August i, 1884,] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



8.1 



as he can. And no doubt there is money to lie made 

 out of orange bitters, lime juice, and such like things, 

 although less attractive in themselves than the gold 

 and the cinchona of a highly imaginative past. — Pioneer. 

 Quinine and the allied alkaloids have certainly fallen 

 in price, but not in medicinal value; and however oin- 

 . choua planters may have suffered, humanity .at large 

 will benefit enormously by the cheapening of febrifug is. 

 Like tea, coffee and sugar, the cinchona alkaloids are 

 destined to go on increasing in consumption until 

 they are available to every fever- stricken patient. 

 As to lemon-juice, one additional plantation of limes 

 would flood the market, while the less people indulge 

 in bitters the better. 



ANNUAL REPORT ON THE GOVERNMENT 



CINCHONA PLANTATION IN BENGAL 



FOR THE YEAR 1883-84. 



No. 34c, dated Royal Botanic Garden, Seebpore, near 

 Calcutta, the 19th Aprd 1884. 



From — Surgeon-Major G. King, M. B., Superintendent, 

 Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, and in charge of Cin- 

 chona cultivation iu Bengal. To — The Secretary to the Gov- 

 ernment of Bengal, Financial Department. 



I have the honour herewith to submit the annual report 

 on the Government Cinchona plantations in Bengal for 

 the year ending 31st March 1884. 



Twenty-second Annual Report of the Government Cin- 

 chona plantation in British Sikkim by Surgeon-Major G. 

 King, ii. B., r. I., s., Superintendent of the Royal Botanic 

 Garden, Calcutta, and of Cinchona Cultivation in Bengal. 



The total number of trees on the plantations at the end 

 of the year was 4,740,811 of all sorts. This is an increase of 

 29,643 on the former year. But although the net result has 

 thus been but little affected, a considerable change iu the 

 proportions of the different species in cultivation has re- 

 sulted from the op erations of the year. The general effect 

 of those changes is a decrease in the number of red bark 

 and an increase in number of the yellow bark trees. In the 

 Mungpoo and Sittong plantations, 232,200 red barks were 

 uprooted, and only 51,000 were planted. On the other hand 

 172,520 trees of Oalisaya were planted out on those older 

 plantations as against 15,0u0 which either died or were 

 thinned out in spots where there was a tendency to over- 

 crowding; while on the new plantation at Rungjung 42,200 

 trees were planted out. The total of yellow barks plan e I 

 was therefore 2 14.720 and these were all either of Led</< I 

 from plantation seed, or Verdes and JToradas from South 

 American seed supplied during toe former year by the 

 Secretary of State. I have in former reports alluded to 

 the forms of cinchona intermediate between Officinalis and 

 Sii cirubra, which many yearsago first appeared on the plant- 

 ation and which have been referred to as hybrids. Andl have 

 from time to time published, under numbers, analyses of 

 the barks of these various forms. In my last report, 

 analyses of the bark of eight of these were published, and 

 I then pointed out that No. 4 is a poor bark, not much 

 superior to Succirubra as a yielder of quinine. Plants of this 

 sort, to the number of 33,878 was therefore uprooted during 

 the year ; and instead of them there were planted 

 50,000 of the forms yielding richer hark. At Rungbee 

 5,000 trees of Officinalis, which had become sickly, 

 were cut out and as this species does not thrive well 

 inSikkim, noue of it were planted. The total number of trees 

 of all sorts at the plantations on the 31st March is shown in 

 the followiug table, while the- exact details of each plant- 

 ation will be found as appendices to this report. 



ill la-s l«!iip u %s 



Dwtsion. — ■ ■ 



Munnpoo 2,132,000 754.21S 7.300 280,500 25,593 3,499.611 

 Bittor.g 1,100,000 59.0110 ... 40,000 ... 1,199,00" 

 Rungjung ... 41.000 1,200 42,200 



Gram 1 "\ 



If all [WWO 



kind, J 



854,218 8,50 I 320,500 25,593 4,740,811 



During the year Mr. Gammie observed in the plantation 

 two forms of hybrid, the bark of which had not hitherto 

 been analysed. An analysis has now been made of each 

 bark, and the results are here given; — 



Analysis oj hybrid bark from Mungpoo, 



No. 9. No. 10. 



Crystallized sulphate of quinine ..." 3'12 3'24 



Ditto ditto of cinchonidine ... 1-21 2'46 



Ditto ditto ofquinidiue ... 0'30 



Cinchonine (alkaloid) ... ... 0-71 052 



For convenience of reference, 1 submit as an appendix a 

 table giving the analyses of the barks of all the ten forms of 

 hybrid which we now recognize. Many of these, it will 

 be observed, are excellent barks, and the trees producing 

 them being for the most part strong rapid growers, they 

 are well worthy of cultivation. Mention has above been 

 made of two kinds of Cinchona called Verde and Morada, 

 which, at least under these names, are new to the plant- 

 ation. These were raised from seeds from South America, 

 which were, at my suggestion, indented for from the India 

 Office about eighteen months ago. The seed germinated 

 freely, but many of the seedlings came up of a peculiar 

 golden yellow colour, and these all died off when they were 

 hardly half an inch in height. The cold season was an 

 unusually severe one, and Mr. Gammie reports that, in spite 

 of all precautions, a considerable number of the weaker 

 survivors succumbed to the low temperature. The remain- 

 ing plants are healthy, and as many of them resemble in 

 appearance varieties which we know by analyses to be 

 good quinine-yielders, the result of the importation of 

 South American seed promises to be satisfactory. The new 

 plantation at Rungjung, which was opened about eighteen 

 months ago, promises very well, the Cinchonas permanently 

 planted out in it being robust and healthy. As explained 

 in my last report, this plantation is at a considerable 

 distance from Mungpoo, and is under the immediate charge 

 of an Assistant (Mr. Parkes), but is frequently vi-ited by 

 Mr. Gammie. I inspected it during the year and was 

 well pleased with its appearance. The older plantations at 

 Rungbee, Mungpoo, and Sittong continue to thrive very 

 well. 



2. Details of the year's crop. — The crop of the year 

 amounted to 305,160 pounds of dry bark in the following 

 proportions: — 283,240 pounds red, 14,320 pounds Calisaya, 

 5, 400 hybrid, and 2,110 pounds Officinalis. This brings the 

 total yield of the plantation from its beginning up to 

 2,917,726 pounds of dry bark. The year's crop as usual 

 was obtained partly from trees thinned out where over- 

 crowding was beginning to occur or from more or less 

 mature trees uprooted for the sake of their bark. About 

 a sixth part of the crop (51,890 pounds) was obtained 

 from the youug plantation at Sittong, which may now 

 therefore be considered as having come into bearing. Only 

 a small quantity of bark (31| pounds) was sold during 

 the year, and 100 pounds were supplied to the Calcutta 

 Medical Depot. Practically the whole crop was therefore 

 made over to the Factory, and it will be found accounted for 

 in the Factory Report. I regret to say that no accounts 

 have as yet been received from the India Office of 41,800 

 pounds of bark sent to London during the previous year. 

 I am still therefore unable to include the proceeds of this 

 consignment in the plantation accounts. 



3. Expenditure for the year. — The total budget grant 

 for the year was R93,605, but of this only R78,660-4-8 

 were spent, thus leaving a saving of R14, 944-11-4. Of the 

 amount expended, the young plantation at Rungjung 

 absorbed R12,527-l-9 and the balance was sp. nt on 

 what has hitherto been termed the cm plants 

 namely Rungbee and Mungpoo and or She inter- 

 mediate plantation of Sittong. Up thi leginniui 



year under review the expendituri n Sittong ha 

 treated as capital, and has been charged to Block account, 

 and the expenditure on Lunghie aid Murgiioo has been 

 treated as working expenses agains wlnei there has beeD 

 put the annual taik ciop. But the Sittong plantation has 

 now come into fearing, and I have this je;ir united 

 Sittong to the old plantation, increasing the capital of the 

 united plantation by the total sum expended on Sittong, 

 and incluoiug the year's expenditure on Sittong as part of 

 the working expeus. s of the united plantation, The figures 

 therefore arrange themselves tbusi«= 



