May 2, 1892.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
831 
reaBsnriDg effect upon tLa niocket, wliicU was iu 
an almost demoralised slate, many inetices being 
withdrawn where no biddings could be elicited, and 
most of the ten that was sold showed it to be as 
cheap, if 1 ot cheaper, thsii ever. This remark, of 
course, refers more particularly to teas of a common 
grade, as all preferable kinds met a fair competition 
at full rates. Tlie Grocers’ Chroniclf says: — The de- 
pressed prices latterly observable in this market are 
110 doubt omtrely due to tbe excessive supplies which 
hove lerii uiiloaiied open it, without reason, during 
January end February, liast year, during those two 
mouths, 290,71(> packages Indian and 10l5,232 pickagos 
Ceylon were offered iu public sale, at a time of 
unusual activity and on a rising market, whilst the 
country dealers were laying in stocks in view 
of higher prices. This year the situation has 
been qwite the rev. ree. Trade in the country has 
been depressed ; prices have b?en on tbe down grade 
every week registered a lower range of value, 
yot the importer kept steadily on crushing the 
marke', iu on er to got out himself ; and it now 
app.ars that 295 416 packages Indian and 133,634 
packages Ciylou tea have 1 eon offoied dntiug January 
and February, or 42,072 pickige.s in excess of last 
yet, when the trade was booming. Yet the im- 
porter tieplores the want of aoiination in the market 
now ai.d the selling brokers write mournfully that 
no impovonient can bo noted. There is just the 
shadow of u he ter feeling this week end, owing 
to the smaller aalos, Hujer.s are not so entirely 
dishoartunod, and they argno that once the London 
market ahows a slightly improvod tone country dealers 
would begin to operuto again. — II. and .lAu’f, March 
4 It. 
Last Wrkk’sTea Sales. — The diminished supply of 
Indian tea brought forward at the public sales lai 
bean snflioini tly largo to meet the domaiid, asd conse- 
quently the market has shown no imp ovtmsnt of im- 
portaiice iu prices, although lha lonilency is slightly 
firmer, aaya ibc Troduce Marketa’ ftemew. Theatatia- 
tical position's stronger than in the procoliiig month, 
the surplm stock bt iiig 3,(100,000 1 b.araallcT, or 7,000,000 
lb. against 10,000,000 lb. A stack, however, of 
47,000,000 lb. at this period of the year is sufficient to 
prevout any material npwaid muvement, especially in 
the lower grades, although these kinds are from 3’0 to 
40 per cent below tbe prices of iatt yrar. The de- 
liveries for February were satisfactory, but even at this 
rate there will be an available supply, with the ad- 
ditional iiupurts to arrive, of fully Qvo moLths’ 0011 - 
sumption. Tboreforo, should the coming season be lator 
than usual, owing to climatic causes, there wdl be ample 
tea to moot requiremouLs, although some of the better 
grades may crisu to a higher level, iu censsqunnce 
of raoderat auppiies. There is little ebango in the 
pusiliou or value of Ueyloo teas. The supplies have 
beou larger than fur somo time past, but the dealers 
were rather bare of stock, and have easily taken 
the extra qnaiitity offered. The ouly kiud of tea 
in which any perceptinla change has taken place is 
broken lea worth from lOi 1 to Is, which may be 
noted rather easier, 
Tus: Imi'OEts oe FuoDnCE. — The Board ol Trade 
Ueturns for F'ebruary are again nnsatistaolory from 
Iho homo trade point of view. The imports aro 
valued at £31,877,931, an iucteaso of .£1,666,577, or 
4-7 per cent ; ai.d the exports of British and Irish 
produce at £19.328,753, a decrea-o of £1,141,868 
or 5-5 p.r cent. Tbos, allowing for Iho extra day, 
the imports are about equal to those of February, 
1891, while the exports are nearly £2,000,000 
lower. The incrru'.o of the imports is to bo found 
in arliclos ol food, and oeresls in particular. The 
consumption of ten reaohei 17,162,349 lb., com- 
pired with 16,024,078 Ih. There is a considerable 
falling olt in the receipts ot sugar, lu February 
1894, the imports from Germany, llolland' Belgium, 
Faranoe, and ihe United Htatea amounted in the aggre- 
gate to 827,379 owt., but iu February of this year 
the aggregate from thoso couiitiies is ouly f55,027 
cwt. On Iho oilier hsnil, in Febrnury of last year 
K ssia only sent 1 cwt., but in the same month of 
the ytar the receipts thenoe were nearly 164.822 owt. 
and for the Iwo months the receipts are 314.436 owt’ 
compared with 1,201 cwt. Of raw sugar the falling 
off is chiefly found in beet. 
Cotton PieKiNo nr MAcnnjBnr.— A company hai 
been organised at Chicago, with a capital of 5,000,000 
dole., to raanufaoturo a now cottoc-pioking machine, 
which, an American newspaper says, will do the 
“ work ot seventy negroes, and make an iutoreatieg 
change iu the negro problem of the South." In. 
deed, says the authority wo hare quoted, “uulesaall 
signs fail, this company is destined to rcrolutioniso the 
cotton industry.— J7. and C. Jfatl, March 11th. 
^ 
GIBBS’ rATl'LXT DRYEll A>"D PURE 
AIR FURNACE. 
The improvomeuts recently effected by Mr. W. A. 
Gibbs iu the design of bis Ititsr stove and dryer have 
rendered this combinatton popnlar with tea planterf, 
and given a decided impetus to the sale. The first 
great economy of the aystem is in the novel prtnoiple 
**^°'^^* *bich allows of the direct utilisation of 
all the^ products of combustion from any kind of fuel, 
as testified by the reports of those who have adopted 
it. Another point of economy is that damp fuel may 
be burnt with advantago instead of loss. It is well 
understood that in the ordinary form of up-draught 
furnace, any moisture in the fuel need ia converted 
into sleati, which waetee a large part of its heating 
value, but in this furnace the prodnots of eombuatlon 
being drawa down through tlie tire, iustead of passing 
away from the surface, any water in tbe fuel ia 
decoinpnfed into oxygen and hydrogen, both on 
which, in burning, add to tbe heat of the resul- 
tant air. Tlie second notable feature of the ap- 
paratus is the Bitting arrangement, whereby the 
finest tea (dbob-gari) passes out of tbe dryer previous 
to the delivery of the main bulk, thus avoiding any 
over-drying of the most valuable qualities ; this pro- 
cess has proved very advantageous, and will doubtless 
be appreciated by all practical tea makers. Atteution 
is specially directed to the improved sifting arrange- 
ment recent'}' introduced by the patentee, f.s., tbe 
substitution of woven wire panels (of two differeot sixes 
of mesh) in the body of the machine for the origioal ex- 
tra drum on the end of the cjdinler. The advantage 
of this arrangement is that too tea is sifted out in two 
degrees of finone.ss, aud any desired variation can bo 
made in this respect by simply icscrltiig panels of coarser 
or finer mesh; and further, if at any time it should 
be desired to dispense with the sifting operation 
the screens aro easily roplaoud by oover plates. By 
tcaseu of these recent improrumonts it ia now gcncr- 
allv acknowledged that the Gibb's Dryer mann- 
factures a very large quantity of tea under conditions 
that are remarkably economio in regard to labour 
and fuel, that the mechanism ia durable and simple, 
aud lint last, but not least by any means, is the 
important fact that tbe perfect dietribution of tbe 
heated air ourrcnls ensure ubsolitle regularity of quality 
without these neenssity of skilled labour. With Iboae 
important points in its favour it ia not sarprisiDg that 
the dryer and stove are making rapid headway- and 
that planters iu India aud Ceylon bear testimony to 
their value.—//, and Mail. 
THE CINCHONA BARK MAliKET. 
The present ruinous state of the bark market 
is caused by over-production, not only ia the market 
over-loaded with stocks, but the present rate of pro- 
duction exceeds what is required for consumption. 
Frodueers, however, have the remedy in their 
own hands, supposing that they were to destroy all 
bark yielding under 3 per cent of quinine, or more 
than oiie-third of the total production, what would bn 
the probablo effect on prices? ® 
te 189].°-"‘“® shipments and figures roughly 
