Miscellaneous, 



476 



[November, 1908, 



slighty ahead of Australia, and then 

 Belgium. 



The improvement in manufacture is 

 quite noticeable over last year, and 

 Ceylon estates are now turning out 

 excellent quality rubber. During 1907 

 estates were manufacturing Biscuits and 

 Sheet, whereas this year the grades 

 more in demand are Crepe of all des- 

 criptions. In Crepe form the rubber 

 is more easily prepared, and, as a rule, 

 better dried than Biscuits and Sheet. 



Fine pale qualities of Crepe have 

 generally been selling at slightly higher 

 rates than the same quality Biscuits 

 and Sheet. Lower grades of Crepe, 

 when well washed and dried, show much 

 better rates than as formerly sent down 

 as Scrap rubber. 



Prices have dropped considerably 

 from last year and show a fall of from 

 Rs. 3-80 to Rs, 2-80 for Biscuits and Sheet, 

 and from Rs. 3 to Rs. 1*80 for Scrap. 



Plubibago. — For the first six months 

 of 1908 the exports of this mineral show 

 a very considerable falling off in quan- 

 tity, compared with the same period of 

 1907, the decrease being over 7,500 tons 

 (nearly 00 per cent.). This was no doubt 

 chiefly due to the finaucial crisis in 

 America, shipments to this country being 

 over 5,900 tons less than in 1907, while ex- 

 ports to the United Kingdom and all 

 other countries have also been on a 

 reduced scale. 



The following are the actual figures 

 and their distribution : — 



1908. 1907. 

 To United Kingdom ...cwts. 76,143 92,367 

 „ America ... ,, 47,117 165,319 



,, Germany ... ,, 46,354 57,219 



„ Belgium" ,, 39,)80 45,852 



,, Other Countries ... ., 6,283 8,330 



215,077 



369,087 



The market has been extremely dull 

 and prices have in consequence been 

 weak and irregular. With such a pro- 

 nounced decrease in the demand miners 

 have found it difficult to dispose of their 

 plumbago, and many pits have been 

 closed down temporarily, prices offered 

 in numerous cases not covering cost of 

 production. 



Products of the Coconut Palm.— 

 The following figures represent the ship- 

 ments for the first six months of 1908 as 

 compared with those for the correspond- 

 ing period of 1907, viz :— 



1908. 1907. 

 January January 

 to June, to June, 



Coconuts nuts 9,657,762 nuts 5,730,976 



Desiccated Coconutslbs. 11,661, 240 lbs. 9,889,613 

 Coconut Poonac cwts. 110,717 cwts. 73,377 

 Copperah „ 194,958 „ 134,619 



Coconut Oil „ 248,285 5 , 163,285 



from which it will be seen that every 

 item shows a substantial increase, not- 

 ably Nuts, Poonac, Copperah, and Coco- 

 nut Oil. It is gratifying to know that 

 the scare about the Coconut Stem Disease 

 has virtually passed away, it being now 

 recognized that the disease is not a new 

 one, that it does not do so much harm to 

 the trees as was at first reported, and 

 that it yields to treatment when taken 

 in time. 



Coconut Oil was in good demand 

 throughout the half-year, the United 

 Kingdom, America and India as usual 

 being the largest buyers. It is worth 

 noting that notwithstanding dulness 

 of trade in America, the United States 

 took cwts. 57,676 of our Coconut Oil 

 during the first six months of 1908 as 

 against only cwts. 35,530 in the same 

 period of 1907. 



Prices on the whole have shewn com- 

 paratively little fluctuation during the 

 period under veview. The price at the 

 beginning of January was Rs. 367*50 per 

 ton, and at the end of June Rs. 355 per 

 ton. In the end of January the maxi- 

 mum price of Rs. 385 was touched, while 

 the lowest point reached was Rs. 340. 

 The average price for the six months 

 was in the region of Rs. 350 per ton, or 

 fully Rs. 200 per ton below the average 

 of the first six months of 1907. 



Copperah — The supply of this articl 

 has been on a liberal scale as is evidenced 

 by the heavy shipments of both Oil and 

 Copperah. Belgium and Italy have 

 taken rather less Copperah in 1908 than 

 usual, but the shipments of Copperah to 

 Germany, Denmark and Russia are 

 nearly double those in the correspond- 

 ing six months of 1907. Prices have ex- 

 perienced no violent fluctuations, the 

 highest price obtained for Estate cured 

 Copperah being Rs. 58*25 per candy, which 

 is Rs. 27 per candy less than the highest 

 point touched in the first six months of 

 1907. Large supplies from Java, the 

 Philippines, &c, have tended to keep 

 prices at a low level. 



Poonac shipments have naturally 

 followed Coconut Oil as far as quantity 

 is concerned. Prices have been steady 

 throughout, and as usual the whole of 

 the production has gone to Belgium and 

 Germany. 



Desiccated Coconut and Coconuts.— 

 In the former the exports have been on 

 a comparatively restricted scale ; while 

 the export of nuts in the period under 

 review was nearly double that of the 

 same period in the previous year. 



In the case of Desiccated Coconut the 

 price at the beginning of the year stood 



