August i, 1884.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



8r 



CINCHONA CULTURE IN JAVA. 

 Mr. Van Romunde, who is acting for Mr. Moens 

 as Director of the Cinchona Enterprise in Java, is 

 fortunate in being able to report fairly gonial seasons, 

 a great diminution in the insect pest, so destructive 

 in Mr. Moens' time to cinchonas as well as tea plants, 

 and abundance of labour and means of carriage. By 

 this time the railway to Bandoeng will be available 

 so that enterprize, Government and private, ought to 

 receive a new impetus. The " horses " alluded to by 

 Mr. Van Romunde are the ponies for which Java is 

 so celebrated, and as murrain had since 1880 destroyed 

 so many of the cattle on which the Javanese are de- 

 pendent for tin culture of their rice fields, it is of im- 

 portance that buffaloes should be released from tavalam 

 work to take their part in the preparation of the 

 sawahs for grain crops. As railways advance in Java 

 and set free horse as well as cattle power, it seems 

 possible that Java ponies, small but fast and with 

 wonderful endurance, may yet be profitably imported 

 into Ceylon. It is amusing to read the details of the 

 "ring" I'ouued by the Java plauters to obtain Ledger- 

 iana seed at a low figure, and the measures taken 

 by the Government to circumvent them. In view of 

 the stateoieuts as to the scarcity of really 

 valuable seed of first quality, Mr. W. Smith's 

 Ledgeriana BeeJ ought to sell well in Colombo. It 

 will be seen 'hat the "scraping" system of taking 

 bark, which Mr. Moens invented, is still adhered to 

 in Java, and that the experiment of leaving the 

 " wounded " trees without covering was being tried ; 

 as also a system of topping the trees and lopping 

 away the lower branches, so as to render the harv- 

 esting process easier than it could be in the case of 

 tall trees. It will be seen, that, in combating 

 Helopeltis Anto'iii, Mr. Van Romunde believes great 

 benefit arose, not merely from the capture of the 

 insects, but from the removal aud destruction of the 

 infected leaves. These Java reports are always full 

 of interest an interest which they will retain as the 

 cultivation of the finer kinds of Ledgeriana progresses 

 in Ce.vlon. The annual reports for 1880 and 1881 

 will be found in the number of the Tropical Agri- 

 culturist for May, and that for 1882 is in 

 course of translatiou. Tho main results of Mr. Moens' 

 experience are embodied in his book, which, we are 

 glad to see, is shortly to appear in an English dress 





( Translated for the ' ' Ceylon Observer. "J 



REPORT ON THE GOVERNMENT CINCHONA 



ENTERPRIZE IN JAVA FOR THE 4TH 



QUARTER OF 1883. 



The weather at the commencement of the past 

 quarter continued very variable. Only in the course 

 of November was it possible to make a beginning 

 with the supplying of the young gardens and the 

 planting of new ones. Harvesting was carried on 

 uninterruptedly on most of the establishments, though 

 less vigorously thau during the dry east monsoon. 

 104,121 Amst. lb. of bark were dispatched to Tjikao 

 in the past quarter. The total quantity of produce 

 gathered and dispatched during 1883 was thus brought 

 up to 410.804 Amst. lb., whilst about 7,000 lb. more 

 are lying in the packinghouses and on the estates 

 ready for dispatch. The supply of means of trans- 

 port was so great, that the expenses of the dispatch 

 of produce to Tjikao could without doubt again be 

 reduced appreciably. For draught power, horses wera 

 alone used, as these appear in the long run to be 

 better suited than buffaloes for transport, whilst the 

 latter can now be used entirely in the cultivation 

 of the sawahs. The scraping method of harvesting 



was for the third time carried out on the old original 

 Ledgerianas. The trees were this time also shaved 

 over the half of their circumference ; the bared parts 

 were not covered, but on this occasion also no signs of 

 suffering in the trees, consequent on thg operation, were 

 observed. The good results of the thorough working of 

 the boil during the east monsoon were plainly visible at 

 the setting-in of the rains. Everywhere vigorous growth 

 is to be observed in the plantations. The supply of 

 labour was more than sufficient, iu spite of the oc- 

 currence of the working of the sawahs and the exreu- 

 sion which private cinchona culture has lately under- 

 gone. At Nagrak a second erection for the artificial 

 drying of bark is now ready, so that now the harvest- 

 ing tbere can be carried on without intermission. 

 The damage caused to the trees by Helopeltis Antonii 

 was reduced to a minimum. Strict orders were given 

 to pursue the so much dreaded insect with vigor 

 and as much as possible to extirpate it. Only at 

 Rioenggoenoeng was some damage done to young 

 Ledgeriana gardens, whilst elsewhere only a few 

 sporadic traces of sickness were noticed. On 4th 

 October the second sale of cinchona seed from the Gov- 

 ernment Gardens was held. In consequence of the 

 small return from this sale, which originated in com- 

 binations of private planters, by Government order 

 of 17th Nov. 18S3, No. 37, minimum prices have 

 been fixed. For Ledgeriana seed of original trees the 

 price is fixed at f2 50 per gram ; for seed of typical 

 Ledger descendants at /l ; for succirubra and offici- 

 nalis respectively at yO'20 and /0 - 05 per gram. On 

 •?0th Dec. a large lot of cinchona seed was again 

 sold by public auction at the minimum prices. The 

 result of the sale of October was /3,49975 and of 

 that of December /3,760. At the request of a number 

 of private citchona planters a second sale of Ledgeriana 

 grafts was held on 3rd Nov. Of the 650 slips off red 

 for sale, 300 found buyers at the minimum price of 

 HO each fixed by the Government. *o far as is 

 known, the seed and grafts were bought exclusively 

 by Java cinchona planters. In consequence of the 

 lengthy drought in 1883, Ihe old Ledgerianas and the 

 graft plants promise to yield in the course of 18^4 

 an abundant harvest of valuable seed. 



Von Komunde, 

 Director of the Government Cinchona Enterprise. 

 Bandoeng, 3rd Jan. 1884. 



REPORT ON THE GOVERNMENT CINCHONA 

 ENTERPRIZE IN JAVA FOR THE 1ST QUARTER 

 OF 18S4, 

 The weather was distinguis 1 ed by copious rains, 

 which, although they retarded the harvesting a little 

 on some establishments, exercised on the whole a 

 favorable influence on the growth of the plants. By 

 the end of January the whole of the crop of 1883 

 was dispatched to Tjikao. The harvest totaled 

 416,740 Amst. lb., of which 2,450 lb. were reserved 

 for the use of the local military medical service. 

 During February 23,946 Amst. lb. of bark, of the 

 crop of 1884, were dispatched to Tjikao, while about 

 30,000 lb. more are lying ready in the packing-houses 

 and on the estates. This produce will lie stored in 

 the packing-houses until May next, when it can be 

 sent by rail to Batavia. The supply of labor Mas 

 very plentiful, so that the upkeep of the existing 

 plantations was taken up vigorously, and besides all 

 works necessary or desirable in the interest of the 

 culture were executed. The possibility that during 

 the expected large coffee crop labor might at times 

 fail rendered it desirable that all should be done 

 which under ordinary circumstances would very well 

 admit of delay. The system of scraping of the baik 

 wn for the first time practised upon 6 to 7 year 



