Vol. X. No. 246. 



THE AQRICDLTUKAL NEWS. 



319 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LONDON 

 MARKET. 



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

 lowing i-eport on the London drug and spice market, 

 for the month of August : — 



August 1911 will be a memorable month in the history 

 of commerce and trade, not only of the Port of London, but 

 also of Liverpool, Manchester and other leading towns, owinc^ 

 to the unsettled state, and subsequent strike, of dock labour- 

 ers and carmen generally, which was immediately followed 

 by the almost general strike of railwaj' men. 



The holiday season had already begun when these 

 troubles arose, so that, taken together, there was almost 

 a deadlock of trade, coupled with the uncertainty of the dura- 

 tion of the strike and the consequent stagnation of business, 

 through the difficulties attending the transit and delivery of 

 goods. Besides all this, the reirarkable drought that has 

 prevailed in England all through the months of July ind 

 August, and is still lieing continued at the time of writing, 

 into September, has had a serious effect not only on the 

 usual vegetable crops, but also on those furnishing drugs, 

 both of home growth, as well as those of Germany, Piussia 

 and other places in the European Continent, where the 

 drought has also prevailed, and whence supplies are import- 

 ed into England. 



With the labour troubles suspended, or, it is hoped, 

 ended, it is anticipated that the autumn will see a complete 

 revival of trade and commerce 



The following details refer to West Indian imports dur- 

 ing August: — 



GINGER. 



This article has been in very slow demand during the 

 month. At the spice auction on the 16th, some 680 packages 

 of Cochin and Calicut were brought forward, only 40 of 

 which were sold, realizing 42s. per cwt. for washed rough 

 Cochin. The remainder were bought in at the following 

 prices: good small Calicut 75.s'., medium cut 8.5s., and bold 

 brown rough t 50s. At later auctions the offerings were all 

 bought in. Jamaica has been unrepre-sented. 



NUTMECS, MACE AND PIMENTO. 



At the sale on the 23rd, 115 packages of West Indian 

 nutmegs were sold at the following rates: 83's, ild.\ S9's 

 4fd to 5(1: 93's to 99's, ihd. to 5d.: 100s to 140's,"4i'i. to 

 i^d. At the auction on the 30th, 219 packages were offered 

 and sold, 60's to Tl's fetching bd. to lOc/., 76's to 94's M. to 

 6Jcf., 96's to 114's 4id. to 5ld. Mace was represented at 

 the same auctions by 26 packages on the 23rd, which realized 

 2s. to 2.<. 3d. for good, and Is. lOd. to 2.s-. Id. for broken. 

 On the 30th, 88 packages were offered and disposed of at 

 2s. Id. to 2s. id., broken realizing Is. 9d. to Is. l]d. 

 Pimento has been very quiet, the offerings for the most part 

 being bought in at 2|(i. per lb. 



ARROWROOT. 



At auction on the 23rd, 35 barrels of manufacturing 

 St. Vincent were offered and bought in at 2J<^.; at the same 

 sale 50 cases good Natal fetched 9(/. per lb. 



SARSAPARILLA. 



At the drug auction on the 24 th, 12 bales of grey 

 Jamaica and 8 bales of native Jamaica were offered and sold, 



the former fetching Is. Id. per lb. for fair and slightly coarse, 

 and the latter Is. Id. for fair red; while for palish red Is. was 

 paid, for dull red, mixed, lOd. to l\d., and for common dull 

 7c?. to Sd. per lb. 



LIME .JUICE AND TAMARINDS. 



In reference to the scarcity of lime juice on the market, 

 it was reported at the beginning of the month that 91 pack- 

 ages had arrived from Dominica, and that business had been 

 done up to 3s. per gallon for refined, and '2s. per gallon for 

 raw West Indian, for early delivery in September. Quite at 

 the end of the month it was announced that quantities w^ere 

 coming in more freely from Dominica and Jamaica. Of tama- 

 rinds, 12 casks of Nevis were offered at auction on the 23rd, 

 and sold at lOs. for ordinary dark juicy. 



AGRICULTURE IN THE PHILIPPINE 



ISLANDS. 



The removal, under the United States Tariff Act of 

 August 1909, of the export duties upon Philippine products 

 imported into the United States, has undoubtedly done much 

 to stimulate the cultivation of sugar, cocoa-nuts, tobacco, etc., 

 but it cannot be said that, speaking generally, the agricultural 

 conditions in these islands are very .satisfactory. In an address 

 delivered before an agricultural conference held in February, 

 1910, the Governor-General stated that the great obstacles in 

 the way of agricultural progress were ' rinderpest, locusts, 

 roads and titles', liinderpest indeed, which destroyed so many 

 thousands of the water buffaloes (carabao) which are used as 

 draught animals throughout the islands, caused incredible 

 los.ses to the farmer.s, and gave agriculture a severe check. 

 The inaccuracy, and often the absence of title deeds, make 

 it difficult for the farmer to raise money to effect necessary 

 improvements, and the badness of the roads in the country 

 districts makes the transportation of his products to market 

 a difficult and expensive matter. Another urgent requisite 

 has been an improved system of irrigation, liut important 

 works are now in progress, and this defect will soon be reme- 

 died. 



A further difficulty is the scarcity and unreliability of 

 native labour. This is, indeed, probably the greatest obstacle 

 in the way of larger investments of American and other 

 capital in agricultural enterprises. A large company in the 

 Island of Mindoro complains that, while it requires lal)0urers 

 by the thousand, it can only obtain a few hundreds. 



The re-admission of Chinese has been very strongly urged 

 in many influential quarters, and, from the point of view 

 of the plantation owner, this would be, no doubt, highly 

 desirable. The efficiency of the Chinese labourer, however, 

 as compared with the Filipino of the same class, is such that, 

 were the former to be freely admitted, he would soon practi- 

 cally monopolize the labour market. In addition to this, it 

 is probable that the strong feeling in the United States 

 against the importation of Chinese into the Philippines, par- 

 ticularly with the free importation of Philippine products into 

 the former country, would effectually prevent Congress from 

 sanctioning any such measure. The importation of labour 

 from Java has also been suggested, and it is certain that, 

 unless a proper supply of labour is forthcoming, compara- 

 tively little can be done to develop the vast resources of the 

 islands {Diplomatic and Consular Reports. No. 4607 Annual 

 Seriesi, p. 16.) 



