894 



SPICES AT^T) TEAGEAIS'T WOODS, 



cassia ; add to these nearly twice as many more species of Cin-^ 

 namonum, the produce of the more eastern states of Asia, and the 

 Islands of the Eastern Archipelago, all remarkable for their 

 striking family likeness ; all, I believe, endowed with aromatic 

 properties, and probably the greater part, if not the whole, con- 

 tributing something towards the general result, and we at once 

 see the impossibility of awarding to any one individual species the 

 credit of being the source whence the Cassia lignea of commerce 

 is deri\'^ ; and equally the impropriety of applying to an}^ one 

 of them the comprehensive specific appellation of cassia, since all 

 sorts of cinnamon-like plants, yielding bark of a quality uniit to 

 bear the designation of cinnamon in the market, are passed off as 

 cassia." 



The cassia tree, according to Mr. Crawfurd, is found in the 

 more northern portion of the Indian isles, as in the Philippines, 

 Majindanao, Sumatra, Borneo, and parts of Celebes. It is also 

 grown on the western coast of Africa. The principal seat of its 

 culture is, however, the Malabar coast, and the provinces of 

 Quantong and Kingse, in China. 



The famous cassia of China is incomparably superior in per- 

 fume and flavor to any spice of its class. Its native place is un- 

 known, though supposed to be the interior provinces of China. 

 The market price is said to be £5 per lb. « 



The Malabar sort brought from Bombay is thicker, darker 

 colored, and coarser than that from China, and is more subject 

 to foul packing. A small quantity of cassia is brought from 

 Mauritius and Brazil, and a large amount from 4he Philippine 

 Islands. 



Cassia bark fetches from 80s. to 105s. per cwt. in the London 

 market, according to quality. The imports appear on the decline. 

 In 1843 and 1844 we imported nearly two millions of pounds. 

 The quantity imported and retained for home consumption in the 

 past four years are shown in the following figures : — 



Imported. Eetained for consumption, 

 lbs. lbs. 



1848 510,247 76,152 



1849 472,693 .... 83,500 



1850 1,050,008 97,178 



1851 267,582 .... 82,467 



The cheaper Indian barks, as well as the cinnamon of the East, 

 seemed at one time to be fast driving out of the market the 

 superior class cinnamon of Ceylon. 



In 1841 Java exported 400 cwts. of cinnamon ; and the quantity 

 of cassia imported into the United Kingdom from India and the 

 Philippine Islands, in the five years ending with 1844, was — 



lbs. 



1840 329,310 



1841 1,261.648 



1842 1,312^804 



1843 2,470,502 



1844 1,278,413 



