December i, 1884.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



43S 



were supplied as they needed with the plants obtamcd 

 from the nursery-beds at that place. In the method ^o 

 propagating important alterations were made. the largest 

 plants are successively removed from the seed beds and 

 placed in hardening-beds with a thick covering al 

 distances of 2 Rhenish inches. If they are- so tar developed 

 as to hinder each other in their growth, they are put into 

 nursery beds of light materials at equal distances ol .5 

 Rhenish inches, where they remain until they are tit tor 

 planting out. This method appears also to be mucl 

 expensive than that which was formerly most commonly 

 followed. It is thus of the greatest consequence that 

 only vigorous plants should be collected for transplanting 

 to both the hardening-beds and the nursery beds. This is of so 

 much importance, as the taking of too young, not suffici- 

 ently developed plants may very likely delay the pro- 

 pagating period 6 to 12 months The propagation of 

 plants was carried on vigorously on all the estates, 

 though not everywhere with equally good results. Dur- 

 ing 1883 a beginning had been made with the uprooting 

 on a largo scale of the inferior varieties of cinchona, 

 and this will be continued with still greater vigor, as 

 soon as a sufficient supply of plants of superior quality 

 is available to plant up as quickly as possible the lands 

 on which uprooting has been and is to be carried out. the 

 crop of Ledgeriana seed of original trees was not large, and 

 the numerous demands could therefore be only partially 

 met. Large quantities of typical Ledgeriana descendants were, 

 however, supplied free duriog the first half o<: lB8d, ine 

 free distribution ceased in consequence of Government order 

 No 23 of 2st.li June 18S3, to the effect that all Ledgeriana, 

 suceirubra and officinalis seed obtained from the v.ovem- 

 ment cinchona estates and not required by them should 

 bo sold to the highest public bidder. The first sale was 

 held on 1th August. Very high prices were paid tor seed 

 of original LedgerianaB. Some lots fetched /20 and more 

 per gram, whilst for seed of typical descendants also fairly 

 high prices— up to fo per gram— were paid. A second 

 sale gave much lower results. In consequence of com- 

 binations of private planters the great, r part of the Ledger- 

 iana seed fetched a relatively low price. The simeseed 

 which at the former sale realized /20 per gram went for a, 

 maximum of f250 per gram, while some lots fetched 

 only /I per gram. The fixing of upset prices was therefore 

 recommended. Tho Government fixed these at, for seed 

 of original Ledgerianas, f2S0; for seed of typical Ledgeriana 

 descendants, fl ; and for suceirubra, /0-20 and fO '05 

 per gram. It' must bo confessed, that prices such as 

 those obtained at tho first sale would in the 'end impose a 

 heavy tax on private industry, which is, in the public 

 interest, not desirable. The prices have therefore been so 

 fixed, as, while not discouraging the private culture of 

 cinchona, to nevertheless guarantee a fairly profitable 

 return to the Government. At a third sale, held on 29th 

 Dec, the seed offered for sale was bought at the upset 

 prices fixed by Government. Iu order to enable private 

 growers to obtain seed of particular trees, at the begin- 

 ning of March 2,000 Ledgeriana grafts of high yield were 

 sold by public auction: 1,350 found buyers at the upset 

 price fixed by the Government of /10. At the request 

 of several planters, 650 more Ledgeriana grafts were sold 

 at the beginning of November. Of these, 300 were sold at 

 the abovementioned upset nrices. The net result of the 

 sales of grafts was /16.500, that of seeds /20,525-25. So 

 far as is known, both grafts and seed were purchased 

 solely for the extension of the cinchona culture in Java. 

 A portion of the plants raised from the seed received 

 from Hr. Schuhkraft in 1SS1 were planted out at the end 

 of the year. The plants grown from the seed under the 

 names of Cacola, Zamba-Merada, Durazmillo and Oalisaya 

 of Inquisivi appear, although the want of blossoms prevents 

 anv rlecided opinion, to belong to very inferior varieties. Those 

 grjwn under the names of fine and finest Calisayaof Mapiri 

 seem as if they must be referred to C. Ledgeriana vac. quin- 

 idinifera and 0. Ledgeriana var. cinckonidinift <•</, just as were 

 tho plants which were received in 1872 from Hr. Schuh- 

 kraft. It will be only by the blossom and the chemical 

 analyses that a positive judgment can be given on the 

 value of tho newly raised plants. A more positive judg- 

 ment can also only be given later on regarding the plants 

 raised from seed referred to in last year's report. Dur- 

 ing the year, through the intervention of the Minister of 



the Oolonies, a supply of seed of Cinchona Verde (C. Cali- 

 mya oblongifolia) was obtained. From this about 5,000 

 plants were got, which will bo ready to put out in the 

 wet monsoon of 1881-5. Nothing can yet bo said with 

 certainty as to the value and variety of these plants. 

 From the seed received of late years from South America 

 and elsewhere, only a small quantity of plants were put 

 out. The results obtained from new kinds aud varieties were 

 on the whole disappointing. So far as a judgment can 

 be passed, the new kinds are exceedingly like the worst 

 varieties raised from the seed received from Mr. Ledger. 

 Planting on a large scale of new kinds would probably 

 lead to disappointment, without serving science in the least. 

 The demands of forest conservators for suceirubra seeds 

 were regularly met. Renovation of the soil of old aban- 

 doned coffee gardens by the planting-up of 0. suceirubra 

 was tried at some distance from the Tirtasari estate, which 

 experiment will be tried on a somewhat larger scale in 

 the wet' monsoon of 1884-5. 



3. Extension and Upkeep. — New land was not opened 

 for the planting of cinchonas. Moreover this appeared 

 needless, as the fields where inferior varieties, such as 

 0. Calisapa and C. Josephiana, have been rooted out are 

 perfectly suited for the planting of C. Ledgeriana and C. 

 sweirubra. Excluded from this is a small opening at 

 '1 irtasari, where a couple of bouws of jungle were felled 

 and prepared for planting with Ledgeriana grafts. The 

 greatest care was given to the upkeep of the existing plant- 

 ations. The formation of deep trenches gave such good 

 results in former years, that it was carried on as vigor- 

 ously as possible. At Nagrak all the plantations were 

 provided with trenches; on the other estates this work 

 was confined to the Ledgeriana aud officinalis plantations. 

 The results of the deep trenching of the gardens was so 

 favourable, that even plantations of inferior varieties at 

 Nagrak, which would have been rooted out during 1884, 

 were subjected to a like thorough working of tho soil. 

 Tho end had in view was not onjy the production of more 

 bark, but also the gathering of bark of Better assortments, 

 of the greatest importance for the so-called druggists' hark. 

 It is well-known that vigorously-growing trees also yield 

 in proportion more quills than sickly and less vigorously- 

 growing individuals, so that the bark can be more easily 

 gathered loose aud better in all forms. ( In the setting in 

 of the wet monsoon the good results of the thorough 

 working of the soil carried out in the dry monsoon were 

 speedily visible, and a vigorous growth is to be noticed 

 everywhere in the deeply dug gardens. The measurements 

 of Ledgerianas, begun in 1870, were again carried out in 

 the same month of 1883. In the Ledgeriana plantation 

 at Tjibeureum the mean height of the six year old plants 

 was now 3*64 meters, the stem circumference 0'24' meter. 

 The maximum height was P3 meters, the max. stem cir- 

 cumference 044 meter. At Tirtasari the measurements of 

 four year old grafts and cuttings gave respectively a mean 

 height of 2'40 and 1"97 m., a mean stem circumference 

 of 0"22 and 1)17 in., whilst the max. height and stem cir- 

 cumference were 4'03 and 2*50, - 29 and - 22 m. In con- 

 sequence of the ravages of j&elopeZtis at Tirtasari the growth 

 of the trees was seriously retarded, and therefore the 

 measurements did not give the results which should have 

 been looked for in the c: se of a normal growth. Among 

 the unaffected trees outside the plantation chosen for 

 measurement there were many stems of four years old 

 which had reached a height of more than 5 meters. Con- 

 siderable damage was caused during 1883 also by Helo- 

 peltis Antonii. The plantation of grafts and cuttings at 

 Tirtasari especially had to suffer severe attacks. Strict 

 orders were given to continue the pursuit of the insect 

 unceasingly. By the end of the year the plants had com- 

 pletely recovered, only slight signs of sickness being noticed 

 sporadically, and only at Rioeng-goenoeug were a few affected 

 trees to be found in the Ledgeriana plantations. As a 

 result of the stringently continued pursuit of the insect, 

 it may with confidence be hoped that any considerable 

 damage caused by the Helopeltis is a thing of the past. 

 At Lembang considerable damage was caused to the Joseph- 

 iana plants by caterpillars. "Whole plantations were in a 

 short space of time eaten entirely bare. In this case also 

 the catching of the insect appeared to be the only method 

 of cure. It was not always easy to reach the caterpillars 

 in the already pretty high trees, and the catching was 



