November i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



423 



tio2i, and will ero long become great factors in our 

 industries : China grass, indigenous as well as exotic ; 

 hemp, indigenous or crossed with Belgian ; Adam's 

 needle, which yields 4 per cent of excellent fibre, 

 New Zealand Hax and several species of a native 

 Hibiscus are ready to yield profitable returns to the 

 demands of intelligent agriculture." 



With this information before them, our planting 

 readers can judge of the advisability of tiying ex- 

 periments with aloe cultui-e. If the pulp can 

 be separated from the fibre by chemical solutions 

 without injury to the colour or strength of tlie fibre, 

 and if the chemicals can be cheaply obtained, then 

 the enterprizo may be very profitable. 



A copy of the Mauritius pamphlet reached us some 

 time ago, but tlie member of our staft' who had the 

 task of translating it, was compelled to take a liealth 

 trip before liis task could be completed. A gentleman, 

 C. S., who has just received a copy sends us a sum- 

 mary, which will be found elsewhere, as well as- 

 the remarks of a correspondent on aloes in the Northern 

 Province. 



CEYLON CINNAMON AND CHINA "CASSIA" 

 For a couple of centuries including the period of 

 Dutch rule and the first half century of British rule, 

 an average of about half a million lb. of cinnamon, — • 

 the fine spice of which Ceylon has a natural mono- 

 poly, sufficed for the wants of the world. The quan- 

 tity exported was, indeed rather imder the round 

 half million, for the average for the five years ended 

 1841 was only 452,000 lb. In those early days, con- 

 sumption was no doubt restricted by the enormous ex- 

 port duties which prevailed, and which, apart 

 from increasing the competition of China cassia, 

 tended to encourage the cultivation of the true 

 cinnamon in Java and at TellicheiTy on the west 

 coast of India. At the end of the period mentioned 

 Government had abolished the unprofitable chmamon 

 department, sold theii- gardens and giadually lowered 

 the duties, whicli were finally abolished. The result 

 was that the averages rose as follows : — 



Five years ended 1846 ... lb. 530,000 

 „ 1851 ... ,, 565,000 



1856 ... „ 75.5,000 



1861 ... „ 807,000 



1866 ... ,, 825,000 



Then came the great spring, owing to what at the 

 time was deemed the grand discovei-y, that it would 

 pay better to send cinnamon chips into the market 

 than distil cinnamon oil from them. In 1867 the 

 million of pounds was, for the first time in history 

 exceeded and in 1869 we had the cuhniuating export of 

 2,685,000 llj. Next year the two millions were exceeded, 

 but there was then a considerable decrease and 

 the average for the five years ended 1871 was 

 1,834 000 lb. The average for the next five years went 

 down to 1,264,(J00 lb; and the two millions of pounds 

 have not again been so closely approached since 1871 

 as in the season just closed, for which the exports, 

 were : — 



Baled cinnamon ... lb. 1,600,000 



Chips ... ... ,, 394,000 



Total lb... 1,994,000 

 For ten seasons there has been no higher export of 

 baled bark than in that just closed, and the 

 quantity of chips was only exceeded in 1879-80 



when the enormous quantity of 474,484 lb. were 

 shipped, or above the old average for total ex- 

 port. Kecently there has been an agitation in favour 

 of discontinuing the export of chips, so as to improve 

 the prices of the fine, long-quilled cinnamon. Looking 

 at the motives whicli usually actuate human nature, 

 it is in the last degiee improbable that any compact 

 binding owners of ciimamon gardens not to export 

 chips, or sell them for purposes of export, would l)e 

 observed. A certain number will refuse to enter into 

 the compact and another uncertain number, (wo fear 

 a considerable per centage) will violate it, either by 

 directly exporthig chips, or selling to those who will 

 export. With the abolition of the duties, and the 

 export of chips from Ceylon the cinnamon enterpi-ize, 

 botli m.Java and Western India, ceased to be profitable,, 

 altliough curiously enough, the growers of cassia in 

 China believe that they are suffering from tlie 

 competition of Java cinnamon. Altliough Ceylon 

 has no monopoly of the gi-owth of cinnamon, 

 yet for fineness of quality its spice, largely 

 grown in almost purely silicious sand, is entirely 

 unequalled. But as in the case of coffee, the millions 

 look to cheapness more than quality, and so tlie true 

 cinnamon has long had a formidable rival in tlie cassia 

 of China, the bark of an inferior variety of the cin- 

 namon laurel, or, which at any rate as grown in China 

 yields an inferior bark. How formidable that rival is, 

 and how slight the effect on the market of with- 

 holding the chips, if that were possible, would 

 be, we had no idea untU we saw the statistics 

 embodied in a report on China cassia by the 

 Hong Kong Botanist. This report, which has been 

 sent to us by the local Government for perusal, 

 will be duly noticed. For the present wc con- 

 fine ourselves to the figures for exports from 

 Canton. If these can be depended on the quantity 

 of " Ligaea, twigs and broken twige" exported in 

 1879 considerably exceeded 100,000 piculs of 133| 

 lb. each, — say 13| millions of pounds ! That, to Ije 

 surf, was the maximum, but after a cousiderable 

 falling-ofi' in 1880 the exports in 18S1 reached in 

 piculs, 



Lignea ... ... 54,520 



Broken do 3,129 



Twigs 6,941 



Bark of do 2,832 



Total piculs ... 67,428 



or close on nine millions of lb. The average export 

 of cassia, therefore, considerably exceeds four times, 

 is, indeed about five-fold the figures fur Ceylon 

 cinnamon, and the Chinese growers would be 

 only too ready to fill in the deficiency of 

 supply created by the withholding of Ceylon chips. 

 No doubt our most inferior chips are better in qualify 

 that the best China cassia. VVe recollect that some 

 time aboui 1848, we received specimens of the 

 China spice from the late Capt. Margesson, R. A. 

 who was then serving at HongKong and who was 

 interested in Cevlon cinnamon. The bark w.-vS coarse 

 and pungently hot, instead of having the fine 

 delicate fiavoiir of our best quality ; but the very 

 strength of ''cassia," will be counted a merit by many of 

 the pudding eaters of England. Besides bark, about an 

 averagn of 2,000 piculs, or over a qu.rter of a 

 million pounds of "cassia buds'' are annually exported. 

 Can anyreader tell us why the buds of our true cinnamon 

 have never been exported as a spice from Cej Ion? The 

 source of tlie China cassia is now ascertained to be 

 exclusively a variety of the true cinnamon, ciniia- 

 monum cassia, Blume ; " yuk quai she" of the 

 Chinese. 



Tliis hns been conclusively settled, by the Hong. 

 Kong botanist, as we shall subsequently slew. [See 

 furtlier on. J 



