March i, 1882.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
753 
Mr. Blacklaw writes : — 
" Carnauba (Copernicia (jerifera) :— This tree I saw, 
growing all over Ceard ; on some places where nothing 
was seen in the soil, but sand and stones, and also 
in swampy places with roots and part of the stem 
under water. 
" Wax is obtained by scratching the stem of the leaf 
banging >i cup under the scratched part, and without any 
preparation it is moulded into candles. The country 
people have nothing else and I saw no other candles 
used for lighting bedrooms in the hotels. The leaves 
yield a fibre from which hats, mats, and even cloth- 
ing are made. The fruit is said to bo delicious. The 
timber is good for cabinet and building purposes; and 
medicine is procured from the roots used for the cure 
of some skin diseases." 
Mr. Blacklaw has sent us a specimen of the 
candles made from the wax- which we shall bo glad 
to shew to any one interested. 
THE COFFEE MARKET. 
The depressed state of the market for our staple, 
and the alarming quotations of prices not much more 
than half those which ruled a few years ago, may 
bo traced entirely, we think, to the action of Brazil 
in having, withiu the past few years, concentrated 
most of her available slave labor ou the growth of 
this product, over the vast areas of rich soil available. 
Patry & Pasteur report an excess of 11,000 tons in 
December at the chief European ports, while, if we 
turn to the two leading ports in Brazil, wo find that 
on Jan. '2nd the stocks iu Itio were 230,000 bags 
against 190,000 at the corresponding period of 1881, 
and at Santos the enormous quantity of 200,000 bags 
against only 126,000. An this notwithstanding the 
very largo exports during 1881. From llio alone the 
export in ten mouths had been no less than 230,000 
tons or 4,720,000 cwt. At this rate the total ex- 
ports from Rio in 18S1 must have exceeded five 
millions of cwt., and Santos &c. will not be far 
Bhort of two millions more! A few years ago the 
settled average export from all Brazil was only 200,000 
tons or four millions of cwt. 
Mr. Scott Blacklaw writing on 4th Jan. states: — 
"The latest news I have from frazil is dated 5th 
December. Coffee was falling, showing — 
Superior United States 55s 4d per cw t. 
Good 47s 7d ,, 
Fair to good ... 45s 'Id ,, 
Fair 44s 4d 
(iood Channel ... 41s ,, 
Stocks in Rio do Janeiro 340,000 bags, 
do Santos 1;0,000 „ 
(17 Brazilian bags = 20 cwt.) 
"Kin total exports for II mouths ,'f, SKI, 1 40 hags. 1 
have not got Santos, but think it is 1,000,000 bugs at 
least.* For month ending 30th Nov. llio alone shipped 
412,054 bags, of which 100, 024 bags were for Europe." 
Wilson, Smithett & Co. quote Fair Kio nt New 
York at 1 04 o-nts against I3£ last year and good 
ordinary Java at Amsterdam 34.J conts aganist 38J. 
Thore is ono gleam of comfort in their report : — 
Tin: Trench consumption shows an increase for the first 
eleven mouths of the year of nearlj L8 pox cent., tbe 
figures being 57, 10 ton's against .">l,:'iill ton- iu lsxt, mid 
51,676 tons in 187U. 
Messrs, Kern, liayn & l o., writing on 1st Dec, 
statu that at Kio alonu tho daily receipts of cofluo 
* l '< usiderably more. En. 
177 
rose from 10,850 bags in July to 18,500 in Sept. 
1881. As 17 bags make up a ton, here were more 
than 1,000 tons or 20,000 cwt. of coffee per diem 
poured into Rio. But what will more deeply im- 
press our readers in this way of putting it : — in the 
one month of Sept. the coffee which came from the 
interior to Rio, 554.600 bags, was equal to our estim- 
ate of the total crop of Ceylon for season 1881-82 ! * 
The Rio brokers add : — 
Not only according to our opinion but also according 
to that of mmy of our neighbours, thore exists coffee 
enough in the interior to onablo au export of 4J to 4i 
millions of bags during the crop-year, 1st July 1881 to 
30th June 1882. 
All what wo can say as yet, regarding the noxt crop 
is, that tho prospects aro not unfavorable but that it very 
much depends upon the weather during tho coming six 
weeks, whether today's prospects will be realized or event- 
ually become better or worse. 
THE COMMERCE OF MADRAS. 
The Madras Price Current of January 24th con- 
tains some figures representing the trade in certain 
staples during the calendar year 1881. We observe 
that the import of grey and white shirtings, which 
had gone down to 20J millions of yards in 1877> 
had steadily i iseu to 45,873,000 last year. Mule and 
coloured yarns seem to fluctuate a good deal. The 
aggregate iu 1877 exceeded nine millions of pounds ; 
in 1880 it rose to over 13 millions, and last year the 
figures were : — 
Mule yarns 5,820,000 lb. 
Coloured ,, 4,783,000 ,, 
Total ...10,003,000 lb. 
In the period between 1S7 1 and 1S81, Madras seems 
to have lost much of the export of cotton, for the 
figures went down from 319,000 cwt. to 115.000. So 
with coffee, which had gone down from 79,000 cwt. 
to 25 626. Sugar has fluctuated exceedingly, from 
82,000 cwt. in 1872 down to 1,175 in 1S7S ; last 
year shewing a recovery to 35,559. Indigo ha3 been 
somewhat steadier, ranging between 46,757 cwt. in 
1871 and 35,000 in 1881. The process has been much 
the same with "red wood," which began with an 
export of over 60,000 cwt. and euded with 34,541 
last year against 66,000. iu 188'. Of "Madras Hand- 
kerchiefs," 1,726 corges were exported 1871, rising 
to nearlj 5,000 iu 1877 and ending with 2.S00. The 
trade in sheep and goat skins has expanded largely, 
» We asked a lcoul firm, which we deemed likely to Imvo 
received I he figures by telegram, and they cocneoiisly 
responded. They state truly that tho Brazil season rans 
from 1st July to 31st December, and l hoy give tie figures 
for the last half of 1881 as follows: — 
Kio to Europo 56,600 tons 
„ „ U. States 77,700 „ 
134,200 Ions 
Santos to Enropo 38.4UO „ 
„ U. States 0,500 „ 
44,000 „ 
170,100 „ 
ciiiiivnleiit to 3,582,000 cwt. As I ho exports wen- . loesatre 
durinir this latter part of tho year, wc do notnsk ou read- 
ers exactly to double tho lUruros.but let us d. iilil- l'.Mio.OOO 
cwt for Kio ami we get ...OOo.lHU : whilo SOtl.nilll doubled 
for Suntd will Rive 1,000,000: total, 0.(300.000 cwu Cvara 
and other ports in Hni/il will probably nmkti up tho rouud 
7 millions. 
