July  i,  1892.] 
23 
THE  TROPICAL 
or  34,617  piculs,  almost  exactly  s much  as  in  1890 
while  for  the  three  periods  above-mentioned  it  averaged 
respectively  49,000  piculs,  48,000  piculs,  and  40,000 
piculs,  so  that  in  this  branch  of  the  trade  a eteady 
decline  has  set  in.  Taking  black  tea  and  green  tea 
together,  one  may  fay  roughly  that  the  export  is  less 
than  it  was  when  it  was  at  its  highest  a few  years  ago 
by  something  under  10  per  cent. 
Brick  Tea  for  .Russia,  as  in  1890,  shows  only  about 
half  the  amount  that  it  did  two  or  three  years  back 
the  figures  for  1891  being  2,005.548  lb  or  15,041  piculs. 
Want  of  tea  dust  is  said  to  account  for  this. 
Tablet  tea  appears  for  the  first  time  in  Kinking  re- 
turns, machinery  for  its  manufacture  having  recently 
been  erected  here.  The  quantity  of  it  shipped  was 
493,392  lb.  Tablet  tea  is  mide  from  the  very  best 
quality  of  tea  dust.  It  is  formed  by  pressure  aloce 
into  small  cakes,  which  are  perfectly  strong  and  s lid 
and  rather  resemble  chocolate  iu  appearance.  The 
material  is  not,  like  brick  tea,  moistened  with  steam 
before  beiDg  compressed,  ami  the  flavour  is  not  in  any 
way  impaired  by  the  process  of  manufacture.  Taking 
up  little  space,  and  being  unlikely  lo  get  spoilt  or 
damaged,  it  presents  the  best  and  most  convenient 
form  of  tea  that  oue  can  possibly  imagine  for  travel- 
lers, backwoodsmen,  or  armies  iu  the  field. 
The  export  of  CoDgou  commenoed  in  May  and  was 
almost  ended  in  July.  That  of  green  tea  began  iu  July 
and  was  nearly  fiDi-he  1 in  October,  Brick  and  tablet 
tea  began  togoawiy  in  October,  and  continued  to  do 
so  till  the  end  of  the  year.  The  export  of  <ea  in  the 
three  months  of  May,  Ju^eand  July  was  18,600,3281b., 
3,588,843  lb.  and  4,141,600  lb.  respectively. 
The  following  was  furnished  to  this  office  by  a very 
high  authority,  Mr.  Alexander  Campbell,  of  this  port. 
Musters  of  Ningchows  began  to  arrive  on  May  3,  and 
of  Keemungs  on  May  6.  Extreme  prices  were  a^ked 
for  the  former,  and  no  business  was  practicable  here,  but 
the  ters  mot  with  a good  reception  in  Hsnkow,  where 
Russian  buyers  competed  for  the  finest  parcels  at  prices 
lar  above  tbe  level  of  last  year,  the  range  being  from 
Tls.  00  to  Tls.  75  (one  parcel  at  Tls.  75),  against  Tls.  50 
to  Tie.  60.  The  prices  paid  are  nccouuted  for  by  tbe 
fact  that  “first  chops”  were  usually  small.  Kee- 
mungs,  which  hitherto  have  not  been  in  demand  for 
Russia,  were  more  freely  offered  hr  re,  and  the  finest 
parcels  were  bought  at  Tls.  40  to  Tls.  45,  being  Tls.  3 
or  Tls.  4 or  over  last  year’s  rates.  Kiukiang  pack  teas 
were  of  average  quality,  and  realised  good  prices  when 
pure.  Tbe  first  crop  was  about  the  same  s'ze  as  last 
year,  or  practically  21,000,000  lb.  Second  crops,  Niug 
chows,  begun  to  arrive  on  June  13.  Quality  was  very 
poor,  and  no  business  took  p'ace  here.  — L.  and  C. 
Express. 
INDIAN  PRESERVES. 
The  demand  for  Indian  preserves  and  jams  has 
greatly  increased  during  the  past  few  years.  In  In- 
dia preserves  and  jellies  are  made  of  the  pear,  qu'  ice, 
mango,  tamarind,  date,  banana,  guava,  and  other 
fruits.  In  Singapore  pineapples  are  preserved  whole, 
and  in  the  Bahamas  the  manufacture  is  also  carried 
on  on  a large  scale,  to  the  extent  of  nearly  1,000,000 
cans  annually.  Each  can  of  fruit,  before  the  syrup 
is  added,  weighs  2 lbs.  From  12,000  to  14,000  can  be 
filled  in  a day,  and  25,000  pines  are  usually  consumed 
daily  during  the  season.  In  Singapore  much  enterprise 
has  been  shown  in  preserving  tropical  fruits.  There  are 
two  or  three  firms  who  deal  largely  in  them. 
The  Indian  preserves  were  formerly  much  in  re- 
quest. Thus,  in  the  13th  century  the  most  renowned 
preserve  was  a paste  made  of  candied  ginger.  Among 
other  fruits,  &c.,  preserved  in  their  natural  state  in 
syrup,  crystallised  with  sugar,  or  made  into  jelly,  are  the 
pineapple,  bread-fruit,  ginger,  jack-fruit,  the  papaw, 
mangosteen,  pomeloe,  guava,  and  nutmeg.  Although 
in  flavour  and  preparation  these  preserves  may  not  equal 
those  of  Europe,  they  make  an  agreeable  change. 
Pineapple. — The  Pineapple  is  one  of  the  best  of 
tropical  fruits,  although  it  is  produced  of  a superior 
quality  by  European  cultivators.  Its  sweet  and  acid 
flavour,  and  pleasant  aroma,  make  it  sought  after  by 
AGRICULTURIST. 
consumers  of  all  classes.  One  house  in  Singapore  ships 
about  70,000  tins  of  this  fruit.  Pineapple  marmalade 
(thought  by  some  to  be  the  most  delicious  preserve  in  the 
world)  might  also  be  sold  at  5d.  per  pound  in  London. 
Guava  Jelly— There  are  two  species  of  guava  fruit, 
the  red  guava,  and  the  white,  or  Peruvian  guava’. 
Both  make  excellent  sweetmeat  paste  or  jelly,  which 
is  very  pleasant  and  nutritious,  from  its  superior  power 
of  assimilation  with  the  gastric  juice,  and  perfect 
development  of  saccharine. 
It  is  said  that  a hundred  different  preserves  could 
be  made  from  a judicious  blending  of  the  fruits  of 
the  East  and  West  Indies  and  South  America, 
The  jamun  (Syzyyium  jambolamim),  a sort  of  long, 
dark,  purple  plum,  the  size  of  a large  date,  makes 
excellent  preserves,  and  has  exactly  the  flavour  of 
black-currant  jelly,  to  simulate  which  large  quantities 
are  sent  from  India  to  England.  It  is  also  used  for 
flavouring  other  jams. 
The  fruits  of  Inocarpus  edulis  are  preserved  in  the 
Indian  Archipelago.  A sweet  conserve  is  made  in 
India  of  the  fruits  of  Terminalia  Chebula.  Another 
is  made  of  the  fruits  of  Pliyllanthus  distichus,  at 
Birbhum  in  Bengal.  The  acid  calyces  of  the  rosella 
( Hibiscus  sabdarijja)  are  converted  into  an  excellent 
jelly,  which  would  be  highly  appreciated  in  England, 
if  once  introduced.  Jam  and  jelly  are  made  in  Canada 
from  the  fruit  of  Shepherdia  aryentea. 
The  fruit  of  Spondias,  not  unlike  a cherry,  is  made 
into  jelly.  The  scarlet  fruit  of  the  quandong 
( Fusanus  acuminatus),  the  size  of  a small  peach,  make 
an  excellent  preserve  for  tarts  iu  Australia. 
The  tamarind  plum  ( Dialium  indum ) of  Java  has 
a pod  filled  with  a delicate,  agreeable  pulp,  much 
less  acid  than  the  tamarind.  The  golden  drupes  of 
Spondias  cytherea , or  dulcis , a native  of  the  Society 
Islands,  are  compared,  for  flavour  and  fragrance,  to 
the  pineapple.  The  large  acid  fruits  of  the  kai  apple 
(Aberia  caffra ) of  Natal  can  be  converted  into  a good 
preserve  of  the  red-currant  jelly  class.  The  fruit  of 
Cornea  speciosa  is  delicious;  it  is  called  “mangaba” 
by  the  Brazilians,  and  when  ripe  is  brought  in  great 
quantities  to  Pernambuco  for  sale. 
The  fruit  of  the  goumi,  of  Japan  ( Elagnus  edulis), 
makes  excellent  preserves,  fruit  syrups,  and  tarts.  The 
berries  of  Pyrus  aucuparia,  and  of  P.  baccata  are  made 
into  comfits,  conserves,  and  compotes.  The  fruits  of 
Astrocarpum  ayri  of  Brazil,  are  made  into  an  excellent 
preserve,  which  is  much  esteemed  in  that  country. 
The  fruit  of  the  Chinese  quince  (Diorpyros  amara) 
is  converted  into  sweetmeats,  of  which  the  Chinese 
are  exceedingly  fond. 
The  bread-fruit,  in  syrup  or  crystallised,  may  please 
native  plates,  but  it  is  not  likely  to  find  favour  in 
Europe,  being  flavourless,  and  more  of  a food  sub- 
stance than  a fruit. 
Preserved  ainger  is  popular  in  England,  but  is  not 
much  esteemed  on  the  Continent.  The  Spaniards 
eat  raw  ginger  in  the  morning,  to  give  them  an 
appetite ; and  it  is  used  at  table  fresh  or  candied. 
Among  sailors  it  is  considered  antiscorbutic.  The 
quantity  of  preserved  ginger  imported  ranges  annu- 
ally from  1,500  to  2,500  cwt.,  value  £3,500  to  £4,300. 
It  forms  the  bulk  of  the  succades  received  from  the 
Chinese  Empire,  18,000  to  20,000  cwt.  coming  from 
Hong  Kong.  Some  ginger  is  also  received  from  In- 
dia. The  mode  of  preparing  it  in  the  East  is  as 
follow's : — The  racemes  are  steeped  in  vats  of  water 
for  four  days,  changing  the  water  once.  After  being 
taken  out,  spread  on  a table,  and  well  picked  or 
pierced  with  bodkins,  they  are  boiled  in  a copper 
cauldron.  They  are  then  steeped  for  two  days  and 
nights  in  a vat  with  a mixture  of  water  and  rice 
flour.  After  this  they  are  washed  with  a solution 
of  shell  lime  in  a trough,  then  boiled  with  an  equal 
weight  of  sugar,  and  a little  white  of  egg  is  added 
to  clarify.  The  ginger,  candied  or  dried  in  sugar, 
is  shipped  in  small  squares  of  zinc.  That  preserved 
in  syrup,  is  sent  out  in  jars  of  glazed  porcelain  of 
6 and  3 lbs.,  and  packed  in  cases  of  six  jars.  The 
quality  called  “mandarin”  is  put  up  in  barrels. 
Tli e papaw  [Carica  papaya)  is  a fleshy,  pulpy  fruit,  of 
an  orange  colour,  sweet  and  refreshing,  which  is  eaten 
as  the  melon  is  in  Europe.  This  fruit,  however,  in  syrup 
crystallised,  has  very  much  the  taste  of  a turnip. 
