August i, 1884.J 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



i°5 



CEARA RUBBER. 

 For some time back the facta reported in regard to 

 the growth of Ceara rubber trees and the amount of 

 gum obtained from them under every couceivable 

 mode of treatment have tended to but one conclusion, 

 that the cultivation of this " new product," at least, 

 would not pay. Our readerB have seen proofs of the 

 active and intelligent interest Mr. Gilliat has taken 

 in the culture of the plant .and the collection of its 

 product. To facilitate the latter process Mr. Gilliat 

 invented an instrument calculated to ensure success, 

 had success been possible. But all experiments have 

 had but one termination, and, now that Ceylon is about 

 to lose and Queensland to gain the presence of the 

 intelligent and enterprising gentleman to whom we 

 have referred, we have his authority for announcing 

 a failure so complete in the rubber cultivation, of 

 which he has had charge, that the order has been 

 issued to uproot the trees and fill in the vacant 

 ground with tea plants. We need not say how much 

 we regret this unfortunate conclusion of an enterprize 

 which atone time promised so well. It is regrctable 

 for the sake of the interests of the colony as well as 

 those of individual planters who have spent much time 

 and money on the culture. Whetuer different 

 results may be obtained with other species or vari- 

 eties of the indiarubber-yielding trees, plants, or 

 creepers, remain.; to be decided, but we notice that 

 in Assam most hopes are centred in the indigenous 

 Fiats clastka. This fig is common in Ceylon, but we 

 suspect the objections to it as a cultivated product 

 would be the long period requisite for the attainment of 

 maturity and the few trees which would stand on 

 an acre of ground from the habit of this fig in re- 

 gard to a specially umbrageous head. Of course, an 

 appeal lies from what we say today in regard to 

 Ceara to other planters who have engaged in its 

 cultivation and, finally, to Dr. Trimen. From the 

 latter we have every reason to hope for a far more 

 favourable verdict in regard to cacao than, we fear, 

 he can give in the case of Ceara. While noticing the 

 complete recovery of cinchonas and other plants 

 affected so badly in 1882 by what was called the 

 gum-disease, we failed to fulfil our intention of call- 

 ing special attention to Mr. Jardine's statement that 

 cacao plants which were badly diseased in 1SS1 are 

 now perfectly healthy and bearing good ciops of fruit. 

 We have as much reason, therefore, to believe in 

 the permanent profitableness of cacao as we have to 

 doubt that ever the Ceara rubber tiees can be so 

 grown in Ceylon as to yield paying returns of gum 

 to the cultivators. 



LETTER REGARDING SPECIMENS OF CINCHONAS 

 FROM CURATOR PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY. 

 (Museum Department.) 

 Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, 17, Bloomsbury 



Square, London, W. C, March 22nd, 1884. 

 To the Secretary of the Planters 1 Association, Ceylon. 



Sir, — I observe in the " Overland Times of Ceylon" a 

 paragraph in which it is stated that "the specimens (of 

 cinchona barks) sent for the acceptance of the Pharm- 

 aceutical Society of Great Britain have so far not beeu 

 acknowledged." 



Until I noticed this sentence, I was not aware that 

 your Association had forwarded any specimens to this Society. 

 A box arrived some time since, containing specimens 

 of cinchona barks, apparently from the Botanical Gardens 

 at I'eradeuiya, but no letter accompanied it. I have 

 searched my* letter-books in vain for any eummunication 

 concerning it. I was therefore under the impression that 

 tile specimens had been forwarded by Dr. Trimen, under 

 14 



directions from the Colonial Office, and that the speci- 

 mens had been given to him by two or three friends. 



You will see that under this impression I reported, in 

 our Journal, the receipt of Ceylon barks " forwarded 

 through Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies " 

 (June 9th, p. 1027). This Society had previously made 

 an application to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, 

 for a series of cinchona barks and herbarium specimens 

 of the various species cultivated in India, Ceylon, and 

 Jamaica. In the absence of any intimation to the con- 

 trary, it was naturally supposed by me, that the speci- 

 mens referred to came in response to that request, 

 others having been forwarded about that time from 

 Jamaica, Darjeeling and Madras. A special letter of 

 thanks has been forwarded to the Government Depart- 

 ments by the Secretary of this Society for their don- 

 ations, and I therefore took no steps in the matter, sup- 

 posing that a letter from the Government would have 

 been sent to the Secretary of this Society as was the 

 case with the other shipments. 



The letter in the "Overland Times of Ceylon" (Feb. 

 19th, p. 205) indicates that probably a misunderstanding 

 has occurred, which we shall be glad to rectify on 

 hearing from you that the box in question came from 

 your Association and not from Dr. Trimen. I append a 

 list of the specimens it contained and have ventured to 

 add a few notes which may perhaps be of some little 

 interest to the members of your important Association. — 

 I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 



E. M. Holmes, Curator. 



P. S. — The specimens only incompletely representing the 

 cinchonas cultivated in Ceylon, I had been in hopes that 

 a further instalment was likely to fo.Iow and have there- 

 fore not published any remarks upon them as yet in our 

 Journal. 



Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, 

 17, Bloomsbury Square, London, W. 0. 



Herbarium specimens and barks Cinchona Ledgeriana (T. 

 N. Christie) resembles closely a specimen of Howard's 

 marked : " Java Ledger No. 42, Java Herbarium and also 

 the purple-leaved Ledgeriana from Muugpoo." 



It is not identical, however, with another specimen from 

 Mr. Howard which is marked : " No. 10 from Mr. Moens. 

 See Quiuology p. 59, identified by Mr. Ledger as the trueRojo." 



The bark however is not of Ledgeriana type, which is 

 the more remarkable that of the Muugpoo purple-leaved 

 plant is of the calisaya type. [We cannot understand this, 

 except in the sense that the Muugpoo and Christie barks 

 are simply calisaya, although the foliage is that of Ledgeri- 

 ana. — Ed.] 



Mr. Christie's specimens of Ledgeriana and officinalis 

 bark seem to have been taken out of one and the same 

 parcel and look as if they were both C. officinalis crossed 

 with 0. succirubra, neither Mr. Howard nor I could see 

 any differeuce between the two parcels. I cannot believe 

 they came off the same tree as the herbarium specimens. 

 There must be a mistake somewhere. I trust Mr. Christie 

 may be induced to send a second series with the speci- 

 mens of fruit and the bark taken off with his own hands 

 and sent under his superintendence. 



C. officinalis, Mayfield, Dimbula, leaves only. — This ap- 

 pears to me to be both as to bark and Herbarium specimen 

 quite correct aud to belong to the broad-leaved form. 

 Vrititsintja C. officinalis, Henfold, Dimbula. The Herbarium 

 specimen is unlike auy that I have, but the bark comes 

 nearest oi F. crispa. 



C. succirubra (J. G. Macfarlane) A. and B., leaves and 

 flowers only. — The barks appear to resemble those of 

 Jamaica which Mr. Howard referred to F. inipuiescens ; they 

 are quite without the warty character met with in the 

 Darjeeling red barks. 



The Herbarium specimens I cannot Offer any rcmaiks 

 upon, as they have no fruit and the lea\ es are few and 

 not perfect. 



C. calisaya (F. Saunders). — This bark is not at all of 

 pure calisaya type but bears strong marks of being crossed 

 with red bark. I cannot of course say whether the tree 

 bears out this conjecture, because no specimens of the 

 foliage or fruit were sent. I may add that when speci- 

 mens are intended for analysis two parcels of each should 



be sent and that barks are of little value for museum 



