342 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November i, 1887. 
locally long before monthly sales were instituted, and 
that in the natural order of things the business of 
those engaged in it has expanded. The figures show- 
ing the gradual expansion of the export of cinnamon 
to the Continent is a study. What with wrangling 
about the interval between sales, and the increased 
export of cinnamon, planters are passing through a 
very trying time. I cannot understand the recent 
rise in prices. Various theories have been advanced 
in support of it. We must wait for something 
authentic from Englaud. It seems reasonable that 
with the rise in price in the old staple coffee, the 
spice with which our island has been identified should 
also rise in price. 
, 4 
EOYAL GARDENS, KEW. 
(From Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information.) 
XVII. — ANNATTO. 
{Bixa Orellana, L.) 
In Bulletin No. 7, for July last, information was 
given as regards Annatto which appears to have drawn 
attention to its present position as an article of com- 
merce. Amongst other communications, we have re- 
ceived from Messrs. Fulwood and Bland, Annatto 
manufacturers, of 31, Bevenden Street, Hoxton, the 
following notes, which will usefully supplement what 
has already been published on the subject : — 
The great bulk of Flag Annatto comes from Cayenne 
and Guadaloupe in the form of a paste made into 
cakes of about 8 or 10 lb., which are wrapped up ia 
banana leaves and packed in casks weighing about 5 
cwt. each. The best kind is that from Cayenne, but 
it varies very much in quality, so much so that its 
value at the present time ranges from 5d. to Is. 8d. 
per lb. ; it also fluctuates very much in price accord- 
ing to the seasons. The Guadaloupe Annatto is very 
inferior, being very sour, but bright in colour in con- 
sequence of the acid tha.t the natives put into it ; 
it is, however, of very little value for manufacturing 
purposes, and therefore never realises such a high 
price as Cayenne Annatto ; moreover, it does not 
contain anything like the amount of colouring matter 
present in the Cayenne kind. Annatto seeds prin- 
cipally come from the West Indies and Ceylon. 
We have never heard of any being imported into 
this country from Cayenne or Gadaloupe, the best 
that we have seen have been from Jamaica; they 
vary very much indeed in quality in consequence 
of insufficient care in collecting, curing, and drying 
them before exportation. Large quantities came into 
the London market last year very much deteriorated 
in value in consequence of having been packed 
when damp and getting heated and mouldy, the 
oalouring matter was seriously damaged, and a good 
deal arrived shrivelled up and broken into small 
particles (evidently gathered before quite ripe), which 
is very objectionable for manufacturing purposes. 
We bought seeds last year in London at l§d., 2d., 
"id., 3d., 4d., and 6d. per lb., and those at 6d. 
were much the cheapest for our purpose, since the 
labour and expense with bad seed is just the same as 
with the best quality. 
The supply of seeds on the London market always 
has been very intermittent, so that we cannot rely 
upon a constant and regular supply every season, 
and last year we ordered two tons of some Kings- 
ion merchants which they could not supply. We 
are, therefore, decidedly of opinion that good, sound, 
hard, whole Annatto seed, properly collected and 
dried, free from mould, would meet with a ready 
sale in this country at such a price as would pay 
the growers well. If, however, they would only pre- 
pare the Annatto in the same way as they do in 
Cayenne, by washing the colouring matter off the 
freshly gathered seeds, and send it over here in 
calces or in a semi-fluid form, it would be hetter. 
Wo are quite sure that it would pay them well to 
do so, as it would fetch a very much higher price 
than the Guadaloupe kind realises, and we should 
bo securing an industry for our own Colonies that 
is now entirely in the hands of the French. This is the 
reason why nearly all the Flag Annatto is sent to 
France, to encourage their own shipping, and the 
French merchants make a good profit out of it before 
it reaches us. If, therefore, it answers the French 
Colonists' purpose to prepare the Flag Annatto and 
export it to France, surely it would pay the growers 
of Jamaica and Ceylon to do likewise and export 
it direct to us, they would then get a better price 
for it than the Cayenne growers do, because they 
would save the intermediate profits of the merchants 
in Cayenne and France. They ought to be able to 
prepare the Flag Annatto in Jamaica and Ceylon 
quite as well and as cheaply as the natives do in 
Cayenne ; but it would not do for us to attempt it 
in this country from imported 6eed, because there 
is first the cost of freightage over here, and labour 
is too dear to attempt to compete with the natives 
of Cayenne in washing the colouring matter off the 
seeds. You will therefore, understand that we can 
buy the Flag or paste Annatto very much cheaper 
than it would be possible for us to prepare it our- 
selves in this country. Annatto seeds of best quality 
will consequently never fetch more than about 5rf. 
or 6d. per lb. because of the competition with the 
Flag Annatto. Lisbon Roll Annatto is another kind 
that comes from Para, it is in a paste packed in 
baskets weighing about J cwt. each. It is wrap- 
ped up in dried leaves, and is principally used 
for colouring butter, being of no use whatever for 
colouring cheese ; this also varies very considerably in 
quality. We bought it last year from 2d. to U. 9d. per 
lb. according to quality. 
It has long been evident to us that sufficient care 
is not taken in washing the colouring matter off the 
seeds, and in preparing the Flag Annatto for the market 
we often find that it is very much adulterated with 
farinaceous and other substances to increase the bulk, 
which frequently causes a large amount of trouble to 
the manufacturer. We, in fact, seldom find two casks 
alike in quality or colour, and it is frequently kept 
until fermentation and decomposition set in, which of 
course destroy the colour ; some that we had from the 
Polynesian Islands consisted simply* of the colouring 
matter washed from the seed without admixture of 
any foreign substance. It was in a semi-fluid state and 
very pure, but a little dearer than Cayenne Annatto, 
and we cannot see any reason why the growers in 
Jamaica and Ceylon should not be able to teach the 
natives how to prepare it in this way, and we could 
then take large quantities of this kind of Annntto 
annually, and probably all that they could make. We 
would suggest that some of the growers should make 
the experiment and send us samples, and we would let 
them know how much we could give for it and the 
quantity we would take annually. 
The consumption of Annatto throughout the world is 
of course limited. Our business has been established 
over 100 years, and for the last 50 years our importation 
of Annatto has not varied very much . Last year our 
imports of Annatto of the various kinds amounted to 
over 50,000 lbs., the great bulk of which was Cayenne 
Flag Annatto. Had we used the seeds only we should 
have required at least 200,000 lbs. for our busines alone. 
Annatto is principally used for colouring cheese and 
butter, for which purpose it has to be specially prepared 
so as to be perfectly pure and harmless when it reaches 
the consumer. 
The following are among the many preparations of 
Annatto manufactured by us, specimens of which 
have been presented to the Kew Museum : — 
Imperial Black Cake Annatto. 
Treble Strength „ ,, 
Extra Superfine „ „ 
Superfine Orange „ ,, 
Fluid Extract of Annatto. 
Butter Colouring. 
Butter Colouring prepared in oil. 
Roll Annatto, Spanish. 
Cayenne Flag Annatto. 
Lisbon Roll Annnatto. 
These are used for a variety of purposes, viz., for 
colouring jellies, hair, soap, caudles, scent, spirits, 
confectionery, leather, pomades, chocolate, and in 
