THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November i, 1888. 
and scorched vegetation, to see the cinnamon bush 
decked in all the vari-coloured hues of a growing leaf 
bud — I beg pardon flush — is a very refreshing sight. 
But the drought has left its mark even on the hardy 
laurel, for the wood has refused to grow without moisture 
and we have a stunted growth of wood at present which 
will take a lot of growing before it is fit for the cattie 
during the next crop, which is due with the next 
monsoon rains. I very much fear, however, that the 
crop will be delayed this year as we have yet to get 
the July-August bud which did not make its appearance 
this year owing to want of rain. 
Natural decay is but a slow form of combustion, and 
the ultimate results of both are the same. Some agri- 
culturists argue from this that it will be better to burn 
vegetable matter and apply the ashes to the soil than to 
allow it to slowly decay and become gradually avail- 
able as plant food. Before deciding the question one 
way or the other, it is essentially necessary to bear 
in mind that what is good for one class of soils 
will be unsuitable for another. There are soils with 
an excess of vegetable matter and there are others 
that have so little organic matter in them that they 
are extremely porous and allow to pass through them 
both moisture and manure. They have no retentive- 
ness. To burn such soils or to burn vegetable sub- 
stances before application to such soils, I think 
argues a want of knowledge of the leading prin- 
ciples of agricultural chemistry. Peaty soils, which are 
distinguished for an excess of vegetable matter, and 
are very often unproductive, are said to be greatly 
benefited and to be rendered fertile by being burnt. 
Another class of soils that is greatly improved both 
mechanically and chemically by burning is clay soils. 
The chief characteristic of these soils is their compact- 
ness. Their mechanical condition can be improved by 
draining as well as by burning. On some clay soils 
it is said that burning has the same effect as a heavy 
manuring. The opposite of a clay soil is a sandy 
soil which is extremely porous, is not retentive of 
moisture and from which heavy rain washes out its 
inherent elements of fertility as well as manure 
that has been applied to it. AddiDg clay to such 
soils to improve their texture is onlyjpracticable over 
very small areas. Another substance that might with 
advantage be used as a substitute for clay is vege- 
table matter. Decaying vegetable matter has one 
great advantage over clay. It has great absorptive 
properties in addition to retentiveness. The atmos- 
phere contains ammonia, and ammonia is requi- 
site for the growth of vegetation. Decaying vege- 
table matter or humuss absorbs ammonia which the 
rain washes out of it to the soil to be taken up by 
the roots of trees. Besides these valuable pro- 
perties of decaying vegetable matter, it in its 
decay gives out carbonic acid gas the source of 
carbon in vegetation, and carbon forms a large pro- 
portion of the woody substance of all vegetation. It 
will thus be seen that decaying vegetable matter plays 
a very important part in vegetable economy, besides 
being a necessary and very valuable addition to light 
hungry soils. 
I have been induced to pen the above after having 
Observed in my " walks abroad" the husks and branches 
of the coconut tree heaped and burned under the trees, 
on a well-known estate which has for its superinten- 
dent one of the best planters engaged in the cultiva- 
tion of coconuts, and which cannot boast of a heavy soil. 
I am inclined to think that a little consideration will 
satisfy him, he is not doing the best thing for the 
valuable property under his charge. I know the slow- 
ness with which vegetable matter decays in sandy soils, 
but decomposition can be hastened by the addition of 
lime, and lime is easily available there- Anyone who 
has lighted fires on sandy soils will have observed how 
their character is still further altered for the worse 
after the process. They lose the little adhesiveness they 
originally possessed, and consequently all power of re- 
taining water, and turn to a light, white sand on which 
even the lower forms of vegetation refuse to grow 
for a long while. To givo body to a light soil, that 
in to make it retentive, it is necessary that all the 
available vegetable mattor should be allowed to decay 
on it. There is no form of vegetable matter so handy 
and that can be better and with less expenditure of 
labor incorporated thoroughly with a light soil than 
fibre dust and saw dust. The latter is available only 
to a limited extent. Not so the former. I have hopes 
that before long fibre dust will be reckoned at its 
true value. 
DRUG TRADE REPORT. 
London, September 13. 
Cinchona. — The quantity catalogued was nearly 
equal to that offered at the previous sale, the propor- 
tion actually disposed of at the auctions was very 
much larger. Even of the American barks only a 
quantity of cultivated Calisaya, in broken quills, and 
a parcel of 78 bales very old Petayo (1882 and 1883 
import) remained unsold, an offer of id per lb. being 
solicited in vain for this bark. As regards quality, 
the assortment offered can only be pronounced mode- 
rate. The best lots shown were a few lots of Java 
root bark, and there were also some parcels of good 
strong yellow root bark from Ceylon, but no lot 
realised more than Is 4d per lb. One catalogue 
contained 564 packages bark (mostly South America), 
offered "for account of whom it may concern, 1 the 
concerned parties in this case beiug said to be the 
creditors of a firm of quinine dealers which receutly 
came to grief. From the beginning an animated 
competition prevailed among buyers, and it was clear 
at the outset th-it the general expectation that the 
sale would " go off well " would not be disappointed. 
To all appearance, the best prices were realised at 
the beginning and towards the end of the auctions, 
though the bidding never flagged. It is generally 
admitted that a decided advance on the previous 
auctions rates was obtnined, the estimates of the 
rise varying from 5 to 15 per cent., but we are in- 
clined to place it at about 10 per cent., certainly 
not higher. The unit may thus be put at 2d to 
2 31Gtn d per lb. By far the largest quantity was 
bought by the representatives of the Brunswick 
Quinine Works, Jobst & Zimmer's agents, the repre- 
sentatives of the American manufacturers, and the 
Auerbach agents being also heavy buyers. The agents 
for the Mannheim factory appeared to .have some 
difficulty in securing lots; they certainly bought very 
little. Messrs. Howards & Sons did not buy much, 
while Messrs. Whiff en did not compete at all. At 
the end of last week it was reported that the Mann- 
heim quinine works had privately bought 600 bales 
Ceylon cinchona, averaging l^d per cent quinine 
sulphate, at the rate of 2yd per unit per lb. The 
report was evidently spread for a purpose in connec- 
with the impending auctions, as it is certainly not 
usual on the part of the quinine manufacturers to 
make such annouceroentra out of a mere spirit of 
communicativeness. The " Britannia " has arrived 
from Valparaiso with 610 packages bark, but whether 
this is all Bolivian calisaya is not quite certain. Ad- 
vices from Bolivia, however, would seem to indicate 
the probability of very heavy shipments from that 
quarter. 
Quinine. — The market has been very strong and 
sensitive since our last report, and there is little 
doubt that considerable sales have been made at full 
prices, both by manufacturers, notably the Bruns- 
wick and Mannheim works, and by second-hand 
holders. Since our last report, the total of the trans- 
actions said to have been made amounts to consider- 
ably over 150,000 oz., but such figures should be re- 
ceived with caution, as they are entirely unsubstan- 
tiated, and one single transaction, especially in a 
sensitive market, is often multiplied several times. 
It cannot be denied that there is a good feeling for 
the article at present, and that it has repeatedly, 
after falling to between Is 3d and Is 4d per oz. re- 
bounded, as it were, to the extent of several pence ; 
but there certainly appears no warrant whatever 
beyond mere speculation for and considerable rise. 
We hear it said that up to the present the largest 
buyers are a firm of brokers intimately cennectad 
with the shellac trade, who evidently work on a 
preconcerted plan of action. The Bales reported since 
