SS8 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[January i, 1883. 



who we believe liave accepted engagements in Borneo. 

 It is not simply large forest lots that require sur- 

 veying, but there is the future town at Sandakan 

 to lay out — a A'ory profitable affair for the Company, 

 seeing that " half-an acre of a town lot in Elopuram 

 sold yesterday (the day before our correspondent 

 wrote) for igl,"2C)0 or at the rate of nearly Ro.OOO 

 per acre !" 'Mr. Alfred Dent the founder of the Set- 

 tlement and of a Company which is likely to grow 

 In importance until it rivals the fame of the great 

 historic Companies ou the roll of British .Settlement, is 

 now on the way out to the East and will probably 

 pass a fortnight in Ceylon to visit tea and other 

 plantations in which he is interested, before gohig 

 on to Borneo. Already the new Settlement lias pro- 

 fited by experience gained in this colony, finding 

 trained Surveyors and planters ready to their hand.s ; 

 but, at the same time, the service is mutual, 

 for moat fortunate is it to have such an opening 

 for a portion of our men at this period of depression. 

 As land becomes cleared in Borneo, no doubt there 

 will be a further demand for Superintendents of the 

 right stamp ; but this demand must be gradual. 



THE BRITISH SIKKHIM CINCHONA 

 ENTERPRIZE. 

 We append the Resolution of the Government of 

 Bengal on Dr. King's Report of the condition, progress 

 and results of tlie Davjeeling Cuichona Plantations for 

 the year ended March 1S82, and on page 5.52 will be 

 found the detailed Report. It will be observed that, 

 while, for the present, tlie extension of the area under 

 succirubras has been suspended in view of the fact that 

 nearly four millions of trees are available, consider- 

 able progress had been made with the propagation 

 and planting out of two (juinine-yielding plants, — 

 Ledgeriana and the hybnda. The latter are de- 

 servedly ranked as quinine plants, in view of the 

 results yielded by the bark of very young trees, in 

 one case 2 '87 of crystallized sulphate of quinine and 

 2 "94 of cinchonidine. These would be excellent results 

 for old trees. The history of the " unnamed hybrids " 

 is curious. They first appeared amongst seedlings raised 

 from seed of C. officinalis and (.'. succiruhra sent by 

 Dr. Thwaitea from Ceylon and were provisionally 

 termed " lynofa." Mr. Gamniie was struck with the 

 large leaves and robust luvbit of the plants and took 

 means to perpetuate the kind. Here, in Ceylon, our 

 provisional name is cinchona robusta, and we recog- 

 nize only two forms : pnhexcent and glabroun, instead 

 of the six distinguished in British Sikkhim. It seems 

 probable that neither Ceylon nor British India can 

 compete with .Java in the growth of Ledgerianas ; 

 but there seems a great future for both countries with 

 the roliust hybrids. Their barks may not be so rich 

 in quinine as the Ledger barks, but, tree for tree, 

 notwitlistanding the thickness of Ledger bark, the 

 hybrids are likely to make up in quantity what they 

 may lack in quality, aiul the limit of improvement 

 of bark renewed after shaving may yet be far off. 

 It will be seen that, apart from remains of officinalis, 

 and a few of other kinds, including 30 i^lants of the 

 Carthagena species, the cinchona trees now in the 

 Northern India plantations, are : — 



Febrifuge trees {&ucciruhias) 3,S73,28."> 



_ . , . f Calisaya, including Ledueriana 56(i,0!'5 



Qummetree8|^^j^4' ^ ^ 291,{i28 



Total.. .4,731,608 

 or, in round numbers, 4^ uiillious : a good property. 



apart from the fact that the proceeds have already 

 more than paid the whole of the expenditure twice over. 

 But what a curious idea Mr. Rivers Thomson, the Lieut.- 

 Governor of Bengal, has of not competing with pri- 

 vate growers. The bark of the succirubras will con- 

 tinue to be turned into febrifuge, and the quinine- 

 yielding trees are to be sold to any one who will 

 guarantee that their bark is locally manufactured 

 into quinine. Our readers will see at once that, if in 

 this manner, the wants of the Indian Government are 

 largely supplied, the Howards and other manufacturers 

 who will lose that important source of demand, will 

 give so much less for the bark of private growers. 

 But the continuance of the present system will very 

 considerably reduce competition, in this way : — It has 

 been acknowledged all along that, by the rough mode 

 adopted of obtaining the mixed alkaloids from the 

 bark, fully 2 per cent are lost ; while it does not 

 seem probable that any other person taking up the 

 manufacture of pure quinine would be more success- 

 ful than our good friend, Mr. Gammie, has been, 

 and in his experiments : although a large portion of 

 alkaloid was exti-acted, yet " the excess was lost in 

 the course of precipitation." The Government of 

 Madras, which had, since the unfavourable report ou Mr. 

 Brougliton's experiments, sent its bark for sale in 

 the London market has recently been trying, with 

 good success, the experiment of getting its bark 

 manufactured into alkaloids by London chemists. Now 

 that a quinologist of its own is coming out, pgrhaps 

 the northern Indian system of manufacturing ou the spot 

 may be resorted to. Whatever the system, whether 

 of selling the bark or utilizing it for febrifuge, there 

 will he a certain amount of competition with private 

 growers, but we have always regarded .sucli competi- 

 tion as more than compensated for by the benefits 

 conferred on private growers by the experiments tried 

 on and tlie information diffused from the Indian Go- 

 vernment Gardens. And not only so, but, while the 

 South India Gardens have distributed vast quantities 

 of seed at a nominal price, we now find the Govern- 

 ment of Bengal distributing the precious Ledgeriana 

 seed gi-atuitously. Even that course may ere long be 

 regarded as competing with private enterprize. Hitherto, 

 however, it is aid of the most valuable kind whioh 

 the Indian Government has given to private enterprize, 

 in Ceylon as well as India, and gratitude is due in propor- 

 tion. One of the gi-eat objects of the Government, from 

 the first, was to provide the people of India with a cheap 

 febrifuge, and this object has been largely attained. The 

 mixed alkaloids may produce nausea occasionally, even 

 where over-doses are not given, yet they are quite effi- 

 cacious in fever cases. But with all Mr. Gammie's care 

 2 per cent of the alkaloids in the bark he manufactures 

 are lost to the world. These would be saved by 

 London manufacturers who would supply cinchonidine 

 at a low rate, so that, we believe, it would be better 

 for the Indian Government to sell their bark at tlTe 

 highest rates to be obtained in the London m.arket, 

 buying their quinine and inferior alkaloids in the 

 same market, at prices which would be low in pro- 

 portion to (|uatitity taken. Competition in London be- 

 tween tlie liowarils, ^Vliitlens and other manufacturers, 

 we suspect, would have all the effect produced by 

 the competition of the Sikkhim-manufaotured febrifuge. 

 It will be seen that gi'afting Ledgerianas on succirulira 

 stocks had not been successful and it would seem 

 tliat tliey are not yet aware on the Darjiling plant- 

 ations that within six to nine months of shaving, the re- 

 newed barks are ready for shaving again and in a con- 

 dition to give a good analysis. That is in accordance 

 with experience in Ceylon. 



In his detailed report Dr. King states, as proving 

 the hybrid origin of the jilants grown from Ceylon 

 seed, wliich differed both from succirubra anA officin- 

 alis that they did not come true to seed, and so 



