July  i,  1892.) 
(HF  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
53 
The  assortment  of  the  bark  was  a fairly  good  one,  and 
included  on  unusually  large  proportion  of  druggists' 
kinds.  The  greater  part  of  the  East  Indian  cinchona 
consisted  of  Nilgiri  bark,  recently  imported  from, Madias 
part  of  -which  realised  fairly  satisfactory  prices  with 
good  competition.  The  general  tone  at  the  auctions  was 
good,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  the  supply  c ifered  sold, 
with  fair  animation,  at  prices  fully  on  a par  with  those 
of  the  last  sales,  with  an  occasional  slight  advance. 
The  unit  runs  from  1 1-ltitbs  d.  for  poor  to  l-Jd  per  lb. 
for  good  bark. 
The  following  are  the  approximate  quantities  purchased 
by  the  principal  buyers  s— 
Lb. 
Agents  for  the  Mannheim  and  Amsterdam  works...  80,755 
Agents  for  the  Auerbach  factory  ...  ...  (39,705 
Agents  for  the  Brunswick  works  ...  ...  (11,393 
Agents  for  the  French  factory  ...  ...  29,005 
Agents  for  the  American  and  Italian  werks  ...  27,670 
Messrs.  Howards  & Sons  ...  ...  ...  26,543 
Agents  for  the  Frankfort  o/M  and  Stultgart  works  24,7-29 
Sundry  druggists..  ...  ...  ...  61,504 
Total  quantity  of  bark  sold  ...  ...  381,304 
Bought  in  or, withdrawn...  ...  ...  35,704 
Total  quantity  offered  ...  ...  417,008 
Cinnamon  Chips  are  lower,  239  bags  ordinary  coarse 
eylon  having  been  sold  at  auction  at  1-jd  to  2d  per  lb. 
CONSULAR  REPORTS. 
K1UNGCHOW. 
Consul  E.  EL.  Parki  r addressed  the  following  report 
to  the  Marquis  of  Salsbnry  on  the  tiade  of  Kiting- 
chow  : — 
* * * 
Grass  CbOTHFurther  inquiry  made  at  the  request 
of  the  Kew  authorities  elicits  the  iuformatio.j  (hat 
the  eo-oa)lid  grass-clcth  alluded  to  in  my  last 
trade  report  is  not  made  from  tho  “ Pandanus,” 
or  screw -pine,  but  from  the  “ Ananas  sativa,”  or 
ordinary  pint  apple  of  commerce.  The  specimens 
of  both  which  were  sent  boma  enable  the  Kew  au- 
thor tiss  to  establish  this  fact  beyond  doubt.  Dr.  Bret- 
sebneider,  of  the  Russian  Legation,  several  years  bgo, 
drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  cloth  made  fnm  the 
pineapple  fibre  was  mentioned  in  the  maritime  customs 
“ Port  Catalogues,”  published  in  1873,  and  tbat  a 
similar  cloth,  called  11  pinr,”  is  mat.ufac  ured  in  ihe 
Philippine  Islands. 
Wild  Silk. — I enclose  with  this  report,  for  transmis- 
sion lo  Kew,  a specimen  of  the  ve-y  tough  ” wild  silk'’ 
of  my  la st  report,  locally  used  for  fish  lines.  The 
tootai  of  Hainan  informs  me  that,  according  to  popular 
report,  the  insect  is  produced  upon  the  “ feng”  tree, 
or  liquidambar  for mosana”  (Hance).  In  Hoiho.v  it  is 
called  “ hang-ti”  (ch’ung.i-z),  or  “ iusect  silk,”  and  it 
is  said  to  cost  £60  the  133g  lb.  or  £1,000  tlio  ton.  * * * 
BATAVIA. 
On  the  ri.de  of  Java  for  1S91,  Acting-Consul  Lvu- 
kester  thus  reports  : — 
Last  year’s  trade  has,  on  the  whole,  been  satisfactory 
for  the  island,  and  both  exports  and  imports  show  an 
inoieaBe.  The  t emits  to  merchants  and  planters 
have  been  generally  piofi table. 
Preliminary  steps  have  been  taken  with  a view  to 
holding,  in  the  spring  of  1893,  an  agnculturel  and 
industrial  exhibition,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  general 
trade  of  the  island  may  be  benefited  Ihireby. 
The  trade  with  Greet  Britain,  especially  as  regai ds 
imports,  continues  uudiminishod. 
Of  exports,  the  United  States,  the  Australian 
colonies  and  China  have  each  bad  a considerable  share. 
The  British  flag  has  again  more  than  held  its  own  as 
cs rriers  ot  imports  and  exports.  * * * 
Coffee. — The  estimate  of  the  year’s  production,  Gov- 
ernment and  private  lands  together,  has  been  slightly 
exceeded,  the  former  having  amounted  to  23,254  ions, 
and  the  latter  21,250  tons,  while  the  quality  has  given 
general  satisfaction.  The  value  of  the  article  having 
betn  well  maintained  in  the  consuming  markets  ot  the 
world,  further  stimulus  has  been  given  to  the  promotion 
ot  now  plantations,  and  iu  the  eastward  of  the  island 
several  large  estates  havo  been  slatted,  thefutureof 
which  promise  well. 
The  cultivation  of  the  Liberia  plant  has  this  year 
again  attracted  considerable  attention,  and  if  the 
planting  of  this  description  continues  at  the  present 
rate,  the  production  in  a fetv  years  will  be  a very  impor- 
tant oce.  Owing  to  the  high  prices  which  consign- 
mmts  of  Libiria  have  commanded,  and  the  low  rates 
which  have  ruled  for  lea,  some  planters  are  gradually 
abandoning  the  col  ivation  of  the  latter  in  favour  of 
tho  former.  The  dreaded  leaf  disease  has  not  been  so 
prevalent  as  in  previous  years. 
The  coming  crop  would,  under  the  circumstances,  be 
a very  large  one,  but  on  account  of  the  drought  the 
estimates  have  had  to  be  considerably  reduced,  but  the 
outturn  is  still  expected  to  show  a not  inconsiderable 
increareupon  1891,  viz.,  about  28,233  tons  Government, 
and  24,286  tons  private  coffee.  * * * 
Rice  suffered  severely  from  tho  long  spdl  of  dry 
weather,  and  the  pr  Auction  proved  less  than  sufficient 
for  the  wants  of  export  and  consumption,  and  con- 
sequently supplies  had  again  to  be  imported  lrom 
Saigou,  Rangoon,  &c.  Experts  were  as  follows  : 27,282 
tom, against  30,407  tons  in  1889,  and  26,555  tons  in  1890. 
Cocoa. — The  few  estates  as  yet  producing  this  article 
have  given  a good  yield,  and  prices  have  been  wtl! 
maintained.  The  cultivation  is  now  almost  exclusively 
restricted  to  Mid  Java  and  West  Java,  but  there  is 
little  doubt  the  cultivation  will  spread.  Shipments  to 
London  have  been  tried  with  success. 
Indigo. — The  crop  was  a fair  one,  but  owing  to  prices 
havirg  gradually  recedtd  theresults  to  most  plantations 
have  been  considerably  worse  than  was  anticipated. 
Cinchona.— In  spite  oE  the  low  value  of  this  article 
there  has  been  but  a small  alteration  in  the  pro- 
duction, the  outturn  only  showing  a deficiency  of 
about  9 per  cent  on  the  estimates,  viz.,  7,000,000  lb. 
against  7,700,000  lb.  In  the  event  of  a permanent  im 
provement  in  prices,  next  year’s  crop  is  expected  to 
be  a little  over  this  year’s  outturn,  but  should  the 
present  low  value  remain  analtered  there  may  be  a 
not  unimportant  decrease; 
Tea. — The  crop  suffered  from  the  drought,  but  this 
has  had  a not  al!ogetli“r  unfavourable  result,  for  the 
trees  have  hid  an  appaiently  required  rest,  the  result 
beii  g that  after  the  raios  set  in  they  grew  vigorously 
and  the  expected  increase  in  ihe  next  few  mouths 
will,  it  is  expected,  more  than  compensate  planters. 
Tho  production  shows  a marked  falling-off,  being 
about  1,000,0001b.  less  than  last  year  ; one  or  two 
new  gardens  have,  however,  been  opened,  but  agaiust 
tl  ese  have  to  bo  put  those  chiefly  on  low  lands, 
which  have  been  or  are  being  aba- doned  in  favour  of 
Liberia  coffee.  The  exports  were  5,939,011  lb.  against 
7,788,484  lb.  in  1890,  and  7,716,225  lb.  in  1889.  The 
quality  of  the  crop  proved  satisfactory,  and  some 
estates  realised  good  prices. 
Railway  Communication. — The  completion  of  the 
Government  railway  to  conneot  Tjilatjap  with  East 
Java,  Middle  Java,  and  West  Java,  is  progressing 
satisfactorily,  and  the  line  will  probably  be  opened 
for  tr.  ffic  towards  the  end  of  1893.  A considerable 
extension  of  the  Government  railway  net  is  under 
consideration,  and  already  survejii  g for  6 new  line 
from  Probolingo  to  Sitoebondo,  via  Loemadjang  and 
Djember,  lias  commenced;  it  is  intended  to  connect 
this  hue  with  Bmjoewangie  (the  most  eastern  part 
of  Java)  by  a secondary  lino.  A line  from  Batavia 
through  Bantam  is  alto  proposed. 
Tramways. — The  line  from  Sourabaya  to  Sepandjaug 
has  bet  n opened,  and  permission  has  been  granted  to 
the  S tinarang-Java  LLe  to  increase  its  length  by 
thirty  miles. 
Shipping. — Steam  communication  with  Europe  hag 
been  increased  by  two  netv  lines  running  to  Java 
from  Holland,  via  Singapore,  the  German  Sunda  Line, 
and  the  Dutch  Stoomvaai  t Maatsohappij  Ocoaan,  the 
latter  being  an  offshoot  of  the  well-known  Holts 
China  Line.  For  the  last  tew  years  the  two  Dutch 
lines,  de  Nederland  and  the  Rotterdamsebe  Lloyds, 
had  practically  enjoyed  the  monopoly  of  the  trade. 
General  — In  November  he  Tandjong  Priok  Dry- 
dock  Company  commeDC. d business;  they  possess 
extensive  workshops,  whore  repairs  of  all  descriptions 
can  bo  carried  out,  besides  having  a 3,000  ton  floating 
