November r, i88?.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULITJRIST. 



409 



I 



pendent of the tribe of gentlemen who go about with 

 massive gold rings and red umbrellas, and not unfre- 

 quentlj' a bundle of summonses by way of amusement, 

 and have the monopoly of the rice trade in their own 

 hands is enough to send a gleam of hope to many a 

 down-hearted and hard-up planter. — Yours truly, 



B. F. 

 P. S.— I think Mr. Benzie told me his returns were 

 from 50 to 70 bushels paddy per acre, as compared 

 with 20 to 25 in good, lowoountry paddy fields. 



B. P. 



HYBRIDISM IN CINCHONA. 

 Hope Tea Estate, Ouchterlony Valley Nilgiris, 

 September Sth, X882. 



Deae Sir, — Having read in the colnmns of your ex- 

 cellent periodical, the "Tropical Agriculturist," vai ions 

 articles and letters on the above important subject, 

 I shall feel much obliged if you will permit me, 

 even at this late period of the discussion, to add 

 a few independent remarks in support of the hybrid 

 theory. 



I believe that no supposition is more generally 

 entertained than the erroneous one that cinchona 

 will not hybridize or cross-fertilize. This popular idea, 

 however, is supported by very tottering evidence, and 

 even after taking into due consideration the most 

 salient points argued in favour of ueu-hybridism 

 the fact must remain conclusive to any painstaking 

 observer that hybridism and cross-fertilization prevails 

 considerably and in some instances extensively among 

 the various species of the genus cinchona. Any per- 

 son who has studiously examined I he many varying 

 forms of trees on the Nedivuttum plantations must, 

 I am certain, arrive at tlie same conclusion; but I 

 think the most distinct results are to be seen 

 among the mm-e recent pucgeny of the Nedivuttum 

 trees, many of which are now nourishing on tlie most 

 important estates in the Wyuaad and Ouchterlony 

 valley, the marked difference not only being dis- 

 tinctly prominent as regards form, shape and struct- 

 ure of leaf, but the habits of the trees, the colour 

 of the flower, forms of oapsulo, &c., differ iu many 

 instances most materially, and forms may be noticed 

 gradating in every conceivable degree between all 

 the commonly cultivated sjjecies. On the Hope 

 estate I have noticed the " Pata" of Mr. Cross — 

 Pubescens — and two more less distinct kinds spring- 

 ing up spontaneously among the many self-sown 

 seedlings which originate from a few mature sueci- 

 rubra and officinalis; and in this instance I may 

 mention there is not a seed-bearing tree of "Pata " 

 or even Pubescens within several miles. 



The arguments of some gentlemen extend over a very 

 unlimited and indefinite range when they bring forward 

 the case of wild plants and even mention animals in 

 support of their views. 



I for one fully believe that the range of hybridity 

 among plants in a state of nature occurs but rarely. 

 Under cultivation, however, circumstances are brotidly 

 different. Here we have a number of .species of cin- 

 chona all having their natural reproductive orgaus fully 

 developed, that have already been under cultivation 

 several years, and .vet we are told they will not hybrid- 

 ize or even cross-fertilize in any other way than 

 that of artificial impregnation, and even any permanent 

 beneBt arising from this process has been more than 

 doubted by several recognized authorities. 



Many of our leading horticulturists at home are 

 clever hybridists, nnd they are also perfectly aware 

 that the tpecies of many genera hybridize, under the 

 influence of insect agency when growing in convenient 

 proximity ; but now we are asked to believe that cincho- 

 nas, even when seven or eight species are planted 



together indiscriminately without any regard to specific 

 separation, will not take advantage of this very natural 

 method of crossing. 



Very few persons doubt the geunineness of our 

 famous hybrid perpetual roses or cavils at the origin 

 of the choice hybrid forms of primulas, calceolarias, 

 begonias, orchids, &c. &c., and the many hundreds of 

 choice fruits improved on from time to time ; but if we 

 are to credit the anti-hybrid enthusiasts all this must 

 go for nought, leaving us no alternative but to passively 

 accept the probability that all these fine hybrids must 

 have existed contemporary with Noah's ark or the 

 still more remote days of Methuselah. * 



The only definite way in which to settle the contro- 

 versy to the satisfaction of everybody concerned c;-.;) 

 only be attained by a series of carefully-conducted 

 experiments with the inferior as well as the more desir- 

 able kinds, and, if one or more of the leading growers in 

 e.ach cinchona district, combined to undertake simul- 

 taneously a course of experiments and at the couclusiou 

 carefully compared results, there can be but little doubt 

 that the supporters of non-hybridism in this genus 

 would find tliemselves considerably enlightened, and I 

 for one firmly believe it to be only a question of time, 

 when by judicious crossing and selection, forms will be ■ 

 obtained equalling in value and exceeding in robust- 

 ness our now famous Ledgeriana. — I am, sir, yours 

 faithfully, W. T. KEMP. 



Ouchterlony Valley. 



CALISAYA MORADA. 



Udagama, September Sth, 1882. 



Dear Str, — It may interest some of your readers, 

 especially those who have any of the seed, to read 

 the following extract from a letter just received : — 

 Can you spare me me a little of the Morada cinchona 

 seed ? 1 saw a small packet which you had sent up 

 liere to . I am told the bark {hwk ?) glist- 

 ens with quinine." 



To shew the care taken to procure the real thing, 

 the following remark that I find iu an old letter 

 from South America may aUo be worth quoting. Re- 

 ferring to a proprietor who could, if he liked, supply 

 the best, it concludes by saying "it is next to cert- 

 ain he would supply me trash," 



Sometime ago I wrote to a friend to whom I had 

 given a little that I believed it would turn out ciu- 

 chona "rex" — an opinion I see no reason to alter — and 

 I venture to write again about it, as the subject 

 is one that must be of some importance to cinchona 

 growers; for it amounts eiiher to possessing the best 

 kind in the world (for surely the Bolivians themselves 

 should know it, if any one does ? and that they regard 

 C. Morada as suc/i is certain), or, as Mr. Moens says 

 in his letter to me, its counteifiit, and "trash," 

 not only representing a complete waste of purchase 

 money, but a waste of the ground it is planted 

 on, and, as he adds : "nothing but disappointment,' 

 and a loss of profit at the end of, perhaps, five years.' 

 It is either one thing or the other. — J. C. R. 



P. S. — There are no more seeds of any kind 

 for disiiosal, but, as application has also been made 

 to me for "cuzco maize blanc," and particulars as to 

 its "superior characteristics," I copy a few from Mark- 

 ham's iiook, in case you may think them of suffici- 

 ent general interest to be worth publishing. 

 (Extract from Marhham.) 



Ttie Ciizco maize, aud the quinua of ttie lofty punas of the Andes 

 are two cereals which are most valuable in their native land. 

 Cuzco maize is one of tlie great results of Ynca agriculture, one 

 lasting proof of the civilization of ancient Peru. Maize, nfl a 

 cereal supplying millions of people with food, is one of the most 

 useful gifts which the Old Worlil recei\ 1 from the New. iSut 



* According to the received chronology the death of 

 Blethuselah took place in the year of the Noachian deluge.— 

 En. 



