132 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. ',Aug. 1, 1899. 
They are generally abnoimalities, and they are often 
called ' bloomle&s,' because the blossoms have no 
petals and sometimes lack stamens. Their appearance 
and quality are not such as to recommend them to 
the general consumer. The core is small and insig 
nifioant, but the shape is peculiar and the flavor poor. 
" But seedless apples and pears of good quality 
may yet be propagated, and gardners are working 
towards this end, Eecent new varieties siiov? great 
improvements over those first produced, and in the 
course of time careful culture and selection may bi'ing 
about the desired.reaulfcs. How much the culture, 
Belection and environment have to do with the proper 
development of the fruits is apparent in the case of 
the seedless currants of Corinth or the Sultana grapes 
of south Europe. These were supposed to have been 
as full of seeds as any o^her fruits far back in history, 
but successive years of culture and selection eliminated 
the seeds and improved the quality of the fruits. How 
the culturists first got their hint of seedless fruits is 
not known, but it is reasonable to believe that they 
took advantage of a freak of nature which produced 
a vine with fruits that had very fev/ or no seeds. 
" Experiments are now being made in California with 
the famous M uscat grape of Alexandria. This famous 
raisin grape would be gteatly enhanced in value if 
the seeds could all be eliminated. Considerable pro- 
gress has been made in this direction by selecting 
cuttings from vines which produce grapes with less 
than the normal number of seeds. Several smaller 
varieties of seedless grapes have been in existence 
for many years, but most of them are inferior in 
some way to the best raisin grapes raised for market. 
Seedless fruits will be a success only when, in addition 
to maturing without seeds, the size and quality of 
the fruits will be equal or superior to the best va- 
rieties in the country. That is the essential reason 
why the navel orange is the greatest success of modern 
horticultural." — Bradstreet' s, June 10. 
AMSTERDAM BAKK MARKET. 
June 15. 
The detailed particulars of the Ainsterduin bark 
auction ot last week areas foHowii -.—About 20 
tons (20,G23 kilos) of Muim^atiurcn' baik were 
actjially .sold in the auction, and about U Ion 
(1,748 kilcs) Druggkts' bark, 'i'hei e were br"juglit 
in about li ton of the fornier, and about 1 cwt. of 
the latter. >So that nearly the whole amount offered 
was soltl. The tone of the auction wa.s quiet : 
tlie unit selliufr price worked out at 8-'25 cents 
per half kilo. (l-J per lb.), against 8-5 cents at the 
last auction, a decline of over three per cenc. 
Of the 'jurk t-ut up, 73 382 kilos, were succirubra, 
369,720 were Ledgeriana, 3S,698 were Hybrid an J 
other kinds, and of all tliete 49,956 kilos were 
root hM:k.— British caul Colonial Druaqist 
June I9. 
1^ 
MINOR PRODUCTS REPORT. 
Aeec.^ Nuts.— Offered 25 bags. Sold 0. Good qua- 
lity was bought in at SOs. 
CiTEONELLA OiL.— Steady and quiet at last week's 
price, the spot value of drums being U^d, and that of 
tins Is to Is 0|d. ForS cakes of fair quality put up at 
today's auctions without reserve, no bid was obtained 
Kola Nuts.— Offered 36 packages. Sold one A 
bag of fair dried nuts was sold at 2id , all the rest 
being bought in. 
Lemon Oil.— Slightly better this week. One brand, 
indeed has been advanced tid in price, bs 8d c.i.f, 
beiug asked when .Ss 2d would have been taken 
yesterday.—^. ^ C. Drugtiat, Jaae 23. 
UKUWELA ESTATE COMPANY, LIMITED. 
Registered on April 26th, by Harwood and 
Stephenson, 31, Lombard-street, E.G., with a 
capital of £17,000 in £50 shares (378 six per cent, 
cumulative preference.) Object, to aci^uire the 
Ukuwela and Bowatte estates iu Ceylon, to adopt 
an agreement with F G- Ambrose, and carry on 
the business ot tea, coffee, and cacao planters, 
importers, exporters, and merchants. The first 
directors — to UTimber not less than two nor 
more titan five — are F G Ambrose (chairman and 
managing director with £250 per annum), H L 
Anley, W B Anley, and J P B Anley. Qualifi- 
cation, £250, Remuneration, £50 each per annum 
Registered office : 1G5, Fenchurch-street, E.G. — 
tinancial Neivs, May 3. 
^ 
CINCHONA IN INDIA. 
The idanters in India are watching suspiciously 
the new energy of the Government in the direction 
of cinchona culture, an example of this, which 
we instanced the other day, being the sending 
of Mr. Stand en to Java to see how things were 
done there. The Government of Madras purpose 
extending their cinchona plantations in the Nil- 
ghiri Hills to a very large extent, and have 
already acquired two estates for the purpose. A 
vote for the extension of cinchona culture was 
ncluded in the last estimates. Some of the 
planting papers are indignant at what they regard 
as an attempt to ac([uire a Government monopoly 
of cinchona idanting in tlic Nilgiris. — British and 
Colonial Dnirjr/ist, June 23. 
Annatto Seeds.— Business was done in ordinary 
Vermillion colour at Id to IJd per lb. The Jamaica 
crop has been over for some time, and the demand 
there is poor. — Chemist and Drufigist, June 24. 
DIRT IN TEA. 
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. 
Our special correspondent's revelations concerning 
the adulteration of tea and the rides for its examina- 
tion by the Custom House have provoked the greatest 
interest, not only in the trade, but throughout the 
country. Last week, in the House, Sir F. Plannery 
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his attention 
had been called to a statement in the Press that a 
quarter of the ciper teas and hilf of the dust teas now 
imported should be confiscated under the Food and 
Drugs Act of 1875, by reason of their containing 20 
per cent of earthy matter and sand ; whether we would 
explain the nature of the precautions taken by the 
Customs Department in London for the detection of 
such adulteration, and whether the number of sam- 
ples analysed could be increased with advantage ; and 
whether, having regard to the factthat the descriptiong 
of tea above named were for the most part consumed 
by the humbler classes least able to protect themselves 
against adulteration, he would increase the staff of 
inspectors especially allocated to the duties of samp- 
ling and analysis of caper and duet teas. 
The Chancellor of the Exchequer : My'attentioa has 
been called to the matter. The Board of Customs 
have, in view of representations made to them by cer- 
tain firms and of statements iu the Press, ordered a 
full inquiry to be made. It is not easy, within the 
limits of an answer to a question, to explain the pre- 
cautions taken by the Board for the detection of the 
adulteration of tea ; but I shall be happy, if the hon. 
member wishes it, to supply him with particulars. The' 
Board of Customs, as at present advised, do not con. 
sider that there is any need for altering the existing 
regulations, but if, as a result of the investigatioa noiy 
