6i6 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[February r, 1883. 



$i}v,K\espixndeno$, 



To the Editor of the Ceylon Observer. 



VANADIUM. 



16th Nov. 1882. 

 Dear Sir, — With reference to the enclosed, can you 

 tell us anything about vanadium in Ceylon ? In 

 Chambers's Encyclopedia there is a very interesting 

 account of it, in which it is characterized as a very 

 rare metal. Do you know whether it has any com- 

 mercial value ? — Yours faithfully, B. L. 



" A pulverulent mineral containing vanadium has 

 been found in Ceylon." — Burgopie, Burbrii/ge, Cyriax 

 ami Farriea's Price Current. 



[Mr. A. C. Dixon writes : — "I have found slight traces 

 of the metal vanadium in Ceylon minerals, but I am 

 not awar- that it occurs in quantity to be of any 

 commercial value. A vanadium mineral is found in con- 

 eiderable quantity in Cheshire in Keuper beds, and is 

 worked at Alderley Edge, and Mottram, St. Andrew's. 

 Tbe vanadic acid of commerce is chiefly obtained 

 from this source. Vanadic acid forms a fine yellow 

 pigment and is used instead of gold bronze. Vanadate 

 of .soda crystallizes in large orange red crystals and 

 is a strong colouring agent : 1 part of salt colours 

 200,000 parts of water. Vanadate of ammonia gives a 

 deep black with galls and|it was thought it would make 

 a good ink. I think vanadium compounds are used in 

 dyeing and photography." See extract below. — Ed.] 



Vanadic Acid from Blast-furnace Slag. — Mes- 

 sieurs Osmont and Witz have obtained considerable 

 quantities of a special product called vanadic acid, 

 by heating the slag yield in the process of dephos- 

 phorizing a certain class of pig, at Creusot, by tbe 

 Thom4s-Gilchrist process. The acid is olitained by the 

 reaction of oxygen on the vanadium, and, by treating 

 it with hydrochloric acid, a beautiful green pigment 

 is obtained, which is very valuable, and may be used 

 directly iu dyeing. — Journal of the Society of Arts. 



THE CINNAMON TRADE AND THE 

 QUARTERLY SALES. 



London, 1st December 1882. 



Sir, — There has been some agitation among shippers 

 of cinnamon in Ceylon to get the old custom of 

 quarterly sales in London abolished and more fre- 

 quent, say, monthly, sales held. This change would, 

 I believe, be of ultimate great advantage to the trade 

 generally, for some reasons which it would take too 

 much of your valuable space to enumerate iu this 

 letter and which have probably occurred to most of 

 your readers interested iu the question. 



My object in addressing you now is to point out 

 the objections to bringing forward the matter at this 

 time, which hardly seems opportune for such a change. 



The quarterly cinnamon sales were adverti.^ed to be 

 held last Monday, the 27th November ; but a large 

 portion of inspectors gave notice that they intended 

 to have a sale next January. The buyers strongly 

 opposed and the sales were postponed for a week in 

 order that a meeting of buyers and importers might 

 be held to discuss the proposed change. This meet- 

 ing was held on the 2Sth ultimo, when the chief 

 mover iu tbe matter states! that bis firm had no dis- 

 cretion, but were under orders from their constit- 

 uents in Ceylon to hold monthly sales. The meeting 

 however adopted a resolution that the next sales 

 should be held on the 24th Febrnary 1883, it being 

 understood that shippers and their agents on this 

 tide would further discuts the matter. This seemed 



to most importers, who felt their helplessness in 

 opposing the wishes of the established buyers, in the 

 present position of the market, the best course to 

 pursue. There is at present iu London a stock of 

 8,324 bales and the import continues on a liberal scale 

 The demand has been good, stimulated no doub* 

 by low prices ; but there is a fear that consumers 

 have been going into stock and th.at therefore the 

 demand may fall oflf. Prices are extremely low and 

 with present supplies can hardlj be expected to im- 

 prove. According to present custom the u.sual buyers 

 are dealers, who take at each sale such a quantity 

 as they think they can work off before next sales, 

 or exporters, who have orders for the continent, 

 who no doubt also take some quantity in excess of 

 orders when the market favours then. The immedi- 

 ate result of monthly sales would be to cause the 

 dealers to buy only one-third of their usual quantity, 

 and supposing that, out of the sales advertized to take 

 place next Monday the 4th instant, of 5,100 bales, 

 under favourable circumstances 3,500 or 4,000 bales 

 found buyers : what would be the effect on the 

 market if there were only buyers for 1,200 or 1,900 

 bales ? Would the pressure to sell be relieved by the 

 remembrance that there would be further sales next 

 month? I think not, and the first result wauld be 

 a falling, even a demoralized market, and a serious 

 decline from present extremely low values. When- 

 ever the change comes there must be some giving 

 way in prices at first and I think therefore that it 

 is a suicidal policy on the part of shippers to press 

 the change now. Tbe chief loss must belong in the 

 first place to the producers to be shared to a greater 

 or less extent by those who hold stocks, whether 

 shippers, dealers or merchants. Let the shippers 

 and producers then wait until the present large sup- 

 plies have been worked off and importers can face 

 buyers with small stocks and a good demand from 

 consumers ; then they may make their own terms 

 and effect such changes as ' 'eylon shippers wish. 



As the trade is now conducted, the dealers act as 

 a support to the market and are not interested in 

 letting prices go too low. This causes a certain 

 artificial bolstering up of prices which will be with- 

 drawn when more frequent sales are held. The con- 

 sumer will be the first to reap the benefit of this 

 in lower prices and greater facilities for buying, 

 while at the same time tbe same causes may be 

 expected to restrict the abundance of the supply. 

 In the end the producer will profit by the greiter 

 facilities for trade ; but I hope I have shewn that 

 he must not expect to do eo at first and that now 

 the change proposed would bear more heavily upon 

 him than if circumstances were such as to place 

 sellers of cinnamon in a strong position. — I am, sir, 

 your most obedient servant, AN IMPORTER. 



• Before 1881 China and Ceylon cinnamon were not 

 separated. 



