3° 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Jt7LY 2, 1883. 



their Northern Ten'itory, lately requested the Hon. J.L. Par- 

 sons, Minister of Education — ana who has the Northern 

 Territory particularly under his care — to travel to this 

 colony, and, by personal inspection of tlie various plant- 

 ations, get so acquainted with the occupation as to judge 

 whether it would be possible to establish it. Mr. Parsons, 

 having returned to South Australia, has pubhshed, through 

 the press, his views on the subject, and they are so favour- 

 able that ho does not hesitate to advise tifie capitalists of 

 our neighbouring colony to embark their money in the 

 occupation. 



"It is worthy of notice that so determined are the South 

 Australians to — at any rate attempt to — ^Vl"est from us our 

 supremacy as sugar producers that they (observing that 

 the weak point of the Queesland planters is the uncertainty of 

 labour) have already passed through theii' legislature a 

 bill arranging for the introduction of coolie labom'ers fi'om 

 India. It is to be hoped that no party of our political 

 rulers will be so shortsighted as to drive away to the 

 Northern T- rritory the immense amount of capital which 

 can be invested profitably in Queesland, if only the re- 

 liability of abundant manual laboui- is guaraaiteed." — 

 Quecnslandcr, 



RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES OF 

 CINCHONA BAEK GROWN IN JAMAICA. 



{From the Pharmaceutical Journal for Map.) 



BY DK. B. H. PAUL. 



It having been considered desirable that analyses should 

 be made of the samples of Jamaica cinchona bark, presented 

 to the Museum of the Pharmaceutical Society by the 

 Colonial Othce. portions of these samples were placed in 

 my hands for that purpose, and the follo\ving table gives 

 the results arrived at. 



It will be seen that there is some considerable differ- 

 ence between these results and those referred to by Mr. 

 D. Morris in his notes*, as having been obtained by Mr. 

 John EUot Howard, and to some extent this is to be ac- 

 counted for by the fact that the samples analysed by Mr. 

 Howard two years ago were specially selected samples 

 of the richest part of the lower trunk, while those recently 

 presented to the Museum are a fairer average representation 

 of the bark product for sale in Jamaica. This is especially 

 the case as regards the sample of " othcinalis, " as I have 

 had opportunity of ascertaining by a comparison of my 

 results with those obtained by the analyses of a parcel 

 lately sent over from Jamaica. 



The data in the foregoing table are also interesting in 

 some other respects : thus, for instance, the large proportion 

 of quinidine in the root bark of the " calisaya " .sample 

 is quite exceptional, and taken together with the small 

 amount of quinine may perhaps be eridence of unhealthy 

 growth or of the influence of unfavourable conditions of 

 soil or cUmate. This small amount of quinine may, how- 

 ever, be due to the circumstance, referred to by Mr. John 

 Eliot Howard at the Linneau Society Ia.st Thm-sday evening, 

 that the plants sent to Jamaica as " calisaya " were really 

 plants of C. micraiitha, var. CaHsai/oiUen, instead of the 

 ti-ue Leclyeriana, characterized by the large amount of 

 quinine contained in the bark. Again, the amount of 

 quinine in the " .succirubra" sample shows that there is a 

 very good type of this cmchona being cultivated in Jamaica. 



"\Vhile referring to these analyses it may perhaps be 



I useful to publish some analyses made by me in 1878 of 

 some of the first samples brought from Jamaica by Mr. 

 R. Thomson. These samples were all v^ery thin and green, 

 probably having been taken from very young trees. The 

 results furnished by the dried bark are as follow. 



A comparison of these results with those f m'nished by 

 the samples of bark presented to the Society's Museum 

 shows .such differences as may be taken to justify the in- 

 ference that with further growth there has been in most 

 instances an improvement iu the quahty of the bark. In 

 the "succirubra" samples there is on the average more 

 than twice the amount of quinine, and in the " ofEcin- 

 ahs " samples there is a considerable increase. In the 

 case of the samples represented as " calisaya," however, 

 the reverse is the case and this may be due to the bark 

 having been derived from different varieties of that species. 



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3Si^ C3-"Sn ^■^SM^rti'^^ 



O. TENGA AND ODAL TREES. 



{/iidinii Tea Gazette.) 

 Sir, — I have to thank your correspondent with the long 

 name for his courteous remarks in No. 10. The O. Tenga 

 (Dilleiiia Indika) I bad not put in the list of ''post timbers," 

 as it is so seldom felled for this, or any other purpose. It is 

 a fruit tree, and O. tenga jelly i.s not at ail bad ; it has also a 

 reputation for allaj-ing thirst better than water, in the jungles. 

 I could not guarantee it as a bridge post, but if put wholly 

 under w.ater, its naturally white ( heartless) wood tarns jet 

 black, and lasts many years. It is hardly sate to infer that 

 a wood must be good for bridge posts, " a.s it grows in 

 swampy ground," or Pani Kodom. and Pani Mudi, should be 

 good. I did not know that " Udal" (StercuUa riUosa) was 

 good for fences ; 1 have grown it for fibre, and the wood is; 

 hke cork or pith. Perhaps your correspondent means " Ural," 

 {Hauhiuia). It is good as a fence, as the branches, like 

 •' Pani Kodom," often grow as well up, end down, as the 

 natimal way. I shall be glad to get botanical names of trees^ 

 many are not known. We must all remember that names 

 common in Assam are only a mystery to planters iu Cachar, 

 Darjeeliug, &c.* The botanical name should, if possible, 

 always accompany the local one. Above all things, 1st accur- 

 acy, 2nd bre\uty. — Yours, &c., S. E. P. 



THE NORTH TRAVANCORE PLANTING COMPANY. 



fro THE EDITOR OF THE " MADRAS TIMES."] 



Madras, M.ay 30th. 



SiE,— I have seen an extract from the .Madras Times 

 reprinted in the Ceylon Tropical Ai/riciiltiirist which, I 

 think, is calculated to convey an unfair impression of the 

 operations of the North Travancore Planting Society. In 

 the extract it is stated that the Talliar valley is a " sine- 

 cure " ; that what as been planted there has pro-ved an 

 entire failure, and it is recommended that the cultivation 

 of tea, coffee and cinchona should be given up, and plant- 

 ing of ce.ararubber and cocoa commenced. I have just 

 returned from a visit to this valley, and can therefore state 

 with some authority what has actually taken phace. The 

 oldest clearing is about 23 acres in extent, and is planted 

 with coffee. These trees are about three years old, and 

 have, f - ir a virgm crop, a remarkably fine show of berries. 

 A crop of at least 5 cwt. per acre is expected, and this 

 for a first crop can scarcely be called a failure. Forty 

 acres i.f cinchona were planted out last year, .and it would 

 be difficult to find better or healthier looking trees of the 



*To which should be added Ceylon.— Ed, 



