Vol. V. No. 112. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS.,, 



255 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and Spices in the London Market. 



The following report on the London drug and 

 sj:)ice market for the month of June feas been received 

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



The only article of West Indian ppbduce about which 

 any special interest attaches is .Jamaica gfnger, which, in the 

 middle of the month, showed an advance in price for the 

 superior qualities. '■' 



(ilXGER. j ■, ,•! 



, At the first spice auction on the 13th., as many as 38.5 



^laekages of .Jamaica were offered, 260 of which were sold, 



the better qualities realizing from 2.s. to 3s. advance on 



previous quotations, and tlie lower qualities Is. advance! The 



prices ranged from o7s. 6d. to .SOn. per cwt., for good 



common, to 78*-. to 80.«. for good bold. Of Cochin and Calicut 



. 460 packages were offered, and 300 .sold without reserve at 



^8.«. for medium and small rough, slightly wormy. A week 



'later .Jamaica ginger was represented by 380 packages, of 



which about 70 sold at 60s. to 61s. for small and lean dull 



washed ; 67s. to 68s. for fair washed ; and 63.s. for .small 



washed. :i 



NUTMEGS AND MACE'. ' 



At the spice sale on the 13th. some 330 packages of 

 West Indian nutmegs were offered, and 300 disposed of at 

 .steady rates. On the 27th. some 120 jjackages of West 

 Indian were offered, realizing prices at from Is. 2d. to Is. 4rf. 

 per lb. for 6.5's, to 5|rf. for 14i's. Mace at the first sale met 

 with a steady demand, 60 packages of West Indian realizing 

 Ihe following prices : for good pale, Is. 9d; fair pale, Is. 5d. 

 to Is. Id.; and ordinary, Is. 3d, to Is. 4d. At the last sale 

 on the 27th. these prices had very slightly declined, 



AKEOWEOOT. " 



At the first spice auction 163 barrels of St. Vincent 

 were offered, and 93 sold at 1J<7. to 2J. per It), for fair 

 manufacturing. At the same sale 30 cases of good Natal 

 were bought in at 3^d. per lb. 



SARSAPARILLA. 



At the first drug sale the prices asked for this 

 drug were dearer all round. A bale of good Lima-.Jamaica 

 realized 2s. 2d. per lb.; 2 bales of coarse sold at l.s. Ik/. 

 Two bales of red native Jamaica realized Is. 3d., and 1 bale 

 of yellow, Is. 2d. per lb. No grey was offered, and it was 

 announced that there was still a great scarcity. A fortnight 

 later these prices had advanced by Id. to 2d. per lb. 



TAMARINDS, LIME JUICE, AND CASHEW NUTS. 



Of tamarinds, 47 bales were offered and disposed of at 

 the third sale, realizing for fair new crop Antigua, in bond, 

 14s. to 14s. 6(7. per cwt., one lot fetching 16s. At the last 

 sale 6 barrels of Barbados were offered andxlisposed of at 14s. 

 in bond. On the 20th., 9 inincheons of good pale raw West 

 Indian lime juice were sold at from Is. \d. to Is. 2d. per 

 - gallon ; 7 puncheons of common brown were also sold without 

 reserve at id. to 5d. At this sale 1 2 casfes of cashew nuts 

 (country not stated) fetched 34s. to 34s. 6d. per cwt. 



CHILLIES. ' 



,1 

 For chillies lower prices prevailed ; 200 bales of ordinary 

 dark mixed Mombasa were offered without reserve, of which 

 ■^0 bales only were sold at 16s. Gd. jjer cwt. 



Canada. 



Mr. J. Russell Murray, of Montreal, has forwarded 

 the following report, dated July 20, on West Indian 

 products in the Canadian markets : — 



Business continues very dull. Sugar offerings from 

 ■Deraerara continue to be received,' lut no business has been 

 transacted, buyers being fairly well stocked at present. 



granges: ' 



, Jamaica oranges have recently |)een arriving, but in very 

 bad order. When will Jamaica planters make up their minds 

 to handle fruit along the lines of the California and Florida 

 growers '. The greatest care in selecting, grading, and packing 

 is of the utmost importance. A small shipment arrived here 

 a few weeks ago with fully 40 per cent, of loss ; such condi- 

 tions, can only prevent buyers froni buying direct, and this 

 will mean that when Jamaica fruit is wanted it will be 

 purchased in New York or Boston' repacked, which throws 

 the trade out of intercolonial hands into those of the United 

 Staies. 



FORESTRY IN GRENADA. 



• ■• An Ordinance has recently been passed in Grenada 

 ' to protect and conserve the forests and water soiirces 

 of the colony.' Amongst other provisions it constitutes 

 a Board to be called ' The Forestry Board,' established 

 for the purposes of exercising the powers conferred 

 upon it under the provisions of this ordinance and of 

 discharging such functions as the following: — 



(a) Whilst ascertaining which portions of the Crown 

 Lands or other estates in the colony should be declared to be 

 and constituted, in the manner hereafter appearing, llain or 

 Forest Reserve.?, to determine upon and report to the Govern- 

 ment what estates (if any) should be acquired for such 

 purposes. 



(b) To issue bulletins for the dissemination of sound 

 instruction amongst planters, cultivators, and other inhabi- 

 tants of the colony concerning forestry and the selection, 

 planting, fostering, and felling of trees generally. 



(c) To draft schemes for the protection of the forest 

 growth of the colony and for securing the co-operation of 

 landowners and others in acting as Forest Guards. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



On Wednesday, July 4, the Imperial Commissioner 

 of Agriculture for the West Indies addressed a meeting 

 held under the auspices of the Liverpool Chamber of 

 Commerce on the condition aijd prospects of cotton 

 growing in the West Indies. , , 



On July 19, Sir Daniel Morris delivered a lecture 

 at the West India Committee Rooms on the ' Present 

 Position and Prospects of the Sea Island Cotton 

 Industry in the West Indies.'l A summary of this 

 lecture appears elsewhere in these columns. 



:'. ' The Hon. Francis Watts, C-M.G., D.Sc, Govern- 

 ment Analytical Chemist and Superintendent of Agri- 

 culture for the Leeward Islands, having been granted 

 leave of absence, left Antigua in S.S. ' Trinidad ' on 

 July 24, for New York en route for England. It is 

 probable that Dr. Watts will , return to the Leeward 



(Islands about the middle of Deqember next. 



