144 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, i88z. 



CINCHONAS ON FLAT LAND. 



Dear Sir, — Can you inform me whether cinchonas 

 will, or will not, grow oa flittish land? A planter 

 told me the other day I was simply wasting valuable 

 plants in planting thf ni in some 15 acres of flat land — 

 very little slope — that I want to put into cinchona 

 suceirubra. — Yours truly, CINCHONA. 



[Dr. Kiug lays it 'lown in his manual that cin- 

 chonas absolutely refuse to grow on flat land, and that 

 is generally our experience. We saw a marked ex- 

 ception in .Java, however, a grove of magnificent succi- 

 rxibras, near Jnnghuhn's grave, growing on per- 

 fect Hat. But the eoil was deep, free volcanic matter, 

 though moisture easily percolated. The question, 

 therefore, Here, will be one of a subsoil so constit- 

 uted .'IS to allow of perfect natural drainage. If 

 the subsoil is clayey and stiff, we fear disappoint- 

 ment will follow planting. — Ed,] 



CINCHONA BAEK: LOCAL MARKETS AND 

 ANALYSES. 



2l3t June 1S82. 



Dear Sir, — I quite agree with what "Live and Let 

 Live" says in his two letters. 



I am convinced there is no market at all in Ceylon 

 for cinchona bark, in spite of the brokers, analyzers 

 and German firms pretending there is an uncommonly 

 good one. 



I certainly would advise all cinchona growers to 

 send their bark home, where they would t;et some profit. 



On perusal of your paper of tlis 19th inst., 1 see 

 that Messrs. Lewis & Peat's sale account of May 25th 

 states I hat Ceylon red twigs and young branch sold at 

 6d to Is 6d per lb., whereas locally we only get 19c 

 per lb. for this. 



Of course, I mnke allowance for the brokers, as they 

 must live by selling something, now that there is no 

 coffee ; but, in these hard times I don't think it is right 

 for them to t.ake advantage of the unfortunate pro- 

 ducers. 



Each unit of quinidine is worth 66c per lb. 

 Cinchonidine ... ... ... 25c ,, ,, 



Cinchonine ... lie ,, ,, 



and the usual analysis of Ceylon red bark irrespective 

 of quinine is : — 



1 per cent of quinidine value 66c i)er lb. 



2 ,, ,, cinchonidine ,, 50c ,, ,, 

 1"75 ,, ,, cinchonine ,, ISc ,, ,, 



4-75 Total. .Rl -34 per lb. 



Trusting that Ceylon brokers will take notice of the 

 few remarks made here by A LATE BROKER. 



VARIEGATED CINCHONA LEAVES. 



Dikoya, 22nd Juue. 



Dear Sir, — I enclose you a leaf from a cinchona 

 succirnbia plant about 18 months old. All the leaves 

 on the plant are variegated in a S'niilar manner. Is n't 

 this a phenomenon? — Yours faithluUy, A. W. B. 



[Arabian cofiee, which belongs to the chidionat^ece^ 

 sports occasionally iuto very beautiful yellow leaves, 

 while we have seen tea leaves white as snow. Vari- 

 egated foliage on the tine cinchonas seems a rare 

 "phenomenon ' The leaf sent to ub has put on yellow 

 near the point and the appearance is a good deal that 

 of vai legated coffee. — Ed.] 



CINCHONA SUCCIRUBEAS FLOURISH^ 

 ING ON FLAT LAND. 



Kadclla, Liudula, 22nd June 1882. 



Sir, — In your issue of the 20th, I notice "Cinchona" 's 



query as to whether einchcma will grow on flat land, 



and your editorial note in which you quote Dr. 



King to the effect that cinchonas absolutely refuse 



to do so ; in which assertion, 1 beg to join issue 

 with Dr. King, in proof of which I will gladly show 

 anyone some of the finest suceirubra trees of their 

 age (4 to 5 yeurs) that you can find in this neigh 

 bnrliood growing on absolutely flat land, as flat as- 

 the Radella ciickel ground and .'separated fmni it only 

 by the river.— Yours, &c. WM. MIICHELL. 



COVERING CINCHONA TREES. 

 No. L 

 Deab Sik,— I shall feel much obliged . if you, or 

 some of your numerous readers, would enlighten me 

 on the subject of covering cinchona trees after shav- 

 inij. I have heard that blue gum leaves have the 

 effect of poisoning the bark, also that guinea grass 

 causes canker. Again it has been suggested that the 

 leaves of cinchona and moat jungle trees would be in- 

 jurious to the bark. As we all know, moot leaves turn 

 iuto pulp so quickly and thereby coutract too much 

 moi.'iture. What effect then 1 should like to learn 

 would Mauritius, mana grass, or any other vegetable 

 covering have ? — Y'ours faithfully, 



DIKOYA PLANTER. 



No. II. 



Maskeliya, 2Gth June, 1S82. 



Dear .Sir, — Will you, or auy of your numerous cor- 

 respondents, kindly give your experience of covering 

 shaved cinchona trees with guinea grass. I have been 

 told hy a neighbour that guinea grass, leaves, and 

 jungle stuff are unsuitable for covering, as it causes 

 the bark to canker. Is such the case ? 



SUCCIRUBRA. 



[\A'e advise our correspondents to experiment them- 

 selves with the various substances they mention and 

 watch the result. Hitherto, the experience has been very 

 varied in different districts : we have seen grass an- 

 swering the purpose well in one case, and in another 

 proviug a cover for myriads of insect which appeared to 

 injure the bark. Cinchona leaves do not seem to be a 

 favorite with insects, but they are nolso lasiing as grass. 

 At a high elevation, trees have been known to put 

 on bark as quickly without, as with a covering ; but 

 the general belief (and analyses seem to bear itiiut)is 

 that the uncovered renewed bark is not equal in quality 

 to that protected from the sun. A great deal has yet 

 to be learned as to the best and cheapest covering for 

 shaved cinchona trees. — En.] 



CINCHONA BARK : THE LOCAL VS. 

 MARKET AND ANALYSES. 



HOME 



Colombo, Ceylon, 28th June 1SS2. 



Sir, — It is to be regretted that your jocular correa 

 spondent, "A Late Broker," did not make it clearer in 

 his letter of the 21st inst., that he only iutended to 

 poke fun at " Live and Let Live," and it may be useful 

 tor all concerned to havo •' A Late Broker" 's figures 

 worked out a little further. 



As quinine has about double the value of quinidine, 

 I may, laking "A Late Broker" 's fi;jures as a basis, 

 say that a unit of quinine is worth Rl-20. B.irk, 

 according to the "usual analysis" of Ceylon red bark, 

 has therefore a value of : — 

 1 p.c. quinine .. 1"20 



1 p.c quinidine... 'CG 



2 p.c. cinchonidine "50 

 1'75 p.c. cinchonine '18 



Total 



or 

 or 



...E2'54 per ft) of bark with 1 p.c. quinine 



3 74 

 4-34 



2 

 24,',' 



