October i, 1884,] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



323 



After first arguing that the culture of cinchona, begun 

 in 1861 by the English in India, had progressed so far 

 in 1867 that the first crop could appeir at the market in 

 that very year, and giving credit to the talent and energy 

 of the English botanists, as well as to the nurserymen 

 and chemists, he very discreetly steps in for a share in 

 the honour for two other nations, for France and Holland. 

 As a gentleman he apologises for being obliged to mention 

 his own name first, to set forth clearly that his travels 

 to Peru — his monograph on the cinchona, and the live 

 and dried objects, seeds, etc. which he brought home — 

 gave the first impulse to the affair. Then he relates the 

 laudable attempts of the Dutch who had been seven years 

 in advance of the English, but had made but very little 

 progress salt par une raisone, soil par une autre, and ends 

 with the laconic observation that England, by logical ex- 

 periments, and profiting by the mistakes of others, came 

 almost at once, without striking a blow, to the solution 

 of the difficult problem. 



I repeat — such language destitute of the least appear- 

 ance of hatred or selfishness — is quite refreshing and 

 grateful. 



In 1875 the direction of the Neth. India Culture — in 

 consequence of the appointment of Mr. Van Gorkorn as 

 Inspector in Chief of the Cultures — was committed to Mr. 

 J. C. Bernelot Moens, who remained at the same time 

 charged with the chemical operations, and to whom was 

 adjoined Mr. Van Komunde, Controleur at the home 

 Government of the culture-concerns. 



If these had progressed with gigantic strides during 

 the decenniuin of Mr. v. G.'s management, so that at 

 his resignation two millions of plants of the best cinchona 

 sorts stood iu the open ground, and above 200,001' in the 

 nurseries, the produce, the crop of bark for the Dutch 

 market, was not less considerable, and had amounted in 

 1874 to above 58,000 kilogr. At the same time the scientific 

 import was not lost sight of. A conscientious study of 

 the species — the development of the bark, the chemical 

 virtue, the propagation, the fructification — had been con- 

 tinued with the greatest zeal, and special mention must 

 be made of the innumerable and scrupulous analyses of 

 Moens, and of his botanical-anatomical study in conjunction 

 with the late Dr. Scheffer, in his time Director of the 

 National Botanical Gardens at Buitenzorg. 



It was now positively and clearly ascertained that pro- 

 pagation by seed is not attended with deterioration, as 

 was at first feared; that the grafting of good sorts upon 

 inferior stocks was decidedly favourable, and has this 

 advantage that the quantity of the alkaloids alone is modified. 



The old idea that for the collection of the bark it was 

 necessary to sacrifice or fell the whole tree, when grown 

 to maturity, hail long maele way tor a better view. In 

 English India, Broughtou had begun in 1866 to pollard 

 the trees, in order to be able to lop the new shoots 

 after 4 a 5 years (Coppicing-system) as is done in Europe 

 with oak and ash coppice. But, besides the trees receiving 

 a serious shock by this treatment, from which they do 

 not so speedily recover, the bark thus obtained is not 

 near so good as the stem-bark. 



It was therefore an ingenious idea of Mr. Mclvor in 

 the Neilgherries, to cover the stems with moss, in order 

 to improve the quality of the bark. He was led to this 

 by observing that the best — the so-called crown-cinchona 

 ■ — always occurs covered with moss. He made e.xperimets 

 in this direction and the result was that, not only was 

 the quality of the bark improved, but that in this way 

 it was possible to strip the stem of a part of the barK 

 and to heal the wound thus made by covering it with 

 moss, in other words, to renew the bark by artificial 

 means. (Mossing and renewing bark.) 



By experiments on a large scale the uew discovery was 

 crowned with the best success. 



The " mossing system " is almost universally practised 

 in Java since 1^79, and numerous chemical analyses have 

 shown that the proportion of quinine in the renewed 

 bark increases, and is even trebled. The "coppveing 

 System" is now only practised when a rapid production 

 of bark is required, or when the sort does not allow of 

 the "mossing system"; the felliug, or rather uprooting, 

 of the tree, is still practised exceptionally, when it withers, 

 or when the plantation requires thinning. 



Lastly, by way of trial, another method has been u 

 for a short time, viz., scraping off the outer baik ; but 

 though this product offered a precious and valuble material 

 for the quinine manufacturer, the "scraping system" has 

 not been continued on account of culture and commercial 

 considerations. If I do not mistake, the Ledgeriana (in 

 chips ) realized at the sales in Amsterdam iu '7!* the 

 enormous price of /1044 per h kilogr. The quiuine pro- 

 portion was 13 per cent. 



The "coppyciug system" in a modified form, by leaving 

 one shoot on the stem, is now generally and successfully 

 practised in Java with the V. Ledgeriana. 



The harvest of cinchona-bark deserve a moment's further 

 attention, as so litde is known about it. Do not experi 

 a description like "Les Vendanges" in Province or Languedoc, 

 or a mill-feast in a sugar-works in East Java, or of the 

 padi-cutting in Java described by Multatuli. The reaping 

 of the cinchona-bark is unattended by poetical accessories, 

 and the work-people are all quiet. In those elevated 

 regions, sparsely populated, and theu only temporarily, 

 no clamour whatever prevails. All nature bears an appear- 

 ance of monotony and gloominess. In the gardens and 

 woods the sun can hardly penetrate, the trees mostly 

 dripping with rap, or from the clouds floating above, and 

 breaking down in a dreadful thunderstorm. Then tin- 

 labourers — among whom not uufrequently mothers with 

 infants at the breast — experience all the miseries of a 

 mountain-climate at an elevation of 7,000 feet. Shivering 

 with cold, the women sit, sheltered as much as possible 

 by a screen of plaited dried leaves, peeling the lopped 

 branches, and cutting the wet bark to measure ; the small 

 silvers, or so-called refuse, is carefully collected in baskets. 



The heavier work is performed by men ; they lop the 

 branches, or, if the mossing system is followed, they make 

 incisions lengthwise in the stem, at intervals of 3 — 5 or 

 more centimetres, according to the thickness of the tree, 

 and then strip the stem from below upwards to where 

 the branches begin, but in such a manner, that strips of 

 bark of equal breadth are left alternately on the stem, 

 by which it assumes somewhat the appearance of a fluted 

 column. The strips of bark are then cut into lengths 

 of -f 50 centimetres, and the stem, which is partially deuuded 

 lengthwise, is entirely enveloped, as is done in Europe 

 to some trees that could not bear exposure to our winters. 

 Mclvor at Madras did this first with moss, and hence 

 the name "mossing"; but as this material was soon ex- 

 hausted iu Java, recourse was had to alang-alang, iudjoek 

 or dried grass, which occurs in great abundance. 



In the course of one year this envelop is removed, 

 then the healing — the granulation we should say — the 

 renewing of the bark is begun, and now comes the turn 

 of the strips left on the tree the preceding year to be 

 stripped "If. Then the stein is again bandaged. 



The wet bark, after bci ug cut to measure, is d ried 

 either in the sun, or artificially, by which the pieces roll 

 up in their breadth and thus form the familiar pipes. 

 The packing is generally in Jute-bags. They weigh about 

 75 kilogr. 



From chemical investigation it is proved that drying in 

 the sun, or by artificial heat, is the same for the bark, 

 and has no influence on the proportion of quinine. 



The Government Gardens, situated in the Preanger 

 Regencies, bear the following names: — Tjiniroean, Rioeng- 

 yoenoeny, TJiberem, Lemhang, JVagrak, Tjihitoeng^ l\< nd'ang 

 patoeka, which names are mostly derived from the neigh- 

 bouring desa or mountain-top. 



The private plantations, which already occupy a con- 

 siderable area, are besides those in Baudong, situated in 

 Krawang and Buitenzorg, and belong to the following 

 gentlemen : — Holle, de Sturler, Dennyson, Meyboom, Holland, 

 and some others. 



Also with regard to the sorU, of which the culture has 

 been tried since 1852 in Java, and which are now regularly 

 reaped, I will add a few words. Cinchona Calisaya Jaw 

 C. officinalis and C. lancifolia are the oldest; Cinchona 

 Hasskarliamt alone remains of H's mission; Cinchona Succi- 

 rubra we have received from the English from Madras; 

 of the Ciuchoua Calisaya Schuhkraft the seeds were pro- 

 cured us by our Consul at La Paz, and the origin of 

 Cinchona Calisaya Ledgeriana has already been explained. 



Their collective produce amounted in 1881 to more than 

 81,000 kilogr. But many of the sorts mentioned art DO 



