February 2, 1891.] 
THE TROPIdAL AGRICULTURIST, 
553 
believiog the assurances of the Ohioamen that there 
are no superior qualities this season to be got. After 
having sold these lots, the good and new qualities 
begin (o appear in the markets. By these or other 
tricks the Chinamen almost always succeed in deceiv- 
ing the European buyers, who have more orders on 
hand than is possible to execute in a most limited time, 
and yearly those orders increase in proportion to the 
fast increasing number of tea-arinkers all over the world. 
All this, says the Vedomosti , leads us to think seri- 
ously of opening new tea markets ; and Ceylon appears 
the most convenient, for all of us drink now already 
unawares as much Ceylon as China tea, as our London 
brokers and agents use Ceylon tea most freely, almost 
half and half, for mixing up all (be teas via London 
for Russia. 
Further we must take into consideration that Ceylon 
may serve also as a market for some of our products. At 
a Conference which took place recently at the Ministry 
of Commerce the whole subject (here noticed) was 
duly talkhd over, and the Ministry of Commerce oamo 
to a resolution to open and confirm in Colombo a 
permanent commercial agency. 
♦ 
BAEK AND DRUG REPORT. 
(From the Chemist and Druggist.) 
London, Dee. lltb. 
Annatto.— For 50 bags good red seed from Ceylon 2jd 
per lb was refused. Twelve baskets Pari roll annatto 
were offered ; they were of fresh import, but the quality 
was common and mouldy. After some bidding 9d per 
lb was realised for the lot. 
CooA Leaves — The only lo's shown in today’s sales 
were 2 ijackages Ceylon leaves, good bold dark Iluanooo 
character, undamaged, which sold for 5§d, and 9 packages 
Java leaves, very small, badly cured, brown and mouldy 
which were bought in at Gd per lb for the best. 
Essential Oils.— Two cases fair bright yellow Cinnamon 
ail realised Is 4d per oz, ; and 17 bottles cataloged as 
“ cinnamon oil,’’ sold without reserve for 3d per oz. For 
60 cases Citronella oil in tins, fd per oz is asked, but 
there were no bids. 
CEYLON PRODUCE IN RUSSIA. 
The following letter addressed to our London Agents, 
and sent us to deal with, carries its own explanation, 
and wa trust that Mr; Mandel will hear from 
Colombo merchants with the quotation he asks for : 
“Orel, Nov. 8th, 1890 — We are indebted for your 
address to a correspondent of ours and request you 
kindly to make us offers for Ceylon coconut oil, 
original tare, delivered at Riga. Kindly send 
me also samples of tea in J and J chests. I have 
a considerable sale for the above mentioned 
articles and should be pleased to give you orders 
should your prices allow me to do so. Hoping 
to hear from you soon, 1 remain, Abraham 
Mandel.” 
NOTES ON PRODUCE AND FINANCE. 
Frauddlent Tea Marks. — Public attention is fre- 
quently directed in the Press to the frauds committed 
in the preparation of tea and the disregard of the 
Merchandise Marks Act. The Echo records the result 
of an interview with the manager of a leading com- 
pany which imports and sells the tea from its own 
gardens. We wore shown, says the writer, a row of 
twenty-seven packages of socalled “ pure Ceylon tea,” 
on the labels of whioh some qualifying words were 
printed in a far smaller type. It is the poor who chiefly 
suffer. They are induced to buy dust and sweepings of 
inferior China tea, mixed with the dust and sweepings 
of Indian Congou as pure Ceylon tea “blended with 
choice Indian and China growths.” This last sentence 
is upon most of the labels printed in very small letters, 
or else at the end of the packet so designed as to mis- 
lead the purchaser, while affecting to conform to the 
letterol the law. Those who wish to lend their sup- 
port to British-grown tea might look carefully into 
these packets and see for themselves what wretched 
subterfuges are resorted to cheat both the Indian pro- 
ducer and the English consumer. No one is inclined to 
take up the cudgels for the poor, out of whom a far 
larger profit is made than that obtained from the well- 
to-do and educated classes, who know the right quarters 
to go to. Much the same, in fact, is being done by 
unprincipled advertisers in the tea market, as by 
touting brokers in stocks and share, False descrip- 
tions and misrepresentations, added to unfairly largo 
profits, will generally carry the day. Government 
appears powerless to stop the gambling in the one 
case and the cheating in the other, although both the 
“ bucket-shop ” keeper and the preparer of false 
labels not only err against the spirit but also break 
the letter of the law. 
A Tea Restoring Machine. — The question how to 
preserve the staying power of Indian and Ceylon teas 
has for years exercised the minds of planters, 
brokers, and dealers. The constant ory in the 
“ Lane ” has been, “ Give ns tea which will not ‘go 
off,’” We are glad to learn that BIr. J. D. Cahill, 
of Sea View, Saudycone, Dublin, a tea planter of 
experience, has lately patented a process and a machine 
for not only restoring tea whioh has “ gone off ” to 
its original freshness and briskness, but one which 
he claims will also materially improve tea which has 
been badly cured, or which is of inferior quality. We 
understand plans of the machine are already in the 
hands of the makers, and we hope shortly to be able 
to publish a full description of it. We hope that 
the desirable results claimed by Mr. Cahill may be 
fully maintained. 
PREPARED COCOA. 
A leading scientific journal specially devoted to 
chemical and analytical matters recently gave a short 
article upon the above subject, in whioh it was 
pointed out that cocoa is highly stimulating, but rich 
and somewhat indigestible, containing a large amonnt 
of fat known as cacao butter. To prepare cocoa for 
the table it is necessary that the amount of this faf 
should be reduced. This is attained by using one of 
two methods, namely — (1) the roasted and ground 
cocoa is mixed with starch and sugar so as to diluta 
ts richness ; (2) before grinding the cocoa it is heated 
and pressed, whereby a considerable amount (gener- 
ally nearly one-half) of its natural fat is squeezed 
out. This latter method is decidedly the more de- 
sirable one, because not only is the fat removed, but 
all the other nourishing and stimulating principles are 
at the same time concentrated. A typical cocoa of 
English manufacture, which has always been con- 
stant in its nature, was recently found to possess the 
following percentage composition : — Fat— 28T2, theo- 
bromine=0’95, natural starch, sugar, fibre, &c., =10'85, 
soluble albumiuoida=6‘61, insoluble albuminoids 
li'73 (these are the total fleBh-formers=21'34), 
natural mineral raatter=4’94, moisture=3'80: total- 
10000. To give a still more striking confirmation of 
these figures let our readers glance at the following 
average amounts of flesh-forming ingredients present 
in the substances named: — Natural cocoa, 13 00 per 
sent; good wheaten flour, 1400 per cent ; cocoa pro. 
pared with added starch and sugar, 6 00 per cent ; 
cocoa prepared by extraction of fat, 2L00 per cent. — 
Grocer, 
-» 
CINCHONA BARK. 
(From C, M. (£■ C. Woodhouse’s Beport.) 
London, Deo. 18th. 
The market (luring the past month has continued quiet. 
The Dutch sale held ou 13th iustaut, at Amsterdam, 
estimated to contain an aggregate of about 13^ tons sul- 
phate quinine or 4 03 per cent, ou the average, sold at 
easier rates, the unit being quoted Ijd to Ijd. In 
London, however, at the auctions hold this week, the valug 
