February i, 1892.] THE TROPICAL AQRICULTURldl. 
assorted into three qualitiea, distinguished by the 
desienatioDB of first, second and thirl The inferior 
kinds are used in the preparation of the oil of cin- 
namon.' 
Chinese Cinnamon (cassia bark). ImmenBo quanti- 
ties of oinnnmon are exported from China, the finFSfc 
of which ia litUe inferior to that of Oeylon, tlnugh the 
mass is much coarspr. It genprally comon loose or 
peaked in Imndles with bands of biirabno. The pipces 
vary considerably in length and aie either curved or 
double quills of one-fonrlh to one inch in diameter, 
and h!»vn a fmooth or finely-wrirk'ed, raddish-bmwn 
outer surface, marked with novae dark leaf scars, oora- 
sionally with lisht colored lines, and vfrv genprally 
covered with larfjeror smaller irregular patches of bark. 
Saigon Cinnamon, nf late ocoa'sionally met wi'h, is 
in regular nnsoraped quills, yields a darker colored 
powder, but has a vorr sweet at d wa-m cinnamon taste. 
Cassia Lignea is a term sometimes appliwd to in- 
ferior varieties of Ohine e cinnamon, which has a 
thicker bark and hut slight cinniimon odor and taste. 
The oriein of these barks is not, positively known. t 
Cayenne Cinnamon has a re.dilish tinge, and is usually 
thicker, htine collected from older branches, butwh-'n 
gathered very young is scarcely distinguishable from 
Ceylon cinnamon. 
Somefimes cinnamon from wh^ab the oil has been 
distilled is frau'lnlently m'xel «ith the genuine. It 
can he detected bv its preatpr thickness and coarFeness 
of frcctnre, and the deficiency in the neculiar fensible 
propertiea of the spice. — Pharmaceutical Era, Nov. IBth. 
CEYLON'S PREMIER TEA COMPANY. 
An Immense Ottttdbn kok the Yeae. 
We learu, on enquiry, that the total outturn of made 
tea from the factories of the Cejl u Te» Plantations 
Company during 'lie year 1891 wag 4,291,581 lb. which, 
80 far as we know, beats thortcov l of any okg com- 
pany for both India and Ceylon. We have no Indian 
statistics forth • year 1891, but in 1890 only two Intiiin 
Companies approached this amount, viz, the North 
Sylhet and South Sylhet Companie.". wtiiuh each pro- 
duced 4 ini'lions lb. Comparirg the Cejloa Company's 
fieures lor 1S91 with the Itadicg Indian companies for 
1890, the result is as follows ; — 
Outturn of made t''a. 
lbs. 
Oeylon Tea Plantations Coy. 1S91 4,291,534 
North Sjlhet Coy. (estimated) 1S90 4,000,000 
South Sylhet Coy, (do.) 1890 4,000,000 
Assam Coy. 1890 2,731,200 
Land Mortgage Bond 1890 2,334,790 
If either of the two Sylhet companies beat the oufc- 
tarn of the Oeylon Tea PlaDtatious Company for 1891 
we shall be surprized to heat it. The increase of tea 
manufactured in the factories of this Company during 
the year is about proportionate to the increase tor the 
whole island, as the following fignres testify; — 
Outturn of made tea 
Cejlon Tea Plantations Coy. 1890 2 939,766 
do do 1891 4,291,584 
The excellent prices obtained for the tea munuf^ic- 
tured by this Company, the 1 3w cost of production, and 
the efficient manner in which b11 their estates aie 
workrd, reflect the greatest po^8iblo credit on all the 
Buperiiittiidents concerned, ai.d especially iiDOn Mr. 
G. A. Talbot, the General Managt r, who is to be 
oonf^ratulated on the maguifiueut outturn from the 
estate? under his charge. 
* Of Iftie years a fourth class has bean added in tl;o 
ahapo of chips, to the groit lowering of prices. A 
largo proportion of the chips formerly distilled into 
cinnamon oil nre now used in lien of iho baloil spico, 
(.hips t'cing abou"; the equivaltut of dust in thi; case 
„f tea. — Ki). 7'. ,1. 
t Mr. I'ord, the Ifong Kong Oovfrument botiuii.^t, 
has carefully oiaminod anil Uescribed tho China ciu. 
namou. — Kd. T. A. 
THE COMPANY AND COFFEE PLANTING IN THE STRAITS. 
At a meeting of the shareholders of the O, T. P. 
Company held in London on Jannary 6th (the day 
before yesterday), it was decided not to take up land iu 
the Straits for coffee planting — a dooision which is, 
under the cireurastunces, a very wise one we think. — 
Local" Times," Jan. 8th. 
BAEK AND DRUG BEPORT. 
(From the Chemist and Druggist.) 
London, Dec. 19th. 
Cinchona. —The last cinchona auctions of the year 
were held on Tuesday- Thov were of fair extent, the 
number of packages offered being: — 
Pkes. Pkcs. 
Ceylon ... 7G7 of which 651 were sold 
East Indian ... 77.5 do G92 do 
Java ... 65 do 55 do 
South American ... 447 do 333 do 
Total 2.044 do 1.734 do 
There was no quotable alteration in the prices upon 
last auctions, though perhaps the tone, generally speak- 
ing, was a sha-le less firm durins; the latter part of 
the auction. The average unit may bo quoted at 1 l-16ths d 
per lb. 
The following are the approximate quantities purchased 
by the principal buyers : — 
Lbs. 
Agents for tlie Mannheim and Amsterdam works 103,877 
Agents for the Frankfort o/M. and Stuttgart works G9,910 
Agents for the American and Italian works .... 62,691 
Agents for the Auerbach works ... 42,945 
Messrs. Howards & sons 36,031 
Agents for the Brunswick works .... 4,247 
Agents for the French works ... 2,240 
Mr Thomas Whiffen ... ... 3,090 
Sundry druggists .... 24,879 
Total quantity of bark gold 
Bought in or withdrawn 
Total quantity of bark offered 
347.810 
74,042 
421,85 
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE NUTMEG 
AND ITS CULTIVATION. 
By Thomas Oxley, Esq., A. B., 
Senior Surgeon of the Settlement of Prince of JVales^ 
Island, Singapore and Malacca. 
(From the ''Journal of the Indian Archipelago and 
Eastern Asia") 
( Coucladed from page 484.) 
In addition to keeping the trees clean and free 
from moss and parisitical plants, it is highly de- 
sirable to use freely the pruning knife, cutting away 
all perpendicular shoots, the decayed ends of bran- 
ches, or whenever the verticles are too close thinning 
them to admit air and sun to the centre. From 
over bearing, poverty of soil, or lodgement of water, 
it frequently happens that the top of the tree with- 
ers and the whole of the plant will soon follow, un- 
less it be cut down below the affected part ; if this 
be done in time it generally saves the tree which 
after a few months will throw a shoot from the 
hard wood of the stem to replace the former loss. 
Young plants are all the better for having the two 
or three first series of verticles cut off, otherwise the 
tree becomes too shrubby and the lower branches 
touch the ground excluding air, forming altogether 
a very inferior plant. This practice would however 
be unsafe in places like Penang affected by droughts, 
unless the plants be kept well shaded, until" the 
upper verticles are sufficiently large to afford pro- 
tection to the roots. As the tree bleeds freely upon 
being cut, the pruner ought to take along with him 
a pot of cement formed by boiling together two parts 
of pounded chalk and one of vegetable tar, wliich 
applied warm stops the run of the sap, gradually 
hardens and will remain on the cut part until it be 
q.iite healed. I havo seen it stick on for several 
years resisting all weathers. 
Some trees from receiving too great a check are 
ajpt to overbear, and will soon wear themselves out 
it not watched and relieved of their superabundant 
fruit. This ought to bo done so soon as the frnit 
forms and if permitted to reumin until three- 
