July 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



3« 



same age. A large number are four feet high, still more 

 are 3 feet, and the remainder are about 2^ feet high. Of 

 course, there are vacancies in parts, but this can scarcely 

 be called a failure. The young cotfee, planted last year 

 has certainly suffered a great deal from insects ; but 1882 

 was an exceptional year for this plague, and the plants 

 which have escaped, all look strong and healthy, whilst 

 those attacked are again springing up. Nothing could be 

 finer than the plants in the nurseries, and, with the ad- 

 vantage of the great experience of the present manager, 

 Mr. Payne, I have no hesitation in saying that if any body 

 will visit the Tulliar next year, lie will find the plant- 

 ation contrast favourably with any other in South India. 

 AV'hen I add that there are about 440 acres cleared, and 

 that about 30(J of these have been felled during the last 

 12 months, I think you will agree with me that to say 

 the place is a " sinecure " is All "Walkee. 



NOTES AND STATISTICS OF CINCHONA BAKK. 



BY JOHN HAMILTON. 



London: J. W. Colliiiys. 

 This little pamphlet of seventeen pages professes to 

 give rough statistics of the importation of emehona bark 

 into some of ihe leatUng Em-opeau countries and into the 

 United States. The compilation of tabios of statistics 

 might appear, at first sight, to be an easy matter ; but there 

 are so many possible sources of error, and so many difBc- 

 lUties in the way of obtaining information, that the 

 author may be congratulated upon being able to obtain 

 even rough statistics on so compUcated a subject as the 

 commerce of cinchona bark. Mr. Hamilton has eridently 

 taken much pains to collect reliable information, yet lie 

 has been unable to obtain any account from Spain and 

 Austria ; from the latter country because all importations 

 of drugs are classed under one heading. There must 

 naturally be much difficulty in making divergent accounts 

 from diiferent som'ces agree, and hence it can hardly be 

 wondered at, that the st.atcments on page 6, of the amount 

 of cinchona bark exported in 1881 from England to France 

 and the United States does not agree with that of the 

 quantity importeil from England in the same year by those 

 countries, on page 10 and 11. This is more especially the 

 case when one is at the mercy of printers. Thus in a foot-note 

 on page 6, Mi'. Hamilton remarks that he received the 

 following reply anent the Table A, when making inquiries as 

 to the difference between statements obtained from the Board 

 of Trade and others published in the Ceylon Observe^.— 

 *' The Board of Trade monthly accounts only give ap- 

 proximate quantities and value; the great ditference in 

 the values of 1878 arises from a printer's error in the 

 monthly accounts." 



Nevertheless tabular statements are always of consider- 

 able value, if even only approximately correct, and must 

 of necessity afford abundant food tor reflection. Thus the 

 conclusion is arrived at that England is the chief market 

 of the world for cinchona bark, and the value of its 

 importations is showii to have increased from £218,.565 in 

 1870 to £1,816,-501 in 1881. Although more than half of 

 the imports are again sent out of the coimtry, the value 

 of the exports is less than that of the portion retained, 

 indicating that the best cinchona barks remain in Great 

 Britain. It is also an instructive fact that the value of 

 the imports of East Indian Barks has increased from 

 £22,682 in 1876 to £248,894 in 1881. 



Comparatively little is said concerning the West Indian 

 barks, these having only entered into commerce within 

 the last tew years. There could, however, be no difficidty 

 in obtaining information from -Tamaica mider the present 

 active administration of the Botanical Department. So 

 far as can be ga Lered from the tables, it would appear 

 that most of these barks fiud a market in the United States. 

 Another singular fact revealed by these statistics is 

 the specidation which takes place in the cinchona mar- 

 ket. The variation in the price of quinine, of which 6s. 

 6((. in 1875 and 13s. in 1878 may be taken as examples, 

 has led to frequent interchanges of bark where least expected. 

 Thus England has imported cinchona bark from France 

 and Germany, although it has sent back in the same year 

 more than it received. jVmerica also has imported cinchona 

 bark from twenty-eight different countries, instead of only 

 torn those which produce it. 



It is interestmg to note also that while the Java 

 bark received in Amsterdam in 1881 amounted to only 

 268,-540 lb., in the same year 1,864,912 lb. of East Indian 

 bark was imported into the United Kingdom. The care 

 taken in the cultivation indirectly comes out in the fact 

 that the Java Ledyeriana bark has steadily increased in 

 percentage of quinine from the maximum percentage of 

 548 in 1872 to 9-ai in 1881. There are many other im- 

 portant facts and much useful information afforded by 

 this httle brochure, which should be in the hands of 

 every one connected with the cinchona trade. 



It may be hoped that in a second edition the author 

 will be able to add some tables of the respective values 

 of the different varieties of cinchona barks, such as 

 would give to planters some idea as to the species which 

 would pay best m cultivation, and as to the country which 

 would afford the best market for special varieties. — Pharma- 

 ceutical Journal. 



THE EKMAN-FRY-ESPEUT SUGAR PROCESS. 



The two chief difficulties that have been raised 

 against the process. These are (1) That it will be 

 impossible to treat in cylinders the immense weight 

 of canes cut upon an ordinary sugar plantation, at 

 any rate during the time now usuiilly occupied in 

 reaping and crushing. The answer to this iu a gen- 

 eral way is th,it if plant can be provided to evapor- 

 ate the juice immediately after it is crushed out, 

 then it should be comparatively easy to provide 

 " convprters " (that is the right term, not cylinders 

 as we gave it) to treat the canes. We understand 

 that these "converters" will be constructed to con- 

 tain from twenty to thirty tons of canes each, or 

 perhaps more, and that it will be easy to work six 

 "boilings" per day with each "converter," or, in 

 other words, to treat from 800 to 1,000 tons of 

 canes per week with one converter, and it would 

 only be necessary to multiply their number aooording 

 to the requirements of the plantation. Under the old 

 crushing process, it is usual to cut the canes before 

 they are quite ripe, because, otherwise, the outer surface 

 becomes too hard to crush properly, and the consequence 

 is a proportion of inverted sugar ; but under this 

 chemical process it will be better to let the caues get 

 quite ripe, when a larger quantity of saccharine matter 

 can be obtained from them, and the hardness of the 

 outer surface will offer no resistance to the chemicals 

 introduced into the converter. 



The second difficulty raised by those who have ad- 

 dressed us is that the chemicals put into the " con- 

 vertei " must necessarily amalgamate with the sacchar- 

 ine juice, and so affect its taste or quality, aa to 

 render it unfit for cryetalization into pure and whole- 

 some sugar. Now this is so obvious an olijection, that 

 it must necessarily have occurred to the eminent 

 chemists who have been working out this process 

 at the first moment of its inception, and as we have 

 their explicit assurance for it, that this has not been 

 overlooked, and that the supposed dithciilty does not 

 arise iu practice, we must just be content to accept 

 their assurance of the fact, until we are in a position 

 to etaie fully what is the chemical employed and how 

 it is to be got rid of. We may add that wiien the 

 juice has been expressed from the pulpy mass of 

 canes ejected from the " converter," we believe that 

 lime is thrown iu, nud that this precipitatts the 

 chemical to the bottom of the vat " like a fall of 

 snow," to use the words employed to us to describe 

 wliat takes place. We are quite prepared to hear 

 that our description is still provokiugly vague, and 

 we do not deny it ; but it is all tliat we are at 

 liberty to say at present. We may add, however, 

 for the comfort of sugar growers who admit that 

 this process would immensely improve their position 

 if it were practicable, but who are sceptical as to its 

 success, that one of the largest proprietors in Ueme- 

 rara, aud one too who ie universally lecogoued as 



