May I, 1884.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 849 



report* upon the Government plantations in the Nilgiris, which I had the honour of offering 

 to tlie Government of Madras, after a visit made in Slay at the invitation of tliat Government 

 and with the kind sanction of His Excellency the Governor of this Colony. The most interesting- 

 question here dealt with is the nature of the cinchonas known in the Nilgiris as " magnifolia" and 

 " pubescens." In my report for 1881, page 5, 1 have referred to these kinds of cinchona, and there 

 proposed the name robusta for them, expressing the opinion that their local hybrid origin, as 

 maintained by Mclvor and generally accepted in (Jeylon, was more probable than the correctness 

 of Mr. Cross's statements as to their identity with the " Pata de Gallinazo" of Chimborazo — i.e., 

 C. erythrantha. Against this view it had been urged that the trees existed in the oldest plots at 

 Naduvatam. planted in 1862 before any cinchona liad flowered in India. A careful examination of 

 these and of the reports of the plantations has confirmed the original opinion, and 1 have shown 

 tliat these trees were almost certainly planted by Mclvor as supplies in 18G6-7 and as hybrid 

 seedlings. I was also able to name the puzzling corky-barked species called " crispa" by Cross 

 (who collected it in the Samora Mountains east of Loxa in 1861), " lumtmor/olia" by Markham, and 

 '"'■ decurrent'ifoVicC by Howard. It proves to be I'. Ilumdoltiana, Jjixmh., a species botanically 

 allied to C. carabayensls (C. Paliudlaim), and not likely to prove of value. Attention was also 

 called to another corky-barked cinchona, a form of C. officinalis, to C. lancifoli.a, of which a few 

 trees still remain, and to the valuable C. pltai/ensls. A good deal of synonymy has been cleared 

 up, and it is to be hoped that the nomenclature now given, the result of much trouble and research, 

 may be generally accepted in S. India and Ceylon, where at all events uniformity ought to prevail. 

 The practical suggestions made in the report as to the principles which should regulate the future 

 management of the plantations— including the appointment of a Quinologist to work with the 

 Superintendent in a system of experimental cultivation based on selection by analysis- are under 

 the consideration of the Secretary of State. 



It is still too soon to speak with any certainty as to the species to which the " Verde'' and 

 " Morada" cinchonas ought to be referred. The leaves of the young plants, for which I am 

 indebted to BIr. J. V. H. Owen and other gentlemen, are very handsome ; they present considerable 

 variety, but are usually thin in texture, remarkably " velvety" in appearance above, have a 

 strong vinous or co]tpery-crimson tint beneath, and are generally finely ciliate on the margin. I 

 am informed that the plants are doing well, and hoj)e during the coming year to arrive at some 

 conclusion as to their nature. 



Cacao. — The position of this product is very satisfactory and improving, the exjjort in the 

 last commercial year (3,588 cwts.) having actually trebled that of the year before. Of the esti- 

 mated acreage (9,896 acres) over a half is growing along with coffee (mainly Libcrian), and much 

 is not in full bearing. The efforts of the last two or three years to induce a native cultivation 

 have lately been more vigorously j)ushed ; and, encouraged by the Government officials, the natives 

 seem at last to be more favourably disposed towards it. The garden at Henaratgoda has played 

 the imiiortant part in this attempt to supplant in suitable districts the nearly valueless nat'iMB 

 coffee by a profitable substitute. As many as 8,400 pods have been distributed from that garden 

 during the year, and about 1,400 from P^radeniya, being together equivalent to over 2.5O,O0(J seeds. 

 In theDumbara district of the Central Province, the site of the oldest and best cacao estates, the 

 native cultivation is especially promising, and in the Kurunegala and Negombo Districts cultiva- 

 tors are even jmrckisi//// seed. No useful plant is more suited for the village garden than this, 

 if only the cultivators will take the trouble to protect and look after the young plants for the 

 first year or two ; when once established little farther attention is required. 



In last year's report (pp. 11, 12) I made some remarks upon the pale and yellow-fruited 

 varieties in cultivation. With regard to the value of these, as compared with the old red sort, 

 Mr. Jardine, of Udaj)olla estate, has kindly given me the following information. His statistics 

 show that the number of pods required to give one lunind of dry seed is, of the pale varieties, 

 IH, and of the ordinary red, 22 — i.e., 1,288 and 2,464 respectively to the cwt. If we reckon the 

 pale-fruited trees to be 170 (16 by 16) to the acre, and the red-fruited ones 300 (12 by 12), it 

 ai)pears that to produce one cwt. per acre would require only 7| pods per tree of the former against 

 8| of the latter. Thus, if the market value of the product were the same, there wcuild be an advan- 

 tage on the side of the pale kinds, which are also of more rapid growth, attain a much larger size, 

 and are quite as prolific as the red, if not more so. It appears, however, that the flatness of the 



* Priuted with G. O. Xo. 1.189, 26th September, 1883. 

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