August i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



95 



away the stamens of the flower of which the pistil is 

 to be impregoated, and carefully prevent all access of 

 pollen other than that which he brings to it. Dar- 

 win also laid stress on the principle that, in the case 

 of dimorphic plants, the stigma of the one form should 

 be fertilized Iiy pollen taken from the stamens of cor- 

 responding height in the other form. Hybrids gener- 

 ally partake more of the nature of the male parent 

 than of the female and, as regards permanencj' in 

 hybrids, time alone can decide. The evidence as yet 

 seems on the whole favourable to the permanency of 

 what has been called C'. jmbosceiis, Howard; C. lanosa, 

 McIvOR ; and finally C. robusta ; one and the same 

 plant whether its foliage is pubescent and succimbra- 

 like, or glabrous and resembling officinalis in foliage, 

 although far more robust in habit of stem. The differing 

 results of constituents of barks obtainedfrom individual 

 trees certainly favour the idea of hybridity and there is 

 the negative evidence obtained by Dr. Trimen from ICuw, 

 wheresptc mens were compared, that, whatever else it 

 may be, our robust tree is not Piitd de Galinazo. Uases 

 of graft hybridization are so rare and also so doubt- 

 ful that, apart from Mr, Moens' distinct experience 

 that a Ledger grafted on a succirubra retained its 

 good qu ilities unaffected, we need have no fear that 

 the inferior though vigorous stocl;. plant will doter- 

 ior>ate the tree which it supports. 



Before our article has passed from the hands of 

 the printer, we receive the following information : — 

 RENEWED CAUK OV " C. ROBUSTA " IN DIMBULA GIVINU 

 NUARLY 10 r. C. OF SULPHATE OF QUININE. 



Such is the satisfactory report which reaches us 

 with reference to trees j,rowing on a well-known 

 Liudula estate. Howard's analysis of the bark of 

 the best tree is as follows : — 

 S. of quinines Quinine. Ciuciionidiue. Cinchouine. 



9'78 7v3 1-47 0-35 



Another tree gave 'J'53 sulphate .and so on down to 

 7'-3 which was the minimum from the b.irk oi' seven 

 selected trees. ]n one case we have an analysis ; — 

 S. ofquinine= Quinine. Cinchonidine. Cinchouine. 



9-15 e-S6' 1-27 0-67 



This bark, we are told, was renewed under mfiaa grass 

 for G months and was uncovered for 3 mouths more 

 — 9 months in all. Hud it been covered for the full 

 9 tuonths, the proprietor thinks, the result would 

 have been still better ; but we are not so sure about 

 that. It would be well to experiment after analysis, 

 to settle a point of this kind. Meantime the pro- 

 prietor of these fine trees may fairly be congratulated 

 on possessing as valuable a collection as any of average 

 Ledgers, considering the gre^iter vigour and growth of 

 bark usually made by G. robusta. 



Cases like this go far to confirm belief in a great 

 future for cinchona in Ci.ylon, by the appearance of 

 hybrids or the development of varieties specially 

 amenable to cultivation, specially rieh in alkaloids 

 and specially suii.able for local circumstunces of soil 

 and climate. Kiicouragiiig intelligence, also, has just 

 reached us, regarding the development of recuperative 

 powers in plants long dormant and regarded a-^ dead. 

 Our corrcspoucUnt, writ'n'^ from an estate in Dim- 

 bula where tens of tbousaiidi of cinchonas had " died 



out " at various ages, states : — " The old cinchonas 

 that hii\e survived are flourishing and shewing no 

 signs of canker ; miserable plants that have stood still 

 for five years (planted in 1S77) are sending out new 

 suckers — a hopeful sign." 



MAURITIUS. 

 (From the Mauritius Mercantile liccord, 16tli May.) 



The Weather and the Cttor.— Since the departure 

 of the last mail, there has been very little rain, but for 

 the last few days we have had some rather heavy 

 showers almost all over the island. However, on the 

 whole, the weather has been warm and dry, and the last 

 rains we had came just in time to prevent any harm 

 being done to the plantations. Our prospects fur the 

 next crop continue to be most favourable. 



Shipments of Sugar.— The following is a oompar- 

 .ative statement of the eui'ars shipped of the crops 

 of 1879-80. 1880-81. and 1881.82 from the first of 

 August l'S79-S0-81 to the 14th May of each follow- 

 ing yeir respectively. It will be be observed that 

 wc are behindhand in our shipments in respect to 

 those of last year to the extent of 4,526' tons, and 

 in respect to those of the previous one we are in 

 advance to the extent of 21,574 tons. The total 

 shipments during the last month have equalled 10,091. 



Crop 

 18T0-S0 



Crop 



1880-Sl 



Crop 

 1881-82 



Tons of 1,000 kilogs 



United Kingdom 4,003 13,976 12,424 



France ... 502 2,776 1,071 



Australian Colonies 35,056 40,091 35,017 



Bombay ...27,496 38,626 28,656 



Cape of Good Hope... 5,809 5,347 8,369 



Sundi-y Places ... 5,023 9,263 2,516 



78,579 110,679 106,153 



Vanilla. — In Vanilla pods, no transaction has taken 

 place since our last overland. The stock in first hands 

 may be considered exhausted, and the shipments bj' 

 the mail steamer leaving tomorrow may probably be 

 the last for the crop 1881-82, which can be \'alued at 

 23,000 kilos. There m'ly be abi.ut 500 kilos in second 

 liiiids. The deficiency in the yield of green po.ls, 

 caused by the heavy rains, is estimated at 30 o/o. 

 Few are the planters who are willing to sell their 

 green produce ; yet sales have been made at 

 K4 per kilo, all sorts included, and at from Ro to 

 R5-40 per kilo for fine pods of 6 inches and more. 



ESTATE PROPER fY I \' MAURITIUS. 



Sugar Estates. — Nothing persuades like success. 

 Perso! 3 who %veie doubtful as to whether forming 

 Sugar Estates Companies was the thing to be done to 

 save our colony from estate-wreck can no longer 

 hesita e in acknowledging the stubborn fact that Sugar 

 Estates Companies will be the saving of the colony. 

 The Well-known success of Dr. Icery's Company, that 

 of the Higt lands Company, and now the confirmed 

 success of the Northern Company, will prove to the 

 most obstinate that Companies in the hands of first-rate 

 men of business in the plautir-' line, but above all 

 under the direction of a thoroug' i y good manager, will 

 always succeed. A profit of 28'17 ; er cent, for the year, 



