December i, 1882.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



453 



I 



THE CINXAMOMUM " CASSIA " OF CHINA 

 SOURCE OF THE "CASSIA LIGKEA" 

 OF COMMERCE. 

 It may be known to some of our readers that, owing 

 mainly lo the silence of the ancient chronicles.'the ques- 

 tion has been hotly debated amongst scientists, especially 

 In Germany, as to whether cinnamon was indigenous 



to Ceylon. As one of the oriental names of sugar 

 is simply a modification of the word China, so ciima- 



mon has been traced to a similar origin, //"our cin- 

 namon came to us from China, far back in the ages, 

 then soil, climate and cultivation have effected a vei-y 

 great improvement. The tree, however, is scattered 

 over our forests, up to near the summit of our highest 

 mountain, which is 8,295 feet above sea level, and 

 we believe that botanists are now agreed that the 



precious spice tree is really indigenous to Ceylon 

 It is curious that a somewhat similar controversy 

 should have raged over the origin of the cassia bark 

 of China. There was not, we believe, any question 

 that the bark came from China, but only as to 

 whether it owed its origin to one tree, a species 

 or variety of cinuamon, or was gathered from several 

 trees of different species. Sir Joseph D. Hooker, 

 anxious to have the question set at rest, moved the 

 Earl of Kimberley in the matter, and at his lordship's 

 instance, iUr. Chai-les Ford, Superintendent of the 

 Botanical and Afforestation Department, Hong Kong, 

 was deputed to visit the districts, up the West River, 

 (Sai Kong), in which cassia is produced. The main 

 scene of the cassia culture is so close to Hong Hong, 

 which is situated in N. Lat. •22'12 and E. Long. 114'15, 

 (16" further north and 34° further east than our cin- 

 namon districts), that the meteorological conditions 

 cannot be very different. The mean monthly temper- 

 ature of Hong Kong ranges from SS'-GS" in January 

 to 85° in July and August, 'the annual means 

 being from 73°-7-t°. The annual rainfall ranges 

 from 66-66 inches to IU'57, so that the average is 

 much what ours in Colombo is. The chief, climatal 

 differences are the much lower degree of cold experienced 

 and the fall of the vast bulk of the rain in South 

 West monsoon mouths — May to September. October 

 gets a fair quantity, Init a dry season extends from 

 November to April, although in some years a good 

 deal of rain falls in March and April. The 16° further 

 from the equator, probably influences the quality of 

 the China bark as compared with our Ceylon spice, 

 but the mam differences must arise from the widely 

 opposite conditions of soil, situation, culture and har- 

 vesting. Our regularly cultivated cinnamon is all 

 gi-owu on flat plains, and much of ii in the fine sand 

 we noticed in our previous article. The whole of the 

 China cassia trees are, it appears, grown on the sides 

 of hills which rise to an altitude of 1,000 feet, the 

 plantations being terraced. The bark also is taken 

 from iplants sis years old, instead of from stems of 

 about three years' growth as with us, and the epid- 

 ermis is actually removed by a plane instead of being 

 scraped away by the knife of the cinnamon peeler. 

 Our readers will peruse with interest the fo^o^Ting 

 account which Mr. Ford gives of the culture of China 

 cassia — 



" i'lantations exist on situations with all aspects, any 

 particu' ir cue not, npparentlj', receiving cuusideration 

 in preference to others. They are at altitudes of fro!u 

 about 300 to 1,000 feet above sea level, and on slopes 

 of from about 50 to 30 degrees Plautations were no- 

 whore seen on level giound, In fact so very little level 

 ground exists in the localities of cassia cultivation 

 58 



that, even if wanted, it could not be obtained. The 

 very small portions of level ground that there are in 

 the bottoms of small valleys, are used for the culti- 

 vation of rice and vegetables. Laud carrying the 

 thickest vegetation of grass and iems —Okichenia dic- 

 hotoma chiefly — i* .selected. Naturally tho soil con- 

 tains a fair quantity of humus for a depth of from 

 six inches to a foot, but the accumulation of vege- 

 table matter is not more than to give the soil a 

 light brown colour ; the consistency of the soil is 

 from friableuess to hardish compadnesa. If very dense 

 tho vegetation is burnt. The soil is dug to a depth 

 of about one foot and placed in small terraces or 

 steps three feet apart, and of a width varying accord- 

 ing to the steepuiss of the hills, frequently they are 

 not more, somttimes even less, than eighteen inches 

 wide. No manure is used either when the ground 

 is prepared or subsequently." 



The plants are placed in the ground at distances 

 of three feet apart. The peeling of the bark and the 

 gathering of the buds and leaves (for all are utilized 

 by the Chinese) are thus desci'ibed : — 



" Bark. — When the trees are about eix years old, 

 the first crop of bark is obtained. 'J'he season for 

 barking commences in March and continues until the 

 end of May, after which the natives say the bark 

 looses its aroma and is therefore not removed from 

 the trees. The branches, which are about an inch 

 thick, being cut to within a few inches of the ground 

 are carried to houses or sheds in tbe vicinity of the 

 plantations. All the small twigs and leaves bemg 

 cleared off, a large bladed knife, with the cutting 

 edge something like the end of a budding knife, is 

 used to make two longitudinal slits, and three ur four 

 incisions, at sixteen inches apart, louud the circum- 

 ference through the bark ; the bark is then loosened 

 by passing underneath it a kind (>f slightly curved 

 horn knife with the two edges .'lightly sharpened. 

 Pieces of bark sixteen inches long and half ti.e cir- 

 cumference .ire thus obtained. 



"The bark, after its removal and while it is still 

 moist with sap, is then laid with the concave side 

 downwards and a small plane passed over it and tLie 

 epidermis removed. After this opi ration the bark is 

 left to dry for about twenty-four hours and then tied 

 up in bundles about eighteen inches in diameter 

 and sent in to the merchants' houses in the market 

 towns. 



" Leaves. — The leaves, which are cleared from the 

 branches that are barked, are carefully preserved and 

 dried, and afford by distillation cassia oil A large 

 quantity of leaves are sent to Cauion, where, I was 

 told, the operation of distilling is jierformed. 



" Tioig.1. — These are removed from the cut branches 

 at the same time as when the leaves are obtained. 

 They are a marketable commodity for native uses. 



"Buds. — Cassia buds are the immature fruits. They 

 are gathered when about one eighth grown. Buds, 

 and the seeds which are annually required for sowing 

 are obtained Irom trees ten years and upwards of 

 age that are left standing at about fifty and a hund- 

 red fee? apart amr.nust the trees vhich are cut down 

 every six years for their bark. These aeed-iiearing 

 trees are not cut, uuless there is a demand for the 

 very tliiek baik on their trunks, when some of the 

 trees v. hich cau he conveniently sp.i-ed are sacrihced. " 



The small twigs being utilized, nothing is said about 

 distilling oil from the bark, but the leaves sefem in 

 gi'eat request for the distillation of "cassia oil." The 

 leaves of our Ceylon plant, which are excessively 

 brittle, give out, when broken, the odour, not of cinna- 

 mon, but of cloves, and all we have ever learnt about 

 leaf oil and its uses in Ceylon is tliat, rubbed inside 

 the boards of books it preserves tb a books from fungi 

 and insects. Ai'O we right in assuiidng that our cin- 

 uamon gi-owers leave all small t«igs and leaves ou 



