^10 
THP t.tJOPlCAL AORIOULtURlSr. 
lJUNE I, 1892. 
The following are the quantities bought by tl'O prin- 
cipal buyers 
Agents for the American anti Italiauiworks 
Agents for the Mannheim and Amsterdam works 
Agents for the Frankfort o/M and Stuttgart works 
Agents for the Brunswick works 
Agents for the Auerbach works 
Messrs. Howard & Sons 
Sundry druggists 
Lb. 
14LM75 
ftrt.SCO 
85,113 
40,778 
:i4,3U3 
38,250 
Total quantity of barit sold 
Bought In or withdrawn 
461,943 
44,820 
Total quantity of bark offered ... 506,763 
Essential Oils —Small snlcs of Citronclla oil are 
reported at id, and of IjemoDgra.-B oil at 1 9-JOthH d. per 
02 on the pot. 
TIIK EXPORT TRADE OE CHINA FOR 1801. 
was tbs bi(;besl in value ever knowu, even tea show- 
ing a large inorease over the previous year. Curiously 
enough India takes an appreciable iinantity of 
China green tea. We quote as follows from the 
China Mail : — 
The total value of exporta abroad for the year agate- 
gated Hk. Tla. 1(10,947.000, which ia the highest point 
ever reached, and shows au advance over the figures of 
1890 of Hk, TIi. 13,800,000. The majority of prodnets 
euumerated in the taole of exporta on page 10 compare 
very favourably with the shipments of the previous 
year ; but the three great ataples— tea, silk and cotton 
— contributed most to the increase in the total given 
above. In value aii4 quantity the gi io in favour of 
1891 yielded by teas of all forts was Hk. Tla. 4,365,000. 
White and yellow silk added Hk. Tie. 5,928, 0()0, with 
24,574 piculs over the expert given in last year's re- 
turns, and silk piece goods, Hk. Tl*. 1,143,0()0, repre- 
aantiug 2,028 picnla above the total of the previons 
twelvemonth ; while raw oolton, with an increaaeil 
export to Jaifsn of 56 698 piculs over 1890, added 
Uk. Tls, 852.000. Wool, camels’ and sheep’s, from 
the northern ports exceedeil the shipments of 1890 
by 86,62o picnls, est mated at Hk. Tls. 258 (K)0. The 
other srlicles, which stould he i:ot'’d as ehowing 
cuDspiouous gains over previous statistics, are paper 
for (Chinese consiinipuan ahrovd, camphor from For- 
mosa, matting from Canton, and mn.sk— each of these 
exports coiitribuiiug more than Hk Tl. 170000 over 
the figures of the previous year to the total for 1891. 
The shipments of raw silk were; white and yellow 
silk, 84,948 piou s; wild ai Ik, 17,043 picnls; and refuse 
silk, 60.703 spiculs — these amounts being much over 
those of 1890, a low ra'e of exchange favouring the 
consumption of Chi’ ose silks in Enr >pe. 
The export of ten of nil kinds, includirg the ship- 
ments from Kow'oon and Lappa to Hen. kong and 
Macao, amounted to 1,750.034 picnls, showing an ad- 
vance of 84,638 picnls over the total f r 1890. From 
Kowloon and Lappa the e.xport of black tea ie junks 
to Hongkong and Msoso is more than double that 
of the previous year, the largo increase being ascribe I 
ton reduction in the pruviucial duty on th.t article 
when shipped by juiihs. The addition of tills 
jank-borne tea to the total quantity sent abroad in 
foreign vensnla raises the export to more thvn the 
shipments of 1890, and for the time being has arrested 
the decline which aharactarisod the black lea trade 
of recent years, the excess in favour of this year being 
53,565 piouls above the crop of 1890, which is tfltiirno i 
at 1,149 311 picnls. Orecn tea al o '.bows an improve- 
ment of 7,256 piotds, aod brick ten for Knssian account 
31,693 picula. Russia iippnars to bn the only large 
market in Europn where the demand for China Id- ok 
ten is maintained. Snppliea continue to he aeot hti >ra 
in increasing qinn’iHrs, shipments having risen from 
93.467 picnls in 1887 to 189,025 piculs, or doiilile the 
quantity ; and while tbeoonsignmenta hy sea and land 
to Russia in 1887 sggregaled 267,000 piculs, they now 
amount to 287,000 piouls, leprosenling a gain of over 
20,000 piouls. It i' worthy of note that, the demand 
tor China ton (clriefly green) from India has doubled 
withiu the last five years — 13,917 picula being credited 
to the Empire in 1886, against 30,819 piouls during 
the year sodei noiioe. 
1890. 
Hk Tla. 
20,679.818 
3,700,488 
2,136 720 
From the North-Ghiiia Herald we take the figures 
for tea exports, with commants on the still great 
tea trade of China : — 
1891. 
Hk. Tla. 
Toy Ilhck 24,979,259 
.1 Creen 3,545,911 
» Brick 2 328,755 
The three great rtaplos, tea, lilk, and cotton, gave, 
It will be seen, the highest inercs-ses, Jopnn being the 
most eagrr curtomer for cotton; the large increase iu 
silk is to bcaltrihuted to a great extent to the lowness 
of exchange ; but the large increase in the value of 
the black tea e-xported will come ss a surpr'se to many. 
Judging by the falling-oil iii the demai d for Chinn 
tea^ in England we have oome to think of the whole 
China trade in tea as a declining one ; but fortunately 
fur China she has me customer, Rus-in, lli*t has 
not yet bcou affcoted by the crtize fo“ indian and 
Oiylon leas, and thus the export I r 1891— altliougli 
none of the r^unierous suggest'ous that foreigners 
have madu for the rekabilitnti n of the trade hove 
been. put into practice- — from all ' hiia shows an ac- 
tual advance of pis, 52,56-5 over thnt in 1890. Green 
tea also shows an improvement of pis. 7,256, aud 
brick tea for Russian account pis, 31.693. The pro. 
p. rtion of ten pent, to Russia hy steami r via Odessa 
continues to increase rspidly, for while only pis. 
93,500 wero sent try that route in 1887, rather more 
than double that quan i;y took that route in 1801. 
Of the large consumers of tea we find that the prin- 
cipal were in 1801 : — 
Russia, Siberia, and Russian 
Manohuria pjg. 636,000 
Great Britain, Hongkong, 
and India... — 540,000 
United Stator 276,000 
Australia and Now Z aland 106,1100 
In the Riifsian figures ore flioluded some pis. 380^000 
of brick and tabltt tea; but they do not include 
some p’s, 60.000, which are sent from Hankow np the 
Han rivet for overland carriage to Siberia. The total 
export to foreign countries of pis. 1,750 034 in 1891 
has to bo compared with pie, 2,217,295 in 18S6, the 
largest ill the past ten years. 
THE ALLEGED QUININE SYNDICATE. 
Wo have received the following from Germany, 
dated, bv the way, April 1:— “A project has been 
formed by Loudon importers to establish, in con- 
junction with the Amsterdam importers, a ring for 
the maintenance of the price of quinine. The 
capital to be invested in this object is 300,000 
florins (25,0{X)/). The representative of a largo 
London firm has been staying in Amsterdam since 
the beginning of this week to bring the project to 
a conclusion. If he succeeds in his object the 
qninino-inakors might easily be forced, through the 
reticence of the bark-holders, to ask for quinine a 
price very much in excess of the present one. It 
IS reported from America, hy certain persons well 
acquainted with the market, that some (Jorman 
qainine-makers liave sold large quantities of quinine 
(1,500,IXK) oz.) for future delivery at from 17ito IHJ 
cents, c.i.f. New York. Such sales would prevent 
any substantial increase in the price of quinine, 
as q^uantitios of such magnitude placed upon the 
market at regular intervals would provide second- 
hand holders with an abundance of cheap material.” 
THE AMSTEUnSM VIEW OP IT. 
We have msde inquiries from some of the best- 
informed persons in Amsterdam concerning the truth 
of the report above alluded to. and arc told that it is 
believeil to he a fact that a London gentUmau in* 
terested in cinohoua has tried to persuade tke chief 
importers in Holland to consent to the formation of a 
combination, to embrace planters in Java, Oeylon, 
and Hrilisli India, for the object of strenglhening the 
bark market. It is not denied that “srimetliing like 
a meeting” may have been held with ih s objoi t just 
before the lust Amsterilam hark sales, and that ibis 
nieetiug may have had eumethiug to do with tbS 
