Psc. i< 1886.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



367 



$ovr^spondeno0. 



To the EdUor of the " Ce[ilon Observer." 

 WHITE CASTOR CAKE : AN ENQUIRY ? 

 The Editor " Tropical A(friciilturist." 



The Siddra Bunnoo Estate, Koppa, 



Mysore, 21st Oct. 1880. 

 DuAB Sir, — I should feel much obliged if you 

 would inform me the price of white castor cake 

 per ton in Colombo, and also where the larger 

 part of that shipped to Ceylon comes from ? I 

 have made enquiries in Mangalore and Bangalore 

 and cannot get any. My object in writing is to 

 ascertain whence the castor cake comes and to 

 arrange to get some either in Mangalore (my nearest 

 port) or Madras.— I am, dear sir, yours faithfully, 



ROBERT BUCHANAN. 

 [This is a most extraordinary enquiry to make 

 of us in Ceylon, seeing that all the castor cake 

 now in Ceylon comes from India. It is sold here 

 just now, crushed and delivered at Colombo Railway 

 station, in boxes at Rtio to RG7 per ton, and comes 

 chiefly from Calcutta. — Ed.] 



THE CINCHONA ENTERPRIZE IN CEYLON !— 



AND IN INDIA AND JAVA : THE NEED 



OF FRESH SEED. 



Gampola, 23rd Oct. 188(5. 



Dear Sir, — A great deal has appeared lately in 

 your valuable paper on the subject of cinchona 

 and it has surprized me that no one has noticed, 

 while on this subject, the gradual though certain 

 extinction of this important cultivation within 

 the island. I shall preface my remarks with tlie 

 hazard, that less than ten years will see the last 

 of the present race of cinchona trees extinct. 



In taking a retrospect of cinchona since say 1805, 

 when only a few trees and isolated patches were 

 scattered here and there over the country, all from 

 one original stock and propagated by cuttings on'y, 

 viz. from the Hakgalla Gardens, until the period 

 between 1877 and 1882 when the cinchona plant 

 threatened to become a troublesome weed, spring- 

 ing up everywhere over estates and being reg- 

 ularly weeded out along with other weeds until 

 down to the present tnne, what do we see ? and 

 what have we learned '? 



All the earlier planted cinchona took live to 

 seven years to come into seed, grew so far as I 

 ever knew or saw, perfectly free from canker, 

 attained to line well-grown trees, and when cut 

 down again grew to trees, retaining their original 

 vigour. 



When the cinchona period arrived and men 

 counted their riches by the number of plants 

 they had planted, (now the seedling period) taken 

 wherever they were to be found, what a different 

 appearance they presented : trees ran to seed from 

 IJ to three years old ; along witli this period came 

 canker, sweeping out whole plantations^ no doubt 

 hastened somewhat by the abnormal seasons of 

 1879 and 1.S82, but I think most observing men 

 will admit the great vital cause to be degener- 

 ation of species, till at the present time cinchona 

 seedlings die off wholesale, before they have at- 

 tained a foot high. 



I maintain canker is but symptomatic. The 

 disease is embryotic, /. e. the cinchona plant never 

 has been, nor ever can be naturalized in the East 

 and my remarks apply to India and the whole Brit- 

 ish Possessions where this valuable tree has been 

 cultivated. 



Now if we but take into consideration what part 

 Geijl(jH alone has played in this mighty boon to 



humanity, in the matter of cheapening the cinchona 

 alkaloids and bringing them within the reach of 

 the poorest, is it not sad to contemplate if extinc- 

 tion be admitted how soon this gift may be swept 

 away and quinine get beyond the reach of the poor. 



I look on this as a hic/hlij importcuU Imperial 

 question, calling for the immediate attention of the 

 powers that be ere it is too late ; at any cost the 

 British Government should keep up a small fresh 

 annual supply of seed and plants from their native 

 habitat and have them propagated and distributed, 

 bringing them easily within the reach of all wil- 

 ling to undertake their cultivation. 



What owner of land in Ceylon would not gladly 

 plant up a portion of his estate in cinchona if 

 he were satisfied there would be a healthy per- 

 manent growth as attended the early efforts ? 



I have no hesitation in saying like results would 

 follow if seed or plants were again re-introduced, 

 and planting confined to original stock only. I am 

 very desirous to hear the opinions of those who 

 have watche 1 the progress of cinchona planting 

 from its earliest start in the island to the pre- 

 sent time, and what they think of its future. 



Much might be written of disappointed hopes, 

 but also much of the fireat aid it brought the 

 struggling planter in his time of need, also what 

 a lamentable fact it will be if we have to record 

 its decay, when a little foresight might prevent 

 such a calamity and give a fresh impetus to an 

 industry so fraught with good.— Yours truly, 



AGRICOLA. 



[Our correspondent's idea is a good one, al- 

 though we scarcely think he is correct in his vaticin- 

 ations. If cinchona trees canker oft' in Ceylon 

 and India, so they do in the Andean plantations, 

 while in the forests of America, South and Central, 

 the bark gatherers had to search for scattered groups 

 of the fever trees. We believe we have in the 

 eastern world as good a cinchona climate as exists 

 in the western world, but in both hemispheres, the 

 plant is particular as to soil and especially subsoil, 

 dying off in damp, stiff clay. We should like to 

 hear from other planters also what they have to 

 say about the nourishing of cinchonas on soil opened 

 up and drained by tea plants. Our own experience 

 shows that in such cases they flourish wonder- 

 uliy. — Ed.] 



COFFEE IN UVA. 



Dear Sir, — I see the Uva men still try to live 

 in a fool's paradise keeping up the hope that their 

 coft'ee may resist the green bug. How true the 

 proverb is that "Wise men profit by the experience 

 of others, fools by their own." My coffee was 

 among the healthiest and most vigorous in the 

 Kandyan side, the soil, climate, cropping and growth 

 were in many respects similar to those of Uva, 

 while it was distant and separate from other 

 estates. Green bug put in its hr.st appearance 

 only last year, but this year it is very bad on all 

 over the coft'ee, stems, leaves and even fruit. 

 Further it is not even confined to the coft'ee but 

 it prevails on jungle bushes and even on forest 

 trees. The merry men of Uva must, like their 

 Kandyan brethren, just submit to the inevitable, 

 and the sooner they face it the better. Green bug 

 is far worse than leaf-disease, and neither good 

 soil nor dry climate mend matters. Coft'ee must 

 be replaced by tea, but for Uva to do this success- 

 fully, it must have a railway, no matter of what 

 kind. The long weary years have proved the 

 folly of Uva having allowed Rutherford's proposed 

 temporary narrow gauge scheme to collapse — half 

 a loaf would have been better than no bread. 

 DELENDA EST CARTHAGO, 



