Vol. X. No. 229. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



47 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPIOES ON THE LONDON 

 MARKET. 



Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S., has forwarded the fol- 

 lowing report on the London drug and spice market, 

 for the month of December : — 



A diminution of business generally, in the drug and spice 

 markets, begins to be perceptible as soon as the last month of 

 they ear is entered upon, and becomes more apparant as the 

 month advances. In view of the holidays and stock-taking, 

 buyers are content with making small purchases, sufhcient to 

 carry them over to the New Year. The last drug auction of 

 1910 was held on December 1.5, and the first one of 1911 is 

 fixed for .lanuary 12. Throughout December, however, though 

 the purchases were not large, prices, generally were well main- 

 tained, and a belief prevailed that the New Year would open 

 very satisfactorily. 



GINGER. 



This article maintained a firm position throughout the 

 month, and improved rates have lieen obtained for Jamaica, 

 especially towards the close of the month. The following are 

 the details: On the 7th of the month the offerings consisted 

 of 8 cases of l:)old Calicut, and 252 bags of washed rough. 

 The first were bought in at 92s. Qd. and the latter at 54s., 

 good brown rough being held at G5s. per cwt. Privately, some 

 sales were made of rough Cochin at from 53s. to 54s. per cwt. 

 At auction on the 21st, good washed Cochin sold at 52s. 6d. to 

 55s., and good Calicut commanded prices up to 65s. Jamaica 

 also commanded much firmer prices than had hitherto pre- 

 vailed. The increased exports from Jamaica, from the begin- 

 ning of April to the end of October last, of 15,255 cwts. 

 against 12,934 cwt. in the same period of 1909 have been 

 favourably commented on. 



NUTMEGS, MACE AND PIMENTO. 



The dealings in none of these articles call for any remark, 

 except that in the middle of the month there was a slight 

 advance in mace, good pale West Indian fetching from 2.s-. 4^/. 

 to 2s. 5d., fair 2s. 2d. to 2s. 3d, and ordinary 2s. to 2.s-. Id. 

 per R>. 



ARROWROOT. 



A quiet tone has pervaded this article. At the early part 

 of the month, some 200 barrels of St. Vincent were disposed 

 of at prices from •2d. to 3f A per lb., the higher price being 

 for fine manufacturing. Attention has been drawn in com- 

 mercial circles to the fact that the combination of St. Vincent 

 exporters not to sell below 2d. has come into operation this 

 month. 



SARSAPAEILLA. 



At auction on December 1, 24 bales of grey Jamaica 

 were ofiFered, 20 of which were sold at the following rates: 

 fair Is. 5rf., slightly mouldy Is. 2d., and damaged Is. 

 Native Jamaica was represented liy 8 bales, most of which was 

 sold, fair to good bright red fetching lOd to lOirf. per lb. 

 One bale of native red Jamaica realized 9'/. per lb., and 11 

 bales of Mexican were bought in at 9d. per lb. A fortnight 

 later, the offerings at auction were: grey .Jamaica 3 bales, 

 Lima-Jamaica 29 bales, and native Jamaica 27 bales; 1 bale 

 of grey Jamaica fetched Is. 5d., and the other 2 Is. id. per ft. 

 for slightly mouldy. The Lima-Jamaica was all bought in, 

 17 bales at Is. per ft., and the remaining 12 at lOhd. to Is. 

 per ft. Four bales only of the native Jamaica found buyers, 



2 of good red fetching 1 U'/. per ft., I of fair red lOd, and 

 1 of dull 9d. per ft. 



KOLA, LIME .J0ICE AND OIL OF LIME. 



Kola has been in demand throughout the month; at the 

 beginning, 8 bags of bright dried St. Lucia were all disposed 

 of at 3|d to id. per ft., and a fortnight later, 4 bags of dried, 

 and 3 barrels of dark West Indian, were brought forward, 

 and disposed of at from 3|d to 3^d. per ft. for the first, and 

 3|d for the second. At the early part of the month, concen- 

 trated lime juice was firm at £18 2s. 6d Of oil of lime.s, 

 some 60 packages from Dominica were said to have arrived 

 about the middle of the month, and the following prices were 

 quoted: hand pressed 5s. 6d, fair white distilled Is. 5c?., and 

 other qualities ranging from 8d, to Is. 3d. At the beginning 

 of the month, 2 barrels of West Indian oil of bitter orange 

 were brought forward, and 1 was sold at 4s. 9c?. per ft. 



Rice in British Guiana. 



The last fortnightly report of Messrs. Sandbach, 

 Parker & Co., of Georgetown, on the rice industry of 

 British Guiana, dated January 18, 1911, gives informa- 

 tion as follows: — 



The weather during the fortnight has been showery 

 and milling, as a consequence, has been interrupted. 



Very little paddy now remains in growers' hands and 

 exorbitant prices are being asked for it. The local demand 

 is very good, and with a continuance of showery weather we 

 expect a further increase in price. 



Shipments to West Indian islands during tlie fortnight 

 amounted to 1,866 bags. 



We quote to-day, f.o.b. Demerara, for good export 

 quality : — 



Nominally, 23s. 6d. to 24s. 6d. per bag of 180 ft. gross. 

 21s. 6d. to 22s. 6d. „ „ „ 164 ,. „ 



Potato Meal in India.^The development of new 

 industries in India is always interesting, and the experiments 

 in the manufacture of potato meal made by Colonel Rennick, 

 a Kulu planter, in the hills beyond Simla, have now become 

 a practical success, the Army Authorities having already pui> 

 chased several thousand tins as emergency army rations. 

 Colonel Rennick has recently transferred his operations from 

 Kulu to Narkanda, a village some 40 miles beyond Simla, 

 on the well-known Hindustan and Tibet road, constructed by 

 Lord Dalhousie about half a century ago, with the object of 

 fostering trade with Tibet. Machinery has been procured 

 from England, and the various Ijuildings, works, and barracks 

 are now approaching completion. The spot is in the centre 

 of a tract under potato cultivation, with a radius of about 

 10 miles; while firewood is obtainable from an extensive 

 forest called Baghi, and the railway is at a convenient 

 distance. The potatoes, after being boiled, and peeled by 

 hand labour, are then crushed by the engine-driven machines, 

 prepared by a patent process, and packed in hermetically 

 sealed tins, each containing a pound of meal, which will cost 

 about a rupee, and serve roughly for a week's consumption — 

 2 oz. being more than sufficient for a good meal. As 

 a new and useful addition to the kitchen stores, it is antici- 

 pated that the potato-meal tin will find favour in many 

 a camp. {Journal of the Royal Society af Arts, December 16, 

 1910.) 



