848 THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [May i, 1884. 



Much disappoint.meQt has heeu felt at the heavy mortality of seedliugs and young trees now 

 experienced. Plauters allege that this is very much more serious than was formerly the case, 

 and that it is now very difficult to establish new plantations, successive supplies dying out one 

 after another. The experience of Mr. Nock at Hakgala is, so far as it goes, of a similar character. 

 He re])orts as follows: — 



" The plants iu the specimen plot (see page 4 of last report) continuuig to die off, I took up, in July, 

 those of them that were alive, and after lime and sand had been mixed with the soil they were replanted 

 and all vacancies supplied. But I regret to say that although some have improved since, hardly one has 

 made satisfactory growth, and those of the Oalisaya class have nearly all died. 



"The grafted plants of Ledgeriana have scarcely grown au inch during the year, and the tallest is 

 now only 18 inches high after being planted 16 mouihs. Of our own seedling Ledgeriana there is hardly a 

 plant left, and these are no bigger than when planted out Of eight fine strong healthy plants of " Class 

 D., Yarrow," Ledgeriana, (kindly given to the garden liy Mr. To n Gibsm, Miria' edda.) planted out iu 

 May, there are only two alive, and they are looking very badly. The "Jamaica hybrid," J.-iva cordifolia, 

 Nilgiri magnifolia, succirubra, and Jamaica " Calisaya No. 1," are looking fairly well, but have made but 

 little growih. Nilgiri ;)«7iesce«s is unhealthy, and only three plants of C. lancifo/ia yar. disco/or, from 

 Java, are alive, of which one is very hea'thy. 



"A plant, from a cutting, of Hard Carihagena (C. cordifolia of Markham) is doing very well ; it has 

 only been planted out six months, and is now about one foot high, and very strong and healthy looking. 

 The row of C. pilayensis lias been supplied several times, but so far none of the plants have become 

 established. The plants of "C. Verde,'' like the Ledgerianas, have nearly all died, but there is one plant 

 that looks well and is now one foot high. Every atteulion has been paid to the plants in this plot, both in 

 the preparation of the sites for each plant, in shading iu hot sunny weather, and in watering when very dry, 

 and I think that the continued foggy sunless weather we have here at times is the chief cause of their not 

 thriving ; the elevation will of course in a measure account for the deaths of L^edgeriana. During October 

 and November the mean amount of cloud was 8-5 and 9-1, respectively, aud it was a rare thing for the sun 

 to be out for half an hour at a tinie." 



The Cause of this mortality has been assumed by some to lie ia a "degeneration" of the 

 cinchonas since their cultivation in Ceylon, each generation being supposed to be of inferior 

 vitality to the last. I cannot see any clear evidence of this ; the tendency to die at an early age 

 is as marked in plants (under similar conditions) grown from seed fre.sh from South America or the 

 W. Indies, as from Ceylon-grown. It ap[)ears to be rather iu the climate and soil of Ceylon that 

 the cause is to be sought. We have had a series of bad seasons. Much of our shallow soil and 

 cold subsoil, and many of our wet, windy and e:;j)osed hillsides are very unsuitable for cinchona as 

 a permanent cultivation ; in well-protected localities with a deep soil and good drainage, it is 

 probable that it grows as well as it ever did in Ceylon. For it must be remembered that the 

 mortality was always very great both here and in Soutli India ; in 1872 my predecessor called 

 special attention to it, and Mr. Mclvor in the Nilgiris allowed that bis losses were never less than 

 30 per cent, in planted-out seedlings. But when cinchona was thought little of, a heavy mortality 

 passed almost unnoticed here ; now the case is altered. 



A good deal of discussion has taken place during the year on the botanical questions which 

 underlie cinchona cultivation, especially as to the correct names of the sorts grown in the East. 

 Early in May, Mr. J. E. Howard (whose recent death, on 22nd November, is a great loss to 

 quinology) read a paper at the Liunnsau Society of London, calling in question the right of the 

 cinchona grown here as C. Ledgeriana, which I had figured aud fully described in the "Journal 

 of Botany" for November, 1881,* under that appellation, to bear the name. This paper was not 

 published till September, but in the interval he had supported his views by two other communi- 

 cations to other perodicals. I have fully replied on the whole question iu a letter to the " Phar- 

 maceutical Journal, "t which has also apjieared in the " Observer" newspaper for 26th November, 

 and have, I believe, shown conclusively that my late friend's doubts on the subject were grounded 

 on a series of misapprehensions. With regard to this same species 1 have also had to refute, 

 in two short communications to the "Journal of Botany," the assertions of Dr. 0. Kuntze, who 

 maintains it to be a hybrid between C. Calisaya and C. mlcrantha. 



A more extensive contribution to the botany of cultivated cinchonas is contained in a 



* See my report for that year, page 4. 



t The pubUcation of this was delayed till 19th January, 1884. [Note addcdJ] 



