Fes. I, 1887.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



S^f 



CINCHONA IN JAVA. 



[The following Eeporfc shews that Mr. Van Ro - 

 munde is a worthy successor to Mr. Moens, for the 

 interest he takes in his work, and the experiments 

 he carries on, of the results of which we shall hear 

 in future Reports. Mr. Van Romunde's full Report 

 for 1885 covers five pages of the January num- 

 ber of the 7'ropical Agriculturist, and contains much 

 very suggestive information. — Ed.] 



Report on the Government Cinchona Gardens 



FOR the 3rd Quarter of 1886. 



{Translated for the " Ce;/lon Olmerver.") 



The weather during the past quarter has been pretty 

 dry, though it was occasionally varied by slight 

 showers of rain, which were very beneficial to the 

 young plantations and nurseries. J'rosts at nights, 

 which generally take place during severe droughts 

 and strong East winds, werj nowhere observed. 



In the beginning of this quarter some thousands 

 of stronsr grafts were put out in the open ground, 

 and are thriving as well as could be wished. 



The harvest of 1886 up to the end of September 

 amounted to 300,000 Amsterdam pounds of bark, of 

 which 260,288 pounds were sent to Batavia. 



This produce was obtained by thinning out closely 

 planted Ledgeriana and Succirubra plantations, whilst 

 a not unimportant quantity of pharmaceutical bark 

 was harvested by rooting out some old succirubra and 

 Josephiana gardens. 



Much care and expense were bestowed on the 

 nurseries of Ledgeriana and Succirubra seedlings for 

 the purpose of replanting the old gardens, which have 

 been uprooted as well as those remaining to be 

 uprooted. 



A vigorous commencement has been made in the 

 preparation of the ground for this planting out, as 

 also in the clearing of wooded ground for extending 

 the plintations of the graft planting at Tirtasari, which 

 graft planting will be increased during the coming 

 West monsoon to the extent of SObouws. 



During the past quarter only a few public sales of 

 cinchona seed were held, the gross proceeds of which 

 amounted only to /165-25. The greatest quantity of 

 seed did not begin to ripen till the month of September. 

 At toe sale of the 5th October a considerable amount 

 of soed waa announced, of which a portion was 

 obtained from grafts of selected mother trees, the 

 bark of which yielded over 10 percent of quinine. In 

 consequence of combination among private planters, 

 this sale only realized f20'5'50. 



Advices have been received of the sale of the second 

 half of the produce of the harvest of 1885 on the 29th 

 September last. The results of the sale are not yet 

 known here. 



At the request of parties interested in the cinchona 

 trade, and in concert with the Netherland trading 

 Society, the Minister for the Colonies has decided 

 that as a trial eight sales of cinchona bark, each year, 

 shall be held during 1887 and 1888. 



The researches made for ascertaining the influence 

 which the Succirubra stem has on the constitution of 

 the bark of the Ledgeriana grafted thereon, have 

 been carried on during the past quarter, but have 

 not yet been completed, so that the results will not 

 be made known until the next quarterly report shall 

 be sent in. 



(Signed) Van Romunde, 



Director of the Government Cinchona Undertaking. 

 Bandoeng, 7th October, 1886. 



statement showing the position of the govern- 

 ment cinchona plantations in JAVA FOlt THE 3UD 

 QUARTER 1886. 



(8 plantations from 1,2.50 to 1,900 feet above sea level.) 

 Plants in the Nurseries :— Total of different kinds.— 

 Ledgeriana. 1,249,000(1, Succirubra 560,000. 



Plants in the Open Ground :— Total of different 

 kinds.— Ledgeriana 755,7006, Calisaya en Hasskaiiliana 

 (iC 



74,000, Succirubra en Caloptera 536,000, Officinalis 

 234,000, Lancifolia 8.000. 



Plants in the Nurseries. — Total of all kmds 

 1,809,000. 



Plants in the Open Ground. — Total of all kinds, 

 1,627,700. 



General total number of plants 3,436,700. 



a Including grafts. 



h Including cuttings and grafts. 



(Exclusive of more or less 3,500 original Ledgerianas), 

 Translated /or the ^^ Observer" from the Extra Supple- 

 ment 0/ the Jarasche Co7traiit, {^^ Government Qa;;ette'') 

 issued Dec 18th, 1886. 



IMPORTANT TEA DELIVERY CA.SE, 



A case of some importance has recently been tried 

 in London in the Queen's Bench, in whicli the ques - 

 tion of short weight was concerned. The plaintiffs, 

 Messrs. Lister and Biggs, purchased of Messrs. Barry 

 & Co, 96 chests of Tea of the declared nett weight 

 of 9,2251t). "When the Tea came to be weighed at 

 the London wharf it was found to be 587 lb short. 

 The defence was that the sellers acted simply as 

 agents and were not responsible for the declared 

 garden weights. Although the amount in dispute was 

 only 25 lb, the case is necessarily of considerable 

 importance to owners and Agents here, and it is to 

 be hoped that it may induce more care being exercised 

 as to Garden weighments in future. It would seri- 

 ously tend to a want of confidence in the home mar- 

 ket if such cases were to become at all common. 

 In this case the chests are reported to have been in 

 good condition. The only conclusion that can be 

 come to, therefore, is that the scales at the garden 

 must have been defective, for, of course, intentional 

 fraud in such a matter is quite out of the question. 

 Managers would do well to have their scales period- 

 ically tested, as they are liable, of course, to get 

 out of order, and during weighment a European as - 

 sistant should invariably check the native weighman, 

 with whom, perhaps, inaccuracy of weight sometimes 

 lies. The judge, in summing up, dwelt on the great 

 importance of this case to Tea owners, because, aa 

 he remarked, on the one hand there was a sort of 

 imputation that fraudulent conduct had been pursued 

 somewhere, and on the other hand a custom had been 

 set up which was a dangerous one, — a custom which 

 required a great deal of watching. He held that a 

 man buying a given quantity was entitled to receive 

 that quantity, custom or no custom notwithstanding. 

 The jury naturally enough concurred in this view, 

 and found for the plaintiffs witli costs and a certi- 

 ficate in a special jury. So that by the time all 

 charges are paid, the expense will not be trifling. 

 That, however, is of less account than the injury 

 which such a case is likely to do to the reputation 

 of Indian shippers. Fortunately, publicity m such 

 matters, is as a rule, avoided, and we think Messrs. 

 Barry & Co. showed an unv?ise discretion in disput- 

 ing the claim. Whenever a claim in respect to short 

 weight is made at home, it is almost invariably at 

 once allowed by the wholesale seller, and we think 

 it is only fair that this should be so, even though 

 the loss may have occured through pilfering 

 at the Bonded Warehouse, because the pur- 

 chaser has nothing to do with this. It is the owner 

 or his agent alone whose business it is to protect his 

 own property, or, if he is unable to do so, to hold 

 himself liable for the loss. That a good deal of pil- 

 fering goes on in the bonded warehouses we fully 

 believe, and it is strange that so little heed is paid 

 to the matter. It is not very long ago that a prose- 

 cution of some employees of the Bonded Warehouse 

 revealed the fact that tea stealing was constantly 

 carried on there, and wholesale sellers, as we say, 

 were frequently in the habit of allowing, without ques- 

 tion, for such deficiencies. We think, however, in 

 justice to their friends on this side, they should not 

 take the matter so easily, but should induce the 

 authorities at the Bonded Warehouse to look a little 

 better after their employees. — Indian Tea Gazette. 



