July i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



if 



those of cinchona, aud these may be still furlhti' 

 increased by the possible discovery of febrifuge aikal- 

 oi'Js in other kuown spicies of tlie same genus, natives 

 of Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, or in new ones which 

 may yet be found. I'robably also investigation will 

 be made of species of other geuer;i allied to cinchona 

 which have long been overloolied. 



I have already remurUed that the enormous export- 

 ations of cuprcu bark that liave been made recently 

 have produced a disturbance in commerce, which has 

 lonerud the irice of tlie officinal ciuclionas in general 

 and of sulphate of quinine in paiticular, by the ac- 

 cumulation in Europe of barks intended for the m.anu- 

 faoturc of sulphate of ijumine aud by tlio temporary 

 stoppage of tlie exportation of cinchona barks. This 

 paralysis of business is aggr.ivated in Columbia by 

 the temporary neglect of agriculture, the collection 

 of' the cuprea bark proving much more lucrative, and 

 alao by the stagnation of capital represented by the 

 value of the bark warehoused abnad, and which is 

 usually held as a balance to meet the cost of im- 

 ported goods. It happens, therefore, that the industry 

 which ought to prove a new source of riches for Colum- 

 bia has accidentally become a cause of financial disaster. 

 It may bo liopcil that this situation cannot last 

 long, and that by degrees an ef|uilibruiin will be est- 

 ablishid. Commercial men will become more prudent 

 aud what is of more significance, the cuprea barks 

 will be diminii-hed in quantity in proportion as the 

 sources of production, already rapidly undergoing de- 

 vastation, become more e-xhausted, aud the difficulty 

 in collecting the bark becomes greater, as has been the 

 case with the officinal cinchonas. 



Finally, the investigations of the therapeutic pro- 

 perties of the new alk doids or compounds of alkal- 

 oids discovered in the cuprea barks will present con- 

 siilerable interest. It now appears more than prob- 

 able that tliese alkaloids or their compounds have 

 passed unnoticed mixed with sulphate ot (juinine in 

 the manufacture of this subst.ance ou a large scale. 

 The following is a list of the species of Bmijia : — 

 Kemijia Uilairii, I).C. (Prod., iv., p. 3o7).— <S'yn. 

 Cinchona Keniijiaua, St. Hil., PI. us. Bras.; Ciu 

 choua Vellozii and Cinchona ferrugiuea, D.C.;Ilemi- 

 jia Velnzii aud Kemijia f-rrugiuca, tit. Hil., I.e.; 

 Macrocneuni, Veil. 

 This species grows in dry and barren pliCkS on the 

 mount.ains of the province of Miuas. 

 R. pimculata. D.C. 

 A littlH known plant ; a native of Brazil. 



R. Cuj djensis, Wedd. (Uist. Nat. des Quinq.), 93 

 adn, — St/'ii. Ludeubergia Cujabensis, Klotsch in Hayu. 

 Arzneigevvaohse, xiv. 

 This specks luhabiis foresis in the neighbourhood of 

 Hahia, in Brazil. 



R. Bergeniana, Wedd., I.e. — Si,/!. Cinchona Ber- 

 L'ciiiana, Alact. in Liuu.,vi ; Litt. Ber., 67; Luden- 

 liergia Bcrgeuiana, Klotscic, l.(t. 

 A species indigenous in Brazil. 



R. tirmula, Wedd, I. c. ; Ladenbergia firmula, 

 Klotsch., I.e. 

 A native of the banks of the Rio Negro, in Brazil. 

 R. macrocnemia, Wedd — Syn. Cinchona macroc- 

 nemia, iMart. Walp. Report., ii., p. 507 ; Laden- 

 bergia mecrocnemia, Klot^ch, I.e. 

 The species grows on the banks of the Amazon in Brazil. 

 R. deusillora, Bentb, aud Hook, Lond. .Jouru. 

 Bot., iii., p. 2\o. 

 A native of Kuglish Guiana. 



R. hispida, (.p. n. in Herb. Spruce, No. .3,-48. 

 Grows near Ksmeralda, ou the Orinoco River. 



R. leuuitbira, Benth., I.e. 

 A species whicli is found between ISaira and Barcelos, 

 on the Rio Negro in Northern Brazil. 



R. Purdieana, Wedd. in Aun. Sc. Nat. (3 scr. ), 

 XV., p, 272. 



This ejjecies, which is one of those yielding the 

 cuprea cinchona bark, grows in the forests of both 

 banks of the lower Magdalena, in Columbia, in the 

 provinces of Antiquia and Santander. 



B. pedunculata, Trian.i, Nouv. 'Etudes.— Syti. Cin- 



chouapeduuculata, Karst.,.Specim. Select., i.,53,t.26; 



This .'pecies, vibicli also furnishes the cuprea cin- 

 chona of commerce, grows between 200 and 1,01)0 

 metres aliove the lerel of the sea, on the eastern 

 slopes of the eastern Cordillcm, on several afBuenta 

 of tic 'Irinoco aud Amazon rivers, such as the Rio 

 Mesa, Rio Negro, Guaviare, Papamene, Z;irapote, ect. 



"A PEUb'ECr CURE"— FOR COFFKE LEAF 

 DISEASE. 



If heroic treatment can effect a cure, we have the 

 recipe before us. Let us imagine a human being 

 suft'ering from a cutaneous disease, say ringworm. Tlie 

 doctor is called, and his prescription is : ' Pnll out 

 every hair from the head, and then scrape all the skin 

 from the body, in order that both may be burnfd. 

 Then anoint the bared frame with my mixture, aud 

 look out for a fresh heid of hair." The sanity of 

 the doctor would naturally be doubted, but e<iuivalent 

 treatment is seriously recommended for the coffee 

 plants, by gentleman who are particularly anxious 

 that their interests should be protected. 



When the senior editor of this pajjer was acting .as 

 Commissioner at the Melbourne Exhibition, he forn.9l 

 the acquaintance of a gentleman, who, formerly a 

 coffee planter in Coorg, was then a reporter on the 

 staff of the Aije newspaper. As such it gave us 

 pleasure to aid Mr. Gilbert Geo. Smith in preparing an 

 account of the Ceylon Court for the paper he represented. 

 By last mail we received a letter from Mr. Smith re- 

 questing us to ascertain and let him know the results 

 of a specilio fi'r leaf-disease which Mr. Smith and 

 his partner Mr. Ball had sent to toe Ceylon Planters' 

 Association of Ceylon for test. Mr. Smith added 

 that he had found the substance useful during his 

 career as a planter in .Southern India. We referred 

 the letter to the Secretary of the Ass >eiation, and 

 this morning we had a reply which astonished us, as it 

 will those of our readers whose knowledge of vegetable 

 physiology leads them to believe that a tree denuded 

 of all its bark will as surely die as will the man whose 

 brains are out. Mr. Philip courteously wrote to us : — 



"The Committee of the Planters' Association was 

 prepared to arrange to give Mr. Smith's specific for 

 leaf-disease a trial until receipt of the enclosed (copy) 

 letter, with the directions which, as you can under- 

 stand, rather amazed it. 



"The case of anti-cofl'ee-blight has now arrived, 

 having cost say R15 for freight, and I fancy the 

 Committee will be glad to hold it at Mr. Smith's 

 disposal." 



We should think so, for here are the directions: — 

 Melbourne, 9G, Swanston St., litk Feb. 1882, 

 A. Philip, Esq., Secretary, Planters' Association, 



Kandy. 



gjP We beg to inform you that bv this steamer 



we have sent a case of the anticoftee blight to 

 care of P. & O. Company's Agent, Galle. 



We desire you to bo kind enough to inform the 

 seutlemen^who will use the specific that it is ab- 

 solutely necessary to adhere as strictly as possible 

 to the following instructions : — 



Piisl. — Strip the infected plant entir' ly of all its 

 foliage, theu scrub it with a piece of coir, until all 

 the bark ia removed. Care should be takeu to re- 



