November i, 1890.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
3,^7 
CINNAMON, CINCHONA BAKK ANH CITHO- 
NELLA OIL AT THE LONDON DRUG STORES. 
In the Chemist and Dnigi/ist of ‘ifi'h July is an 
interesting paper entitled “ Through the Drug 
Show-rooms,” in which a description is given of 
the new drug show-room at the Crutched Friars 
warehouses, where the sales are now held. We 
extract the following portions, which relate to 
Ceylon productions : — 
CINNAMON AND BPICES. 
At the Londdiraid St. Katharine Docks huge 6up- 
p)f(‘s of drugs and gums are etored amid still larger 
quantities of wool, coffee, wheat, wine, and other com- 
moditifs. The first warehonse which appials parAcu- 
larly to druggists is “No. 6,” situated immediately 
to the right of one of the principal entrances. Two 
floors of this huge building are devoted to the storage 
of spices — one contains cinnamon, and at the top floor 
immense quantities of cinchona hark n;ay be seen. 
There are very rarelyp.ny“ shows” of drugs or fpiies 
at these warehouses. They are situated too far to the 
east of Aldgate Pump — that Ultima Thule of L ndon 
City — to be easily accessible to the busy City mau, anri 
when, some lime before the closing of Ftncl urch 
Street warehouse, it was suggested in an unoflicial 
sort of way that the drugs might in future be shown at 
the Docks, the opposition tbrtateued to this project 
on the part of the druggists was strong eroug!) to cause 
the Dock Company to relinquish the idea — if they 
had ever e iitertained it seriously — pretty promptly. 
The cinnamon fli or of “No. 6” warehouse is a much 
loss interesting place now thsn it was before 'he oiuna 
men trade entered upon its present period of decline. 
Cinnamon is imiiorted from Ceylon m eanvas oover. <1 
bales about four *ect in height, ged packed wi'h orn- 
siderable care. Exceedingly thin qiiiils of the spice are 
placed one within the other untd they form a long ai d 
compact, though brittle reed or stick. A large mimt er 
of these sticks are packed together in a roll, or bah', 
and upon their arrival in the warehouse they nro forted, 
re-packed, and olupsified in four different grades, 
accoroing to thmknefs, the thinnest bark being the host. 
Besides the.'e four vaiioties of whole s icks, the breken 
sticks arpiold separately— mostly to diurgists. Cin- 
namon “chips” — which, ate, or were, exported sepa- 
rat iy from Ceylon in large quantities — are the small 
shoots romeved from the long quill bark when it has 
bei D stripped of its leaves. They are very largely- 
used for the distillation of essential oil, but. Ihe recent 
combination of ointiamon prowers in Ceylon has 
placed a veto upon their c>xp< rt, on the ground that 
their extensive snle spoils the European market fur 
the more valuable pioduct. In the spice floo- s Zanzi- 
bar cloves t.ike up an immense amount of room, the 
stock of that artie'e being at present very large. The 
Zanzibar cloves are imported in fibre-plaited ma's or 
bales known sometimes as “ Borjes,” of about 140 lb. 
Wi igbti. They are much darker and smalh r than the 
cloves inipc r' eel from Peraiig and Amboyna, but so 
far as commercial importa 'oe c oes, the latter are uow-a- 
doys very insignificant. Nutme-gs, uiaoe, cassia, and 
catsiu buds are ,^Lso stored iu cousidernh'e qjautities 
in this warehoufc, and on certain days the e.ir 
is heavy with the odour of tbs spires which are beiug 
repacked, soiled, and silted to render them suitable 
for the European market. 
CINCHONA. 
The hark fio r is now mainly occupied by Ceylon 
and E'ist. Indian barks, which are usually packed in 
oblong canvas bales, weighing from 2(10 lb. to 300 lb. into 
which the small chips or shnviu.;s — in which the bark i- 
now almost always sent ovo — are tightly packed by 
hydraulic pressure. The bales usually bear on tlio 
outside the name of the p antatiou and some mark 
indicating the species oi Ihe I a k and the character of 
the contents, whether in shavings or chips, original 
or renewed. The barks iutendid lor “ pharnisceutieal 
use,” as distinguished from those mon- paiticuihrly 
adapted for use by the quinino maim the' urt vs, an- sent 
over in cases of varying weights, that mode of parking 
13 
being re.sorted to the bot.'er to shield the quills against 
breakage, and to piovent t, he moss with which they 
aie frfqiifntly oveigrowi , and which adds to the 
value iu the eyes of many purchasers, fi om bt ing 
cru.shed or torn oiV. The Pou' h Americun “seron” of bark 
is nctso often seen m-w as foimerly’, but it is the m at 
charaotorietic form of package. The hide serous are 
usuailv tight — from 1 to L[ cwt. being the general range 
— and consist of undressed cowhide. The sero"B are 
uf ually pro' idfid witli h-udles made of small s rips c£ 
hide, by which the packag- saie slung across tlie backs 
of the mules, which are the chi. f if ni.t ihe only, mo.ma 
of trai sport across the rough paths of the An ie,s. 
vSome of the South .kmerioan quill haiks frequeiiTy 
fl.svoured strongly of the amoln of 'he fire ovi r which 
in their rnrie wav the “ cascrillevos ” wn-e wo't to 
dry them. Olher quills again rcs-es-idas earthy flavour 
which they acquired ironi 'he soil upon which they 
wer.s roughly thrown to be dried by the heat (f the 
sun. The original fl tred ba'kfrem the South Amer’oan 
forests, itio “ Coi tex China Regia,” ns now verv s Idum 
met with in commerce. It, was mostly bought by 
Freuch firms, and isgencially thought to have been 
emplo' eC p-incipally a.san ingV' diout in a remoiy against 
dinukenness, and iu tooth-powders. There ts still in 
the vvarehonS' s a large supjdy of the Cupr. a, Pita- o, 
and soft Columbia bErks, which were import' d in huge 
quantities some ten or twelve years ago, and in making 
his way out of thebuildi'g the v sitor pas"cs through 
a'lcys betwi en immense piles of packages of cinchona 
of all varieties. 
ESSENTlAb OtLS. 
East Indian sandal-wond oil arr ves here in huge 
copper pots, protected by a strong netting ol rope.*, rk. 
A pot nsn.ially contains about twenty gai one o very 
luri'id oil. ‘Tie i il is therefore (mptiediroui the pot 
icto large pper “ jack.",” or vats, about 5 feet biuh 
■and quite 3 fee-tin rlLaraetd', an I left to settle. The 
“ jack ” is pro' iJed with two taps — one, about 12 inches 
from 'ho hot'om, I ei"g used todiawoff the clarifn d 
0 1, while the lower lap allows the thick diegstoiun 
out. The latter are sidcl separately. Indian rose-oil 
is treated iu the same mar u-r, and so, in fact, are 
many ether essental oils stored at tliis warehouse. 
R so-oil is inport'd in metul drums pi'oviued wit'.' a 
handle and abu'jfhole at the top. Tin a ■ tics— usually 
old kci'cs'uo tins — are used for p'cking tjuite a large 
mnuber of East'' rn drugs wLich ceme into tli. n arket. 
In close proximity to the oils is found East Ii" ian 
nutmog-pastir, iu tins weighing about | cwt. each, four 
or .‘ix of which make Up an original (as*-. O u arooa 
sawdust is often used for stufiingr between the bo''ltB 
or other breakable packag'-s in ide cases of ep.s-nt'al 
cil.s. Citronelia and lemcngrass o L-, were firaerly 
imporlel almost exclusively in bottles ot about 21 oz. 
each, 24 or 36 iu a case. Uiid'-r this mode of packing 
they were liable to c usiderable damage, ami rccnitly 
an innovation has been intr ,duced by the iivpoitat ou 
of tbesp, important arti(lo.s in 5-lb. tins. Quite lately 
the oiks have been sliippi d in ."o-ca led “ f a' ks ” — h* avy 
iron casks jn'otecterl and kojit from rolling about by a 
str' rg 'voodeii crate. The tauk.s have evidcut y been 
sent t ) Ceylon as c.intaiuers fu- a diffoieat liquul, and 
are returned to us filled with oils. 
COFFEE GALORE 1 
Who fays coffee is dead in Ceylon ? Up and 
down in Uva this year, there is an experience of 
blossom and a promise of crop luflicimt to prove 
the contrary, The wny in which native coffee is 
bearing and blossoming iu Ihe Principality aston- 
iblied Dr. Tiinieuwo letii'ii, andwe ourselves saw most 
suisfaetory evidence of good crops to come all 
along our route, more especially in Haputnle where 
we were just too iato to see a whole countryside 
white with blossom. But ihere is also crop on the 
trees neatly ready for picking, and we have brought 
back from New Galway, a couple of primaries as 
a specimen of crop on Mr. Kellow’s fine little 
Albion piopcrty, which ought to ho a euro for tho 
“scro eyes” of the V, A,, wliose eight got 
