691 
April  i,  1896.J  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
LONDON  CINNAMON  SALES. 
The  information  to  hand  hy  tlie  last  mail  le^^ard- 
in<^  the  Quarterly  Sales  of  Cinnamon  held  in 
London  on  the  24th  ultimo,  is  of  even  a moie 
cheering  tlscription  than  the  brief  telegiani  on  the 
day  of  the  sale  led  one  to  expect.  Tlie  Sales  were 
reported  irregular,  though  with  a slightly  upwartl 
tendency,  and  about  800  liales  were  sanl  to 
have  been  sold.  We  now  find  that  the  otleiings 
were  as  many  as  1,702  Bales,  which  thou"li 
smaller  than  iii  November  last,  when  2,817  J>ales 
w'ere  otl’ered — an  excessive  supply  for  even  the 
usually  heavy  sales  at  tlie  end  of  tlie  year— 
were  greatly  in  excess  of  the  quantity  otieied 
iluriiig  the  corresponding  sales  of  the  previous 
year,  when  only  706  Bales  were  otleied.  Of 
ihese  1,792  Bales,  l,‘-^"7  were  knocked  down  to 
bidders  in  the  room,  after  good  competition,  at 
prices  Ad  to  Id  higher  than  ruled  at  the  Nov- 
ember Sales,  and  about  one-half  of  the  remaindei 
ound  buyers  immediately  alter  the  auctions. 
The  price  of  First  Qualities  of  superior  spice 
ranged  from  Is  Id  to  Is  5d  per  lb.— ordinaries 
to  Is  ; Seconds  from  Is  to  Is  .Id, 
lid  ; Thirds  lid  to  Is  Id  and 
Fourths  9d  to  104 
fetching  1 Id 
and  lOd  to 
9d  to  lOAd 
per  lb. 
Now,  these  prices  may  be  considered  iiothiiig 
remarkable,  as  compared  with  those  which  ruled, 
say  20  to  25  years  ago.  True  enough,  but  they 
tU'o  very  jis  conu)<.iT6tl  witli  tliosc  wliicli 
obtained  "lO  to  15  years  ago.  The  really  satis- 
factory  feature  in  them  is,  we  think,  their  iim- 
formity.  It  will  be  remembered  that  at  the 
August  Sales  there  was  considerable  inllation, 
and”  ordinary  sorts  fetched  as  much  as^  some  of 
the  best  known  brands  of  Superior  Cinnamon, 
and  in  some  cases  secured  even  higher  bids,  it 
was  apparent  that  the  Sales  were  not  bona  jidc 
throurrhout,  that  some  of  the  bids  were  fictitious  ; 
and  tTe  exiilanation  was  that  some  speculators 
having  imported  large  (|uantities  of  the  siiice,  iii 
.anticipation  of  a rise  in  price  consequent  on  the 
small  ofl'erings  that  were  expected  through  the 
droughts  which  had  distingniished  1894,  r.an  up 
he  market  to  save  themselves  loss  through  the 
imports  having  been  beyond  expect. anon.  It  was 
naturally  expected  th.at  the  result  would  be  a 
serious  fall  in  prices  .shortly  alter  ; but 
they  W'ere  maintained  ; and  although  at  tlie 
November  Sales  there  were  not  the  wuld 
bidding  and  fanciful  prices  which  liad  distin- 
guisiied  August,  prices  were  by  no  ineajis  dis- 
appointim'.  The  removal  of  arlihcial  bolstering 
had  not  produced  a violent  run  down  ; there  was 
no  demoralization  in  the  m.arket  ; and  where 
prices  receded,  it  was  to  their  fair  and  normal 
limit.  The  ordinary  sorts,  which  had  been  un- 
duly infl.ated,  did  not  rush  down  below  their 
true  value  ; the  superior  kinds,  which  h.ad  shared 
moderately  in  the  adv.ance,  receded  somewdiat  ; 
but  tlie  averages  compaiert  fa  ourably  with  those 
which  had  ruled  for  years  i>.ast.  Ihis  was  a 
great  gain,  as  it  was  feared,  not  only  that  t le 
operations  of  August  would  seriously  unsettle  the 
market,  but  also  that  the  rushing  of  large 
quantities  of  the  spice  into  the  imndon  inarket 
under  the  stimulus  of  the  extravagant  bids  at 
the  August  sales,  would  lead  to  a he.avy  f.all. 
As  we  saw  at  the  time,  the  November  sales 
passed  off  fairly,  notwithstandiiig  that  as  many 
as  2 817  bales  w-ere  ottered,  and  that  most  of  the 
parcels  found  buyers.  The  steadiness  ol  the 
market  and  maiuteiiance  of  prices  for  another 
quarter,  after  the  experiences  of  two 
sales,  are  decidedly  cheering  features ; 
nanion  growers  in<ay  now  fairly  believe 
87 
previous 
and  cin- 
that  the 
demand  for  their  si»iee,  which  had  been  slack 
for  mauy  years  past,  is  decidedly  better;  and 
the  proof  of  it  is  in  the  uniformly  satisfactory 
prices  which  have  ruled  in  the  London  market. 
The  leading  Kaderane  Brands  showed  an  ad- 
vance of  quite  Id — the  highest  price  for  Golua 
Pokuna  h.aviiig  been  Is  4d  in  November,  while 
last  month  it  was  Js  5d.  It  is  in  common  sorts, 
however,  that  the  maintenance  of  prices  must  be 
regarded  with  special  satisfaction.  These  consti- 
tute the  bulk  of  our  exports,  and  hitherto  rarely 
went  beyond  8d  to  9d.  At  the  last  sales,  the 
spice  of  the  C.  H.  De  8.  (De  Soysa)  marks  sold 
up  to  lOd  .and  10 Ad  ; and  notwithstanding  that 
they  W'ere  “unworked.”  Working  is  an  opera- 
tion w'hich  the  Dock  and  Warehouse  Companies 
indulge  in  for  their  own  profit.  It  consists  in 
undoing  .s.nd  redoing  every  bale  at  double  or 
InTle  the  cost  of  careful  sorting  and  baling 
hen,  and  objections  tc  this  costly  .and  needless 
proi  eeding  were  met  by  the  st.atement  that  the 
trace  would  not  look  at  un worked  spice.  This 
w.as  rathe'’  a rellection  on  the  honesty  of  ex- 
porters here  ; but  unw'orked  cinnamon  has  been 
gradually  working  its  way  in  the  market ; and 
now'  that  it  h.as  the  support  of  so  influential  a 
brand  as  C.  H.  De  S , it  is  sure  to  be  adopted. 
We  congratulate  Cinnamon  Proprietors  on  the 
satiifactory  outlook  for  their  gioivths  in  the 
Lon  Ion  and  local  markets,  and  append  the  re- 
port on  tlie  Last  sales  by  a leading  firm  in  the 
tr.ade  : — 
London,  26th  Feb.  1896. 
Cinnamon. — At  the  first  auction  of  the  year  held 
on  the  24th  instant,  179’2.  Bales  Ceylon  were  catalo- 
gued against  2,817  bales  at  the  November  sales,  and 
766  bales  at  this  period  last  year.  There  was  good 
comnetition  and  1,207  bales  were  disposed  of  under 
the  hammer  at  general!}'  better  prices,  chiefly  at  § to 
Id  per  lb.  above  Novemi  er  sales  rates  and  since  the 
auctions  some  2.70  bales  of  the  bought  in  lots  are 
reported  sold  making  a total  clearance  of  close  upon 
1 .'jOl  bales. 
“Fius'i's  ’ superior  Is  Id  to  Is  .'id  good  to  fine  lid 
to  is. 
“Seconds"  superior  Is  to  Is  .3d,  good  lOdtolld. 
“Thiuds"  superior  and  fine  Is  Id  to  lid  medium 
to  giod  9d  at  lOAd. 
“ .Foukths"  good  to  fine  9d  t o lOld  and  fair  , or- 
dinary 8Jd  to  8d  per  lb. 
Of  Chips  there  offered  6.34  bags  of  which  2.50  bags 
were  cleared  at  3d  to  3fc  per  lb.  Quillings  realized 
.5,Jd  to  8|d  per  lb. 
The  stock  here  is  4,583  bales  Ceylon  against  : — 
1895-  1894.  1893. 
3,385  bags.  3,515  bags.  3,520  bags. 
The  next  auctions  are  fixed  for  the  1st  June. 
Forbes,  Forbes  & Co.,  Limited. 
.Tames  J.  Forbes,  Managing  Director. 
^ 
TF.A  PbOSPECTS. 
Tea  Reiioi’t  of  Messrs.  Gow,  Wilson,  and 
Stanton  of  28th  P’ebniaiy,  ajiart  from  its 
general  interest,  is  deserving  of  notice  as  em- 
bodying statistics  for  eight  months  from  1st  June 
last  relating  to  Indian,  Ceylon,  and  China  teas. 
The  figures  before  us  are  eminently  gratifying, 
save  in  one  particular— price.  In  all  other  respects, 
Ceylon  shows  to  advantage  in  the  comparison. 
It  is  some  time  now  since  China  was  dethroned 
from  its  pre-eminence,  and  had  to  give  place  first 
to  India,  and  next  to  Ceylon  too ; but  the 
general  render  may  be  startled  to  find  how  far 
the  great  celestial  Empire  Lags  behind  our  little 
i.sland  in  tlie  custom  it  commands  in  the  British 
Isles  and  the  London  maiket.  Even  some  of 
those  specially  interested  in  tea  may  not  be 
