341. Establishment of business as general Merchants.

London, 65, Leadenhall Street.

July 10th, 1864.

Messrs.

Gentlemen.

At the suggestion of many old manufacturing friends, we have established ourselves as Merchants, and although we do not limit our correspondence to any particular country, our more intimate and special connections are associated with the Russian Empire, while at the same time we have opened valuable relations with China, India, Australia, and British Columbia. Should you therefore be disposed to intrust to our care any portion of your Shipments, you may rely on due protection to your interest, and we feel satisfied by a judicious selection of the articles shipped, such sales will be effected by our friends as will give you full satisfaction, and encourage a continuance of the business.

We beg your reference to our above address, where we have been established nearly a quarter of a century, and inviting you to make moderate consignments on trial, We remain Gentlemen

Your obedient Servants

MACKAY, DAVIDSON & CO.

342. Advice of sale of Corn.

London, 14th June 1864.

Mr. H. P. Larsen, Svendborg.

Dear Sir.

By our last of the 8th inst. we had the pleasure to inform you of the safe arrival of your schooner Dagmar as

well as of the sale of 200 Qts. of the wheat at 44 s. We at the same time expressed our fear that we should very likely be unable to obtain the same price for the remainder of the cargo, and this we are sorry to say has proved true. The demand continues very limited, and we therefore thought it right the day before yesterday to ask you per telegraph whether you would sell the wheat at 3d under your limit or preferred to have it warehoused. To this we received to day your reply as follows;

sell at 3d under limit ex ship,

and we accordingly did our best to dispose of the wheat, which was rather difficult as the friend of ours who at the time we sent you the telegram offered us 43 s 9d since then had got his supply at this price somewhere else. However we where fortunate enough to find another buyer and have now the satisfaction to inform you of the sale of the remainder of the cargo per Dagmar at 43 s 9d which we trust will meet with your approval. By our next we shall send you account sale and meanwhile we remain

Dear Sir

Yours truly

A. WORSDALE & CO.

343. Remittance of Proceeds.

London, 18th June 1864.

Mr. H. P. Larsen, Svendborg.

Dear Sir.

With reference to our respects of 14th inst. we have now the pleasure to send you account sale of the cargo of wheat per Dagmar, the nett proceeds of which

£ 1350. 2 s 6 d per 18th Septbr.

we have passed to your credit.

This amount we beg enclosed to hand you in a Bank post Bill, the receipt of which please to acknowledge. Capt. Fayerland will be ready to sail tomorrow and we hope soon to see him here again with a cargo from you. With respect to the corn trade in general we beg to refer to the enclosed report. The corn stands uncommonly well! but the consequences of the dry spring have not yet disappeared, and from all parts we hear complaints of the scarcity of rain. We remain Dear Sir Yours truly

I have had the pleasure to receive your favours of 14th and 18th inst., and feel satisfied with the sale of the cargo per Dagmar. Your remittance

£425. 18 s 2 d Bank post Bill

I

is duly to hand, and the account balanced according to the statement you have sent me, which together with the account sales have been found correct. The stock of grain here is but small and the prices high compared to yours. cannot therefore at the present moment think of shipping anything to your port, but it will give me great pleasure when occasion offers to do business with your respected firm again.

I remain &c.

H. P. LARSEN.

R

345. Recommendation of Demerara Timber.

Sir.

London, January Sth, 1864.

I have to beg you will be good enough to bring to the notice of your Directors the annexed Memorandum of Experiments made on West Indian Timbers at the London and North Western Railway Company's Works at Crewe.

By these Experiments it will be seen that 18 Cubic feet of Greenheart are required for a waggon-at 77 lbs. per Cubic foot its weight would be under 122 Cwt.-Its cost at the 4s per Cubic foot (the present price of Greenheart) £3. 12s.

Twenty eight Cubic feet of Oak are required for the same purpose · this timber is estimated to weigh (best quality) about 60 lbs. per Cubic foot, consequently a waggon made of Oak would weigh 15 Cwt. which at 3s 6d per Cubic foot, gives £4. 18s as the cost of the material of a waggon.

If these data are correct, it is evident that Greenheart is a better wood for the construction of waggons than Oak, as there is a large saving in Tare, and a still larger saving in Cost. All I however would urge on your Directors is, to try the experiment, which now can be easily accomplished, as there is a considerable stock of Greenheart in London in the hands of Messrs. C. W. W. Brown, Great St. Helens, Messrs. Sweet Bros. & Co., Fenchurch St. and Messrs. Oriel, 4 Laurence Pountney Place.

My sole object in urging this matter on your notice is to endeavour to bring into general use a most valuable timber, of which there is an unlimited supply in British Guiana, and which is already well known to Ship-builders;

being recognised at "Lloyds" as one of the eight or nine first class woods of the world.

There is a sort of wood in Guiana called "Jacooba" which, for Sleepers, in the Colony is considered almost indestructible, they could be delivered in London at about 6s each (per Sleeper). I should be glad to learn if any such material is required for your Railway.

I take the liberty of respectfully inviting your attention to the results of a process-arrived at after twenty-five years' experiments--for rendering the Fibrous Vegetables, which grow wild, and in almost unlimited quantities, in India, available for all textile purposes, both as substitutes for the very best Cottons hitherto imported from the United States, and for using up with other materials--as Silk, Worsted, Mohair, &c., from those of the finest to those of the coarsest description; as well as for rendering Flax, Hemp, Jute, &c., available (which they are not now) for purposes requiring fineness and strength.

The result of my inquiries, in the course of which I have obtained the opinions of several good judges of Fibrous Substances, is, that the processes to which I invite attention are of incalculable value, and that they therefore merit the serious attention of all who take an interest in the