Sept. 1, 1899.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
161 
NILGIRI TEAS. 
PRICES AND AVERAGES : POOH JATS : WYNAAD 
SHIPMENTS. 
In common with the rest of India, tlie Niloiris 
"ave shaved in the benefits of the remarkable re- 
•^overy in the London market during the last few 
months. It is gratifying to note, besides, a marked 
improvement all round in manufacturing methods 
i'l tll^» district — an improvement which, thougli in- 
augurated some half-a-dozen years ago, has not till 
lately attained its full development. That there 
is still room for very considerable improvement in 
methods of manufacture, pruning, and cultivation 
cannot of course be denied by any one conversant 
with the latest modes obtaining in Assam andDar- 
jeeling. But the spirit of progress is in the air, 
and on all sides we hear of up-to-date machinery 
being imported, and a general inclination to drop 
for good and all the backward methods and appli- 
ances that in past years did such serious damage to 
the tea industry in the district. 
Last week's sale report included shipments from 
six Nilgiri estates, the average price obtained being 
7'72d per pound, less than a half-penny below tlie 
average *orall India, and only one-fifth of a penny 
under the Ceylon average. The best prices weie re- 
alized by New Hope, which has made such very 
gratifying progress in the last two or three years — 
with the very good all-round rate of 8|d per pound. 
The shipment too was a large one, consisting of 340 
packages, and on the whole, was fairly representa- 
tive, the only grades not included being Pekoe 
Souchong and Dust. Kodanaad stands next with an 
average of 8Jd, with Pykara Falls 7f J, Seaforth 
7^d, Genmorgan lid, and Hocorra 7d, following in 
the order named. 
The Wynaad shipment was, however, still better 
the average being 8'16d, while even Travancore 
ranked higher than the Nilgiris with a rate of 7 81d 
per pound. The Wynaad, of course, though handi- 
capped to a certain extent by tlie climate, has the 
advantage of all new tea districts in being planted 
up with the best possible variety of tea, a point in 
which the Nilgiris are so lamentably behind the 
times. It seems strange that even now, when the 
great advantages of the Assam Jat have been proved 
up to the hilt, that extensions should still be made 
with hybrid varieties. — Indian Planters' Gazette. 
SILVER GOLD AND PRICES. 
The extraordinary fall in the prices of commoditiea 
during the past twenty-five years is put down by 
bimetallists to the depreciation in the value of silver ; 
by monometallists to improved methods of produc- 
tion and transport. We are not going, in a few 
lines, to attempt to discuss such an intricate sub- 
ject, but we subjoin some striking figures, taken (with 
the exception of the value of the silver produced, 
which is onr own estimate) from a recent publication 
of the Gold Standard Defence Association. Judging 
from all previous experience, the enormous increase 
in the production of gold must, sooner or later, have 
a marked effect in raising the prices of other pro- 
duce. Theie have been strong evidencPi already of 
a tendency in this direction, which may become 
more marked in the course of a year or two. Broadly 
speaking, if there are two sovereigns where there used 
to be one. the two will not, in the long run, buy 
much more than tVi<; one did. The tendency of 
prices to rise has been masked by the greater de- 
mand for gold from countries which had not a gold 
currency previously, or which wished to build up a 
war cheat. 
Silver Production of the vVorld. 
Weight. Price per oz. Value. 
1873 .. 63.000,000 oz. 59^ pence £15, .553,12,5 
1878 .. 73,00 ) 000 do 5'2 9-16 do 15,987,760 
1893 ..165,000,000 do 35g do 24,492.187 
1898 ) 
(approx. V 190,0000 do 2S do 22,166,666 
estimate) J 
Gold Pr.ODUCTiox oi' the Wokld. 
1875 .. .. .. £20,000,000 
1892 .. .. 30.000,000 
1899 (anticipated yield) . . 60,000,000 
Average Pkices of Commodities (on Mr. Sauerbeck's 
basis for the prices of 45 commodities.) 
1873 .. .. .. 113 
1894 .. .. .. 63 
1895 .. .. .. 62 
1896 .. .. .. 61 
1898 .. .. .. t)4 
— Produce dJarkets' lieview, June 17. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Peanuts. — This nwt, so common in the United 
States, is very rarely eaten roasted in France and 
nearly all that enter the port of Bordeaux are 
imported from Spain, Italy and Africa. The 
variety is small and uniuvicing-looking and ex- 
orbitantly high, the price, being about three 
times that asked in America. The taste for these 
nuts as a food is growing ; it is practically 
certain that if the American varieties were put 
upon this market at a reasonable piice, they 
would find a ready sale. Many ton.-i of 'peanuts 
are imported from the west coast of Africa, 
India and Malayan Archipelago and are sold in 
Marseilles and other European countrief ; these 
are principally for the oil. which is extracted 
from them. Peanut oil is used for cooking 
purposes and as an adulterant and substitute 
for olive oil. — United States Consular Reports, Dec. 
1898, p. 539. 
Spanish Peanuts : A new vahiety of 
Ground Nuts. — (Arachis hypogaa). — This is a 
special variety ot peanuts, Jgrown largely in North 
Louisiana for forage purposes. Its growth is erect 
and, at maturity, the pods adhere very tena- 
ciously to the stalk when the latter is uprooted. 
In sandy, or light, loamy soils, this operation 
of uprooting can easily be accomplished without 
hardly the loss of a pod, By gathering them 
in this way while the leaves are still green and 
curing the entiie plant with adherent pods into 
hay, a large quantity of excellent forage of high 
feeding value can be obtained. This plant, as 
can be seen later on, has an enormous power 
of gathering nitrogen. It stores much of it in 
the fruit. It matures easily, and iwo crops 
upon the same soil have been made in one 
year at Audubon P8,rk. This crop is frequently 
planted, and hog permitted to gather it is 
maturity. Its feeding value is very great, 
and this is abundantly corroborated by numerous 
experiments in feeding by practical farmers. 
The value to the land of this crop is very 
greal', and the yield of nuts is sufficient, if grown 
in large areas, to justify a considerable com- 
merce with profit to the farmer at present prices — 
three cents per pound in Norfolk Virginia. — The 
Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer, Hth 
March, 1899, p. 146. 
