appearance was honest, but 

 the second one was artificially increased with the 

 evident intention of swindling the buyer. This ex- 

 perience however is rare ; the alleged crookedness is 

 generally the other way, and instead of the planter 

 receiving the benefit, the buj^er and commission 

 agent are intrigued against him; for instance, we 

 are informed from London that a seller of barks on 

 commission received a handsome bribe to have his 

 barks analyzed a much lower percentage than actually 

 existed, and by this means they were sold for about 

 one-half or one-third of their real value to a bark 

 speculator. 



Xruder these circumstances the quinine market would 

 be indirectly iulluenced, and when all confidence is 

 lost in the bark sale reports, their imi)ortance will 

 cease as a barometer for quinine values. Not only has 

 faith departed from the bark sales, but it is firmly 

 beheved that statistics are also doctored for effect ; 

 this belief lias become so well grounded in some 

 minds that very little reliance is placed in the periodi- 

 eal announcements of the position of barks. The 

 quinine market, it is thought, will have to stand on 

 its own merits independent of the crude material, 

 but this is hardly possible. 



The present situation is not very encouraging foi- 

 business. Buyers of quinine could have loaded up 

 last week at fifty cents for either spot or July and 

 August shipment, but only a few availed themselves 

 of the opportunity. Outside parties were rather 

 anxious to release spot stocks at that price and cover 

 with deliveries during next two mouths at same 

 figure, but a halt was called on Saturday and hollers 

 were found to be firmer. This was caused by the 

 action of one large holder who prevented a serious 

 break in the market by withdrawing all supplies on 

 Saturday and declining bids of fifty cents, which 

 would have been gladly accepted on the day previous. 

 This had the effect of changing the whole tone of 

 of the market as the lowest figure quoted since then 

 by outside holders was fifty-two cents. A portion of 

 the .supplies changing hands at fifty cents last week 

 was ou account of American manufacturers. At pre- 

 sent writing, American brands are unchanged in 

 price, but a lower range is expected to prevail if 

 the declining tendency in barks is unchecked In 

 the meantime, three foreign brau'Js are favoring 

 buyers at lower figures than quoted this time last 

 week, 



The rianters' Ga~ette of Oeylon* in a recent issue 

 warns barks shippers of the necessity of checking 

 their supplies as much as possible until the market 

 has time fo right itself and adds: — "It is unlikely 

 that the present depression in ((uinine and bark will 

 be of long duration. It has its origin from one or 

 two causes, the result of which will so react on 

 both raw and manufactured articles as to* curtail 

 the supply, and so with the increased demand which 

 time is sure to show, we may look for steady and 

 progressive markets later in the year.'' — Oil, Paint 

 (ind T)r>iq Re-porter. 



^ 



THE COLONIAL EXHIBITION No. VI. 



Fr.ii. — The products of these islands occupy a com- 



])aratively small space, and though there is but litthj 

 of ab.solute novelty among them there are, neverthe- 

 less, some of considerable interest. The coconut and 

 its products, as might be supposed, is fully represented, 

 as well as Candle-nuts (Aleurites moluocanus), the oil 

 of which is used for illuminating purposes; antl Dilo- 

 nuts, the kernels of Calophyllum inophyllum, from 

 which an abundance of oil is obtained having a high 

 reputation for the cure of rheumatism. Tapa cloths 

 are also abundant, the entrances to the court being 

 hung with curtains of this matf>rial, which, as our 

 readers will know, is the beaten-nut bark of the Paper 

 Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera). Amongst the 

 many valuable woods that are found in the Fiji islands 

 the ""\'isa'' and the Sandal-wood will attract most 

 notice, for here is shown a canoe cut out of a solid 

 "Vcsi" trunk. The tree which furnishes is a legu- 

 minous one (Afzelia bijuga), and the wood is heavy, 

 close and even grained, and of an intensely dark brown 

 colour. The natives use it not only for canoes but 

 also for pillars for houses, bowls in which to serve kava, 

 war clubs, &c. The Sandal-wood (Santalum yazi) was, 

 it is said, " at one time plentiful in various parts of 

 Fiji ; but in the early stage of settlement its destruc- 

 . tion must have been most indiscriminate.'' 



T'^nder the name of Bandina Boxwood srme blocks 

 are shown of a remarkably hard wood, which api)eared 

 upon examination to be suitable for engraving pur- 

 poses. It is, however, of a dark browu colour, 

 which, it seems, unfits it for the better kind of work, 

 TTpon submitting a sample of this wood to an expert, 

 he reported that the wood has no special claim in 

 consequence of its dark colour. This, he says, con- 

 siderably reduces the value, as it could only compete 

 with inferior Box, which is at present supplied in 

 sufficient quantity. He explains this objection by 

 saying that " cutting upon wood is like drawing 

 upon paper; if it is tinted, there must be a limit to 

 the density of the tint, or your drawing will be 

 absorbed by the tint upon which it is drawn. An 

 engraver would have difficulty in observing his pro- 

 gress while doing his work." The plant producing 

 this Bandina Boxwood is at present unknown, but it 

 is stated that should it prove useful it could be had in 

 any quantity up to two feet in diameter from Fiji, 

 and the other outlying groups of islands in the 

 Pacific. 



Some fine masses of Kava root (Piper methysticum) 

 are shown, also powdered Kava root. This, it will 

 be remembered, is the source from whence the Fijian 

 beverage called kava is made by masticating the root 

 and ejecting and fermenting the saliva. It is known 

 to have diuretic properties, and has latterly attracted 

 some notice for its medicinal value in this coimtry. 

 Quito recently, indeed within the, last few weeks, a 

 spirit prepared from Kava root ha.s appeared on 

 sale at the refreshment bars in the Exhibition. It is 

 a colourless liquid and is sold in squ«re whito glass, 

 capsuled bottles, with labels fully describing its virtues. 

 It is called Y.agona, the finest Kava Schnapps, or 

 .aromatic gin, and its value is set forth as follrws: — 

 " The active principle of this agreeable and 

 splendid beverage is prepared from the root of the 

 Piper nuthysticum, a species of Pepper. The root 

 is c;il1ed Yngoiia by the natives of Fiji, and from 



'' iiopiral K'.jricu'tttrint, no doubt meant. — Ed,] 



