November i, 1883.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



337 



The first step is to procure seed, and great care should 

 be taken to seciu:e such from good sound trees, avoiding 

 seed from those cankered. And here 1 may be pardoned 

 for digressing in saying that the dry clunate of Queensland 

 (as compared with Oeylon, where the damp, causing the 

 death of thousands by canker, is the chief enemy the cin- 

 chona has to encounter) \vill, in my opinion, be the climate 

 jinr exceUence for cinchona. I would advise Indian seed, 

 or seed carefully gathered from reliable sources in Oeylon. 

 It is easily germinated, usually coming up in three weeks. 

 The plants after a time are exposed to the sun and ren- 

 dered hardy, and should be transplanted when about 8 in. 

 to 9 in. in height. With cinchona, unlike many other pro- 

 ducts,- an immense quantity can be secured to the acre. 

 On its first trial it was planted too widely apart, and now 

 for the planting of the Ojfichialis variety I woul I ad\ise 

 3 ft. by 3 ft., or 4,840 trees to the acre. The Succiruhra being 

 a much larger variety, cannot be planted so closelj', but 

 5 ft. by 5 ft. would be a satisfactory distance. The Oj^cin- 

 a/As variety grows best at an elevation of from 4,000 tt. up 

 to 6,000 ft., and a corresponding climate to these elevations, 

 especially the first, would be found in my opinion along 

 your northern shores ; the latitude for these elevations in 

 Oeylon is 7 at 6,000 ft. In Ceylon the mornings and even- 

 ings are generally cold, sometimes very much so, and the 

 heat at mid-day very intense. At these elevations the 

 Ofjicin/dis would thrive immensely, were it not for the 

 prolonged bouts of rain it gets. 



Ceylon agriculturists do not use the plough, but having 

 lined off their ground 3 ft. by 3 ft. they proceed to hole, 

 and the larger the hole up to 18 in. the better ; this, of 

 course, is done in a land where labour is plentifid, but 

 thi.s work may with truth be said to be the only expensive 

 part of cinchona culture ; the land being opened, the cin- 

 chona needs no further attention tor two or three years, 

 beyond keeping the ground clear at first so as to give 

 the young plants a start. 



The first trees planted on a large scale in Oeylon were 

 allowed to attain to some five years' growth before any 

 decided plan of action was hit upon with respect to the 

 harvesting of their valuable bark. First of all coppicing 

 was tried, but planters did not like to see five years' 

 growth and more laid low ; and in some instance, and at 

 certain elevations, the suckers sent up from the stool did 

 not grow as well as could be desired ; and if the suckers 

 did not come on, by the time that this fact was de- 

 monstrated, the roots below ground had lost all the valu- 

 able propi^rties of their bark, so that in certain localities 

 it was the best policy to uproot the trees bodily. The 

 writer once cut out some 23,000 trees, averaging four years 

 old, and on taking the bark ofif stem, roots, branch, and 

 twig», the yield per tree was slightly over 1 lb., whilst 

 over a few thousand of the larger, or five-year-old trees, 

 the yield was ij lb. per tree. Each tree was cut out vnth 

 its roots attached (the root bark being very valuable) ; the 

 trees were then carried to the nearest road, where the 

 roots were sawn off at the stool. These roots were at once 

 carried to a pool of water and cleaned prior to being barked. 

 The man now takes his tree, and cutting off all branches — 

 on which the women operate (whittUng off the bark — 

 taking care, however, not to include wood with bark), the 

 man being left with the stem only — and proceeds to slice 

 rings round it, about 18 in. apart, and then, making a per- 

 pendicular cut between these two rings, he inserts anything 

 that will lift the bark without breaking it — either a piece 

 of flat wood, or a steel instrument with a top like the ladle 

 of a spoon, only flat. The bark, being full of sap, comes 

 off easily, and a good hand will cut out his own trees and 

 bring in about 50 lb. to 60 lb. of bark a day. The bark is 

 now dried in the sun for three or four days, and will lose 

 in the first days, drying about half its green weight, and 

 wheTi thoroughly dry will be about one-third of its original 

 weight. The yield from these 23,000 trees fetched an aver- 

 age price in the London market of 4s. 4d. per lb., and 

 some parts of the stem quill, taken off as described, fetched 

 6s. 6d. 



The planters being in ditBculties as to the best mode of 

 harvesting, an Indian authority — Mr. M'lvor — came to the 

 rescue, and advised the leaving of the trees, securing the 

 bark by the stripping process, and covering over the strip- 

 ped part with moss. This method proved unsatisfactory, 

 being too severe to be put into general use, and has since 



given way to a much better process in every respect The 

 trees are now spoke-shaved with a two handled shave, set 

 to any required depth, and the amount of bark that can 

 be secured per man per day is truly astonishing ; 200 lb. 

 and more has been taken from the larger variety of cin- 

 chona (Succtnibra), but I consider 801b. per man from three 

 to four year old trees of the Officinalis variety a very good 

 day's work. 



With the spoke-shaving process there came a flood of 

 knowledge. First of all it was proved that the second shav- 

 ing gave a richer yield in quinine than the first, and that 

 each shaving thus increased in value. It was also proved 

 that two harvests could be secured in fourteen months, 

 and that the sooner it was secured the better, for after an 

 eight months' renewal it began to retrograde. The yield 

 of bark is also formd greater on each succeeding shaving, 

 the winter's experience putting it at one-fifth — thus, 25 trees 

 gave 10 lb. on the first shaving, and eight mouths after- 

 wards gave 12 lb ; these trees were only shaved up a height 

 of 3 ft. Many planters have gone in for shaving trees that 

 are not quite two years old, and have apparently done no 

 damage. The shaving sells for an average price of 2b. per 

 lb., * and from 2^ to 3 year old trees about 3 oz. of dry bark 

 could be countecf upon with safety. Some planters cover 

 over their shaved trees (the process causing a quicker re- 

 newal of bark and a richer secretion of quinine) ; but I had 

 150 acres of shaved trees under my charge, none of which 

 were covered, and the bark after such treatment fetched 

 as fine prices as could have been desired. 



Many Ceylou planters have gone iu for lopping off the 

 lower branches, and even those midway up the tree, thus 

 secm'ing a httle bark, but at a ruinous sacrifice. I would 

 strongly advise the growth being left natural. 



The writer once secured considerably over 200,000 young 

 plants from 2 lb. of seed — which is very small, flat, and light, 

 showing germ in centre. Good seed could be secured for 

 about £2 per lb. of the Officina/is variety, whilst the HuJiuita 

 variety costs as much as £5 to £10 per lb., but Ledger seed 

 seciu-es fabulous prices, even going up to over £80 per lb. 



I ^vrite this article with the view of encouraging the 

 planters and moneyed men of Queen-sland to give this jiro- 

 duct a trial. Opinion or indifference here cannot possibly 

 be stronger than it was in Ceylon, or the reUance in sugar 

 stronger than was the reliance in coffee ; and yet the day 

 came when many a poor hard-working feUow would have 

 been gazetted, had he not some years before put his faith 

 in cinchona, and his bark bearing him safely over the break- 

 ers, he '"ould afford to wait for the turn of the tide. — 

 H. St, G. O. — Queenstander, 



REPORT ON THE PROGRESS AND CONDITION OF 



THE ADELAIDE BOTANIO GARDENS AND 



GOVERNMENT PLANTATIONS DURING THE 



YEAR 1882. 



H. SCHOBOJUBOK, DR. PHIL., DIEECTOB. 



Medical Plants. — The demand by invalides for medical 

 herbs becomes more frequent, and it is gi'atifying to 

 be able to supply them. Inquiries are especially made 

 for the following, viz. : — The common English Broom 

 {Cytisus scopariHs, Link), of which a decoction is used 

 in dropsy ; the leaves of the Mullein or Shepherd's Club 

 {Verhaficum Thajisit.s, Desm.), a decoction of the leaves 

 being recommended by some of the American papers as 

 a remedy against consumption ; the globular Spurge 

 {Eiipkorhia piftdifera, Linn.,) a native of the tropical 

 regions of the new and old world. It is found growing 

 in Queensland, and a decoction of the plant is said to 

 be used with the best results in asthmatic complaints. 

 It would be a beneficial discovery if these domestic re- 

 medics were really effective. 



Wattle Farming. — I again call the attention of the 

 farmers to the cultivation of the wattle. If properly and 

 systematically carried out, it will beyond doubt become 

 a profitable speculation. 'Tanning material becomes scarcer, 

 and the iirices' for such rise constantly. In my former 

 reports I have given detailed accounts regarding the 

 cultivation of the wattle. It seems that in Victoria 



» Not now. — Ed. 



