45o THE TROPICAL AGRICULTU KIST. Jan. «. 1**95. 
to ha\ e the opinion and advice of our own corre- 
spondents on the following : — 
" That we were far too hasty in getting rid 
of our Liberian coffee trees to make room for 
tea I am convinced. I did not destroy all mine, 
but left them in a hollow where they were doing 
remarkably well, and I have had no reason to regret 
it. Not only so, but I am taking steps to extend 
my acreage, but only under light thade. I fuily believe 
in shade for Liberian, but it most not be heavy 
shade. In my case rubber tiees planted very widely 
apart afford capital shade for the coffee. If tbe shade 
is too thick the trees grow up spindly and without 
stamina. Moreover, I do not think haiid-weeding 
suitable. To bare the ground to the tropical auii and 
the pouring rain is most injurious for Liberian Coffee. 
It induces disease and weakens the trees. I prefer 
to lot it grow up in weeds a3 they do in India. Mid 
then after a time to cut the weeds down with a 
sickle and later on dig them into the soil. At 
anything like present prices a very small return per 
acre would pay better than tea. To those who have 
good land — mind, I only say good land — I advise 
the planting of this variety of coffee." 
DRUG REPORT. 
(From Chemist and Druggist.) 
London, November 8. 
Annatto. — One bag of bright, but rather damp, Ceylon 
seed gold at 4*d per lb tod ay, an advance of about 
Id ; two other lots were bought In, one of 8 cases fair, 
but rather bricky colour, from Madras at 5d, and one of 
7 bags, medium quality, via Bordeaux at 3d per lb. 
Areca, — The market is still over-supplied, and at to- 
day's auctions a parcel of 30 bags, oltered without re- 
serve, realised only from 8s tkl to Ss 9d per cwL, 
which is equal to a decline of fully 3s on the last sals 
quotation. 
Caffeine has advanced further in the course of this 
week ; 16s was paid privately on Wednesday, and at auction 
today a 0-lb tin of Howards' band sold with strong com- 
petition at 16s 6d per lb. 
Cinchona,— It is announced that the shipments of bark 
from Java during the month of October amounted to 
over 1,000,000 half-kilos, compared with only 530,000 half- 
kilos in October 1893. At auction today the chief inter- 
est in cinchona lay in the sale of a newly-imported par- 
cel of 24 serous Wild Calisaya from South America. 1'he 
drug occurred in small to medium pieces sf fair colour, 
and realised the exceptionally high price of 2s 2d to 2s 
3d for sound quality ; while the damaged lots brought 
from Is lid down to 7Jd per lb. This is an advance 
of fully 5d per lb above the rates recently realised pri- 
vately, sales having been made on several occasions lately 
at Is 9d per lb. Of Loxa bark, 6 serons fair quality, 
partly thin and split quill, sold at Is 5d per lb, a decline 
of Id per lb on the last quotations. Huanoco hark is 
also lower, about 41 packages selling at 7}d to 9jd for 
partly silvery small to medium quill ; and from 7 J down 
to 3jd p«r lb for damaged parcels. Wild red bark : Only 
1 bale of 28 lb was offered today ; it consists of good but 
small pieces of fair colour, for which 7s 6d per ib is asked, 
fifteen serons very dusty soft Colombian bark were bought 
in at 3jd per lb. 
Coca-leaves. — Nineteen bales of good strong greenish 
Huanoco leaves are held for Is 4d per lb, but no res- 
ponse was made even to a suggestion of l^d per lb. 
Bright groen but broken Truxillo leaves were bought in 
at 10£d per lb. 
Quinine. — A few days ago 20,000 oz second-hand Ger- 
man bulk were reported to have been sold on the spot at 
Hid per oz. Since then it is said that llfed has been 
paid, but we have not been able to confirm this trans- 
action. The market is quiet. Manufacturers' prices re- 
main unaltered. 
London, November 15th. 
Cinchona. — The first of the new series of monthly bark- 
auctions was held on Tuesday, when an unusually large 
supply, mostly consisting of East Indian cinchonas, was 
offered. There were nine catalogues, aggregating as fol. 
lows :— 
Packages Packages 
Ceylon cinchona 538 of which 408 were sold 
Bast Indian cinchona 1496 ,, 1239 ,, 
Java cinchona 207 ,, 161 ,, 
West African cinchona 361 ,, 361 „ 
South American cinchona 113 ,, 41 ,, 
2715 2210 
The assortment of bark was a fairly good one. It con- 
sisted chiefly of Kastern Officinalis and Ledger barks and 
included a small parcel of cultivated bark grown in 
South America, on an estate in Colombia A consider- 
able part of the Kast In. ban bark was imported several 
months ago, and had been ollcred before. Competition 
was fairly good throughout the greater part of the sale, 
and though it foil off somewhat toward* the end, a slight 
improvement was made upon the averse of the last 
auction's prices, the unit being fully fed per lb. Toe total 
quantity of sulphate of quinine represented b> the manu- 
facturing bark at the auctions was about SzXUJOOti. 
Tlie following price* were paid for sound bark : — 
CEYLO!) <"im KUKA. — Original.— lied varieties : fair, partly 
woody, to good bright quUly stem aud branch chips, id 
to 2d' fair shavings, 1 d to 2*d ; root, partly dust), ,jd 
to ljd per lb. (irey varieties : Ordinary to good bright 
quill) stem and branch chips, lfd to 3jd ; ouminon ditto, 
jd ; shavings, 1J<1 ; root, lid to St& per lb. Vellow va- 
rieties : Ordinary to good bright stem and br.uicb chips, 
jd to l|d per lb ; hybrid chips, lid to 2d ; r »A, l»d to 
2d per lb. Renewed. — Bed chips, l|d to JJd ; gre.v chips 
2d; hybrid chips, l^dtolfed per lh. 
iJetailed reports of the Amsterdam cinchona -auction* of 
last Thursday state that the equivalent of 10,74* kilos of 
quinine was sold, and that of 13. »; kilos bought in, at 
those sales. In spite of the heavy quantities otfered, and 
the knowledge that the shipments of bark from Java have 
been usually high lately, tae tone of the auctions was 
rather steady. Bbarmaceutical barks were offered freely, 
and were difficult of sale for ordinary grades, but fin* 
druggists' quills were firmly held. 
Cocaine is firmly held, although at present there is no 
alteration in price. 
KOLA.— At Wednesday's spice-auctions 15 bigs newly- 
imported West-Indian kolas were offered. Only 3 of these 
were sold, at la ttd per lb for fair dry, but rather small. 
There have been some arrivals this week— viz, ] 7 bags from 
Africa, and 10 from tbe West Indies. 
OIL OF CITKONEI.LA, fair native, offers at 10. d to 
lid per lb. 
yi'lNlNE.— Steady. Some little business (about 5,000 oi) 
has been done Uiis week at lljd per oz for i-eeond-hand 
German bulk. The market closes firm with lew further 
sellers at this figure. 
[From Semi- Annual lirport of Schiuimr-l dt Co. 
( Fritzsche lirotlurs ) Leipzig and New York, 
October, 1894.] 
Cinnamon Oil. — Owing to the advance in silver tbe 
prices of fine cinnamon chips have advanceiL Within 
the last few days offers made to Ceylon shippers have 
been refused by the in, and it appears as though it was 
Intended to make up for the decline in the price., of tbe 
better grades of cinnamon, (which are also expected to 
apply to the new crop now being brought to market,) by 
enhanced quotations for chips. Under the circumstances 
it is questionable whether shall be able to maintain our 
present low price for fine distillate high specific gravity. 
Citronella Oil. — The indications of impending radical 
change in the citronella oil trade, to which we referred 
in our last Report have already begun to be realised, 
all parcels imported since the publication of the Report 
having been of good quality, and thoroughly up to the stan- 
dard. Certain English firms have also taken advantage 
of our energetic action and now only buy the oil upon 
the basis ot the tests laid down by us. The general in- 
terest of the trade require that this favourable tendency 
should not again be lost through negligence on the part 
; of the buyers, but that in every new contract the close 
t requiring the oil to conform to " Schimmel's test" should 
< be inserted. The temptation to adulterate citronella oil 
' with a fixed oil or with petroleum is too strong to wamnt 
j the belief that such attempts will not be revived as s ion 
i as the buyers relate their watchfulness. We here reprint 
i the test for the benefit of the numerous new readers of 
our report : — 
One part of citronella oil should give a clear solution 
with 10 parts of 80 per cent alcohol. 
: The test can be applied most suitably by means of a 
graduated measure. The sp. gr. of 80 per cent alcohol 
! is 0.8645. If the sample is adulterated with a fixed oil 
! or with petroleum the mixture becomes cloudy, and drops 
, of the adulterant are either precipitated or rise to the 
; surface after the mixture has been allowed to stand for 
i 12 hours. It is not unlikely that the improved condition 
of the oil now exported accounts for the fact that tbe 
1 shipments of citronella oil from Ceylon, which had fallen 
: off considerably in the year of 1890, already show a de- 
I cided increase for the first half year 1894, and Epromise 
again to attain their normal level in the near future. 
I Unfortunately, the spirit of blind anachronism which de- 
. crease that the statistics relating to this low-priced article 
I shall be recorded iu " ounces, " continues to prevail. The 
■ quotations are likewise still made partly by the oz, 
1 although a section of the exporters in Colombo has be- 
i come converted to the far more suitable and easy method 
i of quoting by the "lb Engl." 
| There is nothing new to report with regard to the 
i price of the article. 
