104 
THE tROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Arc 1, 1899. 
the pumpkiQ fstink) bug, and on the decay o£ the 
bean this pest "goes to the orange, puncturing the fruit, 
and causing it to fall. As a rule, the velvei bean is not 
the eoua! of red clover or the cow-pea, either for seed or 
forage, north of the Gulf States. For forage and ferfcih- 
aer it has no tqual in the barren sandy lands 'of the 
south, where the seasons are long euou;.;h for th<? crop 
to mature before the coming oi tr(ists."—Ai/ricultural 
Gazette, of New South Wales. 
CEYLON TEA. IN RUSSIA. 
The rapid increase in the consuinptioii of Cejlon 
tea in Russia is noticed in the last British Con- 
sular report from Odessa. It is only a few ye.ars 
since it was introduced into Russia, and last year 
nearlv two and three-quarter miliion pounds of 
tea were shipped from Ceylon direct to Odessa, 
against less than half a million pounds in 189/. 
l"eas from China and Ceylon are imported in 
vessels of the Russian volunteer fleet, winch, 
owin.' to tlie low freights charged by these ves- 
sels on the homeward voyages, have now practi- 
cally a monopoly of the tea carrying trade from 
the" tea por'is of "China and from Colombo, more 
especially rs now tea imported fioni the Far liast 
in Russian bottoms has preferential railway rates 
between Odessa and Moscow On the other hand, 
there is a growing purcha.se by Ceylon of liussian 
peirolenin ; in 1897 and 1898 Colombo took oyer 
one and a quarter million gallons each year. 1 lie 
Acting Consul-General sa>;uests that Austialian 
firms mif'ht avail tliemseUfs of the low rates 
of frei'dit in order to introduce tin, tallow, copra, 
Sec, inro Russia. It is said that if the.se com- 
modities were shipped by Singapore the local agency 
ot the volunteer fleet would undertake their trans- 
shipment into Russian vessels on moderate terms 
-—London Times May 31. 
THE BRAZILIAN COFFEE CROP. 
Messrs. "W H Grossman and Brother, of New York, 
write as follows on the position and prospects of 
Brazilian coffee : — 
"The receipts in Brazil up to date confirm the 
figures we have previously given on the current crop^ 
In Santos the receipts already reached 5 000 000 bags 
which make it probable that the total there will 
exceed .5,500,000 bags. In Eio, so far, the receipts are 
2 700,000 bags, but in that port they again neglect 
to count the coffees sent down from the interior 
direct fer export, the quantity received in this way 
being about 125,000 bags up to date. The total in 
Rio for the crop year, however, will be close to 
3 500,000 bags, the aggregate for the two ports no 
doubt reaching 9,000,000 bags. Regarding the next 
crop it is now well known that the Brazilians are 
averse to giving out figures, but they are practically 
nnanimous in stating the next crop to be larger than 
the present one some claim 10 per cent, more and 
others as much as 20 per cent more. But whateyei 
the figure finally reaches, it is positively immaterial 
since the fouth consecutive large crop in excess of 
the requirements of consumption will mean a con- 
tinuation of very low prices,- r/.e Grocers Journal, 
May 0.7. 
THE LONDON CINNAMON SALES. 
Wk are glad to find, from inforniation 
received by a recent mail, that Cinaamon, like 
tea, has touched the bottom prices, and is 
now beginning to experience an upward 
tendency. When we wrote last, on the 
February s.ale, we had to chronicle a con- 
tinued drop in prices, which had commenced 
with the Hispano-American war ; and w-e 
were apprehensive that it might be some 
time yet before Spain recovered suffi- 
ciently from its expensive and humiliating 
defeat to resume her old commercial trans- 
actions. The apprehension, notwithstand- 
ing the loss of the greatest of her re- 
maining colonies, has. we are glad to find, 
not been fully justified. Among the condi- 
tions whicli helped prices at the last quarterly 
auctions on the 29th May, was the receipt 
of Spanish orders. The affect of a demand 
for our great spice from Spain was naturally 
a rise in the price of the finer qualities of 
cinnamon. While the ordinary qualities 
advanced from id to Id per lb,, the advance 
in the higher qualities was from Id to 2d 
per lb. It is safe to anticipate, if not that 
the advance will be continued, that the pre- 
sent prices will be maintained, now that 
one of our oldest and best continental cus- 
tomers is again in the field. 
The statistical position of the spice also 
favored the rise in prices. The quantity 
offered was only 781 bales, as against 959 in 
May last year, and 1,649 bales at the 
February sales. In February, out of the 
large ciuantity offered — and it was by no 
means the largest offering for the month — 
only about (lijO had been sold at the auctions. 
The fair deduction from the smallness 
of the offerings and the rise in prices 
last month, is that the large quantity 
taken off in February found buyers 
privately in the interval between the two 
public sales. We'pointed out that cinnamon, 
like most other i)roducts, showed a seriou? fall- 
ing-off in exports, in consequence of the pro- 
longed and severe drought daring the past 
quarter. That, too, must have helped the dispo- 
sal of the stocks in London, and sent up prices 
some extent. So far as quilled cinnamon goes, 
the deficiency has not been made up yet, 
and we are glad to think is not likely to 
be made good — ''t any rate during the pre- 
sent quarter. The exports of quilled cinna- 
mon in bales, up to 02th Jun, estand as follows, 
conrpared with the three previous years : — 
To 20th June 1899 ... 660,985 lb. 
Do do 1898 ... 877,580 „ 
Do do 1897 ... 903,749 ,. 
Do do 1896 ... 798,999 „ 
Against this falling-off in quilled bark must 
be set the phenomenal increase in chips, 
which is a natural consequence of weather 
which renders peeling impossible, or difficult, 
and compels the scraping of bark which has 
coarsened. Naturally, the immense increase 
in the quantity of chips sent away has led 
to a fall in prices. We find that chips were 
neglected at the last sales and that prices 
receded to 2d and 2Jd. The outlook for quil- 
led bark is thus very promising for the pre- 
sent, but rather doiibtful for chips. 
The following is the report of the lead- 
ing Loiidon flrin, from whom we generally 
quote : — 
London, May 31, 1899. 
Cinnamon.— At the periodical auctions held on 
tlie 29fcii inst., the small supply of 784 bales Ceylon 
was presented, compared with 1,619 bales offered 
in February and 959 bales at this period last 
year. There was a better attendance and with 
Spanish orders in the market, the sales went off 
