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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July 2, 1883. 



person desires greater capacity, a duplication of such 

 machines is much better. I leave out of the consideration 

 the difficulty of making perfect uniformity of heat in 

 large egg- chambers. An advantage over the hen lies in 

 the fact that the machine is always "broody," and taking 

 advantage of this, we may produce chickens for market 

 at a time of year when hens could scarcely be brought 

 to see the importance of it, and thus secure the best prices 

 when chickens are not raised naturally. I am also frequ- 

 ently asked :^Do you make the business pay? My 

 invariable answer is ; I have been engaged in it three 

 seasons neai'ly, and my plant is not for sale. Next year 

 I shall double my facilities. Draw a very easy inference, 

 please — one which is too palpable for disguise, did I desire 

 concealment. — Corrcspondejit of the " Breeder.^' 



CINCHONA. 

 Calisaya Verde and Morada form the subject of 

 a letter to a contemporary, from which we take an 

 extraof : — 



I was one of the first to import Verde and Morada 

 seed, and therefore, I fancy my plants are as large or 

 larger than most plants in the island. 



From the satin-like texture of the leaves (in the young 

 plants), and their general appearance, they present the 

 characteristics of Ledgerianas ; but they are of a far more 

 robust hal>:t, and their growth at this elevation is very 

 much quicker. 



There are apparently several varieties which, although 

 equally robust, yet shew differences on the leaves — some 

 being "large leafed, with a deep red underneath, others 

 with longer leaves and a yellow or red midrib. From what 

 one can judge at this stage the bark promises to be rich. 

 The asti'ingeflt properties are most marked on tasting. Mr. 

 Christie says Ledgerianas lose the underleaf when they 

 grow up, "which would imply that young Ledgerianas 

 have always the red underleaf. I am under the belief that 

 many ledgers shew no red whatever in the underleaf and 

 Aet niay be very rich in quinine*; and Howard gives 

 several distinct types not only as to leaf, but as regards tiowers. 



As far as a mere outsider can judge, the divergent fonns 

 of Ledgerianas are uumbarless. At this stage, there is of 

 course no Verde or Morada blossom to be got, or the matter 

 might be more satisfactorily settled ; but that these plants 

 an- of the Ledgeriana t>^e, I do not think can be doubted, 

 and I hace a gi-eat number of aU kinds. I will forward 

 various leaves to Dr. Trimen, who wiU no doubt be able 

 to give a more pronounced opinion, and from what he 

 says in his report, I incline to think be considers them, 

 most likely to be the quite distinct from C. Ledgeriana 

 —J. V. H. O. 



We trust they will not be found to have any 

 affinity to C. micrantha. It is evident that the enor- 

 moue C. vp.rde trees noticed by Markham were of 

 great age. We add further extracts : — 



Sm, — I have raised several thousand " Calisaya Verde " 

 plants from the seed which, I received from Mr. Chi'istie, 

 (the first seed that came to the Island I believe) and I 

 have no hesitation in saying that the growth of the 

 " Verdes," both as seedlings and since being planted in 

 the clearings, is at least double as quick as that of any 

 other variety. 



I have some "Verde" plants put out in the clearing 

 .5 months ago, and they are more than double the size of 

 Ledgeriana put out at the same time. Perhaps yom- cor* 

 respondent " G, " has planted them at too high an eleva- 

 tion ? One of the great recommendations of the "Verde" 

 is, that it is supposed to flourish at a much lower elevation 

 than any other varietj' of,ciuchona, and if this j^roves to 

 be the case in Ceylon, a large quantity of land hitherto 

 found unsuitable for cultivation of this valuable variety 

 of cinchona, and now that forest laud at a suitable elev- 

 ation for other varieties of cinchona is so scarce it would 

 be very important to prove that '' Calisaya Verde " will 

 really flourish at an elevation where other vai'ieties will 

 not. — B. FFANSH.1WE. Lunugalla, May 2nd. 



' G * asks whether Calisaya Verde will grow in Cey- 

 lon to four times or ten tiines the size of Succii'ubi-as. 

 How can any one answer that until they have grown 

 them ? Mr. Christie cannot tell him tlmt, or Markliam, 



or Holmes, or any other authority unless they are grown 

 in Ceylon ! All we have heard is that it grows to a 

 '• very large tree " in Bolivia. All I can say 

 is that at this elevation, .5,200 feet, it gi'ows very 

 quickly indeed, but as to whether it is to be four or even 

 ten times bigger than succirubra it is impossible as yet 

 to say. As to what ' Markliam' says, I refer ' G ' to Peru- 

 vian Bark, chapter svii. page 191. ' Gu'onda ' was Go- 

 vernor of Sma, a village in Caravaya, between Peru and 

 BoUvia, to whom Hasskarl lefeiTed in his ti-avels through 

 Peru, and with whom Markham stayed during his travels 

 in the Caravaya country. Martinez was the Cascarillero 

 who accompanied "Weddell, in 1846, and later on Markham 

 in 1S60. 



Regarding the Morada tree, Markham mentions one he 

 saw which had been planted in a clearing taken from 

 a root-shoot 12 inches high, and planted in January 1859. 

 In May, 1860, it was seven feet high, six and four-tenth 

 inches round the ti'uuk ! I think ' G ' will gather all 

 that is known of the.se varieties from the references here 

 given him. Possibly if he asked Mr. Christie to refer 

 more particularly to his agents they might tell liim more 

 concerning the growth of Calisaya Verde in BoUvia, but 

 until, as I said before, ve grow these trees, it cannot 

 be said what size they will or will not grow to in Cey- 

 lon.^r. V H. O. 



CINGHALESE LABOUR IN QUEENSLAND. 



{To the Eililor of the " Machay Standard.") 

 Sir, ^A consider ible amount of misdirected sympathj-, 

 both at Bundaberg and Mackay, is being extended to 

 the Cinghalese lately imported by the "Devonshire." 

 What that class of people hope to gain who are in- 

 viting the Cinghalese to bi'eak their agreements it is 

 diffimlt to say: instead of allowing them to perform 

 their five years' aiireements as agricultural laborers on 

 the plantations, this class of people are doius all they 

 can to cause the agreements to be broken, and to let 

 the Cinghalese loose in the town to compete with 

 themselves— the very last thing one would think, which 

 was desired by them, and which is certainly utterly 

 opposed to the wisiies of the planters. 



A great deal has been said about their having 

 been deceived in their agreements, about their re- 

 muneration being inadequate, &c., which deserves con- 

 sideration. 



In the iirat place what are their wages in their own 

 country ? We have several Ceylon coffee planters 

 amongst us, and they say that the highest wages paid 

 in Ceylon is £1 per month, or 8d per d.iy, and tind 

 themselves. In Mauritius the authorized legal wages 

 of identured immigrants is lOs per month, wiih rations, 

 which is equal to 4d per day, and found ; in India 

 the i-ate is from 4d to 5d per day, and tind themselves. 

 Now, granting that there is a difference in value of 

 rations between this country and Ceylon, no employer 

 has, that I am aware of, declined to make up this 

 difference, for an ample ration for Cinghalese can be 

 given here at the rate of from 6d to 7d per day, as the 

 following scale will testify : — 



s. d. 

 Beet 1 tb. f* diem 7 It). V week, @ IJd P lb. 1 Oi 

 Bread IJ lb. W diem 9 tb. F week. @ 4}d V 2Ib. 1 7+ 

 Rice i lb. f diem 3i lb. V week, @ 2Jd P lb. 8| 

 Tea 2' oz. F week, @ 2s. I> lb. 3 



Sugar 1 ft. *■ week, @ 2d. F lb. 2 



Total ... 3 9i 

 This £9 16s Id per annum deducted from the £20 

 per annum for which the i 'iughalese contracted to 

 come still leaves th m £10 3s lid or equal to 8d per 

 working day, (within a fraction), which contrasts favor- 

 ably with their own country, SJ aday and find them- 

 selves, 



* Ledgerianas with specially red leaves were not in 

 favour with Mr. Moe.is, and we saw a field of them 

 separately planted so that theii* value miglit be tested. — 

 Ed. C. 0. 



