482 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Jan. 1, 1903. 
CINNAMON IN LONDON, 
The last quarterly cinnamon sale for the 
year, held in London on 24th Nvo., may 
be reckoned as one of the most satisfactory 
sales of recent times. The quantity of 
quilled bark oflered was 1,178 bales, which, 
though in excess of the offerings in August 
la,st, amounting to 825 bales, was only about 
two-thirds of the quantity catalogued in 
November, 1901. Both the limited supply 
and the season— for the Christmas auctions 
generally go olf with spirit — contributed to 
good prices. The attendance being good 
and the competition lively, the higher 
qualities, which are " worked " in London, 
sold at prices which recall old times — 
Firsts running up to Is 9cl and Seconds to 
Is 8d, while Fourths fetched as high as 
lljd. The whole quantity offered was 
disposed of under the hammer, at an a.dvance 
generally of a penny on the previous sales' 
rates. The best marks have their cinnamon 
unbaled and rebaled in London, according 
to traditional custom, and at a cost which 
ordinary kinds object to, and are honoured 
with the distinction "worked"! The 
" unworked " cinnamon constitutes the 
bulk of our exports, from estates which 
do not turn out " smarts," or finely 
quilled spice, and the 944: bales of " un- 
worked" seem to have been Avorked olf 
as satisfactorily as the more attrac- 
tive sorts. We do not read that any of the 
" unworked " spice, which amounted to 
four-fifths of the total, was bought in; and 
the prices named show that it shared in 
the advance which the best sorts secured. 
The rates at which chips were sold were 
higher than they had reached for a long 
time; while 9id, the top price for quillings, 
has been touched but seldom. 
The absence of any demand for "Wild" 
Cinnamon, so called, does iiot seem to have 
extinguished the trade ; but nothing can long 
survive sales at a penny a lb! How that aver- 
age can possibly cover all the charges whicli 
have to be provided for, from harvesting 
and transport to warehousing and sale, 
is more than we can guess ; but, pending 
the total extinction of the trade, we can 
only hope that the article does not in any 
way go into human consumption. No doubt 
it rather forms part of the condiments 
which are said to be used in preparing 
" Thorley's food for cattle." 
The prospects of genuine spice are bright, 
as the submersion of low lands, on whicli 
cinnamon is mostly grown, has arrested 
harvesting for weeks, if not months ; and 
with the dry and windy months in pro- 
spect, there cannot be much crop taken in till 
after the Sinhalese New Year in April next. 
On page 480 will be found the Report from 
the leading London firm which we usually 
quote once a quarter. 
THE FORESTS OF UGANDA. 
A Government report just issued furnishes 
information with regard to the Mau Forest, 
■which extends for about 33 miles along the line 
of the Uganda llaihvay. The forest contains {in 
abundance of hardwood timbers — " too hard " is 
the complaint of those who have tried to work 
them. The Commissioner who is reporting, never- 
theless, regards the forest as a splendid property, 
which will not, however, be realisable for many 
years. One of the conditions of a successful 
industry are big rivers, it appears, in the Mau; 
Under these circumstances, residents in the chief 
town find it cheaper to line their houses with 
Norwegian timber than to use that of the local 
forest. The report refers to the rapidity with 
which eucalyptus trees grow in Ugandn, specimens 
of eucalyptus globulus three years old having 
reached a height of 30 ft. — Timber Trades 
Journal 
TEA IN THE UNITED STATES. 
Mr Wm. Sanders, the late eminent Superin- 
tendent of Public Grounds in Washington, was sent 
down to Sumfcerville, S C, where Commissioner 
LpDuc was then engaged in making an experiment 
with tea culture which has since had such a 
gratifying success under Dr Shepard. Mr Sanders 
gave it as his opiuiou that if any more Govern- 
ment or private attempts were made to raise tea, 
they should be made in a locality farther South ; 
and furthermore he expressed the belief that 
Florida offers the best opportunities and conditions 
for success. 
We do not agree with Mr Sanders in this opinion 
Tea has been grown in dozens of localities in the 
South ; from tiie strong rolling clay uplands of 
Georgia to the moist sandy low lands of Louisiana, 
Mississippi and Florida ; and there can be no 
question with menof wide observationthat the rolling 
piedmont, clay uplands of Georgia produce much 
the most rapid and vigorous growth ; thriftier 
finer and better developed plants, than could be 
found anywhere in the low country further south 
and nearer the seaboard, 
Mr Sanders seems to have forgotten that most 
of Japan and the principal tea districts of China 
are farther north than Florida and have a lower 
mean annual temperature. Tea will grow and 
do moderately well anywhere in Florida ; but if 
we had to establish a tea growing plantation in 
this State we should select the undulating clay 
uplands near Tallahassee and further west and 
north toward Quincy. 
We do not think tea culture can be made 
generally profitable commercially under the pre- 
sent existing conditions, with the present price of 
labour and with our very huperfect knowledge of 
growing and manipulation. It is only fair to 
state, however, that Commissioner LeDuc's super- 
intendent Jackson, who claimed to be an expert 
in tea growing and preparation, stated to a news- 
paper visitor, that he could make an excellent 
article of tea in Georgia or Florida for 15 cents a 
pound. We are under the impression that Dr 
Sliepard has publicly stated that under his present 
system of child labour, he can produce a market- 
aijle article for about the same figure, And it is 
well known to our readers, doubtless, that Dr 
Shepard's tea has repeatedly sold up to seventy 
cents a pound, averaging for round lots, forty-five 
cents, or better. 
The tea plant belonging to the Camellia family 
and requires about the same treatment as outdoor 
japonicas. It should have a good strong soil, 
enriched with a compost of dried muck or peat*, 
bone dust, and ashes, The land must be all draioed 
