Vol. IV. No. 9.3. 



THE AGRCCULTURAL NEWS. 



351 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and Spices in the London Market. 



The following report on the London drug and 

 spice niarlcet for the month of September has been 

 xeceived from Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S. :— 



In reviewing the niaiket in drugs and spices during 

 the month of September, it is satisfactorj- to be able to 

 rei)ort a general upward tendency', though there was some 

 inclination to decline before the end of the month. With 

 regard to AVest Indian jiroduce, the scarcity that has 

 prevailed for some time in grey Jamaica .sarsaparilla continues, 

 and there is also a scarcity in West Indian tamarinds, both 

 of which are lield at advanced prices. The following is 

 a summary of the position of West Indian products during 

 the month : — 



GINGER. 



At the first auction, 1-10 packages of Jamaica were 

 offered and 37 disposed of at iis. to -ils. for fair washed, 

 and 4l's. for good common in small bags. 



On the 20th., some 150 packages of Jamaica were 

 offered, part of which only was disposed of at rates from 

 i2s. Gil. to •44s. for part common. At the same sale 50 bags 

 of medium and small wormy washed Cochin were sold at 

 from 18s. 6d. to 19*-. At the close of the month, the prices 

 for Jamaica stood as follows : good, 56s.; fair washed, 

 44s. 6(^. to 48s.; and good common, 42s. to 43s.; while wormy 

 washed Cochin was i)artly sold at 19s. to 20s., limed Japan 

 being bought in at IGs. per cwt. 



NUTMEGS, MACE, AND J'IMENTO. 



Throughout the month, nutmegs continued very riuiet, 

 improving slightly towards the end ; the same may also be 

 said of mace, the (|UOtations for which at the sale on the 

 20th. were: good West Indian, Is. id. to Is. 7d.; fair, 

 Is. 2d, to Is. od., and pickings, Is. to Is. Id. Fine Penang 

 was bought in at this sale at 2s. 6c?. Pimento varied but 

 little throughout the month, the quotations being 2v^d. to 

 '2'^d. per lb. 



AEEOWROOT. 



At the auction on the 13th., arrowroot was in steady 

 demand, 286 barrels were otfored, most of which was sold 

 at rates from 1 §i?. to lid. per ft. for middling to good 

 manufacturing St. Vincent. A week later the same quality 

 was offered and bought in at 2d. per lb. 



SAESAPAKILLA. 



At the first auction, on the 7th., there were no arrivals of 

 grey Jamaica, but Is. 3d. was quoted for Lima-Jamaica. 

 A week later 5 bales of native Jamaica only were offered, 

 Sd. being paid for 1 bale of middling reddish and yellow, 

 and 6A(i. to 7d. for sea-damaged. At the last auction, 

 8 bales of grey .Jamaica were offered ; fair sound realizing 

 Is. 6d. ; slightly sea-damaged fetching the same price, and 

 sea-damaged, Is. 5(/. per It). One bale of good red native 

 Jamaica .sold at 10(7., and 4 bales of pale-yellow to reddish, 

 realized Sd. per lb. 



TAMARINDS, KOLA NUTS, AND OIL OF LIMES. 



Tamarinds were quoted at much higher rates, 18s. 

 per cwt. being asked for Barbados, 16s. for Antigua, and 

 13s. for common dark, duty paid. Twenty-five barrels of 

 West Indian kola nuts were ottered at the sale on the 14th., 

 realizing id. per lb. for dark whole and halves. At the 

 same sale, 7 cases of dark Ceylon halves were disposed 



of at the same rate. At the spice auction in the same week 

 25 baskets of green nuts were bought in at 3d. [ler lb. 

 We.st Indian distilled oil of limes, offered in the middle of 

 the month, fetched Is. 8d. per lb. 



CAPSICUMS. 



With regard to the consignment of Xei>aul peppers and 

 red chillies, recently forwarded to London by the Imperial 

 Commissioner of Agriculture, and referred to on p. 280 of 

 this volume of the AgikidturaL Neiog, it may be of interest 

 to give the following quotations for chillies for the four 

 weeks of the month. On the 6th., fine Nyassaland, 37s.; 

 large Japan, 24s. per cwt. On the 13th., good bright red, 

 East Coast of Africa, 33!. Qd. On the 20th., Mombasa 

 chillies were liought in at from 28s. to 30s.; some fine 

 bright small Mombasa Capsicum chillies, without stalks, 

 62s.; fine red Japanese chillies 34s. On the 27th., good 

 bright Zanzibar and Mombasa, 28s. to 30s. 



LIMA BEANS. 



The Agricultural Ledger, 1905 — No 2, contains 

 a report on the chemical examination of the seeds of 

 the Lima bean {Fhaseolus iunatus) by Professor 

 Wyndham K. Dunstan, F.R.S., with introductory 

 information with regard to the habitat, uses, and 

 composition of the plant. As this plant is widely 

 cultivated throughout the West Indies, the following 

 brief abstract has been prepared : — 



The Lima bean is said to be indigenous to South 

 America, but it has long been cultivated in most of the 

 warmer parts of the earth. 



The legumes or pods are not used as an esculent. 

 The ripe seeds are eaten, and they should be cooked in the 

 same way as haricots or broad beans. Chemical analyses 

 show that they contain 20 to 21 per cent, of albuminoids 

 and 37 to 57 per cent, carbohydrates. 



The white bean is apparently produced only by carefully 

 cultivated plants. In other cases the colour of the testa is 

 cream coloured, pink, or even purple coloured. 



In JIauritius the plant is used as a green manure, and 

 a number of cases in which cattle had been poisoned as the 

 results of eating the plant have been recorded. 



The poisonous action of the seed has been observed for 

 many years, and fatal effects have often followed the 

 consumption of the raw beans. Professor Dunstan's 

 examination of the Mauritius beans showed that they yielded, 

 when the beans were ground with water, from 0'04 to 009 per 

 cent, of prussic acid, the largest amounts being found in the 

 dark, purple-coloured seeds, and the smallest in thoa^ with. 

 an almost white testa. 



A further examination of beans from Burma showed 

 that, while these furnished less prussic acid than the 

 ^Mauritius beans, there was still sufficient to render them 

 undesirable for consumption. 



It is urged that much harm would be done to the Indian 

 trade in leguminous seeds for feeding stuff's, if consignments 

 of poisonous beans were distributed. ' It seems advisable, 

 therefore, that, if possible, the cultivators . . . should 

 cultivate the perfectly white variety rather than the coloured 

 varieties.' 



[It is understood that when cooked Lima beans are 

 a perfectly wholesome food. The above refers only to 

 the consumption of Lima beans in the raw state as 

 a food for animals. Ed. A. N.] 



