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COLLYEK, DAVIES & CO.'S REPOBT ON 



FIBRES, FOR 1ST JANUARY, 1887. 



The introtluction of new or little known fibres has 

 made but small progress during the past year ; causes, 

 however, are at work which will probably lead to an 

 important increase in this department within a com- 

 paratively short period. Further improv meuts have 

 been made iu machinery for extracting, wl ioh can now 

 be bad to suit the requirements of any loi;ality at very 

 modt rate prices. The greatest practical difficulty seems 

 to be the necessity in most cases of cultivatiug the 

 plants rt quired for treatment ; g'uerally .-peaking, the 

 plants are too widely separated when growing wild for 

 economical extraction on a large .scale. As the average 

 yield of fibre is only about three to five per cent of 

 the weight of the green material when cut, the carriage 

 of the latter to the machines is iu many cases too costly, 

 and therefore the concentration becomes a necessity. 

 The most promising varieties of plants for cultivation 

 are as follows : — 



ivHEA OK Rajhe ( C'rtica Nirva, 'raaciiM'tna i.jc.J — The 

 China Grass of commerce, for tex»ile uses, grows, or 

 can be grown in most subtropical and warm temperate 

 climates where there is suliicient rainfall. Value of 

 China CIrass £36 to £38 p^r ton. 



MooRVA (Sansaviera Zfi/huica, 4-r.)— For fine twines 

 for netting and cordage. ' This plant is al.so very widely 

 distributed in Asia. Africa and West Indies, of several 

 varietie.". Value £25 to £o5 per ton. 



Wild Pine Apple {Bromefia Silre^tris, Jr.)— The 

 \'arietics growing in "West Indies and Central America 

 yield a remarkably good fibre for cordage, and some of 

 the edible kinds yield a fibre a iapted for textiles. 

 Sooner or later pine apple fibre will become an article 

 of ccn.'-iderable importance. Good saniijles have also 

 been received from Southern India. Value £20 per ton 

 and upwarf's. 



Calotropis Gigantea (or Jfudar) yield.s a fine fibre, 

 but it is very difficult of extraction. The flo-s (or seed 

 covering in the pod) whiMi gathered at maturity is in 

 good demand. Value, .vhen free from seed, about 6d 

 per lb. 



Manila Hejih. — This iinpiotant staple has been in 

 steady demand throughout the year. Opening prices 

 in .January were — for good roping £31 10s to £32. fair 

 £29 10.*. Market opened dul', Jind values d( cliued 

 during Febiuary and March to £28 to £-'9 (or good 

 and £25 10s to £26 for fair. In April and till about 

 the middle of May prices advanced to £31 10s to £32 

 for good and £30 to £31 for fair, but fell away again 

 towards end of the month, and in June quotations fell 

 to £29 10s to £30 lOs for good and £28 to £28 10s for 

 fair. The world's consumption January to June was 

 fully equal to the production, say about 200,000 bales, 

 London stocks facing iu the same period from 18,68(i 

 ball's on 1st January to 15.285 bales on 1st July. From 

 July to December inclu>ive fluctuations have been 

 small, rarely exceeding lO-* to £0i per ton, and clo.se at 

 £32 lOs for' good and €: M* to €31 for fair, with a 

 linner tendcn:}, 



'rhs flac!n.Hlion.s in a.'rival valu'-s have been mach 

 jIiCr« impoitaiit. this l.i n p ijc-'og a favourite medium 

 iui" ipiciialive opeiaiii-ii.s. .*?l!ij n ents to (nited 

 Tviiij,'iIom to l3th iJccnnlier, li;2,OC0 bales, against 

 177,000 hst Jfar; to T'liitnl states to 13th December, 

 laljCOi) bales, against lP0,C(i0 last yir, 



c:cusumpt;on for 13 moi 'hs 174,0'' bales. 



Sisal Hoip (Mexico), Thi« h rnp has shown a 

 grealer change iu value thai, any oth' r fibre during 1886. 

 Prices were unduly depre scd for a considerable time, 

 and continued to decline iuitil the middle of March, 

 when London value ivas ^Jl7 5s. t" £17 IDs. per ton; 

 from this date prices gni lually a^.vanced till end of 

 June, being thou £l.s 10s to £10. 



Ill July, owmg to the largely increased consumption 

 in America, where, by improved processes of manu- 

 factuie, this fibre is now used in.stead of the finer and 

 more expennve kinds of Manila hemp, prices rapidly 

 advanced £3 to £4 per ton, and this advance, with a 

 few unimportant fluctuations, has been maintaintd and 



increased, the price in December, £27 to £27 10s 

 being the highest of the j'ear. 



Stock on 1st June, 1886, were 5,300 bales. 

 „ 1st Dec, „ „ 1,470 ,, 



New Zealand Hemp. — There has been much less 

 variation in the price of this hemp than might have 

 been expected from the advance in Sisal. Import 

 restricted l)y the high cost production — the year opened 

 with small stocks, 142 tons against 583 tons in previous 

 year, following a reduced consumption in 1885 of 700 

 toHs against 1000 tons in 1884. Value in January of 

 fair to good £20 to £24, and common £18 10s. to £19 

 I9s., prices fluctuated very slightly during the year, 

 closing about £1 higher, consumption for 11 months 

 estimated at about 545 tons. Stock on Ist December 

 about 44 tons against 157 tons last year. Consumption 

 in 1886, 565 tons. 



Maueitius Hemp.— The supply during the year has 

 been fairly regular without any great fluctation iu 

 prices closing with a firmer teuilency. Stocks small 

 good wliite about £23, fair £26 17s., common £21. 



East India Hemp. — Calcutta Sunn. — Supplies have 

 been very small, and prices high all through tbe year 

 until December, when the new crop arrive! iu bulk. 

 Shipments being ample, and quality unsatisfactory, 

 prices have receded to about £17 15s. and still lower 

 prices are probable. 



GoDAVEEY Hemp of good quality has been iu steady 

 demand at full prices, closing at £i.'5 to £27 per ton. 



GoPAULPOBE Hemp.— Supplies have been fair, and 

 prices well maintained. New crop offering at £19 to 

 arrive. 



OocoNADA Hemp. — Very little change during the j'ear 

 Prices about £17 to £1S per ton. 



Consumption of all kinds of east India hemp in 1886, 

 1,826 tons. 



Jl'Te. — The year opened with stocks on spot and 

 afloat to the United Kingdom of 92,000 tons against 

 119,300 iu 1884, and with a dull and drooping tendency, 

 prices ranging from £11 to £12 los for medium to 

 £13 10s to £15 10s for fine; but shortly after market 

 improved, owing to greater firmness in "Calcutta, fully 

 10s per ton, aud remained fairly steady with slight 

 fluctuations till Jlay, when uuremunerative trade led 

 to the closing of several factories — aud with increasing 

 stocks prices fell fully 10s per ton, and continued weak 

 during July and uutil the latter end of August, when 

 a slight improvement took place, which was maintainsd 

 during September and October. Prices were rather 

 easier iu November ; but during first half of December, 

 market became firmer, and closes with a better prospect. 

 Srocks here and afloat on 1st December, 78,880 tons of 

 jute and 2,110 tons of cuttings. — Collyer, D.wies & Co., 

 Fibre and Colonial Brokers, 141, Fenchurch Street, 

 London. 



CORAL FISHING. 



Though Naples, or at least Torre del Greco, is one 

 of the great centres of the coral trade, the material 

 found in the gulf is both small i:i quantity and poor iu 

 qualit}'. Tbey are hubmauEe rocks, well known to the 

 fishermen, thjugh they are laid down on no chart^ 

 where a peace or two may almost always be found; 

 but they are so few, and their yield is so precarious 

 and meagie, that by a private agreement am )ng the 

 boat-owners each of them is only fished once in every 

 three year.--. There can be little doubt that other 

 and more fruitful fishing-grounds are still undiscovered < 

 In the opmion of many who ought to be well in- 

 formed, wherever a rock rises above the sediment 

 which forms the ground of a great part of the bay 

 at a depth of about three hudred feet or more from 

 the surface, the chances are that coral will be found 

 upon it. The discovery of .'^uch banks has hitherto 

 been almost entirel}' the work of chance. When a 

 deep-sea fisher found a brai eh among the refu.se of 

 his nets, he gave information to the proper authorities, 

 and received a reward proportionate to the value of 

 his find. It was thus that the great bank of Sciacca, 

 OD the co.ist of Sicily, w.is discovered, of which we 

 shall have to speak further on. But, though new 

 fishing-grounds may be found Id the Bay of Naples 



