Fassabushte. 269 
sensible people, and especially to those persons who had 
immediate relations with England. The leading shippers 
saw with uneasiness that the annual importations into 
England far exceeded the annual consumption, and fearing 
lest the fall in prices, which they saw to be inevitable, 
should deprive them of half their capital, they purchased 
only for their immediate and unavoidable wants. Those 
of them also who had a really good connection in England 
were desirous of bringing down prices for another reason. 
They foresaw that the excessive demands of the growers 
and “holders” in Jeres would certainly check the ordinary 
demand for sherry wine in England, and thus permanently 
injure the business, and they determined to set their faces 
against all further claims. One leading house actually 
limited the orders it would receive for high-priced wines to 
a certain number of butts per month. 
The fall in prices came at last, and with startling 
rapidity. The monthly shipments of wine diminished to 
an unprecedented extent. The cellars of the merchants in 
England were full, and therefore, few orders came to Jeres. 
Against 38,720 butts (shipped from Jéres alone) in 1863, 
and 30,941 butts in 1864, only 30,431 butts were cleared 
for export in 1865. Estimating the average value of the 
butt only at £35, this would show a diminution of value of 
exports from Jéresin 1865 of between £250,000 and 4 300,000 
sterling ; in other words, a reduction of the wine merchants 
income for that year to that large extent. This diminution 
in the shipments immediately and inordinately depressed 
the Jéres market ; in 1864 “ musto,” sold for 230 pésos; in 
1865 it found few purchasers at 100 pésos. Old wines, in- 
deed, remained firm because there were, comparatively 
speaking, scarcely any old wines in Jéres. 
bACSS ASB UL SHE ET : 
BY M. C. COOKE. 
F ROM time to time strange products make their appear- 
ance in small quantities in our markets, are looked at, 
marvelled over, and, remaining unsold, because unknown, 
are consigned to oblivion. In most instances these little 
consignments are sent to try the market, and producing 
no good results are never heard of again. This is much 
