196 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[September 1, 18S3. 



4 Canhaaem Baric.— I regret to have to record the con- 

 tinued failure oi Carthai/enn bark, only three plants being 

 aUve at the end of the year. Nothing could well have 

 been more disappointing than has been the attanpt to 

 introduce this bark. The plants received from Kew at 

 first grew vigorously, and it appeared as if the species 

 would be easy of cultivation. Gradually, however, all the 

 plants sickened. Every care was taken of them by Mr. 

 Gammie ; individual plants were tried at various e ovations, 

 and with various exposiu-es, but the results have been uni- 

 formly disappointing. . . 



5 Ciip.-ea Bark.-Home years ago a quinine-yieldiiig bark, 

 under the name of O'prea, began to be poured into the 

 Londou market from the northern parts of South America. 

 The supphes of this have steadily increased, until now 

 Vuprca forms a very large proportion indeed of the total 

 quantity of quinine bark imported into Europe At first 

 the botanical origin of Cuji.ea was unknown ; but it ha.s . 

 now been ascertained to be the produce of a species ot 

 Memiia, a genus botanically allied to ciochom. I.eim/a is ! 

 said to be less particular than cinchona as to soil and clim- 

 ate, and it is not unlikely that it may be possible to 

 cidtivate it in this country. I have therefore been anxiously 

 trying for some time to get seed of Rcmija I regret, 

 however, to say that from the only packet which I have 

 been able to secure, only a single seedUng has resulted 

 Further efforts shall however, be made to secure .seed, and 



I hope before long to have a patch of ifcmij" trees added 



to the plantation. , , ., i vu 



6 Distribution of plants and seeds.— In accordance with 

 the' wishes of Government, and with former practice, the 

 whole crop of seed of Cinchona Ledyermna (after supply- 

 ing oiu- own wants) was distributed gratuitously amongst 

 appUcants. This plantation beuig the only source of supply 

 iii this country ot Lcdya-iana seed, I have reason to believe 

 that the boon ot free distribution of it has been much 

 appreciated by planters all over India, _ as well 

 as in Ceylon. The sum of E996 received during the year 

 from the sale of seedlings and of Sueeimbm seed was 

 paid mto the treasury. . . 



7 Lund (r«^— The rents and gi-azmg dues received 

 from tenants on tlie rcsei-ve amounted to E1,S-21-1, which 

 sum was paid into the treasuiy, but it is not taken credit 

 for amongst the plantation receipts. 



8 Esimwtcd crop of lS83-8t.— About SoO.OOO pounds of 

 di-v bark will probably he requu-ed for the factory dur- 

 ing the vear, and I propose, as usual, to regulate the 

 bark taken by the factory demand.^ ^ .,, ,_ , , 



9 I have now obtained an analysis of the hark renewed 

 on 'Siiccirubra trees that had had theh- original bark re- 

 moved by Mr. Jlocns' shaving process. The bark renewed 

 rather slowly, but the analysis shows that it is very rich 

 both in quiiiiuc and ciuchonidine ; and there can be no 

 doubt that, in countries where red bark ti-ees are perfectly 

 at home ahd where there oounthiuance m good health and 

 vio-our for a long series of years can be absolutely counted 

 ou, this shaving process must be a very excellent one. 



Aiiali/sis of rciicu-cd Siiccirubra hark from Mim'jpoo. 

 Crystallised sulphate of quinme ... 3-70 per cent. 



„ ofcinchonidiue... 4'8S ,, ,, 

 Chiciiouine (alkaloid) ... ... 1"81 ,, ,, 



10 The fuel iilantation which was begun duniig the 

 wevious year has been extended during the past year, 

 and now extends to nearly ISO acres. I have great hope 

 that it will prove a thorough success. , ^ ^. , 



11 Mr Gammie was in charge of the plantation dur- 

 iU"- tlie year, and conducted his work with his usual as- 

 sidmtv and energy. Mr. Panthiig, the somor assistant, 

 also did excellent work, and during Mr. Gammie s abseuco 

 ou three months' privilege leave, he officiated foi- Mr. 

 Gammie. The junior assistants, Messrs. Crofton, Parkes, 

 and Kennedy, also worked well. . 



George King, m. e., fiiirz/coii-Mcjor, 

 Supermtendcnt, iloyal Botanic Garden, Calcutta. 



UUINOLOGIST'S EEPOKT FOR 1882-83. 

 The factory continues to be located at Mungiioo, and 

 it has been worked duiing the year under the supervitiou 

 of JSU- Gammie, Ids sou Mr. George Gammie being m 

 immediate charge. The percentage of febrifuge exteicted 

 from the haik used in manutaclure was 2-,o. Ihis is 

 a better result than was obtained last year, and the im- 

 provemeut is.iniUBly due tQ tlie litrgw peigeiitage pi s«m» 



bark used during the year. The net result of the manu- 

 faetm-e for the year was an outtmn of 10,3C3t: pounds 

 of ordinary and 300 pounds of crystalline febrifuge. 

 [Then follow details of expenditure and results.] 

 3. The cost price of febrifuge necessarily fluctuates 

 from pear to year, but it has in no foi-mer year been so 

 low as RS-S. This good result is of course chiefly due 

 to the larger percentage extracted from the hark used in 

 manufactm'C. 



■1. The issues of febrifuge fell below those of 1881-82, 

 but' are a Uttle in advance of those for 1880-81. The fall- 

 ino- off last year was, however, confined to the demand 

 for the Govei-nment Medical Depots of Calcutta and 

 Madi-as, the issues to the pubUc having been 120 pounds 

 below of those of 1881-82. 



5. The stock of febrifuge on hand at the end of the 

 year was 2.962^ pounds. This, although considerably in 

 excess of the stock in hand at the end of the previous 

 year (wliich was only l,oOO.i poimds), is not at all too 

 high lor safety, bemg equal only to about four months' 

 consumption. 



6. The value of the stock at the end of the year is 

 R7,05S-S-1 in excess of the figure at which it stood at 

 its beginning. x, ^ ^u . , 



S. From this statement it appears that the year s work- 

 ing resulted in a profit of KGU,2»4-9-5, which is equal to .i 

 dividend of sis and a half per cent, on the capital— a result 

 which I trust may be considered satisfactory. Quinine nUed 

 through the year at an average of about ten shilhngs 

 ounce in London, which, calculating exchange at Is 8d. pa 

 rupee, is equal to KUe per pound in India. The quantity 

 of febrifuge supidied to Government departments during the 

 year was 4,180^ pounds, and the cost was K6S,98S-8. An 

 equalquantity'of quinine, at R96 per pound, would have co.st 

 E40I,328. The .sai-ing to the State effected by .•substituting 

 febrifuge ot Government manufacture for English made 

 qmuine was therefore E332,.340. If this be added to similar 

 savings from the substitution in former years, the total 

 saving to State in the matter of quinine amounts to above 

 112,325,000. Anil as the total cost of these plantation has 

 been only R1,000,000, the result, I think, may be considered 

 satisfactory. Only a very small quantity of hark was sold 

 during the year : the profit is therefore derived solely from 

 the sale of febrifuge. 



9. Much attention has been given during the year 

 both by Mr. Gammie and myself to the improvement of 

 the process of manufacture; and, as I have already 

 stated, a better result has been obtained during the 

 past than during any previous year. There is no doubt 

 that by the adoption of a diiiereut and more costly pro- 

 cess of manufacture a still larger percentage of febri- 

 fuge might be obtained ; but that the febrifuge so ob- 

 tauied would cost less per pound is another question. 

 With a raw material which is cheap, bulky, and pract- 

 ically milimited in supjdy, processes of manufactui'e which 

 involve expensive carriage and uppai-atus are of doubtful 

 advantage. The whole matter of manufacture is receiving 

 most earnest attention ; but the subject is not at present 

 in a state in. which it can be advantageously reported upon. 



10. Mr. Gammie's contuiued good serx-ices .again de- 

 mand my warmest acknowledgment. Mr. Gaimiiie, 

 junior, has also worked steadily and well, as has 13ahu 

 Gopal Chundi-a Dutta, the head of the office and sale 

 department. 



George King, m. b., Surt/con-Major, 

 Sitperintendcni, Koijal Hoianic Garden, Calcutta, ■ 

 and Offtj. Govt. Quinoloi/ist, 



Silkworm Culture. — Mr. P. N. Braine, a gentle- 

 man who has directed a good teal attention to 

 this subject, has just presented to the Colombo Museum 

 his collection ot silk-producing molha carefully arranged. 

 The collection ought to be of practical value to all 

 who contemplate trying a new and promising industry 

 fiom time to time. We have a letter from Mr. Braine 

 on Tusser silk moths which will appear shortly. We 

 trust, duriug Sir Arthur Gordon's time, to see careful 

 experiments made in introducing this industry among 

 the Sinhalese people — an industry that ought to suit 

 their tastes and resources admirably. What has be- 

 coins of Father Palla's collection now that he has 

 returned to iiuroije, can any one tell us? 



