xiv 



CaNTENTS. 



— Enormous return from — Mode of using and preserving the fruit — 

 Some have been kept good sixteen years — Fibre from the stem — The 

 trade in plantains from Panama to New York — Plantain meal, or Con- 

 quintay — Plantain starch — Various uses of the stalk — Properties of 

 the sap — Machinery for preparing plantain fibre — Mode of preparation 

 in Jamaica — Manila hemp of commerce — Description of the plantain 

 which produces it — Grades of fibre obtained, and native names — 

 Fabrics made with it — Native name for the fibre " Abaca " — Yield of 

 fibre — Mode of preparing it — Machines proposed — Statistics of ex- 

 ports from the Philippines — Direct imports into the United Kingdom . . 455 



SECTION VII.— The Spices of Commekce. 



Peppeb. — Its uses — Commercial varieties — Production in the Eastern 

 Archipelago — Imports into China — Production in Siam — Cochin China 



— Statistics of imports at Marseilles — Production in the Straits Settle- 

 ments — British imports therefrom — Culture in Malabar and Travancore 



— Growth and preparation — Culture in Sumatra — Statistics of imports 

 and consumption in the United Kingdom 474 



Chillies and Cayenne Pepper. — Species of plants grown — Large pro- 

 duction in India — Our som-ces of supply . . 479 



Ginger. — Production and consumption of this spice — Varieties entering 

 into commerce — Our sources of supply — Statistics of imports and 

 value for the United Kingdom — Culture and preparation in Jamaica 



— Statistics of export — Cultui-e in India — Quantity exported — African 

 ginger — Exports from Sierra Leone — System of cultivation and pre- 

 paration in India — Preserved ginger — Mode of preparation, and 



statistics of imports from China 481 



Nutmegs and Mace. — Description of the tree — Statistics of imports of 

 Nutmegs into the United Kingdom — Production in the Banda Islands — 

 in the Straits Settlements — Exports from Pinang — Production annihi- 

 lated — Singapore an entrepot — Shipments from Sumatra — Nutmegs 

 in Jamaica — Wild nutmegs — Nutmeg butter or concrete oil — Mace, 

 statistics of production and British imports 484 



Cassia and other Spice Barks. — Aromatic products of the Laurel family 

 — Various spice barks, leaves, and berries 489 



Cassia Bark. — Cassia lignea, trees which yield it — Their difiusion — 

 Mode of peeling — Statistics of imports — Re-exports — Shipments from 

 Canton — Spices received from China — Statistics of imports 490 



Cassia BrDS. — Their uses and statistics of imports — Shipments from 

 Canton 492 



Cinnamon. — Propagation and preparation of the bark in Ceylon — Various 

 products of the tree — System of culture and stripping the bark — 

 Cinnamon oil — Statistics of exports from Ceylon 492 



Vanilla. — Orchids which jdeld the trade-product — Preparation — Com- 

 parative yield — Production in Guatemala, Guadaloupe, Brazil — Im- 

 ports into the United Kingdom — Uses of vanilla — Description of tiie 

 pod — Production in Reunion — Land under culture, and statistics of 

 exports — Range of prices — Mauritius, statistics of exports — Culti- 

 vation in Java — Other aromatic orchids 498 



Pimento. — Culture in Jamaica — Statistics of exports from the island — 

 Mode of collection and preparation for shipment 503 



Cloves. — Sources of production — Imports into the United Kingdom . . 505 



Index 507 



