February i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
743 
COEEEE AND SlLVERSKIN. — ATr 
ent writes: — "Canyon tell mo why 
tinn-a adheres Hi> closely (,, ti c pal 
[?To the 
ot fully 
ssibly to 
tion, 
cont 
atio 
ariat.— Madras Mail. 
Cuprea Bark. — During bhe 
of cinchona hark is said to 1 
the neighbourhood of I'.llc, 
Sautander (United States of 
tains about two per cent of cm 
all other alkaloids. This bar 
market 
the 
il.all 
.701) 
201b. of fi 
bark ; hen 
The daily p 
the average 
437,0701b. 
Mail. [Th 
per bale o 
Cmaki;i:s 
Ceylon tea 
tea in whi 
Melbourne, 
\ \ i 
importers arc sul 
(inn asking thei 
lbourne Market.- -A 
3 us the account sales of some 
iteicstod which was sold in 
iplains of the charges which, 
to. He says : — "I wrote to a 
send me few pro forma 
account sales, to shew the Melbourne charges. These 
are by another Melbourne agent, and are rather worse 
if anything than mine, iind you will see that the un- 
fortunate produce has to pay Government duty, pay 
commission on ditto to agent, and another commission 
of 24 per cent + 2^ --■ 5 per cent. The last com- 
mission is becau-c -tea is given into the hands of pur- 
chasers two weeks before the purchaser pays for it, 
though he still gets another discount of 2A, supposed 
to be for cash payment. Surely these roundabout 
ways of doing business should be put an end' to if 
hoflsible. The points I consider to he attacked are the 
following, and should be altered as under :— Purchaser 
to pay duty. If a discount is allowed to the buyer, and 
a! present a very high one is, viz., 2£ per cent, he 
[mould pay before delivery. On what principle is a 
period of two weeks to be allowed ? It is an arrange- 
ment merely to givo the' agcut a commission for 
guaranteeing that the purchaser will pay up at that 
date. At present J of the gross value of tea goes in 
ahargea. There is 2.J discount to buyer, agent, 
gets 5 per cent clear, broker 1} or 2S per cent clear : 
Fer interest on these charges are made (vide my account), 
nnd even postages and every charge paid for (vide 
customs charges and potties, delivery, Ac.). It. i.s not 
too muob to ask the Melbourne people to follow the 
custom of tin- Loudon market, especially as the latter 
is the more simple and straightforward one. Who was 
th.- man who wrote that seller did not pay discount J 
Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are account sab s of an unknown party, 
and us i h. y all fetched fair, in some cases very high prices, 
quality was good. There is BO i ething rot Oil 
muly) in the Molbonrne tea markol Can the Chinese 
afford to pay these sort of changes?" Certain (v the 
aoonuuts sent are anything 1 ut en om a-ing to te i pro. 
duoorH, anil wo cannot mid r 'and the payment of duty 
on tea which sold at so high a price n* 2». These ohargws 
require revisi and a rel i s all . M icded in the matter 
ot commission and drawbacks on freights and land- 
ing charges. 
Quinine in the United States It will bo re- 
membered that not long since, after a considerable 
Struggle, the heavy duty previously levied upon quinine 
imported into the United States was abolished. But 
at the same time a ten per cent ad valorem duty 
on xmportcd bark was retained, and this is now giv". 
Ulg i ise to some, agitation as being unfair to the native 
manufacturer of quinine. At a recent meeting of the 
Western Wholesale Drug Association, at Cincinnati, 
the subject was discussed, and a resolution was passed 
expressing the opinion that Congress ought to restore 
is brought into the 
;a'' bark. Reports 
:al Companies, with 
X these districts. It 
lie to collect daily 
ih yield 31b. of dry 
eld 8 u71b. of dry. 
rcrs is, therefore, on 
nt in thirty days to 
ich 1101b.— Madras 
one kilo of quinine 
wuttam, Dr. Bidie, at 
left for a joint inspei 
Cross. They will, di 
collection of the lea 
the various species, in , 
'hat are the best SDeci 
tions at Neddi- 
Goyernmenr, has 
tatipna with Mr. 
ction, make test 
ait, and bark of 
ay be determined 
ddiwuttam. 
The Surgeon-General has been requested to muke 
arrangements for the conduct of Dr. Bidie's duties for 
the fortnight he will be away, and Dr. Bidie's actual 
expenses will be paid and met f:om the Budget head 
cinchona. Mr. Cross is to be considered stilfon duty 
on similar terms as before. — Madras Times. 
New Industries: Palm Sugar.— The idea of establish- 
ing a quinine manufactory in Colombo seems a very eensi- 
)le one, but with the vast source of sugar supply we have 
n ine minions ol existing coconut trees we do not see 
wny it should not be possible to establish a sugar re- 
finery too As it is, a considerable quantity of the 
toddy extracted from coconut trees is converted into 
jaggery and molass.s for local nee, as the owners of 
the trees find it more profitable to use them for that 
purpose than for the production of coconuts. The pre- 
sent low price of coconut oil has not indeed produced 
any sue l general depression in the maritime districts 
that coltee leaf-disease has caused in the Central Pro- 
vince. 1 his is owing to the fact that the quantity of 
coconut oil exported represents relatively only a small 
The lo 1 o 6n l"' 0 ' ,uc " °* coconut plantations. 
.a i.i u, uiiii aim more tor Che sake of the toddy than 
the arrack that^s" mad? ?j S^^-'WT 01 a11 
, 1 13 u«uims, ana wnicn bring- to Govern- 
ment an animal revenue of about two million rupees, 
anci DPSiaes what is made into arrack a considerable 
quantity is consumed in the raw state, and for m ik- 
ing vinegar, jaggery, and molasses. Yet with all these 
varied uses ol the produee of the tree, the present 
low price of coconut oil is not without its appreciable 
effect on the value of coconut plantations, and if the 
pr iiluc.. otthe trees could bo converted into market- 
able sugar it might counteract the depreciating effect 
ot the low price of coconut oil. The price of coconut 
oil may improve somewhat and it is probable that it 
will do so before very long, but with the compet- 
ition of petroleum and African palm oil, no very 
gn at improvement in the trade in coconut oil ia to 
bo expected. Imbed it is more likely that now sub- 
stitutes for coconut oil will b.< discovered than that 
the substitutes already discovered will go out of uso 
What wo propose would bo too great a risk for one 
individual t ■ undertake, lint it might be managed by 
a limited Ctompiny in snob a way that in the event 
»t a I dure the loss would be an diffused as not to lie 
much felt. Hut We da not see why th.ro tboqjd be 
a failure i, be nuso if it pays to inak» sugar from boct 
root, and if it pays to make jaggery and inolasiog from 
palm jui.o, w.. do not why it .should not ,, av to 
oonvort jaggery into reh'ned sugar.— "C. Messenger " 
