August i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



»37 



2s Id, yielded mixed alkaloids of the value of 666/ 

 76', the cost of mauiifacturing which was 130/, or a 

 little less thau 20 per ceut. ot' the total value. Ou the 

 present occasion 5, 104 lb. of barlt, of the net value of 

 about 632if, yield separate alkaloids of the j^ross 

 value of 972/ lis 6'i, and the cost of their productiou 

 was 272/ 186-, or a little over 28 per cent. In other 

 words, by a process of manufacture 8 per cent, more 

 expensive, a jield is obtained over 20 per eont. of 

 increased value. This result seems calculated to 

 throw some doubt upon the economic value of nianu- 

 facturiug quinine, and it is sul)mitted that it 

 might be desirable to make an experiment in this 

 country ou a tolerably large scale, with bark 

 from the Darjiling plantation, before the Government 

 of India commits itself to any considerable expenditure 

 in the erection of a factory for the manufacture of 

 quiniue or cjuinetum in India. 



Hitherto the results of these experiments have been 

 considered from a purely financial poini of view. It 

 must, however, not be forgotten that, as has been 

 expressly declared ou more than one occasion, the 

 object of the introduction of the cinchona plant into 

 India was in order to place within the reach of the 

 masses of the people, at the lowest possible rates, the 

 only efiective specific that science has yet discovered 

 for the commonest nf Indian diseases. 



Adopting this view, the Benaal Government calculate 

 the price of their cinchona febrifuge at its actual cost to 

 the State, which in ISSO-81 was E9-3- 10-625 per lb., 

 which is made up as follows : — 



ES. A. p. 

 Price of bark used in making I lb. 

 of febrifuge ... ... ..6 4 0760 



Cost of manufacture, tinning, 

 advertizing, &c. ... ... 2 15 9-865 



Total ... 9 3 10 ■(.•25 

 which, .at Is 8|c/ the rupee, is equivalent to 15-s 9-7f/ 

 per lb. Adopting a similar process of calculation for 

 the Madras bark, the following result is obtained : — 



£ s. d. 

 * Cost of 50 bales (5, 104 lb.) of red bark 259 10 8 



Freight, wharf charges, &c 30 6 8 



Keturu freight, &c., say 5!7 4 S 



Total ... 317 2 



The cost price of the several drugs delivered to the Govern- 

 ment of India would thus be — 



Cost of Manufacturing Bate 



Bark, &c. Charges, &c. Total. #■ lb. 



LB. £. s. d. s. £. £ s. a. 

 Sulphateof quin. 81-0 242 1.3 24 per lb.= 97-15 340-8 83 6 

 of cin- 

 chouidine ...143 50 12 18 ,, =128-14 

 Cinchouine al- 

 kaloid 71 22 6 8 „ = 28-8 



Amorphous sulph- 

 lurous liquor ... 240 1 11 1 ,, = 120 



179G 25 

 60-14 14 



13-11 1 1} 



317 2 



* The total charge against the plantations including inter- 

 est on balance for 1879-80, the Inst year for which a re- 

 port has been received, was Bl 0(5,763-9-7, and the amount of 

 the harvest \\as equivalent to 179,299 lb. ot dry bark, the cost 

 of which was therefore 9 annas 6-3 pi' s per lb., at which rate 

 6,104 lb. -ivould cost E3,038-7-7, or £269 lOs 8d. 



In the same way it may be shown that the sul- 

 phate of quinine manufactured from the crown barks 

 will be delivered to Government in India at a cost 

 of only about 403 7Jd per lb., at which price it will 

 successfully compete with the Sikkini febrifuge. 



A second collection of papers, sliowmg the recent 

 result of the trial of cinchona febrifuge and other .al- 

 kaloids prepared in Bengal from the Sikkim bark, 

 has recently been received from India. Copies of these 

 were sent to Dr. Macnamara and to Mr. J. K. 

 Howard for report. The former notices that, " the 

 cinchona febrifuge manufactured in India from red 

 bark has evidently maiutaiaed and, indeed, increased 

 18 



its reputation," and he urges " that the Government 

 factory be placed in a position to produce the febri- 

 fuge in such a quantity and at so low a price as will 

 provide for its widespread emjiloyment." Mr. Howard, 

 on the other hand, points out the inferior efficacy and 

 cheapness of sulphate of cinclionine and of sulphate 

 of cinchouidine. He reniiirks that, iu these papers, 

 the febrifuge seems generally .admitted " lo be a nause- 

 ous medicine detrimental in a gre.ater or less degree 

 alike to Europeans and to natives. 

 Apart from tliCiC effects the efficacy of the remedy seems 

 to be univer.^ally admitted, being apparently th.at of cin- 

 ohonidine and cinchonine.of which itif chieflycomposed." 

 Mr. Howard notices that the amount of febrii uge obtained 

 falls very far short of what is to be expected if the 

 bark were thoroughly exhaussed, and he quotes a re- 

 port by Mr. Moens, in which it is stateil that, "in 

 the analytical laboratory of the Medical Depaitment, 

 by Dr. De Vrij's method (so-called), out of 3,000 

 kilograms of dry bark 56 kilograms of quinetum were 

 prepared, less than 50 per cent of the alkaloid that 

 was present in the bark." Shcjuld the Indian Govern- 

 ment have any serious intention of improving the 

 alkaloid, Mr. Howiird says h^ should be happy, if de- 

 sired, to supply further suggestions. 



With their letter, No. 26 of 1881, the Government 

 of India forwarded particulars of the pricess adi.pted 

 by l\Ir. Gammie for the manufacture of sulphate of 

 quinine. There is nothing new in this proc-ss, indeed 

 it is a very old one which may have been employed 

 in this country, but has certainly been abai doned'for 

 improved methods of manufMCture for moie than a 

 quarter of a century, as it would be imjos.iblB by 

 its use to extrac: the whole of the alkaloids from the 

 bark. But probably this fact baa already been ascert- 

 ained by Mr. Gaiiimie, and that he will be able to 

 introduce some more efficient process of niannfaoture, 

 before recommending fioverument to incur expenditure 

 with a view to carrying out the manufacture on an 

 extensive scale. 



It may, however, be a question for consideration 

 whether it would not be cheaper to send the bark 

 to England for maimfaciure, where it would certainly 

 be better made than in India, and the full amouut 

 of the alkaloids obtained, instead of permitting half 

 of them to be lost, as is at present the case. 



COFFEE IN BKAZIL AND THE PEOSPECTS 

 OF THE COFFEE MARKET. 

 The exports of coffee from the two great ports of 

 Brazil from 1st July to 30th April (10 mouths) were, 

 recording to Kem, Hayn & Co. 's report: — 



1879-80. 1880-81. 1881-82. 



From Rio ... 152,730 ... 197,028 ... 182,954 tons 

 „ Santos... 52,962 ... 58,358 .. 75.141 „ 



Total ... 205,692 .. 255,386 ... 258,095 tons 

 There has thus been an increase in Rio for the 10 

 months of the present season over 1879-G'J of over 

 30.000 tons, while Santos shews an increase, much 

 greater in proportion, of 23,000 tons. Comp.ired with 

 the immediately previous year, there is a falling-off 

 from Eio of 15,000 tons and an increase frijm Santos 

 of 17,000 tons. If exports went ou at the . ame rate 

 for the two months ending today, the total for season 

 1881-82 will be ; For Rio 213,500 tons 

 Santos 87,500 ,, 



Total 301,000 ,, or 6,0-;i ,000 cwt. 

 A few yeai'S ago the average export wa. 200,000 



I 



