August 1, 1898.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
103 
THE LOJSDON QUARTERLY CINNAMON 
SALES. 
The news brought by a recent mail from London 
confirms and explains the intelligence received 
by wire three weeks ago, of a slight fall in the 
price of Cinnamon at the last quarterly sales, 
held on the 6th inst., on account of the Whit- 
suntide holidays, instead of as usual at the end 
of May, It is the first check that has been 
experienced in the gradual rise of the Island 
spice, year after year, since the turn- set in 
after a very lo.-?g period of depression ; but 
the circumstances under which the present 
drop has occurred do not give cause for much 
anxiety. Spain has long been Itnown to be, i{ 
not exactly our best customer for Cinnamon, at 
any rate the consumer of the best qualities of 
Cinnamon ; and it is believed that one at least 
of our best known brands is altogether appro- 
priated for Spanish needs. That brand has sel- 
dom, if ever, been purchased except by the Firm® 
which have dealings with Spanish houses ; and 
hence the uniformly high price which Goluapokuna 
Cinnamon, apart from its intrinsic merits, has 
always^ commanded. It is not surprising tliat 
the demand from Spain —chielly, it is said, for use 
in confectionery and chocolate and for the |)repara- 
tion of incense — has slackened during the past few 
months ; but when peace has been restored, as 
we devoutly hope it soon may be, the demand 
is certain to revive, if not from Spain, from other 
countries which will take up its trade and forms 
of luxury. 
But as against the undoubted fact that the 
fall in prices has not been very serious, must be 
placed the smallness of the oli'erings. Had the 
quantity catalogued not been exceptionally small 
for the second sale in the year— only 959 bales, 
against 1,950 in February (which was a heavier 
quantity than usual) and 1,075 bales at the 
corresponding auction last year — the drop would 
probably have been greater. Without, however, 
.speculating on what might have been, we may 
find comfort in the fact that the drop was 
principally in "Superior" brands which had, at 
the February Sales, fetched prices which re- 
cilled old times. Those brands are well able to 
bear the fall of Id to 2d per lb. ; while the 
marks which constitute tiie bulk of our exports 
maintained their prices, or receded but slightly. 
Another hopeful factor is that the quantity of 
unworked Cinnamons which found buyers was 
more than two-thirds of the quanticy disposed of, 
and that the prices they fetchei do not coin- 
fiare unfavourably with the rales which ruled 
ast February. Indeed, we note in Firsts an 
advance of Id. liet us hope that when the 
parcels which arrived too late for the sale come 
to the hammer next August, there will be a 
revival of demand for the Spanish market, and 
that Superior and Fine sorts will recover lost 
ground. 
The incidents of this Cinnamon sale show 
how the interests of others than belligerents are 
affected by War ; but the inconvenience and 
loss sustained by outsiders are, of course, not 
to be compared with those which must tall 
on the trade and the industries%t>f the couu- 
tries euyajjed in warfare, 
COFFEE-SEED GOING FROM CEYLON 
TO BRAZIL. 
..}7%r^^^„''?'^^'^^'y ^^^'^^^ storv related to 
R. H. i. by our old friend, Mr. Chri.sty of Lime 
St.,— see page 102 and yet he gave it as seriously as 
It was afterwards received by Mr. John Hughes, to 
the eli'ect that coffee seed was being imported into 
Brazil from Ceylon by parties who wished to 
introduce hemileia vastatrix ! We have never be- 
fore, heard a whisper of such a thii.g ; and 
what makes it most improbable is that we fully 
believe our fungus (H. V.) to exist on the Sjuth 
American continent, and even in some parts of 
Brazil already; while, in districts where it is 
not known, they have other enemies to contend 
with. District after district has been opened 
and partly-abandoned with coffee in Brazil; and 
yet its coffee crops have gone on increasing because 
of the unlimited reserves of rich virgin land 
and because the railways have kept up their ex- 
tension with that Coffee. 
MR J. L. SHAND ON TEA DISTEIBUTION 
T ,'^5^"?"°'' wherein the mystery lies in 
" J.L.S.-' 's letter which our contemporary coni'ures 
up. We have been loudly calling for .some 
means of getting all the friends of Ceylon 
throughout the United Kingdom to make 
sure of drinking a i)ure and I'ood Ceylon tea 
and thereby, to some extent, forcing the hands 
of the big dealers and influencing the Mincin.' 
Lane markets. "J.L.S." shows us one meani 
by which this can be done. No one dreamt of 
a continuous direct supply of tea from the es- 
tates. That is impossible business ; but it is 
not impossible to recommend our friends to 
deal with a house that sells, pure good Ceylon 
tea at a moderate prolit ; and moreover (as we 
hinted to "J.L S.^') why not turn the business 
into a Limited Company ami make shares avail- 
able to those in Ceylon who would then more than 
ever be ready to do their best to secure busine« 
in their own direct interest. As "J.L.S" said 
such a Company buying over a million' Jb. of 
good Ce.^on tea in Mincing Lane, would have a 
certain effect on prices, and, of course, so much 
more effect as the million was doubled and 
trebled and business extended. 
OUR TEA EXPORTS- 
It will be seen that the Chamber's return 
gives very close on 59 million lb. of tea as ex- 
ported up to the 2Sth June.— an increase of only 
720 UOO lb. over the same period last year 
Judging by the precedent of the past three 
seasons in which the first half of the year shews 
the larger shipments, the indication at present- 
is that our total exports for 1898 are not likely 
to exceed 118,000,000 lb., and certainly 120 million 
lb. may be regarded as a liberal anticipation— (of 
which 100 to 102 million lb. may go to the 
United Kingdom) ; but the P.A. Es'timate is 
126 million lb. It ought at once to be reduced. 
Cacao shews a large increase, also Plumbago 
Coconut Oil and Copra; but Coffee a woeful 
tailing oft' again this season. 
Eucalyptus Globulu.s is in flower in the 
garden at Huntley, Bishops Tcignton, ,as we learn 
from the gardener, Mr. Best. We lately saw two 
young trees of this species at Buckh'uul, near 
Dover. One was sulfering if not dead, the other 
was as well as could be expected in the locality. 
■ -Gardenen' Chronicle, June 4, 
