6 4 6 
THF TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1890. 
CINCHONA BARK: ANNUAL REPORT ON 
LONDON MARKET. 
(From Leivis and Peat's Annual Report on the 
Market for Quinine Bark.) 
London, 21st January. 
Our supplies of Bark for Quinine-making continue to 
shew some reduction, having been packages of :— 
1889 188R 
packages 
Ceylon India and Java 54,545 against 
South America, Bolivian Calisaya 9,552 against 
Columbian Cuprea 455 against 
Sulphate Quinine 
' Yellow Oalisa- English, "How- 
61,460 
7,810 
1,230 
Total imported packages 64,552 against 70,500 
and Deliveries 65.659 against 69.366 
Shipments from Ceylon steadily decrease, as shewn in 
nnv review fat the close of the season,) 12th Sept. last 
our review i»u Season 1888-89 1887-88 
Being 10,800,000 against 11 ,705,000 lb 
But India the Wynaad and 
Neileherries increased, for 
special reasons last season to 3,000,000 against 1,700,000 lb 
anl Java mostly to Holland 4,700,000 against 4,000,000 lb 
English 
Bolivia shews some increase of fine cultivated Calisaya 
and total is given above. 
Central America has sent scarcely any. A few old lots 
of old Cuprea have come to remind us that current 
rates are prohibitive for export from those regions. 
The quality as a whole has not improved; we estimate 
the average percentage of Quinine in Hie 
per cent per cent 
Cevlon was about ... H against 2g 
Java ••• 4 a S aln st 4 
India, very poor ... J against 2£ 
Bolivian - 4 * against 4* 
The Darjeeling Bark, about 290,000 lb was manufactured 
in India but with very disastrous results as compared 
with the price Quinine was procurable at in Europe 
Odd small lots came from Africa (St. Thomas) and 
West Indies. We hear a few trees were planted m Cen- 
^The^featiire of the past year was the unprecedented 
low price at which both Bark and Quinine were sold, the 
average being the lowest on record, viz., down to Id to 
l^d per unit for Bark and lid to lljd for bulphate 
The trade were fairly active throughout the year being 
aided bv large speculative transaction?, but the consump- 
tion h*s been very large, and America took from Europe 
a much larger quantity of Sulphate, no doubt because 
of her increase of consumption and great reduction in her 
own manufacture of Quinine. _ 
Quinine : European exports to America estimated as 
2 500.000 oz. in 1889 again st 1 600,000 oz. u i 1888. 
The recent and universal epidemic of Influenza has 
ereatlv stimulated the present consumption and some- 
what reduced the stocks of dealers and druggists every- 
where. Some considerable deliveries have also recently 
been made to America. ... 
The available stocks of Quinine are, however, too large 
—too much is manufactured for these times of "peace" 
and importers have so regularly supplied the auctions 
with Cinchona each fortnight, that there has been little 
chance of a permanent or serious advance in values. 
Manufacturing competition appears keener than ever 
and it looks as if several of the large f actories who have 
always been eager to make - forward ' sales of Quinine, 
have not worked profitably during the year, although 
they have turned out a large quantity. 
There are however, now, many large and influential 
holders of Sulphate of Quinine interested in maintaining 
prices, current rates are very moderate and our supplies 
do not seem likely to increase ; confident predictions are 
current of further great reductions in the supply of 
Cinchona from Ceylon. »_ 
It is well to bear in mind that during the past seven 
years we imported 480,645 packages and delivered 498,140. 
To this has to be added the very large and increasing 
ciumtity of Java brought to auction, and all sold and 
delivered each month in Holland, shewing that though 
the supply has been great, the actual consumption of 
Cinchona, has been greater. Quantity offered m Holland: 
In 1889 • 21 750 packages 4,500,000 lb ; in 1888 18,220 pack- 
ages 3,100,000 lb; in 1887 1,200,0001b. _ _ 
b Quinine per ounce, 
in bulk. 
Dutch Sale. German. English 
ya, 31st uec. 
ards," in bulk 
Prices for Bark per unit. 
Ijast Jan. we quoted lijd 
In March l&d 
May-June Id to ltd 
July 'h' 1 
September lid 
Oct. Nov. l|dto2d 
December ii<X 
7 cents 
9c Oct. 
10t: Nov. 
Howard's 
Is 7d 
Is 6d 
Is 4d 
ls4d 
Is 4d 
100 liOlOiO lli ^d 
Is 3d 
Is Id 
lid to Is 
Is to Is Id 
IS 2d 
l/2£ to 1/3 1/5 to 1/6 
la 6d 
loov 
per lb 
per oz 
... 0s 8d 
Is 6d 
'88 
... 0s lod 
le 8d 
'87 
Is Od 
2s 4d 
'86 
1 b 5d 
2s 8d 
'8.3 
2s Od 
3s 4d 
'84 
2s Hd 
4s 8d 
•83 
3s 9d 
8s Od 
'82 
5s 4d 
8s 6d 
'81 
6s 6d 
10s Od 
'80 
7s 6d 
lis Od 
'79 
7s Od 
lis Od 
•78 
8s Od 
13s Od 
Sulp- Quinine 
Herman 
Is 3d 
Is 3»d 
2s od 
2s 3d 
2s 8d 
Is 3d 
7s Od 
6s 9d 
9s 6d 
108 6d 
Hh Od 
12s Od 
TEA GROWING IN THE CAUCASUS. 
It is part of the policy of the Russian authorities 
to enoourage, whenever practicable or possible, the pro- 
duction, within the limits of their own territory, of 
all commodities in general demand throughout the 
Empire. In accordance with this principle the Go- 
vernment has lately been doing what it can to foster 
the cultivation of the tea plant in a portion of the 
Muscovite dominion which is stated by experts to be 
specially suited to the growth of the shrub, namely the 
region lying in the district of the Western Caucasus, be- 
tween Batoum, on the Black Sea littoral, and 3ukkum 
Kaleh. The idea of attempting the culture of the 
tea plant in this part of the Cauo sian province is 
by no means new, and private enterprise has, for 
some years been quietly at work in the hope of de- 
veloping some hing like a local inJustry of fiir extent. 
Fully a cenlury ago tea plants were grown in the 
open air in the public gardens of Sukkum Kaleh, 
They stood the winter well, and, th 'Ugh no endea- 
vours were made to convert the spring «nd summer 
produced leaves into actual tea for brewing, yet the 
appearance of the shrubs was, in the opinio i of all 
who had seen them, extremely favourable. In fact, 
the efforts to acclimatise the plant proved a success, 
though the innovation as is often the case in other 
branches of commercial enterprise, led to no practi- 
cal results- It was not persevered in because of the 
slowness of its development. There were no chances 
of immediate or early profit, so the enterprise was 
abandoned, in »pite of the proved adaptability of the 
western half of the Caucasns for the growth of the 
tea sbjub. That the plants cultivated years ago were 
suited to the locality was demonstrated at the recent 
Tiflis Exhibition. Prince Eristow showed a tua plant 
40 years old of magnificent growth in the gardens of 
the Exhibition, where it attracted general attention, 
and was considered quite one of the attractions of 
the show. 
Bu% moved by the fact that Russia imports annually 
over 5(1,000,000 roubles— over £5,000,000— worth of tea 
from Chin i, several enterprising Russians have been 
making practical attempts at tea cultivation and the 
manufacture of teaia the Oauoasus during the p,ist five 
or six years, and so far, it would appear, with not little 
prospect of success. The plants not alone thrive and yield 
an abundance of leaves for "flushing," as it is termed 
but they seed abundantly. M. Solovtsow, a Russian 
agriculturist, who is greatly interested in the promotion 
of the tea industry, recently showed some five year-old 
plants grown in a plantation in the open air, which left 
nothing to be desired ; an 1 these, moreover, seeded so 
abundantly last season that he has gathered sufficient 
of them to sow next year half a dessiatiue, an acre of 
laud. But the most important undertakings in the 
direction uf the cultivation have been made by the Bro- 
thers Barkaley, who planted already six or seven years 
* New terms for 1882 to 1888, equal to about 11 per 
cent more than old terms. 
The influenza already referred to has stimulated trade 
this month, and v-ry large sales of Quiniue have been 
mide from manufacturers and second hands to exporters 
the trade, and to speculators at from Is 2^d up to Is' 
4d for German forward delivery, and Is 2jd to Is 3|d 
spot. The first auctions last Tuesday went briskly at 
5 to 10 per cent advance, say l|d to ljd per unit, and 
3,931 packages were offered and 2,191 sold, und at the 
sale of Java in Holland on the 16th instant, 3,200 pack- 
ages were sold.— Your obedient servants, 
Lewis & Pjjat, Brokers. 
