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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [February 2, 1885. 



Cargoes of Tea from China. — Between 8th 

 and 30th Dec. nearly four miliion pounds of tea 

 were exported from China to Britain. What ha9 been 

 the largest quantity sent from Ceylon in one vessel? 

 Not more than 100,000 1b, we suppose. But from 

 China we see that the " Gleneagles " steamer took over 

 three-quarlers of a million of pounds, the exact figures 

 being 759, 124. The " Cyclops " took 665,000, and the 

 '• Massilia " P. & O. stearmr 660,-15 1. The day is 

 coming when similar cargoes of tea will leave Colombo 

 harbour, before the northern arm is completed. 



Carbolic Acid. — We are in leceipt of. a pamphlet 

 issued by Messrs. Calvert the manfacturers of Carbolic 

 acid in it* various forms. The pamphlet specially 

 treats of the value of Carbolic acid as a manure, and, as 

 such, it is, we consider, worthy of the attention of 

 sugir growers. We are not prepared to say that it 

 is the best manure that can he recommended to 

 planters and farmers, but from the results obtained 

 in other countries it is evident that the subject 

 of its application to our sugar lands is one which 

 deserves the attention of those interested in render- 

 ing our fields more fertile. —Mackay Standard. 

 [Carbolic acid as an insecticide and a fungicide we 

 know, but how is it used as a manure'; An overdose 

 of this substance at anything like the usual strength 

 would surely make short work of the vitality of trees. 

 What is the form and what is the cost of carbolic acid as 

 a manure? — Ed. 



The Tea Trade.— Continuing its remarks upon the state 

 of the tea trade, the Produce Markets' Tlerii ir says : — " The 

 facilities which bankers give by advances in China or here, 

 and the readiness with which produce may be realized by 

 consigning to the large brokers in London, no doubt form a 

 vast improvement on the system of old days, when the 

 first price of tea could not be ascertained, nor the profits 

 on it at all estimated, owing to the existence in the hands 

 of the same merchants who exported tea of a large import- 

 ing trade into China from this country, and the mingling with 

 it of a considerable banking business both direct and through 

 India. All this has more or less passed away, but that 

 which we referred to in our article of last week was the 

 reckless speculation of late years by those newly entered 

 into the trade in tea, apparently without any sufficient con- 

 sideration of the condition of the market and, at any rate 

 laterly, at a period when a heavy drop in price was impend- 

 ing. It may have been that those who have thus operated 

 in tea have been driven by necessity to continue, and that 

 the one transaction provided funds for those which had 

 passed, and that the loans which could not have been met at 

 anyone time were carried on by fresh advances onfresh trans- 

 actions. That which we specially wish topoint out, however, is 

 thatourmarketcustomsfavourthese proceedings, and that the 

 system of the buyer payings deposit isone of extreme danger, 

 at times when speculation is rife and prices arefalling. That 

 thebuyers should pay atlepositat all is surely a reversal of all 

 ordinary trade rules, unless a complete transfer is made by 

 the seller to the buyer ; but in the case of the tea trade no 

 goods are handed over until the entire value is paid, the 

 deposit being but a payment on account. There is creat 

 danger that tie buyer, after paying the deposit, might find 

 that bankers who hid advanced on the' produce to the seller 

 could demand successfully the entire value of the tea be- 

 fore parting with the warrants, leaving the buyer to claim on 

 the seller's estate for the deposit already paid as best he 

 might, in case of failure. Not oldy this, hut in case of a 

 rise in value, or an over-advance on the part of the banker, 

 it is quite possible that, until the banker's entire claim is 

 satisfied, even if that claim be heavier than the market value 

 of the goods, the buyer would not be able to obtain poss- 

 ession ; and thus he might not only lose interest by de- 

 lay and litigation, but also the loss of value and sale, and 

 the deposit already fruitlessly paid. The fact is, that the 

 break down of the old tea monopoly has been succeeded 

 by much speculation, and our market rules want revision. 

 There is no need for deposits, there is no need for weight 

 notes or warrants; but the healthy alteration in system 

 of rapid realization by public sale, and of moderate ad- 

 vances by bankers onprcducein China, is all to be hailed 

 a fast avourable change. 



The Japan Tea Enterprize is not asleep, as will 

 be seen from the following paragraph : 



The Tea Iudustry Superintending E-tablishment at 

 Kob j is about to dispatch special correspondents to 

 New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Canada, where 

 Japanese tea is largely exported, to report on the tea 

 trade. The correspondence is to begin with the com- 

 mencement of the next tea season.— Choya Shimbun. 



The Half- Yearly Report of the S. Paulo rail- 

 way, to 30th June, states that, owing to a large 

 quantity of coffee having been detained in the growers' 

 hands, the gross receipts show a small decrease when 

 compared with those of the corresponding period of 

 1883, notwithstanding the traffic was the largest ever 

 carried by the company, while the working expenses 

 were slightly less. The coSee crop for the coming 

 season is estimated at 120,000 tons. — Bio News. 



The Brazil Coffee Crop.— The Brazil and Biver 

 Plate Mail of December 13th notes :— That the Gazeta, 

 of Piracicuba San Fau!o, predicts that next year's 

 coffee crop will be shorter than any for a period of 

 ten years. For this our contemporary offers the fol- 

 lowing reasons:— 1. That the last crop was large and 

 the trees are exhausted. 2. That the experience of 

 the current year has been very irregular, there having 

 been many dry months where there should have been 

 rainy ones. 3. That great injuries have been sustained 

 from frost. Of course such statements must be ac- 

 cepted cum grotto salis. 



The Cixnamon Market.— A well-known e r n- 

 uanion estate proprietor writes : — " Will you please 

 publish the enclosed report oil the state of the cin- 

 namon market for th edification of those who by 

 their persistent advocacy of monthly sales have suc- 

 ceeded in bringing prices lower than they ever were 

 before ?"' 



Cinnamon. — It will be remembered that at the usual 

 August auctions (no sales having been held since May), the 

 trade put a direct question to the selling brokers as to 

 future sales, and whether they might assume that quarterly 

 sales would be the rule in future, as they would tbeuknow 

 how to act. The brokers interested in the intermediate 

 sales made no demur to this assumption on the part of 

 buyers, and, on tacit understanding, the auctions weut off 

 with spirit, at advanced prices nearly all grades, and™ here 

 was a feeding of relief that the antagonism between some of 

 the importers, and the buying trade generally had termin- 

 ated. In spite of this nearly 1,500 bales were thrown on the 

 market at the end of .September, 950 being sold chiefly at 

 a declihe of about Id to l|d per lb. on August rates, 

 while at the end of October more than 1,500 bales were again 

 forced on unwilling buyers ; 600 hales changing hands at a 

 further decline of about Id per lb. on September prices. 

 The result of these proceedings has been to derstroy all 

 confidence in the trade, and, when it was announced at 

 the beginning of Monday's sales by the first broker selling 

 that further auctions would be held in January (X'mas 

 holidays intervening), the feeling of the trade was exhib- 

 ited in the question put by one of the largest dealers : 

 "Perhaps, you will inform us what advantage niercbauts 

 have derived by holding monthly sales !" This feeling 

 resulted disastrously for sellers, for. of the 2,044 bales cata- 

 logued, about 1 ,000 bales ouly sold were at a further general 

 decline of Id to 2d per lb. on October prices, four-rifths 

 comprising: — '* Firsts" Ihd to 0±d ; "seconds" 6.;d to. 

 Sd ; " thirds " 5d to 7d ; " fourths " 4£d to 3d per lb. ; 

 tine grades were neglected. AVe regret that more firmness 

 was not shown by sellers at the commencement of the 

 auctions, and the priced catalogue sent will enable you to 

 judge how the sales went. Under these circumstances, we 

 considered it our duty in the interests of our constituents 

 not to sacrifice their cinnamon, and, consequently with- 

 drew nearly the whole of our imports. AV*e shall lose 

 no opportunity of effecting sales privately if fair rates are 

 offeted. Quotations are now lower than at any former 

 period. AYe enclose a very full market report from Messrs. 

 James Cook & Co., to which we beg your special attention. 

 — London, 28th November 1884. — Forbes, Fohbes & Oo. 



