8o8 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[May i, 1885. 



An Absentee Proprietor and Mortgagee wnte3 

 to us by tbis mail as follows: — "I am extremely 

 glad to hear that you take a favourable opiniou of the 

 prospects of Ceylon. I am a firm believer iu tea, and I 

 have not altogether abandoned coffee, but believe that 

 it will be cultivated with profit on many estates the 

 owner of which has the means of carrying out high 

 cultivation ; but without manuring, it is idle to expect 

 crops." 



Lewis & Co.'s Tea Trade Circular, March 2nd, 



reports: "Ceylon: there have been some fine parcels 



sold, which show a little improvement in quality on 

 previous shipments, and they have commanded good 

 competition. Iu some instances higher prices have been 

 obtained owiDg to the small supply on offer." The 

 highest price quoted in the Circular above ' Darjeelings,' 

 1 Assams,' ' Chinas,' or, Javas,' is: " half-cheats superbly 

 choice Ceylon orange pekoe (beautiful leaf, ripe, rich 

 full flavoured, delicious liquor ; matchless) 2s 5Jd." 



Cinchona Analysis.— Mr. David Hooper, f.., c. s 

 Madras Government Quinologist, has issued a circular 

 stating that he undertakes analysis of all kinds of 

 cinchona bark according to the latest and most exact 

 method. The circular states that "Mr. Hooper is 

 ' Hereira ' medallist of the Pharmaceutical Society of 

 Great Britain, and silver medallist in Practical Chem- 

 istry and Botany ; he has been engaged for over three 

 years as analytical chemist to two of the largest 

 wholesale drug houses iu England, and has received 

 special training in Quino'.ogy under the supervision of 

 Dr. J. E. de Vrij, c I. K., K. N. L., at the Hague." 

 We hope to give full particulars of fees &c. in a 

 later issue. 



Timber and Tea Boxes from Scotland. — A planter 

 writes : — "As tea boxes are likely to be in great 

 demand, what do you think of importing them from 

 home? Say of good American pine, and the man just 

 at hand to see about it, is our friend " Old Colonist " 

 f rom Kirkland & Sons (or Co. ) of Dundee, or Miller 

 & Sons, Montrose. The Utter, I see by the local 

 papers, send out numerous cargoes of dressed timber 

 to Australia every year, and the trade is increasing. 

 Now they have machinery that could turn the article 

 at the lowest cost, and I am convinced, if pine is 

 suitable, it could be laid down at Colombo cheaper 

 than can be produced locally. Old Colonist should 

 get the dimensions, &c, and he might enquire at both 

 the firms mentioned : they are two of the largest 

 timber merchants in Scotland." What about pine 

 affecting the flavour of the tea? 



The Possible Effect of a War With Russia on 

 the Price of Quinine. — A correspondent writes :— 

 " Could you inform me through the Observer 

 what effect the Crimean war had on the price 

 of quinine or on cinchona bark, and, if bark is 

 likely to go up or down in the event of a war ? 

 g." A mercautile authority, to whom we| re- 

 ferred the question, replies :— " I am sorry I cannot 

 tell you whether the; Crimean war had any effect on 

 the prices of quinine, but, if it had, circumstances 

 are now so different, that no comparison could be 

 made, or safe deduction. I don't think an Indo 

 Russian war would enhance the price of bark, because 

 the Indian Gnverument manufactures more quinine 

 and febrifuges than would be required to dose the 

 largest armies it can send into Afghanistan. There 

 is little doubt, that, in consequence of the poverty 

 of Ceylon planters, an enormous quantity of bark 

 will be shipped this year to Europe. The railway 

 receipts are more than 50 per cent in excess of last 

 year from the 1st October, and low prices necessit- 

 ates larger cropping to give the same amount of 

 cavh. The probable export for the year is evidently 

 greatly underestimated." Russia is a large purchaser 

 of quinine in Kngland, and used to have an agent 

 there on purpose. 



Volcanic Agency in Uva. — With reference to the 

 assertion of a contemporary's correspondent about 

 the evidences of volcanic agency being apparent 

 near Fort MacDonald, an old Udapuasellawa planter 

 writes : — " I have never seen any indication of 

 volcanic agency in our neighbourhood. I do not see 

 the local 'Times.' King (of the Indian Geological 

 Survey), D. Morris (a very competent geologist), and 

 others have been over here, and it escaped their ob- 

 servation. The formation is purely primary, the strike 

 from the north-east dipping to the south-west." 



Tea Machinery. — Mr- Jackson, the well-known 

 inventor and patentee of much approved Tea-prepaiiug 

 machinery arrived at Colombo by the S. S "Nepaul" 

 on March 26th, and is making, we are glad to find, a stay 

 of some duration in the island, in older to test the work- 

 ing of improved machines in which he is interested, and 

 more particularly of his new Tea Drier. Mr. Jackson 

 has had special advantages in his career, first from 

 his training as a practical engineer, and next begin- 

 ning so far back as 1870 in Assam as a tea-planter. 

 The preparing machines then in use were few 

 and primitive. We need not recapitulate all that 

 has been done since, and more particularly by Mr, 

 Jackson himself, his Tea-roller being now generally ac- 

 knowledged to be about the best available, the only 

 fault we have ever heard connected with it being 

 its cost. But if all that is said about the new 

 Drier be correct in practice, it ought to spread Mr. 

 Jackson's fame, even more than his Roller. ThiB 

 Drier was erected last year in the Jorehaut Com- 

 pany's Factory by Mr. Dalgarno, a representative of 

 Mr. Jackson, who now accompanies him to start 

 the first iu Ceylon — and the result of the season's 

 experience in Assam was that the one Jackson 

 drier did as much work as seven ordinary Siroccos, 

 and it is claimed better work too. In fact, 

 Jackson's invention claims properly to be a machine, 

 saving labour and working automatically, whereas 

 Siroccos scarcely answer either end. The new drier 



Hewaheta Cinchona. — The following is an extract 

 from the letter of his London brokers to a Hewaheta 

 planter kindly placed at our service : — 



"The 'Gleuogle ' shipment was very fine, and as the 

 market had gradually improved for three sales, we were 

 able to obtain long prices, that of 2s 8d to 2s 0d for the 

 8 bales renewed red shavings being the 2nd highest price 

 which has been paid this year for succirubra bark. You 

 are much to be congratulated on growing such bark, and 

 we hope you have plenty more like it. The following is 

 the analysis which may interest you : — 



Quinine Sulphate 525 per cent~j 



Ciuchonidine 2'70 do. ( 8 bales. 



795 



} 8 



And the analysis of the 11 bales renewed chips was also 

 good : — 



Quinine Sulphate... 



Uinchonidine 



318 per cent"! 

 222 do. l n 



5-40 J 



We commence this yearwith a stock of bark, which, though 

 stillvery heavy, is 20,000 packages lighter than that with 

 which we commenced 188-1, a reduction caused by the gradual 

 cessation of imports from South America, consequent on 

 the low prices current in the London market, ana it seems 

 probable that we may have a better range of prices this 

 year than last, if Ceylon is to ship considerably less* than 



I last year, as reported on all sides, and if there is no 

 disaster like the Milan failure to disturb the market ; 

 for the prices now current are still considerably below 

 what would pay a South American importer of uncultivated 



I barks to continue importations on any large scale." 



* Wrong — and not justified by our estimates or remarks 

 I in January last. — Ed. 



