79° 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[April 2, 1883. 



should hybrids appeal' in their nursery beds, we have 

 no doubt they can sell them to advantage to planters 

 not so favoured as regards soil and clinuite. For 

 hybrids between sucoirubra and Ledgeriana, as well 

 as tliose between succirubra and officinalis, tlieie seems 

 a great future in tlie higher altitudes, colder climates, 

 and stifter soils of our mountain regions. 



From the table of analyses attached to Mr. Moens' 

 valuable report, it will be seen that the barks of 

 true Ledgerianas gave from 5 '94 per cent of quinine 

 up to ]1.'';^7, aud from 7'51 to 13'61 of total alkaloids. 

 The constituents in tlie latter case were : — 



Quinine 12-37 



Cinchonine and .amorph. alk. ... r24 



Total... ... 13-61 



Then from broad-leaved succirubra-like trees and their 

 descendants, such results were obtained as from L'-08 

 to 11-10 of quinine. In one case the constituents 

 were : — 



Quinine ... ... ... 10 '33 



Cinchonine and amorph. alk. ... 2-75 



Total. 



13-08 



The tree, probably a hybrid, which gave only 2-08 

 of quinine gave altogether 



Quinine 

 Cinchonidine 

 Cinchonine, &c. 



Total... 



2-08 

 3-77 

 2-32 



8-17 



Even that would not be an unprofitable tree to grow, 

 as the renewed bark would probably shew an improved 

 percentage of quinine. But we need not add to Mr, 

 Moens' analyses of the table further than to draw 

 the attention of our readers to the curious compos- 

 ition of the bark of Ledgeriana grafted on succirubra : 



Quinine ... ... ... 4-52 



Cinchonidine 

 > Cinchonine 



Amorph. alkaloid 



1-24 

 0-79 

 0-98 



Total. 



-53 



The graft in this case was from an unselected tree, 

 and we suspect that with advancing age (the tree 

 was only 4 years old) the bark will improve. In 

 due time Mr. Moens will tell us what occurs, in 

 addition to all the valuable information he has already 

 supplied to the world regarding cinchona culture aud 

 the peculiarities of barks in their proportionate yield 

 of the various alkaloids. 



CINCHONA. 



Report on the Goveekment Oikchona Entebpetze in 

 Java fob the 4th Quarter 1882. 

 ,: .■ ' {Ti-andated for the '^Ceylon Observer.") 

 The months of October and November were rainy : in 

 October on several establishments the amount of rain 

 measured was from 329 to 553 mm. spread over 20! to 29 

 days. Deceti\ber on the contrary was again abnormal and 

 was among the driest mouths of 1882. I'lanting out could 

 not iu consequence be continued, and at the end of the 

 year a great number of plants, intended to \w, put out, 

 were left in the beds. During the quarter there were put 

 out 67,000 Ledgeriana, 24,5006uccirubra, and 21,000 officin- 

 alis. The harvesting was continued to the end of Decem- 

 ber. The amount of bark then gathered was about 230,000 

 Amst. lb., of which 186,312 A. lb. was iutendedfor sale in the 

 Netherlands and 1,993 A. lb reserved for the local medical 

 service. The dispatch was slow, on account of defective 

 means of transport. On 11th October last another small 

 parcel of sucoirubra bark wa^ sold, belonging to the harvest 

 of 1881, which was originally reserved for the medical .serv- 



ce for the preparation of quinetum. "Wlien this was given 

 up the bark was seut to the Netherlands to be sold 

 there. The whole p.arcel, amounting to 2,371o kilograms, 

 fetched a net sum of /5528-90, or /2-33 per kilogram. 

 The prices varied from /440 for 1st quality to /'1-50 for 

 dust per kil. By this sale the total return of the har- 

 vest of 1881 was brought up to ,/'218,441-75. The experi- 

 ments with grafting in the open air were continued during 

 the quarter. Of the 88 grafts placed on 80 young succi- 

 rubra stems in May 10 grafts on 6 trees are now likely to 

 grow. The young scions .are growing vigorously and are 

 now about two feet in length. On large succirubra^ graft- 

 ing does not succeed. Ferule grafting, while it was per- 

 formed on a large scale in the nursery boxes under double 

 glass, was also tried outside. Of 44 grafts placed in tbis 

 manner in June ou 14 young trees eight are still Iwing, 

 six of which have already grown well, Iu September aud 

 November 69 more of these grafts were placed on 34 trees, 

 but not one of these has succeeded. Experiments with 

 crown grafting all again failed as formerly. The results 

 of the analyses performed during the year are, so far as 

 they are of any sjieciul interest, appended hereto in tabular 

 form. 1 — 24 are alkaloid determinations of four year old 

 descendants of C Ledycriann^ which exhibit the type of 

 this variety aud prove that propagation by seed does no 

 harm to the yield of quinine, so long as the seed is puire 

 and not hybridized. Analyses 7 and IG are of bark cut 

 from ten trees, which were not picked out but .taken just 

 as they stood on one of the terraces, so that they gave 

 for the whole plantation the high average of about 9 per 

 cent quinine, whilst picked trees of good type, even of that 

 age, contained a as much as 12-29 quiuine. The analyses 

 18 — 24, of bark of private plantations, show that the ex- 

 ceptional trees are not alone fouud in the Government 

 gardens. The analyses 25 — 38 are all of bark cut from 

 vigorously growing broad-leaved individuals, which have the 

 appearance of being bastards, in which succirubra has had a 

 share. The yield of quinine varies greatly, thougli it is 

 sometimes very high, aud should these plants, raised from 

 seed, continue to preserve their type, the cultivation of 

 them should be very profitable, ss they grow more easily 

 aud rapidly than C. Ledyeriana. Tbis will be tested, '^^^lilst 

 the bark, renewed on Ledgeriana trees, which were shaved, 

 after one aud two years had not yot returned to its ori- 

 ginal yield of quinine, it now appears that a period of 

 three years is sufficient for the purpose. The original 

 bark of the trees of which the renewed bark is now 

 gathered, containing 9'26 per cent quinine, coutaiued in 

 1879 only 7-S per cent quiuine. The analyses 45 — 54 of 

 specimens of the harvest, obtained from the pruning of 

 the Ledgeriana gardens, shew how these young branch 

 and twig barks already yield an excellent material 

 for the manufactiu-e of quinine. No. 5 was obtained, by 

 pruning, from one to three year old trees in the 

 gardens formed of grafts. The analyses 41 — 44, 55 — 57 and 

 59 relate to grafted trees. These investigations deserve to 

 be continued, as both the high yield of cinchonine .and 

 cinchonidine by the Ledgeriana grafts and the high yield of 

 quinine by the succirubra under-stems is curious, aud would 

 lead one to suppose an influence of the two upon each 

 other if anal. 42 did not contradict this, so far as the 

 Ledgeriana is concerned. The analyses 60 — 63 of 

 officinalis confirm the belief that the root bark of this 

 variety is usually rich in quinine ; that at Lembang, al- 

 though growing with great difficulty, it forms a good deal 

 of alkaloid ; and that the narrow-leaved form, in British 

 India, named C. anyustifolia, here also has a high yield of 

 quinine. The analyses 66 — 67 of C cordifolia give for this 

 variety a notably higher yield of quinine than has hitherto 

 been met with. During the quarter, in fulfilment of an 

 order of the Government, the Director has caused a search 

 to be made in the tracts of natural forest, where cinchonas 

 intermingled with various kinds of trees. Have been found. 

 On the occasion of this journey it was found that the 

 limate of central .Ta va appears to be more favourable than 

 cthat of west Java forO. upciiialh. Thriving plantations 

 of this variety are found, among otlier places, in the dis- 

 trict of Wonosobo, at a height of 4,000—4,500 feet. They 

 far exceed in growth the gardens of Dodabetta in the 

 Nilgiris. 



BandoiSg, J. O. Eebnelot Moens, 



lOth Jan. 18S3. iJir. Govt. Cinchona Enterprise. 



