March 1, 1899.] THE TROPICAL ACtPJCULTURBT. G57 
USEFUL NOTES. 
CocA-liEAVEs. — Ordinary Truxillo are quoted at Id. 
and light green at lid- per lb, c.i.f., and for Huanoco 
for dark green quality lOrf. ci.f. is wanted. In auction 
8Jrf. per lb. waa refused for good Huanoco. 
Order of St. Michael and St. George. — At Os- 
borne, on Monday last, January 30, the Queen con- 
ferred the honour of knighthood on William Turner 
Thiseltou Dyer, Esq,, Director of the Royal Botanic 
Gardens, Kew, in recognition of services rendered 
to Colonial Governments. The new knight was then 
invested with .the Biband and Badge, and the Star 
of his dignity in the Order was affixed to hia left 
breast by her Majesty. — Gardeners' Chronicle. 
Oil, Citronella. — Privately a small business has 
been done in drums at 10|fZ. per lb., c.i.f. for January- 
March shipment. 
Oil, Eucalyptus.— a " globulus " oil, so-called 
"extract ," sold without reserve at Is. Id. per lb. 
Oil, Lemon. — The firm tendency continues, and 
business has been done privately at last week's 
quotations. Battagloui's was limited at S.'i. %d. 
Oil, Lesionorass. — Privatley there are sellers on the 
apot at 2Jrf. per oz., bnt business is slow. In auction 
bids of 2|6?. and 3J(7. were refused, 2ld. being limit 
for tbe former. 
Vanilla.— The small supply oSered to-day was 
firmly held, and the bulk was bDu<;hfc in, holders 
not appearing anxious to sell. The following prices 
were paid Seychelles, of fair colour, 6 to 7 i'l., 
22.?. ; 5i to 6* in., 20.^^ 6(7. to 21.5. ; 5Ho 6 in. 20.5. ; 
6j to 7 in. (poor) In."!, per lb. No Bourbon were 
sold, 15.1. 6rf. being refused for 4 to 4J in. Mauritius 
large bold beans of full flavour, slightly crystallised : — 
7i to 8 in., 25.?. ; to 7 in., 22.5. ; 6^ in., 21,5. to 21.5. 
Gd.; 6 in., 21x. ; 5','to 6 in., 20,5.; 5;'. in., 19,--. Gd.; 
5 to in., 20,5. Gd. ; 5 in., 20,5., No Tahiti were disposed 
of; several parcels catalogued were not up in time. 
Cinchona — At the Amsterdam auctions last week 
there was a good demand, but in consequence of 
larger shipments from Java prices declined by 017c. 
The unit moved between 3|e. and &iC., the a^ernge 
being about 4|c. (4-70) per half kilo., as against 4Jc 
(4-87) pai,l at the previous auctions. The total weight 
of manufactured bark sold was 628 ton?, containing 
about 30 tons of quinine sulphate. The highest prices 
paid was 90o. per halt-kilo. (l-i.6d per lb ) for 2 cases 
of fine long Siiccirubra quill, and the highest quinine- 
sulphate equivalent was )2'24 per cent, coutaiued 
in 18 bales of ledgeriana brok-n quill of Govern- 
ment culture, whi. h sold at 53|c. per half-kilo. The 
stcck of unfold Java bark at Amsterdam on December 
31 was 2,657 packages. Government and 9,478 pack- 
ages private grown bark. The next auctions in 
Amsterdam will bj on February 15. To-day good 
Huanoco quill realised Ci'^d. to 7^<7., and Loxa quill, 
md. ; good red Guatemala quill sold at 2iZ., and 
clups at the same price ; for Java trunk bark of 
fair colour 1,5. 3d. was paid, and fine tliui Guaya- 
quil bd, and G d.; mossy ci own bark, 4j(7. and 4id. , 
a bid of 4]rf. was refused for Java red quills, the 
buying-in price being Gd. ; fiat Yellow bark, rather 
musty, sold at 6jr7. to 7<?., the best lots being held 
for lOd. per lb. 
The West iNnu-.f.— Dr. Morris, who acted for 
several years as Assi.<!tant-Director at Kew, during 
which period he rendered valuable services to the 
Koyal Horticultural Society, and made many f. lends 
among horticulturists, hay taken up his woik as 
Impeiial Commissioner of Agriculture for the West 
Indies. An address which he delivered before the 
Agricultural Society at Trinidad dtfines the scope 
of his future woik as compriscg the furtherance of 
every possible ngency to benefit the genei al welfare 
of the p"ople. The sugar cane iu its vaiious 
aspeeta wi 1 receive much attention, and amongst 
other tilings attempts will be made to obtain a variety 
with a higlier pi-i<'.< ntiige of ."sngar, !ind drawings are 
to be made of all the varieties cultivated in variouB 
parts of the world, so that uniformity and fixity of 
nomenclature may be secured. Trinidad hasaveiy 
efficient botanical department, and an energetic and 
experienced superintendent iu the person of our 
valued correspo.ident, Mr. Hart. A similar establish- 
ment exists in Jamai a under the superintendence 
of Mr, W. Fawcett, so that these two islands do 
not stand iu need of official as.=iistance in the degree 
that the less prosperous islands do. Agricultural and 
industrial schools are to be established, horticultural 
exhibitions started, agricultural instructors appointed, 
and experiments carried out. M'-. Hart strongly 
recommends the growth in Trinidad of Caatilloa 
elastica, a rubber-yielding tree which promises well 
in a commercial se^se, both in British Honduras and 
in Trinidad. — Gardeners' Chmnicle. 
PLANTING NOTES. 
Tk\ .\nd Coffer in thk Wvna.^d. — From a 
letter dated, Sontli Wynaad, 2><tli Feb., we quote 
•a'! follows :—" We have now .settled in Wynaad, 
the following gentlemen who were formeily, and 
till recently in Ceylon :— Messrs. J. S. Nicolls, 
E. de Foniilanque. '.V. Q. Wright, Stuart Robin- 
son and .J, Glennie, all ot whom appear to liave 
fonned a favourabie opinion of the tea already 
ileveloped here." The difference between the old 
and new staple is veil indicated in the foUow- 
inc; :—" Within three weeks, the bulk of the sea- 
son's work on coffee est.ites will be accomplished, 
and all superfluous labour paid off, thongh upon 
tea gardens no similar ces.<ation of field culture 
can be looked for." 
For Sportsmen in Hambantota. — We call 
attention to the notice ai^peaiing in our columns 
today, .announcing that all shooting in the above 
district between the Yala and Kninbulcan rivers 
is prohibited ; this country has been reserved as 
a game sanctuary, and all licenses will be con- 
fined to Mie Magani Pattu, W. of the Yala river. 
Sportsmen should note also that they must apply 
to the A G. A. at Hambantota for permission to 
occupy the Salt Department Bungalows at Hun- 
dale, Kirunda and Palatupana ; otherwise they 
will be refused admission there, by older. 
The I'LU.MBAOO Industry.— We are interested 
in learning that Messrs. Peto, the Chairman 
and the ilanaging Director of the Morgan 
Crucible Co., of London, have been in the 
island for some little time, and that they have 
visited all the so-called native mines of plum- 
bago of interest in the island. One day last 
week they visited Morankanda, and were much 
pleased with the miner-like manner in which 
Capt Tregay has tackled his work and also 
with the prospect there. Other than at Moran- 
kanda, they saw no evidence of real mining as we 
understand the term. Messrs. Peto will not be 
leavin<; the island just yet. 
Vanill.v in the Seychelli:s.— In contrast 
with the letter of Mr. Baty which we published 
on Saturday is a letter addressed by a fiim of 
Mahe, Seychelles to Messis. H. W. Cave & Co. 
in which they state that "every year brings 
fresh settlers from England, India and the Colo- 
nies anil we fully expect some arrivals from 
Ceylon shortly. We shall be glad to sup))ly all 
the information we can as to Vanilla planting. 
Prosiiects are at present very bright owing to the 
steady decrease of the Boui bon crop and tlie com- 
paratively small cro|)s of Me.xico." — One estate 
in the m;uket for which B40,000 are asked, has 
100 acres in coconuts and coffee and SO acres 
partly in vanilla — 1S4 in all. Over '2,(KiO lb. of 
vanilla shi|)ped in ISO.S realized 24s all round 
a lb. ! There is a fine bungalow and oliier out- 
houses — so that to any one who does not mind 
comparative banisliincnt, the price does not seem 
a high one, 
