8So 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [April r, 1882. 
article, which would not be likely to show him very 
severe losses, and might, in the course of time, show 
him enormous profits. 
There can be no doubt but that, owing to the low 
prices current at the present moment, coffee is care- 
fully watched by the speculator. 
One has an article which is certainly in a state of 
over production, but whose stocks have only increased 
after all during the last year by less than a month's 
consumption. One has prices which for many years 
have never been known lower for most descriptions, 
and one knows that the consumption has been for many 
years increasing steadily at no mean rate — a consumption 
which at present prices ought to be more stimulated. 
One knows that at present prices the upkeep of many 
estates are paid for with difficulty, and that further 
the profits in others are not sufficient to induce or justify 
investment, but rather abandoment. At the moment 
ptoduction is beating consumption, but all things change. 
We do not say that the time has yet come when invest- 
ments in coffee should be mad-, but we do say that the 
fall in prices will probably check production, that we 
believe consumpiion to be largely on the increase, 
and that, in the face of these two facts, it is not 
surely unreasonable to argue that better times must 
be before us, if not in the immediate future, at all 
events, much sooner than many expect. We cord- 
ially agree with Messrs. W. Schoffer & Co. that, after 
such a prolonged and severe fall in prices, the reaction 
when it comes should be proportionately sharp. 
We give the following table of European stocks during 
the past six months : — 
1881. 1880. 1879. 1878. 1877. 1876. 
Sept 128,450 108,700 95,290 92,490 88,600 85,350 tns. 
Oct. 128,350 103,600 86,286 86.830 79,000 74,850 „ 
Nov. 122,900 91,950 75,907 80.950 81,250 60,150 „ 
Dec. 121,050 88,050 68,790 76,710 75,450 52,350 „ 
1882. 1881, 1880. 1879. 187S. 1877. 
Jan. 127,850 93,850 70,500 66,820 83,450 51,700 „ 
Feb. 139,550 100,300 74,970 65,570 95,500 67,250 „ 
During January markets fell considerably, and our fig- 
ures show a heavy increase in European stocks, and 
also in the surplus stock. Really coloury Plantation 
coffees have all through the month been an exception, as 
they have sold with good competition, and are, in our 
opinion, many shillings dearer than they were. 
HARVESTING CINCHONA BARK. 
We are glad to be informed, by a gentleman just 
returned from Helbodde, that Mr. John de Caen, the 
enterprizing manager of that estate, has invented a 
machine for removing the bark off cinchona 
twigs and branches from the smallest size 
to branches about 1^ in. diameter, which, for cheap- 
ness and simplicity, bids fair to supersede all other 
means of accomplishing this object. 
The machine consists of two smooth rollers worked 
with a small cog-wheel, and driving-wheel, in the 
pattern of a mangle, but, differing in this respect, that 
the rollers taper towards one end for the purpose of 
admitting twigs of various dimensions. These rollers 
are 3£ to 4 feet in length, and are fixed to two 
common wooden standards, about 4 ft. high, the feet 
of which are splayed and weighted. 
With one mau (to turu the wheel) and four women 
or boys, the machine turns out 600 lb. of wet 
bark per day, averaging 120 lb. per cooly. Whereas 
even by the means, commonly known as "the bottle 
trick," no more than CO lb. has ever been got off per 
baud, 
Mr. de Caen has secured his rights to this inven- 
tion, and Messrs. J. Walker & Co. of Colombo and 
Kandy are the sole manufacturers. This firm will have 
one or more machines on view next week. 
The local "Times" has the following description 
of the Badulla invention for the same purpose : — 
A Cinchona Bark and Twig Quilling Machine.— 
Messrs. Walker and Greig of Badulla are the manufact- 
urers of this machine, which is a patent and called the 
" Mclnnes-McKenzie " after the inventors, residents of 
this district. An account of this machine may be of in- 
terest to your readers who have not yet seen it It is 
composed of two wooden cylinders a little over two feet 
long, and about five inches in diameter, placed one above the 
other and kept in position by a frame and a couple of 
springs. The upper cylinder is driven by a crank handle. 
The cylinders are grooved in various sizes and the alter- 
nate grooves have an imbedded knife in them ; the machine 
is worked by the branches being passed through a groove 
with the knife in at first and then again through a smaller 
groove which takes about half the bark off, the remain- 
der hanging loosely on and is taken off by a cooly with 
his hands. It takes about six coolies to work this machine, 
one turniug the handle, one passing the bark through the 
machine, one cutting, one carrying, one lopping off knots, 
&c, and one stripping off those pieces of bark still slightly 
adhering to the branch after passing through the macnine. 
In this way, and when the coolies are thoroughly up to 
their work, from 120 to 200 lbs. wet bark can be taken 
off in a day, whereas the six coolies by the old method 
of scraping, could not possibly bring in more than 60 lbs. 
and this too with pieces of wood amongst the bark. 
There is very little doubt that few estates that have en- 
gaged in the cultivation of cinchona will be without this 
machine when its merits are thoroughly known. Practi- 
cally it means that we shall be able to realize a little 
profit from our cinchona fields, a couple of years earlier 
than we otherwise should, as under the old plan it did 
not pay to scrape the branches of Succirubra, but by re- 
ducing the cost of barking in this way we are enabled 
to place bark on the market, which, if, sold at one shilling 
a lb. will leave a handsome profit. I can only recommend 
those of your readers who have cinchonas large enough, 
to purchase one of these machines, as the cost will soon 
be covered, and the trees will then be free of its lower 
branches and be ready for scraping shortly afterwards. 
Papaya fruit makes (unripe) a good curry superior to 
cucumber and most pumpkins. — Cor. 
Apples. —Apples (says a correspondent of the Graphic) 
are of more value as food than is generally 
supposed. They are nearly as nourishing as bread, 
and far more so than potatoes, In 1801. there was 
a great scarcity of meat, so apples, instead of being 
made into cider, were sold to the poor, and some of 
the Cornish workmen asserted that they could sus- 
tain work on baked apples far better than on potatoes. 
Umbrellas and Pimento. — The Umbrella trade, ac- 
cording to the Scientific American, threatens the exist- 
ence of the Pimento (Pepper) plantations of Jamaica. 
It was shown by an official estimate made at Kingston, 
last autumn, that more than half a million umbrella- 
sticks were then awaiting export to England and the 
United States. These sticks were almost without 
exception Pimento, and it is not surprizing that owners 
and lessees of Pimento walks are becoming alarmed at 
the growth of trade which threatens to uproot in a few 
years all the young trees. Ihe export returns for 
the last five ytars show an average of 2,000 bundles 
of sticks sent out from Jamaica annually, and the 
returns for the first three quarters of 1881 show an 
export of over 4,500 bundles, valued at 15,000 dollars. 
Each bundle contains from 500 to S00 sticks each 
of which represents ayoung, bearing Pimento tree 
Nat ure. 
