Text-Book of Agriculture, lately published in this country, p. 184, the 

 following account is given :— 



"The clove, like the nutmeg tree, is a native of the Moluccas <»r 



Spice Islands The French succeeded in carrying living 



plants to Cayenne, and from thence it was brought in the year 

 1789 to Dominica by a M. Buee, who successfully cultivated the 

 clove and other spices only to be ruined in the end by the ope- 

 ration of the" duties imposed on West Indian spices in Kngland, 

 through the jealousy of influential persons who were interested in 

 the trade of the East. Although 100 years have elapsed since the 

 unfortunate M. Buee introduced the spices into Dominica, one of the 

 clove trees planted by him is still alive and flourishing, and the 

 cinnamon bushes have become almost wild, as the seeds are dis- 

 seminated by birds." 



At the present time the clove tree is found in nearly everyone of 

 the West Indian Islands, and especially at Jamaica, Trinidad, (Jrenada. 

 St. Vincent, and Dominica. It is nowhere yet established m regular 

 plantations, and the export of West Indian cloves is comparatively 

 trifling. The largest number of trees is probably found in Grenada, 

 and in that " Spice Island," nutmegs, mace and cloves are exported 

 to the value of about 10,000/. to 12,000/. Very shortly this value 

 will be considerably increased, as there is extensive planting of spice 

 trees going on, and one proprietor alone has planted about 250 to 

 300 acres with nutmeg trees, all of which are in excellent condition, 

 and promising heavy crops (Kew Bulletin, 1891, p. 147). In 

 Jamaica clove trees would probably flourish on the rich clay lands 

 of the Red Hills, in the parish of St. Andrew, and recently, we 

 notice, the Director of the Botanical Department in that island has 

 issued hints on the treatment of plants which were offered in quan- 

 tities at the local Botanical Gardens. 



CCCIL— CHINESE WHITE WAX. 



Chemically this is Cetyl Cerotate. It is defined in Watts's 

 Dictionary of Chcoiisfri/ as "a peculiar waxy substance obtained from 

 " China, where it is produced on certain trees by the puncture of a 

 " species of Coccus." Dr. Bretschneider in "Notes on some botanical 

 " questions connected with the Export Trade of China," (1880), 

 remarks, "whilst the insect which produces this wax (Coccus Vela} 

 " and its habits have been well studied, the trees on which it is fed are 

 " still imperfectly known." 



In 1883 Mr. Field delivered a course of lectures on « Illuminating 

 agents." He stated then that the consumption of insect way by the 

 Chinese is very large. Little of it apparently finds its way into British 

 trade, " its chief use being to break the grain of spermaceti, the two 

 " crystallisations neutralising each other." A subsequent corre- 

 spondence with Mr. Field revealed the paucity and uncertainty of 

 our knowledge of the product. Kew accordingly suggested to the 

 Foreign Office that it might be made the subject of inquiry by Her 

 Majesty's Consuls in China. 



The five very able reports which are now printed were the result. 

 Their contents have reached the public eye in various forms. If they 

 have not appeared earlier in the pages of the Bulletin, it is owing to the 



