Vol. V. No. 121. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



399 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and Spices in the London Market. 



The following report on the London drug and spice 

 market for the month of October has been received 

 from Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S. : — 



A generally improved condition of the drug and spice 

 market has prevailecl throughout the month of October, with 

 an upward tendency in the prices of most products. There 

 has been no particular excitement in any West Indian 

 product, the interest for the moment being the advance in 

 camphor. In the general produce markets, seed oils of all 

 kinds have risen in price, especially those of cocoa nut and 

 the African oil palm, the result of which has been an attempt 

 on the part of a combine in the soap trade to raise the price 

 of that article. The following references to West Indian 

 products have been made during the month : — 



At the first auction, on October 3, 340 barrels of 

 Jamaica were offered, and 80 sold at from 54s. to 65s. On 

 the 17th., out of a total of 94 barrels of Jamaica offered 11 

 were disposed of. On the 24th., only 50 barrels of common 

 dark Jamaica were oflFered and bought in at 58s ; some 580 

 packages of Cochin and Calicut were also ofl'ered, only 18 

 bags selling, the remainder being bought in. On the last 

 day of tne month, the auction was very quiet ; there was no 

 demand for any kind, and no Jamaica was offered. 



NUTMEGS, MACE, AND PIMENTO. 



At the first spice sale there was a large supply of West 

 Indian nutmegs offered, which met with a good demand, 340 

 packages finding buyers at steady rates, especially with 

 medium and bold sizes ; small sizes ranged from |c?. to id. 

 per R. lower. On the 10th., the market was quiet but steady, 

 and a week later West Indian continued to have a steady sale, 

 being in good demand at slightly increased rate.s, while 

 Singapore were easier. On the 24th., 46 packages of West 

 Indian were offered and disposed of at somewhat easier rates; 

 on the 31st., cheaper rates prevailed all round, 100 

 packages of West Indian, Peuang, and Singapore being 

 disposed of without reserve. 



Of mace, the month opened with large offerings of West 

 Indian, which were sold at ^d. to 1(7. per lb. decline on 

 previous rates. On the 17th., there was a steady sale, fair to 

 good palish West Indian realizing Is. 5c/. to Is. 6(/. No 

 change occurred in this spice at the last two sales. 



Pimento at the first sale realized 2|c?. per B). for good 

 greyish, at which rate 210 bags were sold. A week later 

 110 bags were disposed of at slightly easier rates. Little or 

 no change occurred in these prices at succeeding sales. 



AEROWEOOT. 



On the 3rd., 135 packages of St. Vincent were offered 

 and bought in at 3irf. per lb. Privately, sales were made at 

 2|d. to 2f c/. for manufacturing qualities, the quotations for 

 fair being '3d. and for fine manufacturing 3^d. to id. 



KOLA, LIME .lUICE, TAMARINDS, ETC. 



At the first auction, 4 packages of West Indian kola 

 nuts were offered, 3 of which were disposed of at Is. per lb. 

 for green, and 2-k/. to 2|rf. for dried. A week later the 

 prices had declined, 6 bags of West Indian being sold at 

 5fcl for green, and 2|'7. for dried. Mouldy to slightly 

 mouldy dark Jamaica, of which 55 barrels were offered, were 

 ield at 3c?. per lb. On the 24th., 10 bags of dry West Indian 



realized od. per ft., 2c7. per lb. being paid for dark mouldy, 

 and 2|c/. for fair bright West Indian. Good bright wa.shed 

 Grenada was bought in at 3|(?. per lb. 



On the 24th., 8 puncheons of lime juice were offered and 

 quickly sold at Is. per gallon for 4 puncheons of good pale 

 raw Jamaica, and for the other 4 puncheons of somewhat 

 inferior quality 101(7. was paid. 



Of tamarinds, some 20 barrels of fair syrupy West 

 Indian were sold, on the 10th., at 13s. in bond. At the same 

 sale, fair West Indian distilled oil of lime was held at 2s. 9c/. 

 per R., and was again offered on the 31st., the prices ruling 

 being from 2s. 3(7. to 2s. 4(7., and for hand pressed 2s. 9c/. 

 per B). It was stated at the market that some 3G packages 

 from Dominica and 43 from Barbados had arrived during the 

 week. 



Five bales of Canella alba bark in roughish pale quills 

 were offered in the middle of the month at 65s. per cwt. and 

 on the 25th., 12 packages of Cassia Fistula, described .is 'fair 

 fresh Dominica pod, sugar drainage damaged,' fetched 20s. 

 per cwt. At this sale one small box of St. Vincent musk 

 seed realized 2c7. per tt). 



CALABASH PIPES. 



It is stated in the U. S. Monthly Consular 

 Reports, for November, that pipes made I'rom a gourd 

 (calabash) have come into general use in South 

 Africa : — 



Smokers who have used the calabash pipe agree that it 

 gives a special softness of flavour that pipes of no other 

 material offer. I believe this to be so, and that the demand 

 for such a pipe in the American market would be very large. 

 The calabash .should be grown in the United States, and to 

 this end, seed is promised this office, which, when supplied, 

 will be transmitted for the Department of Agriculture. I am 

 forwarding a specimen of a calabash pipe in a half-completed 

 stage and a finished pipe. The calabash pipe industry i.s 

 proving a very remunerative one here in Cape Colony, both 

 to the growers of the calabash and those engaged in making 

 it into pipes, and also to the retail sellers. It grows in 

 certain sections of Cape Colony with little difficult}', but 

 seems to demand a very hot and dry climate, with rain at the 

 right season of the year, in order to reach perfection. The 

 curved stem end of the vegetable forms a light and 

 appropriate .shape for pipes. It colours like meerschaum and 

 will take a high polish. The life of one of these pipes is 

 about that of a French briar-wood pipe. The usual lining is 

 plaster of Paris, called by the trade meerschaum. A cheap 

 grade is lined with tin. These pipes sell from 97c. to §62, 

 . according to type of finish. Pipe mounting and fitting being 

 cheaper in England than here, large shipments are made to 

 England for mounting and returned here for sale. 



The industry is being crippled here by the growers 

 refusing to sell the seeds of the calabash. It is extremely 

 difficult to obtain them from any source. The crop lasc year 

 was estimated at 60,000, and this year at about 150,000, but 

 next season's prospects are not so good. An American 

 business man here tells me that he has recently purchased 

 some 20,000 calabash gourds from Cape Colony farmers for 

 exportation — presumably in incompleted pipe formation — to 

 the United States. 



The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture is 

 endeavouring to obtain further information as to the 

 gourd referred to, also seeds for trial in the West 

 Indies. 



