August i, iSgi, 
THE TROPICAL AQRICULTURSST. 
127 
gluoose disappears in favour of oana sugar, as nearly 
as possible equal in quantity. The varying; figures 
for proteids and fat are -curious. Had the kernels 
been analysed, those of ripe nuts would, of course, 
have shown a large proportion of fat: — 
Analysis of Milk of Ripe and Unripe Coconuts. — By 
F. L. Van Sljke (American Chemical Journal), The 
milk of the unripa oucoiiuts was transparent like 
water, contairing in Buspenaion a little cloudy white 
substanoe, which was readily removed by filtra- 
tion, III the ripe nut the milk was quite turbid in 
appearance and did not filter clear. The specific 
gravity was determined by a pionometer, water by drying 
ot 60° O. and pioteidH by Gnaning's modification ot 
Kjeldahl's method. Hammerbaoher's analysis prob- 
ably refers to ripe coconuts. 
Milk of unripe Coconuts 
Weiglit No.l. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5. 
in grams 230-5 378-6 347-0 383-7 350-0 
Sp. gv. at 
15-5« C. 1-0246 1-0230 1-0223 r0230 1-0221 
Water W 
cent at 
60" c. . . 9-1 37 94-48 94-59 94-89 95-27 
Ash, W 
cent .. 0-575 0-635 0-675 0-611 0 608 
Glucose, 
¥ceat.. 4-5S 3-83 3-45 4-06 4-36 
Cano sugar, 
tf'ceut.. trace trace ti-ace ti-acc trace 
Proteids, 
■Tcent .. 0-120 0-12G O'lU 0-205 0-140 
Fat, W cent 
(ether ex- 
tract) .. 0-081 0-100 0-133 0-131 O'llS 
—Journal, Chemical S ciety. 
3 ^ 5; 
=^ o S =s g 
■go W= 
No. 6. No. 7. No. 8, 
330-0 109-6 151-9 
1-0215 1-0440 1-0442 
96-43 91-23 91-50 
0-602 1-06 1-19 
3-56 trace — 
trace 4-42 — 
0-095 0-291 
0-120 0-145 
•46 
0-07 
A NATIVE ACCOUNT OF THE 
KEKUNA TREE. 
We print, literatim, a contribution sent to us as a 
specimen of what the author could do for a free 
copy of the Observer. One sentence must be 
corrected : the kekuna dees not grow " in any dis- 
trict." It is essentially a lovvoountry tree which we 
do not recollect seeing at an altitude of over 
3,000 feet. 
About Kakoona Tbees. 
(Bij an Upcountry Besident.) 
I think some of the tea planters are glad to hear 
a small article about these trees, althongh many 
people have seen them, I do not think they under- 
stands the name and whnt for they are. The Kakoona 
firee is a very past growing tree in any district and 
do not require weeding or anything. These trees »ro 
very useful thing to upcountry villagers, many of the 
poor villagers who have no money to spend for Kero- 
sine oil, they generally using thef.e oil in their houses 
to light only. In this month many of these poor 
villagers very busy in collecting these seeds ; from 3 
to 3^ years the tree will grow up very straight as 
" toona," and began to give crop '2 twice a year. The 
heavy crop is from this month, (March.) When the 
seeds are ripen, all falling down, the childrens are 
collecting them once a day generally in every morning. 
After they collect the seed they have to clean 
them from the shells and put iu the sua to dry 
them well, whfu they seen it properly dried, again 
they have to break]it by stones or hammer and to make 
oil. There are two ways taking oil from kakoona: 
one way is pressing by a wooden thing, made like a 
thing press ; they have made these things 5 or 6 to 
a largo village, and some baskets made by Kitooi. 
The other way is to take oil by a big chattie from 
2 measures of kakoona will give 3 to 3^ bottles oil. 
This oil can sell 12 to 15 cents for a bottlff, after the 
oil is taken out, the dust is like a poonao, this is 
a very good mannare for them, I think this poonao 
is very good for manuaring tea, &c. 
BARK AND DRUG REPOKT. 
(From the Chemist and Druggist.) 
London, June 90th, 
Cinchona. — A rather moclerato supply of bark was offered 
at auctiou on Tuesday, the total sui^ply consisting of :— 
Packages Fackaces 
Ceylon cinchona .... 600 ol which 53t were sold 
Ease Indian cinchona 1,116 do 1.031 do 
Java cinchona .... 18 do 18 do 
South American 
cinchona 321 do 82 do 
Total 2,055 do 1,866 do 
The excess in the supply of Indian over Ceylon grown 
bark, which has been noticeable at our bark auciioua 
for some months, is still maintained. Ihe East Indi a 
cinchona on tliis occasion comprisedone or two parcc 
of unusual alkaloidal richness. These were the produce " 
the well-known " Weutvvorth " plantation in Britis", 
India and were shipped from Calicut. One of the parcel'' 
in question consisted of 1,180 lb. of natural Ledge" 
shavings (said to contain an equivalent of 10 per ceu 
9. q ), which after vigorous bidding, commencing at 7d 
per lb. was disposed of at 12d per lb. ; another (which 
was reported to analyse 8-85 per cent s. q.), sold at lOd 
per lb. The proportion of yellow barks (Oalisaya and 
Ledger) at the auctions was unusually large, whereas 
the grey varieties were offered exceedingly sparingly. 
The tone was a fa rly good one throughout the sales, 
and over 91 per cent of the Eastern b^rks sold, with 
pretty steady competition, at unaltered prices, the unit 
ranging from 1 Jd Co Ijdperlb. 
The following are the approximate quantities purchased 
by the principal buyers : — 
Lbs. 
Agents for the Mannheim and Amsterdam works 135,673 
Agents for tiie Urunswick work .... 64,400 
Agents for the Frankfort o/M. and Stuttgart works 66,553 
Agents for the Auerbach works .... 39,942 
Agents for the American and Italian works 8i,080 
Messrs. Howards & eona 29,9 3 
Mr. Thomas Whifi'en .... 1,990 
Sundry druggists 41.874 
Total amount 'of bark sold ... 4!2,4I5 
Bought in or withdrawn ... ... 69,824 
Total amount of bark offered ... 482,2.39 
It should be well understood that the mere weight of 
bark purchased affords no guide whatever to the quinine 
yield represented by it, firms who buy a sm^ll quantity 
of bark by weight frequently take the richest lots 
and vice versa. 
An analysis of the sales of manufacturing barks effected 
at the Ip.st Amsterdam auctions shows thit an equiva- 
lent of 1,167 kloa sulphate of quiuiuo sold at 6 cents ; 
4,406 kilos at B'j cents ; 2,280 kilos at 7, and 317 kilos 
at 7 cents per unit. Druggists' baiks in quills were 
offered very sparingly. For long Succirubra quills of first 
quality the figure of Is SJd per lb. was reached. The 
richest bark offered was a lot of 27 packages Goveru- 
mi-nt-growu Ledger bark in broken stem quills. It 
analysed 8-27 per cent q s., and sold at 55 to 57 cents 
per i kilo. The next Amsterdam sales will be held oa 
July 16th. 
CooOMUT Oili.— Sluggish— fine Ceylon, 293 3d ; good 
Cochin, »ia per cwt. 
Okchklla. — Ceylon weed is cheaper, a parcel of 33 
bales fair flat having sold "at 20s per cwt. at the 
auctions. 
Quinine — The market has been very flat this week, 
and the only sale of which we have heard was one of 
7,000 oz. Brunswick in second hands at 10|d per oz., the 
figure showing a fresh decline in value ; that is still the 
nearest quotation today, but the manufactures themselves 
do not seem to care to give any quotation at all near 
the second-hand price. 
NOTES ON TRODUCE AND EINANCE. 
The Duty on Tea. — On Wednesday in the House 
ot Commons, on the motion for the third reading of 
the Customs and Inland Revenue Bill, Mr Pioton 
oiUed attention to the hirge increase in Ihe consumption 
of tea, since the reduction of the duty. According to 
the statistics given by an eminent firm of teabrokers, 
the increase in 1890 was between nine and ten million 
pounds' weight of tea. It might be said that at the 
time of the reduction of the twopence on the tea duty 
a large amount of tea had been kept iu bond, and 
was suddenly dravvi out. But the statistics, as far as 
they were available, showed that the increase had 
ooutinued, This^was an indication that tbs enjoymeot 
