October i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



281 



A tree formiug a very remarkable feature in nearly 

 all the drier forests is Hemkyclia sejmiria. It often 

 forms one-thu'(l or even more of the forest, and with 

 its iiTegular fluted trunk has a very peculiar appear- 

 ance in large masses. The wood is useless. 



The forest soil is generally sandy, poor, and of no 

 great depth, with an underlying rock of gravel, quartz 

 or gneiss. Under the taller trees there is usually 

 a dense scrub, consisting of seedlings of the inferior 

 woods, and of other shrubs, and growing to a height 

 of six feet. With the larger trees overhead and 

 the undergrowth, the soil is completely protected from 

 sun and wind and its natural poverty is less apparent 

 when enriched by thick layers of leaves. Grass is 

 rare in all the forests, and consequently forest fires 

 of any extent are unknown. 



Since 187.3 tlie forests have been principally worked 

 by du-ect Goveniment agency, but previous to that 

 permits to cut timber were issued to traders on pay- 

 ment. With defective supervision, it is scarcely ne- 

 cessary to add that inunense harm was done ; we 

 now find that the traders succeeded in clearing most 

 of the forests within 25 miles of the seaboard. There 

 is reason to belie\-e that very large thefts of timber 

 took place, but worse than that, the natural repro- 

 duction of the better species has been almost at a 

 standstill for the last 30 years. It is difficult to ar- 

 ri\e at the real cause of this, but it is possible due 

 to the fact that the gi-ouud was, at the time of the 

 fellmg, already stocked with seedlings of the com- 

 moner kinds of timber. These had been forming the 

 uudergi-owth for years, only waitmg for the opport- 

 unity, which the clearing gave, to spring up into 

 vigoi'ous growth. 



The forests have, however, a still gi'eater enemy 

 to contend with. Chena or Hen, the Ceylon repi-e- 

 sentative of the Indian Kumri, Jhoom or Toungya, 

 has perhaps done more harm here than in any other 

 part of the east. 



A scanty population of Sudialese and Tamils de- 

 cimated by disease and famine, and too indolent to 

 undertake paddy or any other form of permanent 

 cultivation, have, for the last fifty years, been en- 

 gaged m devastating thousands of square miles of 

 the finest forest in tlie island, to secure one or two 

 crops of millet or Indian corn. The soil after being 

 abandoned becomes covered with a very dense scrub 

 oi Dkhrosiachyn cinerea, Phyllanthus EmUica, Zhypfms 

 (four species) Carissa, Dodoiuva lixcosa, and other 

 similar species. This scrub grows about 20 feet high 

 in 15 to 25 years, and then remains until tlie cult- 

 ivator returns to clear it again. . This he avoids 

 doing until he has ejchausted all the available areas, 

 of rich forest land ; and, as he can generally manage 

 even now, to find some forest which has never been 

 cleared before, it is rare to find old chena land 

 brought into cultivation a second time. Except on 

 he cast coast, grass rarely comes up on chena 

 clearings, so, when seen from a heiglit, the gen- 

 eral appearance of the country is most dtceptive. Old 

 chena scrub has the appe.irauce of foresf, s.i that look- 

 ing from one of the many isolated hills of the bare 

 gneiss which are so common in the north-east of Ceylon, 

 the ordinary obeerver would I hiuk he had to deal with 

 one v;ist forest instead of with a sea vi chenas, dotted 

 with a few islands, the remains of old forests. Chena 

 cultivation, and the devastations of the traders com- 

 bined, has only left the remains of what 30 years ago 

 mu't h.ave bt.ii magiiiticnt forests. The work of re- 

 storing these remnants and restocking the forests with 

 the better woods will. 1 fear, take more than double 

 that time to accomplish. 



A large portion of the forest produce is exported to 



India, China .Tud Europe. India t iki's "i rincom.ili wood 



for iis ^'un-carriage f.actorits, for Ihc Matlras masula 



boats, &c. ; satiu and ironwood for building ; palmyra 



J36 



foi- rafters (out at present in private lands) ; Calophjllinn 

 tomcnloaum, for poon wood masts and spars ; and some 

 firen'ooO. 



C'hina takes ebony, the blackest wood only, and of 

 this Ceylon has the monopoly. For the best black 

 ebony the price usually is E 120 to R 140 per ton in 

 Colombo. .Satin wood and ebony are eent to England, 

 the English market being less particular than the 

 Chinese iis to the color of the latter. 



CINCHONA CULTURE IN JAVA. 

 In the report for the second quarter of 1882, trans- 

 lation of which we publish today, Mr. Moens records 

 an additional fact shewing that a stock plant inferior 

 in the more precious alkaloids has no influence on 

 the graft. This had been ah-eady proved in the case 

 of succii-ubra stocks, and now Mr. Moens has as- 

 certained that a graft of valuable ledgeriaua placed 

 on a stock of C. josephiaua almost destitute of quin- 

 ine retained all its valuable properties nnimpaii-ed. 

 As we always felt certaui would be the case, too, 

 hybrids between the better ledgerianas and succiiiibras 

 gave bark rich in quinine. Mr. Moens s.ays nothing 

 of theii- habit of gi'owth, but we see no reason to 

 doubt tliat such hybrids will generally combine the 

 robustness of the succirubra parent with the richness 

 in quinine alkaloid of the ledgeriaua. From its spindly 

 habit, apart from any question of dying off, we found 

 C. officinalis in gi-eat disfavour in Java. It will be 

 seen, however, that such bark of this kind as was 

 sent to market from the Government gardens fetched 

 prices only second to those realized by ledgeriaua bark. 



EEPORT ON THE GOVERNMENT CINCHONA 

 ENXEEPKIZE IN JAVA FOE THE 2ND QUAitTEK 



1882. 



The r.ainy weather continued during the past quarter. 

 There were planted out 14,000 more ledgerianas, of which 

 about 4,000 were cuttings and grafts, and 9,0Cfl succirubras. 

 The partial stripping, favored by the wet weather, was con- 

 tinued. About 120,000 A. lb. of bark liave now been 

 Gathered, of which, up to the end of June, 108,384 A. lb. 

 facked in 803 bales had been dispatched to Tjicao. The' 

 rop of 18S1 was sold on 23 Jlay at Amsterdam at the 

 oUowiug prices per J kilo : — 



0. succirubra ... 8Sc. to 253o. 



0. calisaya javanica ... 55c. „ 200o. 

 0. „ schuhkraft 47c. „ lG4c. 



O. ledgeriaua ... 78e. „ 070c. 



O. hasskarliana ... 60c. „ 180e. 



0. ofHcinalis ... 264c. ,, 110c. 



0. lancifolia ... 135n. „ 175c. 



The shavings of succirubra were .sold at a higher rate than 

 the finest stem bark in quills ; for ledgeriaua also the highest 

 price, G70c., was paid for shiivings. The ledgcri.ina twig bark 

 reahzed, according to the yield of alkaloid, which varied 

 from 1-3 to 3-1, from 7S to 220 cents per half kUo. The 

 renewed bark of officinalis fetched 410c. per half kilo. 

 On the whole the prices were in accordance with the 

 yield of quinine, and were very satisfactory. By G. O. 

 of 2ud Jlay No. 13 G. Tockamp was appointed temporary 

 nm-serymau, and ho entered on his duties at oner-. Besides the 

 oversight of the extensive nurseries at Tjiu iroean he is 

 charged with the making of experimentii of differ- 

 ent raethoils of grafting in the open air, ami he has 

 already made abeginninn- with this. It was shown by an 

 experiment with a C. ledgeriaua, whicli was gr.atted fire j-eara 

 ago r.nihe stem of a 0. Jcsephiana, th.it the value of tba 

 alkaloids Wiis not altered by the gniftini;. T! o ledgeriaua 

 bark contained 7 p. c. of qniniiie, wiiil.> that of the 

 josephiana stim had OOp.c. The exaniinaiioii of youiiif 

 ledgeiiaua bark, both from government and piivalo gardonsj 



