September i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



189 



Trimen proposes that the cliatinctive name rohusta 

 should be applied to this cinchona, as it is the only 

 one that is not preoccupied or otherwise unavailable. 

 He also thinks that tliosf* wiio can do so should pro- 

 pagate it by cuttings from tices ascertained by ana- 

 lysis to be good ; but the more rapid increase by seed 

 need not be neglected, as the young plants i^howing rever 

 sioM could be easily removed. — Pharmaci utical Jourmil. 



GOVERNMENT CINCHONA PLANTATIONS. 



The following summary from the Madras 7 imes shews 

 that as a mere money speculation, the cinchona enter- 

 priz> of the Madras Governmemt has been a success, 

 while the gain to humanity has been incalculable. 

 No doubt the reason why barked trees coppice best 

 is that the shock to the system of the tree increases 

 the tendency to the preservation of life by sending 

 out shoots from the lower portion of the stem : — 



" We gather the following particulars from the last 

 Administration Report on these plantations submitted 

 to Government by Colonel Jago. In accordance with 

 the wishes of the Secretary of State, the supervision 

 of the cinchona plantations hitherto entrusted to the 

 Commissioner (now Collector) of the Nilgiris was trans- 

 ferred during the latter part of the year to the 

 Conservator of Forests, and the Local Forest Officers 

 assumed charge of them on the 1st February 1881. 

 Deducting casunlties, and addling plants put out, the 

 total number of trees in the plantations had risen 

 from 569,031 in 1878 to 666,815 on the Slst March 

 1881. During the year 1, 140,209 plants, seedlings and 

 cuttings were raised, of which 843,484 were issued 

 to the public. Three plants of the Santa F6 andsi-x 

 of the Carthageua varieties were brought by Mr. Cross 

 in October 1880. The three plants of the former variety 

 were taken care of by Mr. Cross himself who had at the 

 close of the year six established. The six Carthagena 

 plants were handed over to the Superintendent of 

 the Botanical Gardens, Ootacamuud. Though five of 

 these plants died, a portion of the plants was saved 

 for cuttings, five of which had rooted on the last day 

 of the year. The yield of the year was 243,8961b of 

 dry bark against 179,2991b in the previous year. 

 The sale of bark realized the following amonnts dur- 

 ing the year : — 



E. A. p. 

 Value of bark sent home 405,860 9 4 



Value of hark supplied to Bombay 



Medical Department. 2,.397 15 4 



Value of bark supplied to Private 



Parties. 12,827 4 4 



"A further sum of R13,175-4-8 was received from the 

 sale proceeds of plants and seed, the total receipt be- 

 ing R434,26M-8 agamst an expenditure of R96, 105-0-7. 

 It is observed that coppices from bark trees have 

 been found to grow much better than those from un- 

 barked trees. Manuring operations were about to be 

 increased, and the conservancy of the pbmtatii'ns w^is 

 well attended to. The financi.al results from the com- 

 mencement of the cinchona enterprize up to the end of 

 1880-81 show a net profit of R58,252-6-9 at the close 

 of that year." 



SHADE FOR TEA. 



The subject of shade for tea is one which does not 

 obtain that attention which it deserves. For a Icjig 

 period, all .■^hade has been removed from the tea gard- 

 ens, and a new clearing for tea was perfectly denuiled 

 of trees. By and by it was found that, while the 

 great heat of summer certainly vitalized the bushes!, 

 and, as it were, forced on the Hushes, it likewise led 

 to intense evaporation, which speedily left the plant 



panting for moisture. In the North-west, moderate 

 shade tended to increase production, by hinderiu" 

 evaporation, and leaving more moisture in the eoif 

 Three tilings h.ive been f.mud essential ; the shade 

 must not be loo dense, nor the trees too close to- 

 gether. By pliinting trees widely, the sun got at every 

 bush for a short period, while for the bulk of the day 

 the bushes were lu shade. The shade should be so 

 open tbnt the sunlight should be able to find its way 

 throuj;h, here and theie, to the plants, and this can be 

 managed bv judicious tree pruning, and by planting the 

 proper class of tree. In the seconil place the tree 

 ougbt not to be a surface feeder. Such trees withdraw 

 the nourishment intended for the tea bushes, and third, 

 the trees should be those shedding their leaves liberallv! 

 Tliis for purposes of returning to the soil much whicli 

 m.i\ have been removed by the necessities of tree life. 

 Kaeh district must .'elect its own trees for this purpose! 

 In the North-west the most suitable are the toon {Cedrek'c 

 tonna) the tallow tree (StiUiiigia sebi/era), and the sissoo 

 (Dutberrfia susoo). The toon and eisoo trees produce 

 valuable timber, and after 25 years the trees may be 

 thinned out and sold, their places being supplied by 

 seedlings of other varieties.— /«d/j/o Planters' Gazette. 



A TRIP TO MALACCA : TAPIOCA 

 CULTIVATION. 

 _ (From the Gardeners' Chronicle.) 



As tapioca is now one of the principal articles of 

 export from the Straits Settlements a few notes made 

 during a flying visit I recently paid to Malacca regard- 

 ing the mode of cultivation and the primitive" and 

 modern modes of manufacture there employed may not 

 be uninteresting to some of your readers. During a six 

 years' residence in the Straits I was never fortunate 

 enough to have sufiicient tune to spare in Malacca to go 

 far beyond the limits of the town; yet when one reflects 

 on what Griffith, Thomas Lobb, Maingay, and others 

 have unearthed from its jungles it has become to the 

 botanist and naturalist the most interesting part of the 

 Straits Settlements, and, while driving along its country 

 loads or traversing its jungle paths and reflecting on 

 the work done by those lovers of nature, one feels that 

 he is on classic ground so far as botany is concerned. 



It was, therefore, with no little satisfaction that I 

 accepted an invitation from Mr. .L M. Lyon, who is 

 the head of au engineering firm in Singapore that has 

 acquired considerable local renown for its inventions 

 for manufacturing tapioca, to accomijany him on a 

 short trip to Malacca before leaving for "the land 

 of the white elephant." 



Leaving Singapore at 4 p.m. on September 14th 

 by the steamship " Mayflower"--which, by-thebye, 

 is not the same craft which conveyed the "Pilgrim 

 Fathers" from the shores of Old England " converted" 

 — we arrived in Malacca (locally known as "Sleepy 

 Hollow") at 9 a.m. next morning, and at once called 

 on some of the priucipal tapioca planters. 



Before starting for the plantations we were treated 

 to a surfeit of Malacca fruits, which at the time of 

 our visit were abundant, including delicious Dukus 

 (Lansiumdomesticum), the Tampui (Htdycarpus malay- 

 Euus), which, I think, is much to be preferred to 

 the Mangosteen, of which, of course, we saw plenty 

 and splenriid Chikos (-apota Achra>-), which. althou>h 

 is not an iudi-euous fruit, thrives and fruits to per- 

 fection in Malacca. 



Before noon, however, in company with two of the 

 most extensive and energetic planters in the colony 

 Mr. Chea Hoon Bong and Mr. Koh Hooii Boh, we were 

 en route, to their plantations. 



To the estate of the foriu-r gentleman, which is 

 about 10 miles from Malacca, the drive was veiy 

 enjoyable, the sides of the roi.d for some distance being 

 mostly overshadowed with Coconuts, while under. 



