ToL. V. No. 116. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



319 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



Drugs and Spices in the London Market. 



The following report on the London drug and 

 spice market for the month of August has been 

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



The month of August is generally acknowledged as 

 the holiday month when London is proverbially enipt3'. 

 Under these conditions, the fluctuations that have occurred 

 during the month are only such as are to-be expected. 



At the first spice sale, on August 1, no Jamaica was 

 offered, but out of 356 packages of Cochin and Calicut some 

 200 were sold, medium and small washed Cochin fetching 

 26s. 6rf. A fortnight later, .Jamaica was represented by 

 617 packages, 170 of which sold at from ()3s. to 70s. for good 

 middling to fair bright. In the following week, there was 

 no .Jamaica oflFered, and only 20 bags of damaged Cochin, 

 which were disposed of at 22s. to 23s. 6(/. At the last sale 

 335 barrels of Jamaica were offered and 80 sold at the 

 following rates : fair to good washed, 67s. to 68s. ; good 

 common, 63s. Gd.; and common, 59s. 



NUTMEGS, MACE, AND PIMENTO. 



At the beginning of the month the' sales of all these 

 spices were steady at usual rates, but on the 15th. 327 

 packages of West Indian nutmegs were offered and 290 sold 

 at quite normal prices, no change having taken place at the 

 two succeeding auctions. 



In regard to mace the same remarks are applicable. 

 -Some small sales of West Indian were made at from 

 Is. 9d. to 2s., and fair at from Is. 5d. to Is. 6(/. per lb. At 

 the auction on August 1, a moderate business was done 

 in pimento, 3d. per lb. being obtained in a firm market. 

 A fortnight later a slight advance took place, some 2,000 bags 

 being oflered and bought in at 3|.'/. At the end of the month 

 the quotation had fallen to '2^d. for fair, at which rate a few 

 bags only were disposed of. ' 



ARROWROOT. 



At the spice auction on the 1st., somej35 cases of Natal 

 ■were offered and bought in, but no West Indian. On the 

 15tli., 5 barrels of St. Vincent were offered and disposed of 

 at Ifd for fair manufacturing. On the 22nd., 157 barrels of 

 St. Vincent were offered and bought in at 2 j(/. to '2^d., and 

 for fine 3^d. per B). At the last sale no St. Vincent was 

 offered, but the offerings of Natal were bought in at Sid. per ft). 



KOLA NUTS, TAMARINDS, AND CASSIA FISTULA. 



Of Other West Indian products good bold kola nuts 

 ■were sold without reserve at the beginning of the month at 

 3id. per lb. On the 15th., some 25 barrels were offered, 

 a portion of which, consisting of good fresh Grenada, was 

 disposed of at lOd. per tti. A week later, some sales of good 

 dry Jamaica were made at 4^7. per lb. In comparison with 

 these, it may be stated that at the last auction some fair, 

 rather dark, Ceylon halves, in cases, were sold at 3d. per H). 

 Of tamarinds, at the sale on the 1st., 15s. M. per cwt. was 

 paid for fair AVest Indian and 12s. 6(/. for dark. A fortnight 

 later, some 90 packages of tamarinds were offered, and 25 

 sold ; fair Barbados, rather dry, realizing 14s. per cwt. in 

 bond, and good fresh Antigua 13s. Some 45 packages of 

 Cassia Fistula pods were offered at the last sale of the month 

 and 10 sold at 14s. jjer cwt. for fair West Indian. 



SAKSAPAEILLA. 



At the beginning of the month there was a tendency 

 towards higher rates. Two bales of fair bright red native 

 Jamaica found buyers at Is. per ft. A limited quantity of 

 Jamaica fetched Is. 6f;. to Is. 8rf.No Lima was obtainable. 

 A fortnight later, grey Jamaica sold at an advance of about 

 ■2d. per ft), over previous prices ; 23 bales of native Jamaica 

 fetched from Sd. to \0d. for common mixed greyish and red 

 sea-damaged; for 1 bale of sound red. Is. 2d. per ft), was paid. 

 At the end of the month the markets stood thus: for 13 

 bales of grey Jamaica, out of 21 offered. Is. 8(./. to Is. 9c/. 

 jjer lb. was realized ; for 6 bales of fair, part grease-damaged 

 Lima-Jamaica Is. 5d. was paid; and for a further 2 bales, Is. 4c?. 



ORANGE PEEL AND , CHILLIES. 



Orange peel, for which there has been a fair demand, 

 has been sold at from 3d. to 3k/. per ft), for thin cut ; while 

 for Chillies the current prices have been as follows : Japanese, 

 18s. 6c/. to 22s.; good, 32s. to 32s. 6c/.; and fine, 47s.; Zanzibar 

 fair stalky, 17s.; Mombasa were bought in at 25s., and good 

 bright red Nyasaland sold at 37.s-. 



CEDAR FROM GRENADA. 



The following note appeared in the St. George's 

 Chronicle, of September 15: — 



A considerable number of blocks of recently felled red 

 cedar timber are now lying on the wharves of the agents 

 of the Trinidad line of steamers, awaiting shipment by 

 Mr. Samuel Franco to the United States, where there is now 

 a demand for that description of wood. Thi.s, we believe, is 

 the first time in a century that such a quantity of red cedar is 

 being exported from Grenada. Formerly, and before the 

 introduction of cheap English, American, and German 

 furniture, the mahogany and cedar trees grown in this island 

 were utilized for the manufacture of furniture by local cabinet- 

 makers, specimens of whose work may still be seen in the 

 houses of old families in the shape of massive and artistically 

 carved bedsteads, sideboards, sofas, etc. The introduction of 

 furniture from abroad has, however, practically killed the 

 cabinet-making industry which once flourished here. So large 

 is Mr. Franco's order for cedar timber that almost every tree 

 of that description which has luxuriated in this town and its 

 environs for the past fifty or sixty years has fallen to the 

 woodman's axe. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



The Imperial Commissioner of Agriculture gave an 

 address on the Position and Prospects of the West Indian 

 Sea Island (Cotton Industry before the Manchester 

 Chamber of Commerce on August 29. He afterwards 

 embarked at Liverpool for Canada in S. S. ' Victoria ' on 

 August 31 and arrived at Montreal on September 8. 

 After visiting Ottawa and Quebec and looking after the 

 interests of the West Indies at the Dominion Exhibition 

 at Halifax from September 22 to October 5, Sir Daniel 

 Morris hoped to embark in S. S. 'Oruro'on October 6 and 

 to arrive in the Northern Islands about October 14 next. 



Mr. H. A. Ballou, M.Sc, Entomologist on the staff 

 of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, returned to 

 Barbados from St. Lucia in R. M. S. 'Yare' on Tuesday, 

 October 2. Since August 18, Mr. Ballou has been 

 engaged in investigating insect pests in the Northern 

 Islands. 



