THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Febbuary i, 1889. 
phases, and he is of opinion that the distress which 
prevails among the lower orders of the people there 
is of a much more painful character than is the 
case among the poor in India in ordinary years. 
He thinks that the distress can be relieved to & 
great extent if a cheaper food stuff be substituted 
for wheat and oatmeal, and brought within the 
reach of the British poor. Keeping this object in 
view he has been experimenting with the Indian 
millets for some time past to find out which of them 
will satisfy the following conditions, viz., cheapness, 
and cultivation capable of expansion, so tnat the 
price will not increase with the increase in demand, 
palatable to Europeans, and nourishing and heat- 
giving properties. A consignment of ragi has been 
sent to England as an experimental measure. " This 
grain," says the Madras Mail, " must, by a long 
course of selection, have proved itself to be nutri- 
tious food for a strong people like the Mysore 
peasantry in a sub-tropical climate like that of the 
Mysore plateau. It is also supposed that its cultiva- 
tion can be increased to almost any extent if a foreign 
demand arises, for in the Mysore State alone there are. 
upwards of 4,000 square miles of cultivable waste land. 
The consignment now sent will be distributed gratis 
among some of the work-houses in London, vthere the 
capabilities of the grain as food for Europeans will be 
tried in different ways. All future operations will of 
course depend on the report received from London. 
Mr. Mukarji's object is purely philanthropic, but, at 
the same time, he thinks that India will be benefited 
if an export trade can be created in a cheap grain 
like ragi, which can be cultivated on almost any 
kind of poor soil, and which depends for its 
growth entirely on the rainfall." 
DRUG TRADE REPORT. 
London, December 20th. 
For many years one of the serious grievances of 
dealers in spices (and to some extent in drugs also) 
has been the habitual discrepancy, to the prejudice 
of the buyer, between the weights declared on the 
documents of purchase and the actual weight of the 
merchandise bought. In the spice trade especially this 
shortage of weight has lately become such a nuisance 
that at a recent spice auction a representative com- 
mittee was appointed for the purpose of investigating 
and reporting upon the loss in weight on spices gener- 
ally, and more especially on cloves, sago, and white 
pepper. The report of this committee has now been 
issued. It is signed by Messrs. Daniel R. Harvest (W. 
& D. Harvest), W. O. Mew (Geo. Harker & Co.), 
Thomas Pink (Edward Pink & Sons), Matthew Burn 
(Peek Brothers & Oo ), Andrew Devitt (Lewis & Peat) 
Charles Youne (Dalton & Young), Thomas E. Garrard 
(Garrard & Sons), and Herbert Walton (John Harmari 
& Co.), aud it d' clares the complaints to have been 
proved by the evidence produced by various dealers ; 
adding that in the opinion of the committee much 
of the lossin weight is due to careless working, weigh- 
ing, and improper storage, as such loss in weight is 
more marked in some places thm in others. Should 
these losses still continue, the committee will feel it 
their duty to advise the trade to look more particu- 
larly as to the places were merchants should be advised 
to store their imports in the future. 
Cinchona. — For the last auctions of the year, whioh 
were held on Tuesday, a very heavy supply of bark was 
catalogued, consisting of 
Packages Packages 
Ceylon hark ... 2,704 of which 1,991 were sold 
E*nt Indian bark ... 535 „ 419 ,, 
Java bark ... 212 „ 131 
South American bark 874 „ 275 „ 
Total ... 4,325 „ 2,8 1 6 „ 
Owing partly to the unfavourable result of the Amster- 
dam auctions held a few days previously, and to the 
heavy quantity offered, it was generally thought that 
lower prices would rule, the circumstance that a month 
would elapse between this week's sales and the next 
auctions being felt insufficient to impart stability to 
the market. The tone was at first rather steadier than 
had been expected, but competition soon fell off, and 
though towards the end of the auctions matters im- 
proved slightly, there was a decided decline in value 
all round, and the unit probably did not average over 
ljd per lb. The fbl owing are the approximate quan- 
tities of bark bought by the various buyers at the 
auctions : — 
Lb. 
Agents for the Mannheim & Amsterdam works 174,761 
,, the Brunswick works ... 106,107 
„ the American, French, &c, works 136,466 
„ the Auerbach works ... 55,866 
„ Frankfort and Stuttgart works 95,956 
Messrs. Howards & Sons ... ... 33,154 
Sundry buyers ... ... ... 34,032 
Total quantity 6old ... 
Bought in or withdrawn 
Total offered 
636,342 
292,241 
928,583 
The following is an analysis of the result of the 
cinchona auctions held in Amsterdam during the 
present year: — ^ 
Quantities 
Auctions Sold 
Cases Bales 
Jan. 19 
Feb. 23 
Mar. 22 
May 3 
June 7 
July 12 
Aug. 30 
Oct. 4 
Nov. 8 
Dec. 13 
305 
297 
373 
449 
242 
249 
506 
200 
257 
142 
1,903 
1,407 
1,065 
1,284 
1,279 
1,266 
2,285 
1,564 
1,395 
1,748 
0/ O 
1*3 
H 
183,025 
134.213 
106.900 
132,100 
109,130 
118,575 
220,000 
146,627 
130,769 
154,308 
bp o 
J* +- 
4-25 
4 70 
4 
3 86 
4-20 
4 
4-50 
4-25 
4-35 
4-37 
S3 £ 
6 549 
4,500 
2,590 
3.300 
3,609 
3,815 
8,000 
5,200 
4,750 
5,118 
3 r3 
a-** 
11-124 
12|-13 
13 
9J-10 
10 11 . 
10-11 
10^-11 
9|-10 
10-11 
9|-10 
Total 3,020 15,196 1,435,647* 47,431f 
* Equal to 3,215,849 lb. t Equal to 1,674,789 oz. 
Cocaine.— The market is still tending lower. Some 
of the German makers quote 15s 3d per oz. for crystals 
in bulk, and solicit offers for large quantities. 
Gambier. — On the spot sales have been made at 27s 
per cwt. for good block, but subsequently 300 bales of 
new import sold at auction " without reserve " at 26s 
9d per cwt., rising to 27s for the last lots, a partial 
decline of 3d. For arrival the market is firm, and 
owners ask more money for the comparatively small 
quantities offering. At the close the market is better, 
with sales at 25s November-December ; 24s 9d D ecem " 
ber-January ; and 24s 6d January-February shipment. 
Quinine is still tending lower, aud closes without 
any apparent prospect of improvement. Second-hand 
holders of German bulk have accepted Is 34dperoa. 
on the spot, and are offering freely at Is 4d for 
forward delivery, but without much success. The 
makers are holding aloof just at present. Their 
quotations are still unchanged nominally, bat they 
would probably be glad to consider offers. We hear 
it said that the holder of a quantity of Italian and 
B. & S. quiniue, in large bulk, would be prepared to 
accept Is 2J1 per oz. if he could find a buyer. 
THE AMERICAN MARKETS. 
New Yobk, December 8th. 
Quinine has continued dull and depressed. On 
Saturday last the Domestic makers reduced their 
quotations 3c per oz. upon all packages, or, s>y,upuii 
the basis cf 40c in large bulk, and since thi u the 
foreign agents have revised their prices, auu now 
quote large bulk 33c to 34c, these two values repre- 
senting Zimmer's and B. & S. In the outside market 
supplies according to brands are offered at 31c and 3-'c, 
but the business passing is wholly of a jobbing nature, 
there leing no interest exhibited in quantities. — Chemist 
and Druggist. 
