6o4 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[March i, 1894. 
to facilitate Dr. Spruce's work. With indomitable 
energy, and in spite of continued rheumatic and 
nervous attacks caused by the fogs and damp of the 
forests, the trackless condition of the country, and 
the biting cold of the mountain region, Dr. Spruce 
brought his expedition to a successful issue, and by 
the end of 1800 ne returned to the port of Guayaquil 
with a supply of over 100,000 well dried and ripeued 
seeds of various kinds of the Chinchoua nuccnnihia 
species. Packed in 637 Wardian cases these seeds 
left South America on January 2nd ISOI, to become 
the progenitors of the million of rod-cinchona 'rees 
in India, Oeylon and Java, of wliich the I ark has 
placed thousands and thousands of poumls in the 
pockets of planters, middlemen, quinine-manu- 
factures, and pharmacists. 
Dr. Spruce's total receipts for these services were 
857'> in salary. He returned tu E iglaod io 1H61, and 
bad the satisfaction of hearioK bis scientiiio wcrk 
publicly acknowledged by the President of the Lior a in 
Society, Mr. Beutbam, in a speech in which it was 
Btated th">t " Dr. Spruce's ic'earchcB into the vegeta- 
tion of the interior of South America have been the 
most important since the days of Humboldt ; not 
merely for the number of species which he 
has collected (amounticg to upwards of 7,000), 
but also for the number of new generic 
forma with which be has enriclied scieuce ; 
lor his invcstigati'jn into the economic uses of th« 
plants of the countr'cs be visited ; for sevcrol douLt- 
ful questions of origin as to intercstinir genera and 
epeoiea which bis diEcoveriea have cleared up ; and 
for the number and scientiiio vvlue of his oheervationa 
made un the spot aud attached to the sp> cimeus pre- 
served ; «ll which epecime'is have been transmitted to 
this country, aud complete sets depcsitcd io the 
Kational Htrbjrium at KbW." Amoog the natural 
products which Dr. Spruce has m«de knowD to scieuce 
tnd commerce are numerous trees Tchcse limber and 
other products have since proved to be of the greatest 
value. Among them is one entirely new species of 
trees producing the finest kind of indiarubber, which 
Dr, Spruce fouud on the Rio Negro. His M^S. con- 
tained, besides notes on all the plants coll-'ctet), voca- 
bularies cf 21 ra'ive languages of the AmRzon 
Valley, meteorological observation-', barometric 
levellings, &c., ol all the regions visited, and 
other tacts of the utmost importance t) science. 
■When Dr. Spruce's misaion was at an end, 'he 
Government al.o consiriered its obliea^ion io the in- 
Talided explorer cLsed, and in Fpite of Mr. Clements 
Markham'a efforts on behalf ol bis colkague, tbe 
Buggestion to reward Dr. Spruce's eorvice with a 
ama'l penfion was rejected without co'.fideratiou. In 
1865, nowever, mainly through tbe influenca of the 
Csrliale femily. Lord Palmerston granted him 50^ a 
year for life, and in 1877 tbe Indian Government 
added another bOl. a year, but with characteristic 
parsimony refused to dat; that recognition from the 
time of Dr, Spruce's return from Soutti Amorica, though 
earnestly entreated to do so by Mr. Markbam. 
From the time of his return until his death, Dr. 
Sprace lived in retirement ia the neighbourhood of 
his native village, respected by all who knew him, no 
less for bia scientific eminence than for his modest 
and keenly dispofition. He was buried cn New Year's 
Eve at Terrington churchyard, in the grave where his 
father and mother are aleo laid at rest. — Clicmist and 
Pnyjist, Jan. 6. 
MESSES. HAWES & CO. 0I\ CEYLON TEAS. 
A London Merchant sends us cuttings from the 
Morning Post with recent market reports of the 
redoubtable Mr. Hawes or his Firm on Oeylon Teas. 
There is no abatement of the tone of hostility 
towards our product which marked the long 
correspondence we had with Mr. Uawes when 
in London, in the Financial Neica. It is, 
however, desirable that planters should know 
Hfhati is nii ot their ptoduct in hostile 
(juarlerE, and thtre is always " a grain of truth " 
mixed with exaggcta'ione in buch oases, that it may 
be protitable to ponddr over. We give the reports as 
they have reached us, as followE : — 
Te.\. — Messrs. Hawen & Co. report: — " Xbe unfor- 
tunate decline in tbe quality tf tbe.Ce>loui now, and in 
tboRe wLieb have been arriving tbe past eis we-ke, i« 
fartbcr market agsin m today's oifcriufis, and tbe 
trdie fully realise the fact of thia iufcriuiil> by kuock- 
iug quolatioQB donn ou tens from eume K'tdeiiS that 
sjld latt Tuesday another to21 per ib abd in some 
iobttDoes even more. Tbia applies only Io tbe thin 
and undesirable iovoiceii. Wti«revrr tbe teas bate 
rv-prestnled quality very good pricea have b eo 
r(alii^e<j. Common pi- koc^t and pekoe eu act ongs ruled 
from to 53d per 11^., ibe lowest quotations we hava 
bad for this clavs of It-a (or many iL"iitb8. Fiue teas 
however were very scarce, and fiuest only leprei-eutrd 
by one estate, viz., tbe Ormidale, and although Ibis 
invox-3 was up in quality to tbe litt. tht-y letebed the 
spleudid prict s of Is 3Jd for pekoe aud 
1« 7:|d per lb (or broken pekoe. ^11 tiiia 
aud fiueht grades of tei are growing daily more aLd 
mure scarce and dearer, and there set-ms little cfa«iioe 
of any quantity arriving at present, Ceyb n plauttxs 
boast th.^t tbey cen produce it i( they like, LUt it is 
strauge, with such istroug iuquiries anJ extreme pncea 
obla uiiblo f( r it wfaeu it do. s comp, tliey do not bend 
more. The say, 'quantity puys better than qu»tit<,' 
but present quutttiuns of 5>l tu 6d ptr Ib tor tbe ir 
common and good commi'n lent le«s, and 7d tobJ. 
per lb for commou broken pekoes, cauLot ba very re- 
munerative. China tta baii been nearly wiped out of 
^pp^eclatiou and cou-umptiun by this ocurte, abd as 
we have predicted lor tbe Ust tbre^ vears, so we do 
again, that uuless Ceylen restricts ber output aLd 
improves tbe quality of it, ilie preference hitherto 
given to Ler teat will Eoon cease, sud she will leave 
the field entirely to Ler comrelitor, Itdia whose 
teap, though generally not so (liVO'jry, are stronger, 
better cured, aud therefore be ter to hold, aod more 
prttitableto the general dealer. T'^tal cScred to.ay, 
17,781 packages, tlie bulk of «tbicb were sold. 331 
packagt.6 of Javas of Very commou quality passed at 
low quotations." 
Tea. — Messrs. Hawes & Co. report : — " The week 
opens with a heavy auction of Indian tea, viz., 
2u,04ti packages. The bulk consisted of common to 
medium grades, which passed decidedly with more 
spirit than was apparent last week in the biddings, 
and all fine medium to fine sorts marked very 
strong to advancing prices. Ihe market privately 
is quiet. Tomorrow about 18,000 packages Ceylon 
will be offered; unfortunately the average quality of 
the teas shows no imporvement."' London ProQuce 
Clearing House quotations for good common Uhina 
congou: — January February, 5 3-16d.; March to 
December, o 4-H5d. per lb. Fair whole-leaf Indian 
— January-February, 6 3-16d.; March, 6 4-16d.; April- 
May, 6 .VUid.: June to December, G 6-16d ptr lb. 
No contracts have b en registered. 
Messrs. Hawes and Co.. report :—" Today s Ceylon 
offering comprised 17,264 packages. The general 
quality was again very disappointing, but the low 
quotations of last week produced increased inquiries, 
and all around today's sale pased with a rather 
better tone. All teas with any approach to thick 
good quality fetched full prices, but these sorts 
continue extremely scarce — almost always where 
quolity is found the liquors are too thin to be useful 
to the trade. The 773 chests Java teas of common 
to usefuU qualities sold steadily, a fine invoice from 
Perbawatte making the average of 9|(1 per lb- Of 
China greens 2,48.5 packages were sold : undesirable 
Ping Sueys sold flatly but good quality was well 
paid up for." London Produce Clearing House quota- 
tions for goo 1 common Cldna cougou; — January to 
December delivery, 5 3-l6d per lb. Fair wholeleaf 
Indian — January, 1 2-16d ; February, 6 3 16d ; March, 
6 4-16d , April, 6 5-16d ; May to December delivery, 
6 6- I6d per, lb, Contracts registered IjOOO chests 
lutiian, 
