674 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [April ., 1895. 
A parcel of 166 cwt. East Indian Cassia fistula pods, 
of fine fresh quality, recently imported in Holland, 
baa been sold by tender in Amsterdam at au in- 
crease upon the previous quotation. The exact sell- 
ing-price, however, has not been made public. The 
93 cwt. of cassia pulp to which we referred last week 
were bought in at auction in Amsterdam at the parity 
of about 26s 9d per cwt. — Chemist and Drugjist. 
INDIA PATENTS. 
Calcutta, the 28th Feb. 
Specifiations of the undermentioned inventions have 
been filed under the provisions of Act V. of Inns. 
An Improved Tea Sifting and Sorting Machine. — 
No. 94 of 1894. — George Murray Cullom, Engineer 
and Tea Planter, care of W. G. Forbes, Mint Build- 
ings, Calcutta, for an improved tea sifting and sort- 
ing machine for tea or grains, etc. (Filed 12th 
January 1895.) 
Improvements in Machines for Decorticating Ramie 
and other Plants. — No. 830 of 1894. — Alfred Dieudonne 
Estienne, of 79, Rue de l'Olivier, Marseilles, France, 
Chief Engineer of the Messageries Maritimes de 
France, for improvements in machines for decorticat- 
ing Ramie and other plants. (Filed 15th February 
1895.) — Indian Engineer. 
NILGIRI PLANTERS' ASSOCIATION. 
THE CEYLON TEA DUTY. 
A general meeting of the Nilgiri Planters' Asso- 
ciation took place at Ootacamund on Monday, the 
9th inst., in the Masonic Hall, when the following 
members weie present: — Messrs. J. W. Minchin, W. 
S. Edmiston, the Honourable G. Romilly, F. F. 
Wilson, L. W. Grey, O. W. Marsden, T. Nash, F. T. 
Turpin, \V. Cherry, T. Mackenzie, G. Salmon, G. 
Gerrard, G. Oakes, J. Pascoe, G. A. Marsh, R. L. 
Kindersley, H. D. Wilbraham, H. P. Hodgson, J. B. 
Barclay, C. B. Barclay, T. Scott, W. Daly and E. 
Edmiston. 
Mr. J. W. Minchin was voted to the chair, 
A discussion took place on Mr. Mackenzie's pro- 
posal that tea should be protected in India, in some 
such way as it is in England, from the practice of re- 
habilitation common in large stations like Bangalore 
and Calcutta, where used tea leaves gathered from 
Clubs and similar establishments are mixed with the 
genuine article. As tea in India is sold in packets, the 
Eurchaser cannot be left to detect the fraud and protect 
imself. The meeting resolved to relegate the subject 
for consideration to the Sub-Committee for Tea. 
A letter was then read from the Secretary, United 
Planters' . Association, asking for statistics of area 
under tea cultivation. The Honorary Secretary dis- 
tributed forms in which the information is to be 
supplied and asked members to furnish the neces- 
sary details as soon as possible. 
The following proposition by Mr. Hill on Import 
Duty on foreign Tea stood next on the Agenda 
paper : — " That as Ceylon will not permit Indian 
tea to be imported into the island free of duty 
even for the purpose of sale at the auctions in 
Colombo, Government be petitioned to levy a duty 
on Ceylon tea imported into India, which is largely 
coming into competition with the local Indian 
tea market both in packets and bulk, such competi- 
tion being unfair to Indian tea planters, who are 
debarred by a prohibitory duty from selling tea in 
Ceylon and many of whom rely on local sales as a 
means of revenue." 
Mr. Turpin, a gentleman from Ceylon, informed 
the meeting that he had undertaken to support Mr. 
Hill's proposition. Ueylon tea imported into India, 
he had ascertained from Customs returns, aggregated 
nearly 1,000,000 pounds per annum, and as Indian 
planters to some extent depended on local sales they 
could not be said to be unaffected prejudicially by 
this, not insignificant, importation. The duty 
levied on foreign tea at Ceylon ports, he said, was 
25 cents per pound, but as scarcely any Indian 
tea went to Ceylon, the Ceylon planter possessed 
an undue advantage in having his produce placed in 
this market duty free. Mr. Hill wished to suggest 
that the Indian Government be asked to impose a 
duty of 25 per cent, ml valorem on Ceylon tea imported 
into this country. The Chairman thought that if 
an equivalent duty were levied, the return to the 
Indian exchequer would be the substantial aunt pf 
R2,50,000, quite worth the while of the Indian 
Government to secure, but the Honourable the 
Planting Member of Council pointed out that such a 
request by Indian tea planters amounted to a 
request for protection and was therefore objection- 
able. It might also, he, feared, produce ill-feeling 
in Ceylon against Indian tea planters. Such a proposal 
to Government, moreover, to be successful must go up 
with the supportof alltlie Indian Planters' Associations. 
He could say, so far as the Wynaad and Travancore 
Associations were concerned, that they would refuse 
to join in it. The Honorary Secretary thought that 
if Ceylon could protect its tea by a duty, why not 
India, but it was pointed out that the Ceylon duty- 
was imposed long before tea became au article of 
production in the island. — Mr. Minchin was of 
opinion that it would be better to ask the Madras 
Government to use its influence to remove the Ceylon 
duty, rather than to impose one itself, and Mr. Tur- 
pin, speaking on behalf of Ceylon planters, thought 
this course preferable. 
Mr. H. P. Hodgson proposed an amendment to 
the effect that before the meeting decided on what 
it should do, it be ascertained if all Indian tea plan- 
ters were unanimous in asking for the imposition of 
a duty on Ceylon tea imported into India. The 
amendment was carried. — Madron Mail, March 13. 
DIM (.; REPORT. 
(From Cliiiuitt and l>r\i<j<jlxt .) 
London, Feb. 21st. 
An?>atto— Small sales of fair Ceylon seed were made 
at today's auctions at 2$d per lb. A few cases of Madras 
seed were bought in. 
Cinchona— The second public sales of cinchona -bark - in 
London were held on Tuesday at the Commercial Sale 
Rooms instead of in the " time-honoured attic at No. 0 
Mincing Lane, which has been sacred to this function 
for many years. The new locality is one of the old 
auction-rooms doomed to disappearance in the near future, 
owing to the progressing reconstruction of the building 
of which it forms part. The apartment is many times 
too large for the bark-sale audience, and there was some 
subdued grumbling on the part of some of the buverson 
this score, as well as because -the accustomed order of 
places was disturbed, and because the noise of the build- 
ing-operations in progress all round the room occasionally 
rendered bids inaudible. The tone of the sales was not 
calculated, either, to raise the spirits. The eight catalogues 
were made up as follows : — 
packages packages 
Cevlon cinchona . . 1437 of which 1087 were sold 
East Indian cinchona . . 1290 „ 1133 „ 
Java cinchona . . S6 „ 88 , . „ 
South American (Calisaya) 250 „ 145 „ 
3083 „ 2451 
a great ueai ox uus was very poor o;uk ^especially among 
that grown in Ceylon), and sold below id per lb, the 
cost of freight and landing - charges l)eing scarcely re- 
couped in some instances. But even for good ■ qualities 
there was little competition, and prices were barely up 
to the standard of the January auctions, the average 
unit not exceeding £d per lb. The following are the ap- 
proximate quantities purchased by the principal buyers : — 
Lbs. 
Agents for the Brunswick factory - 224,266 
Agents for the Frankfort-on-Maine factory 105,418 
Messrs. Howard and Sons . - - 98,991 
Agents for the American factories - 38,685 
Agents for the Mannheim and Amsterdam 
factories - - - 34,920 
Agents for the Auerhach factory - 28,745 
Agents for the Paris factory * - - 19,590 
Druggists - - - 60,720 
Total quantity of bark sold - 611,335 
Bought in and withdrawn - 141,310 
Total quantity of bark offered 752,645 
It should be understood that the quantity by weight 
the bark purchased gives no reliable guide to the co 
parative quinine equivalent secured by the buyers, 
