764 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



[March i, i88ji 



The average price charged by Whift'ea for the whole 

 amouuts to Il9 9^d. per lb. or 8Jd. per oz. 



Take nbark— officinalis, 01 iginal shavings — from a 34 

 year old tree, aualysed by Dr. Paul as follows : — 

 Tot. Alk. 7-47, Sulph. QiiiLi.2-27, Sulph. Ciuchomdine 

 4'40, Sulph. Cinohouine -SO ;— 800 lb. of such bark, 

 which was valued at 2s 9d ; or, to be safer, let us jput 

 it at 2s 7d per lb. (tHe average value of bark, im- 

 ported from all sources to tlie U. K. iu 1881), sell for 

 £110— and contain 



Quinine Sulph 18-16 lb. worth 8/ per oz. ...£ 43 



Cinohonidine Sulph. 35 02 ,, ,, 5/6 „ £154 



Oiuchonine Sulph.... 6 04 „ „ 2/ ,, £10 



61-22 lb. alkaloids £207 



Qwmdine ) (. gon,puted in analysis or valuatioh. 

 Febrifuge J "^ 



which according to the above scale of charges for 

 manulauture would cost £33-28 to get mauulactured 

 by Messrs. Whiffenon contract. Tueii take the IS'lGlb. 

 Quinine at 83. per oz. na above, salable iu the opeu 

 market tor that price and retailed by the chemists at 

 168. to ISs. or to a medical man at 143. to 15s. and there 

 is in the open market at the 8s., £10 profit on tbe 

 Quinine, the other alkaloids being free, and the whole 

 shows a profit of i;93, exclusive of Quinine and Febrifuge, 

 for which I am unable to name prices.— I am yours 

 faithfully, S. M. KAYSHUTTLEWOETH. 



PRICES OF QUININE BARK IN LONDON. 

 ( From a Ceylon planter in Europe. ) 



1870 (not obtained.) Bark ... Is 8id 

 Quinine varied between Bark average ^ lb. 



s. d. s. d. s. d. 



1871 ...A. 6 9 and 7 9 B. 2 5 



1872 ... 7 4 „ 8 ... 1 9* 



1873 ... 6 6 „ 9 ... 1 9i 



1874 ... 7 4 „ 8 4 ... 1 lOi 



1875 ... 6 6 „ 7 3 ... 1 9i 



1876 ... 6 „ 11 ... 1 lOJ 



1877 ... 10 6 „ 16 6 ... 2 Oi 



1878 9 9 „ 14 2 lOi 



1879 ... 11 ,, 13 6 ... 2 IU 



1880 ... II 1 „ 12 8 ... 2 7S 



1881 ... 8 0,, 12 ... 2 7 



1882 ... 9 3 „ 10 6 ... 



A. refers to Howard's quinine sulphate. Prices from 

 Rucker & Bencraft, October 1882. 



B. John Hamilton's Cinchona Statistics. Average prices 

 of Bark imported to United Kingdom. 



Average prices of Bark 



exported from United Kingdom 2s OJd ) jggj 

 Do retained in do 3-i Id \ 



[The case looks exceedingly well on paper, and it 

 would probably pay parties who produce large quautit 

 ties of bark to employ a London chemist to extrac- 

 the alkaloids, selling them instead of the bark. As 

 regards a local factory, unless we gt,t a first-rate 

 cinchona chemist, the danger would be that all the 

 alkaloids would not be extracted. We do not know 

 why, but attempts to establish quinine manufactories 

 in South America seem to have failed. We must ask 

 the opinion of the Milan authorities who are shortly 

 to visit Ceylon.— Eu] 



CENSUS OF CINCHONA TREES. 



Agrapatna, 13th Feb. 

 DkAK Sir,— I should be glad of a tip from some of 

 your numerous rearlers as to the beet method of 

 taking a census of cinchona trees and plants grow- 

 ing on an estate, distinguishing between broad-and- 

 narrow-leafcd kinds, and marking size if possible. 

 For instance- 3 feet and under — 3 feet to G feet- 

 over 6 feet.— Youra faithfuUy. SINKONA. 



RED SPIDER IN CEYLON. 



SiE, — Herewith a Ceara leaf on which you will notice 

 hundreds of red spiders. I think it would be well 

 to direct the attention of planters to the increasing 

 prevalence of this pest. Considering how important 

 the culiivation of tea is now becoming, the spread of 

 this formidablf" enemy of tea deserves much more 

 earnest attention than it has yi't received. Indeed 

 it is most surprizing to me ihat planters, usually so 

 vigilant in matters which concern, and especially such 

 as threaten, their enterprize, should hitherto have been 

 so supine in regard to the rapid increase and wide 

 extension of red spiHer during the last two or three 

 years. I have for some time past observed that Cearis 

 were occasionally affected very seriously, and I quite 

 recentlv inquired of one of our most experienced 

 pioneers of new products if he also had remarked such 

 affection, to which he replied that he certainly had, 

 and he believed it was but the natural decay of the 

 old foliage preceding its renewal. This morning, see- 

 ing a small tree with the seef/^ appearance referred to, 

 I eximined the leaves with the result which the speci- 

 men herewith will better inform you than any verbal 

 description. W. 



WHAT AILS THE TOMATO. 



Craigleith Gardens, Gampola, Feb. 13th, 1883. 



Dear Sik, — Since we had the last very abnormal 

 weather about a week ago, all the fruit of the tomato, 

 I may say without exception, have been attacked 

 with large black blotches, and ultimately rot. The 

 apples are attacked at all stages of growth, but prin- 

 cipally when they have attained their full size, just 

 before they shew the shade of ripeness. Before the last 

 rains set in, when 1 used to go out to gather the fruit, 

 I was in the habit of look'iivj for a few rotten ones to 

 give to the pigs, who are very partial to them ; now 

 the pigs <{et them all— very trying for a man's con- 

 stitution, more especially if he has got a liver — as all 

 of my customers have I know— who wish to take 

 care of it. I would like to know, from any of your 

 numerous correspondents, if the tomato (not the liver) 

 disease is general, and if there is any cure. I have picked 

 all the diseased apples, green and ripe, which fill many 

 baskets. Isend you to the Fort station, by one of the 

 trains tomorrow, a small box containing three of the 

 diseased fruit.— Yours truly, GEO. WAIT. 



[I carefully examined the three large tomatos in 

 various stages of disease, under the microscope, and 

 could not find that the disease was caused by a fungus. 

 I found a fungus on the surface of the half-rotteu 

 part of one of the tomatos, but this was not the origin 

 of the disease : it grew in consequence of it. When 

 cut through, the diseased portions had every appearance 

 of being caused bj' a fungus, but the microscope could 

 not detect anything but brokeu-up cells of the fruit 

 in these portions. The disease may have originated 

 in consequ.-uce of a pl«thora of moisture in the fruits, 

 but I can describe it by no better term than i(!sJ(iiott« 

 defunction, ending in rotten tomatos. — W. F.] 



CINCHONA EXPERIMKNTS:— THE SHAVING OF 



CROWN TKEES AND THE VALUE OF 



RENEWED B.VRK. 



St. John's, Nuwara Eliya, Feb. 21st, 1883. 

 Siii, — I noticed in your paper remarks copied from the 

 local" Times," referring to theshaving of olficiualis. The 

 paragraph was also subsequently published in the Tropi- 

 cal Agriculturist for February. I havi! just discovered 

 that this refers to experiments which I have had made 

 for my private information, but the results of which 

 I have repeated verbally to sevor.al of my friends. 

 It is however so full of errors that rather thau al- 



