642 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[February i, 1883. 



Below are the ai^proximate values both for South 



American and East Indian and Ceylon barks at the 



end of 1881 and at the end of 1882 :— 



19th December 1881. South American. 30th December lS8!i. 



s d s d s d s d 



Crown 10 3 10 3 2 



Gray 10 1 10 9 1 10 



Oalisaya flat... 2 3 3 6 ... ... 1 10 3 



„ quill... 4 9 6 9 ... ... 3 6 5 6 



Oarthagena ... 6 4 ... ... 1 5 2 10 



Columbian ... 11 5 ... ..2743 



Cuprean ... 1 3 2 9 .. ... 6 2 4 



Maracaibo ... 4 10 ... ... 4 11 



New Granada 10 5 6 ... ... 2 10 5 3 



Pitayo 6 2 9 6 2 2 



Red 1 9 11 4 6 9 



East Indian and Ceylon. 



The following quotations are taken partly from those 

 of December 20th, 1881, and partly from those of 

 January 3rd. 1882. Oh December 20tli the market 

 was strong with 6d advance in most cases : — 



Tuesday, December 20th, Tuesday, Deceml«r 19th, 

 1881, and January 3rd 1882. 1882, very dull market, quin- 

 Strong market, quinine 10s ine 8s 6d, 3d to 4d per lb. 

 per oz., 6d per lb. advance. decline per oz. 



Ctovni. Crown. 



s d s d s d s d 



Twigs 10 12 Twigs 3 10 



Chips 12 2 8 Chips 10 4 6 



Root 2 6 4 6 Root 2 4 4 9 



Sp. shavings ... 2 6 4 4 Sp. shavings ... 2 3 

 Qmll 2nd (luality 4 4 4 Quill 2nd quality 19 3 3 



„ 1st quality 4 6 6 4 „ 1st ,,...39 49 



Renewed ... 5 8 6 8 Renewed 3 6 



Red. Red. 



s d s d s d s d 



Twigs 8 12 Twigs 2 9 



Chips 18 2 2 Chips 10 2 4 



Root 12 2 2 Root 10 16 



Sp. slwviugs ... 1 5 3 Sp. shaviugs... 10 3 10 

 Ouill 2iia quality 2 2 2 Quill 2nd quality 10 18 

 ^ „ 1st quality 2 3 3 8 „ 1st .,...2040 

 Renewed ... 3 6 4 8 Renewed 2 3 4 3 



Present prices may be considered very satisfactory 

 in spite of the unusually dull market which closes 

 the year. The abolition of allowances for East Indian 

 Barks, the fall of Is 6d per ounce in the price of quinine, 

 and tlie large supply of inferior barks (with tlie ex- 

 ception of succirubra shavmgs) lately offered, necessit- 

 ating abnormally low quotations, must all be recog- 

 nized when comparing present with past values. The 

 time may shortly come when twigs and inferior mix- 

 ings may meet with no demand at all, and only the 

 better qualities will receive attention. Owing to the 

 successful and lucrative shaving process, druggists' 

 quills will soon be almost unobtainable; hence for a 

 time an imijovtant rise may be expected for that class 

 of bark. Quotations for crown, both original shavings 

 and quill, are considerably lower, possibly owing to 

 immature bark only reachuig this market. The range 

 for renewed red and renewed crown is more extended, 

 and takes in bark from considerably younger trees 

 probably than used to appear on the market a year 

 ago. The shaving process bids fair to revolutionize 

 the whole bark trade of the world and guarantees a 

 success as important as it was unexpected. Steady 

 rates for good quality of East Indian bark may be 

 expected during 1883, aud it is to be hoped a further 

 wholesome reform may be made in the sale ari"angement, 

 by selluigatthe landing weights instead of atre-weigh.s, 

 and so save useless and tedious delays. J. H. 



DIVI-DIVI. 



[Iti quoting the following interesting sumniai-y from 

 the Madras M'lil, we woulil remark that the plant 

 referred to ought to do well in the drier districts of 



Ceylon. The demand for tanning materials is so large 

 that it is worth while trying experiments even in the 

 wetter regions. — Ed.] 



The cultivation of oasuarinas has been of great 

 pecuniary benefit to many persons in Madras, but it 

 is ouly for timber that they are grown. Our attention 

 has recently been called to the fact that there is a 

 very good opening in this Presidency for the cultiva- 

 tion of the DiviDivi tree, known in America as the 

 Sumach, and botanically as the ccesnlpinia coriaria, 

 which produces not only timber but, what is more 

 v.iluable, seed-pods which realize a high price. It 

 may be grown, too, :is an ornamental tree. Some 

 correspondence has appeared in our cohunns during 

 the past few days, from which it appears that, though 

 known to a few agriculturists in ihe Presidency, the 

 advantages of growing it art* not generally known, 

 nor does it appear tu iiave been cultivated to any 

 great extent. It was introduced into Indii about the 

 year 1830 and has been thoroughly acclimatized in 

 .South Indi'i, which, in soil and climate, resembles its 

 original home. The largest plautaiion of divi-divi we 

 have seen is that on the premises of Mr. J. B. Car- 

 dozo, at Perambore, and before dealing with the 

 subject gener.illy we will relate Mr. Cardozn's ex- 

 perience. Some twenty-live years ago two trees were 

 planted in front of Mr. Cardozo's house, and flour- 

 ished A few years ago the value of the seed-pods 

 for making ink was discovered, and Mr. Cardoza made 

 inquiries winch resuUed in his sending seven bags of seed 

 pods to the London market in 1878, as a sample parcel. 

 The brokers wrote with regard to it that " it 

 is goon and bold, and this quality will 

 always command a ready sale at 13s to 14s per cwt. 

 in large quantities, as far as can be judged at pre- 

 sent." The parcel realized 13s 9d per cwt., and after 

 paying all expenses Mr. Cardozo realized a clear protit 

 of about R9 per tree. Finding that the seed-pods 

 were useful for dyeing and tanning, as well as maldug 

 ink, Mr. Cardozo planted out a large number of trees, 

 and be has now a plantation of about 600 trees. The 

 manufnoture of ink from Mr. Cardozo's seid-pods was 

 extended, and a native of Madras has suceeded in ob- 

 taining a contract to supply the Government of India 

 with ink powder for all the local Governments, the 

 principal ingredient being obtained fiom Mr. Cardozo's 

 seed-pods. Tlie trees we specially refer to grow in 

 what appears to be a clay loam of alluvial origin. The 

 Divi-Divi generally grows well in a sandy loam. A 

 sample of Divi-Divi pods grown on such a soil was 

 recently analyzed in Madras, aud contained, in the 

 marketable furm, 27 per cent, of tinnin. Dr. Balfour 

 states that the experiments made bj Mr. Kootsey of 

 Bristol showed the pods to contain 50 per cent of 

 tannin, and that it is largely used by curriers. He 

 also mentions that "the seed-pods of this tree being 

 known to contain a large percButa.ge of astringent 

 matter indued Dr. CorniBh to use them in fever." 

 The tree grows where the Babool will, but does not 

 like standing water. Mr. Cardozo believes that some 

 of his trees which are shaded have grown better than 

 those which have been exposed to the sun, but we 

 do not think the tree re.illy needs shade. In a Go- 

 vernment circular published some time ago, we notice 

 thai it is recommended that the trees should be put 

 down six feet apart, so that an acre of land will 

 contain 1,210 trees, but this is surely a mistake, as 

 the older trees at Perambore are 22 feet apart, 

 aud are already interliced to the extent of six or 

 seven feet. This would be prevented, ot course, 

 by pruning. The tree soon bears seed-pods, those 

 at four years old bearing a large numbei-; some 

 branches producing so many, indeed, as to be unable to 

 su port them in a breeze. We should be inclined to 

 plant ic ill lines in the same way as the Corkapillay 

 — inga didcis—is planted for forming hedges, but at 



