July 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



41 



HARVESTING INFERIOR CINCHONA BARK IN 

 CEYLON. 



It is no woniler that a cry of "halt" has arisen hi 

 efeveiico to tho harvesting of branch hark (including twifjs 

 and sucliei-s) from our cinchona trees. The prices offered 

 for this description have fallen so low as to barely cover 

 the cost of harvestin;,'. In many cases the transactions 

 have already resulted in a loss and, therefore, shippers 

 as well as planters must agi-ee that it is best for all 

 concerned to stop harvostinpr under present circumstan- 

 ces. The more of the inferior hark that is sent into 

 the market the more are stocks increased, statistics over- 

 burdened, and a sh't apparently created, and, althcuigh 

 the planter gets little or no benefii from the sales, there 

 can be no doubt that these affect the value of the 

 better kinds of bark by the full extent of the quinine 

 obtained from the branch and t«i^'s description sold. 

 It is reckoned that, for eveiy 25,000 lb. of twig bark 

 withheld at this time, the supply of quinine will bo 

 reduced by a thousand ounces, and to make good this 

 deficiency, 6,0001b. weight of "one per cent " bark 

 would be required. In other words, supposing 6,0001b. 

 of one per cent bai-k to be worth nett R2,000, gi-owers 

 would receive this sum additional profit on theii' other 

 bark for eveiy 25,00011'. of unprotitable twigs held liack. 

 The duty as well as policy of cinchona planters is, there- 

 fore,- very clear. No inferior branch bark should bo 

 cut for market until such time as a revival of the 

 demand with paying prices again sets in, and all pnm- 

 ings shoidd be hm-ied rather than stripped at a cost 

 which cannot be covered in the present state of the 

 cinchona hark market. No doubt this state of affairs 

 is a sad disappointment to many hardworking planters 

 who m;iy have been looking this year for help from 

 the product which did so much for them — even in prnn- 

 ings, branches and t\rigs — in the tune of their necss- 

 ity during the past two years; . but the stoppage of 

 demand must be faced, and the hope entertained that 

 it will only prove temporaiy, and that the majority of 

 tlie South American bark-cutters must shortly tind 

 "their vocation gone" owing to the contuniance of prices 

 that cannot cover the cost of then- labour. 



MADAGASCAR PLANTS. 

 The Rev. R. liaron contributed to the Anlanannrim 

 Anmuil for 187S "a few jottings on some of the 

 plants of Imerina, " the district in which the capital 

 of Madagascar is situated and which (the district) is 

 not included in the curious i-iug of forest which 

 goes round Afadagascar. We find it stated of one 

 of the CoMPOSiT.K, haWng yellow flowers or rather 

 capitulaj, that the natives use the leaves for anneal- 

 ing their water pitchers. The pitchers are made hot 

 in the fire and tlien rubbed with the leaves. Are 

 any loaves used for a similar purpose in Ceylon ? 

 Of the Legumisos.k, the pigeon pea (Cysiisus caja) 

 is grown to sitpply food for the silkworms ; of j a part- 

 icular species, we suppose. The beans are eaten by 

 the natives. The Malagasies convert tobacco loaves 

 into snuff, but instead of putting the powder in their 

 nostrils they suck it in their mouths ! Is Mr, Baron 

 correct in saying that the berries of Solanum nUjrum., 

 which are so poisonous in cold latitudes, lose their 

 deleterious power in tropical countries ? We do not 

 ■cin to have in Ceylon the scarlet bracted euphorbia 

 1-; described: — 



^'.iinrinmii'io ( Knphnrhin iplnulem), vtith its brilli.mt 



•Ai-i and yidlow brajts. which may lasily be mis- 



l,;i(^ -11 for petals oi Si!pals, is perhaps th.' most .-it- 



tr.iotive plant in nH Imerina. Its beauty has gained 



G 



for it a place in many conservatories in England. 

 Its prickly stem gives it a resemblance to the Caciacecu, 

 but its Hower and fruit .shew that it is a true 

 Euphorbia. There are two varieties, one having bright 

 scarlet bructa with leaves :dl aUmg th-- stem, the 

 other having yellow bracts and leaves which are 

 terminal and lai'ger than those of the scarlet variety. 

 The plauts are monoecious ;ind not, as the Malagasy 

 suppose, unisexual. The milky juice with which the 

 plant ab'.und.^ is sometimes used by the natives as 

 bird-lime. Another use the plant affords is this : — 

 the bark of the root is pounded, put in wuter, and 

 given to calves to help them at their birth. The soiu/o- 

 scnrjo is coM\nconly employed for hedgerows and fences. 

 The next plant noticed seems to be that which we 

 know in Ceylon as the " Persian lilac," although some 

 of the properties mentioned are those of the true 

 neem or manjosa tree : — 



Under Anrantiacaj may be named the vdandilaka, 

 which I believe to be the M4ia Azederach, and not 

 a lilac. lis strong seent is siniilur to that of the 

 lilacs and hence, probably, it h.as been supposed to 

 be one of them. If it is the ATelia Azederach it be- 

 longs originally to Persia and Syria. It is a tree 

 that iias been natuialized in various parts of the 

 world, and was introduced from the Cape of Good 

 Hope by missionaiies in the time of Radama I. All 

 its parts contain bitter and purgative properties. The 

 tree has i)ecoine exceedini;ly common in many parts 

 of Madagascar. 



An Indian fig eighteen feet in circumference is noticed. 

 The leaves of the pomegranate, the native name of 

 which signifies " the great drum of heaven," are used 

 in dyeing black. We quote as follows: — 



Kafi, or coffee, cultivated to some extent by the 

 natives. It has probably been in'roduced by the BVenoh 

 as the name would lead u9 to suppose. 



TuilcirUy. a sp cien of cinchona, is a shrub with very 

 pretty yellow Howers hiving a bright red-be.xnlod 

 throat. It is a very counnon plant in Ikongo,* but 

 rare in Inuuina. 



The fruit of the common prickly-pear is eaten and 

 also used as a substitute for blacking by rubbing it in 

 the soot of a rice pan and applying to their boots, 

 which, it is said, gives them a bright polish. Then, 

 what is again new to us. the natives of Madagascar 

 make ink from mango stones by scraping tlieni into 

 water and allowing them to remain ten days. Under 

 ZiNoiEEKACE.'E, wc hear of a great belt of Maila- 

 gasear cardamoms (AnMnium aiiquslifoUum), the fruit 

 of which is pleasantly acid in flavour. Added to the 

 other uses of the tomato, too, its leaves, mixed with 

 water and soot, make a not very endurable ink, 

 while the fruits are used for blacking, the same as 

 the prickly-pear. 



THE LEDGERIANA CONTROVEKSY. 



Mr. Thomas North Christie of St. Andrew's Estate, 

 Maskeliya (who must not be confounded with Mr. 

 Christy, the London plant and seed dealer), comes 

 forward with a statement of facts by which the 

 tables seem to be turned with a vengeance on Mr. 

 Howard (seepage 37). It is he who has figured Lcdgeriana 

 wrongly ! In any case the vindication of Dr. Trimen, and 

 the genuineness of the specimen of Ijedgeriana which the 

 eminent botanist figured, seem perfectly conclusive. 

 There are the facts that the typical tree chosen by Dr. 

 Trimen was raised from the same seed as the ^'arrow 



* The word Ikongo refers here to the coimtiy often 

 c:illed by that name. Strictly spealdng, however, it applies 

 only to the large hill to wiiich the people resort in time 

 of war. The plant is found in Isancli'abe, one of the di- 

 visions of Ratsiandraofana's country. — Ed. 



