^1^ 



"tnm TROt*I<CAL AGfeiCULTORlSt. 



[Jan I, 18&7, 



INORGANIC CONSTITUENTS OF CINCHONA 

 BARK. 



Dr. Hooper, the Madras Government Quinologist, 

 has reported as follows: — I have recently been enga- 

 ged in examiniug the inorganic constituents of cinchona 

 bark, and, considering the results would be of use 

 to all engaged in cultivating cinchona, I forward you 

 the results of my analyses. The dried bark always 

 contains from 2 to 4 per cent of a^h, the young bark 

 yielding more than old and renewed specimens. I 

 have analysed samples of bark from Cinchona offici- 

 nalis growing in the Dodabetta plantation, and also 

 from Cinchona succirubra growing at the lower eleva- 

 tion at Naduvatam ; and it will be seen that there 

 is a great similaritj' in the composition of the ash 

 derived from both these species: — 



C. oflacinalis. 0. succirubra. 



Silica 5-75 660 



Soluble Silica ... 1-42 4-40 



Alumina 2-70 4-24 



Iron oxide 285 3-31 



Lime 3270 3280 



Magnesia ... 



Potash 



Soda 



Carbonic acid ... 



Sulphuric acid 



Phosphoric acid ... 



Chlorine 



100-00 100-00 



The chief constituent of the ash is the lime, which 

 forms nearly one-third of the whole. It probably 

 exists in the bark in the form of kiuate or oxalate 

 of lime, and when incinerated becomes carbonate of 

 lime. The next element of importance is the potash, 

 which amounts to one-sixth and one-eight part of the 

 whole ash respectively. The examination shows that 

 both lime and pota«h must be present in soils where 

 cinchona plants are grown. 



THE CEYLON TEA PLANTER'S MANUAL. 



Mr. T. 0. Owen has issued a very useful little 

 hand-book, under the above title, which cannot fail 

 to be of much interest to Ceylon Tea planter.s. 

 There is a good deal of valuable data regarding 

 Building", and cost of working on Ceylon Tea Es- 

 tates. The author says that as a tea-producing 

 country Ceylon possesses many advantages over others. 

 The hills are eminently suited for Tea, the localities 

 are healthy, and the transport facilities are very great. 

 Labour is abundant, though not very cheap; rainfall 

 is well distributed and amply sfiBcieut, so that the 

 check of growth which causes the Tea to winter in 

 India, does not occur so markedly in the Island. 

 Although the harvesting of ripe seed is found to be 

 very difficult and expensive matter in Ceylon, great 

 progress has been made in this direction, and Ceylon 

 is now by no means so dependent on India as she 

 once was for her seed supply. The seasons differ so widely 

 in Ceylon from ours tbat, necessarily, the systems of 

 cultivation differ widely from ours, but the Indian 

 planter may nevertheless be interested in comparing 

 the twos and this the Book before us will enable him 

 to do. The figures given as to yield and cost of manu- 

 facture are particularly interesting. It is stated that 

 400 lb. per acre on the hills, and 600 lb. per acre in 

 the lowcountry, are easily obtainable, but these 

 figures have been in several cages considerably ex- 

 ceeded—in one instance enormously so, — the Maria- 

 watte estate having yielded 1,200 lb. per acre. 



One great advantage which Ceylon Tea estates en- 

 joy is comparative freedom from bli^'ht. The worst 

 enemy in the Island for cocoa is the Mosquito Blight, 

 but it has not yet seriously attacked Tea, It is far 

 otherwise with us, unfortunately. "Whether, as Tei 

 cultivation in Ceylon extends, the present comparative 

 immuuity from Blight will continue, is a question. 

 Lately, it is said, a Caddis worm, or insect closely 

 i-eacrobling one, has proved destructive to the bark of 



the tea-bushes, but this insect can easily be picked 

 off and destroyed. Reference is made to the jungle- 

 tree St/mplocas obtusa, whose decaying roots kill all 

 the tea-plants within their range, but as its evil 

 effects on Tea are so well known, it is not difficult 

 to avoid it, by extermination. Any who may think- of 

 trying their fortunes in Tea, in Ceylon, should obl.iin 

 the Work under review. — Indian Tea Gazette. 



CHEMICAL IMPROVEMENT OF TEA SOILS. 



"\V'e proceed now to consider the chemical require- 

 ments of what should be a good tea soil, and by 

 what means imperfect soils may be brought near the 

 standard of perfection. 



It is well known that the soil is the source from 

 which the plant draws through the medium of the 

 root the mineral or inorganic portion of its plant- 

 food, tiie organic portion being derived through the 

 leaves from the atmospheric air. 



In order to determine now what rriineral plant-food, 

 a would-be good tea soil must contain, and in what 

 proportion, we must base our remarks upon the tea 

 plant itself, and upon the inorganic substances we 

 find in it as revealed by an analysis of its ashes. 



Mr. Schrottky gives the composition of the ashes 

 of young leaves of the Assam hybrid tea plant as 

 follows : — 



In 100 parti. 



Chloride of Sodium 2-247 



Soda 8-94) 



Potash 36-514 



Magnesia ... ... 10-089 



Lime ... ... 8-517 



Oxide of Iron and Manganese . . . 3966 



Phosphoric Acid ... 16214 



Sulphric Acid ... 13-017 



Silica 0-439 



99-944 

 And states that old laaves and stems will contain 

 more lime and silica than here represented. 



Now a soil, to be a first class tea soil, should con- 

 tain all these constituents in proportions which closely 

 approach the above percentage ; that is to say, the 

 rootlets of the tea plant should find distributed in the 

 soil, for every 36 parts of potash 10 parts of 

 magnesia, 8 parts of lime, 16 parts of phosphoric 

 acid, etc., etc. If we find, therefore, that any soil 

 contains these substances approximately in the above 

 proportions, not leaving out of sight that potash can 

 take the place of soda, and lime that of magnesia, 

 then indeed it would be impossible to further im- 

 prove its chemical constitution. But it must be re- 

 membered that the mineral plant-food in the soil 

 exists in two different states, which stand in very 

 different relations to the requirements of the plants 

 we refer to, — mineral plant-food in physical and in 

 chevncal combination. In the former state it is im- 

 mediately available for the purposes of the plant, 

 while in the latter it can only become so after the 

 prolonged action of climate and atmospheric influences 

 upon it-. At present we have only to do with the 

 former. 



Let us assume now, that we find in a soil all the 

 different constituents of available mineral plant-food 

 to be present in proximate proportions to those 

 required by the plant, with the exception of phos- 

 phoric acid, of which, say, only 6 parts are available 

 for every 36 parts of potash, etc ; than every pound 

 of pho.sphoric acid added would render a correpond- 

 ing quantity of the remainder of mineral plant-food, 

 heretofore useless to the plant, available to it, and 

 consequently stimulate the fcrniation of new tissues ; 

 i.e., increase the outturn. We can distribute through 

 the soil 10 parts of phosphoric acid in addition to 

 the 6 parts already pre.sent, and we will thus make 

 up the 16 parts necessary to correspond with the 

 remainder of available inorganic plant-food. Every 

 pound of phosphoric acid added in excess of this 

 quantity is perfectly useless, as there is not the 

 corresponding quantity of potash, lime, &c., present 



