JutY I, iS8j.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



5? 



LEAF DISEASE, NEW PRODUCTS, &c., ^fo. VII. 

 To "running brooks anJ sermons on stones," Shake- 

 fipeare Diii::ht have adileil '•' and wealth in the woods." 

 Besides timber and wild fruits, there are a great deal 

 ot materials in the woods to engage the cnerjry and 

 industry of man. The supply of fibres, and their uses, 

 obtained from the aloe plant, the wild hemp (the raudiu*, 

 and \ara of the Sinhalese, ex'ukelam of the Tamils), 

 the suriya Thepesia (puvaresei of the Tamils) and 

 others have been already adverted to : I would now 

 invite attention of the industrious and enterprising to fibres 

 obtainable from wild trees and \a es or creepers: of 

 these — the ittie tree yields, it is said, fibres of the 

 strongest quality (although not equal in strength to 

 the mudur, erukelain) from its bark. This tree is near- 

 ly allied to the banyan (Fieiis), with beautiful green 

 foliage ; it loves to cling round other trees ; the stem 

 is smooth and almost glossy, of a pale green colour, 

 abounds in milk. The ne.xt fibre tree is the the- 

 gulam of the Tamils: it is a vine with soft obovate 

 pale green leaves ; the flowers are in large clusters, but 

 smill, corolla white with dark red caly.\, resembles the 

 flowers of the margosa ; the bark of the vine yields 

 fine pink fibres, and is made into twine of a fine 

 quality (specimen is enclosed) ; it is useful for ordinary 

 bindings, but is liable to break on much exposure to 

 the sxm ; the fibres are also useful for making gunny 

 bags. The natives detach the fibres aud go on twisting 

 into twine or rope, by the li.Tud ; witli a machine a 

 large quantity might be made. Then there is the amthee 

 mior. The iiathv is a leguminous tree, grows to a 

 height of ten or twelve feet witli spreading branches 

 and thorny, the leaves are bifid at tlie termination of 

 a dark green colour, the flowers are solitary, of a yellow 

 colour, the poil is abeam. The fibres are obtained in the same 

 way as the last, the cordage is much stronger, is used for 

 a variety of purposes. There is another vine which is used 

 entire for tyingfences, and roofs of thatched houses is 

 called maan^ coje. I could not get the leaves an 1 flowers. 

 The above are however sufficiently numerous varieties of 

 materiala for cordage, and if the manuf.icttire is carrieil on 

 extensively, I have no doubt of its jieldiug a profit to 

 speculators. The long pods ot the Cas.sia fistula (leyuocondel) 

 of the Tamils is, I think, already an article of trade and 

 is exported. Tlie covering of the seeds is a soft blackish 

 pulp, possesses laxative properties and enters into the 

 composition of the confection of senna. The Cnpan 

 meme Ceylon Tinctoria is a beautiful tree when in full 

 flower, which adhere to the branches of the tree, and 

 present the appearance of small bu.-shes, stuck on the 

 tree, of a beautiful blue colour, slightly fragrant, but 

 Boon fades on removing from the tree" ; it yields, I 

 think, a beautiful blue dye. Specimen will be sent, but 

 they are to be seen in the jungles about Maradana. 



SILEX. 

 ♦ 



THE CINCHONA MARKET IX ISSi ]X EUROPE 



AND AMERICA. 



{Set jjar/e '2Sfor remai-ks on tliis paper.) 



in the commencement of 1S84 the condition of tl.o 

 Cinchona market was highly unfavourable for the pro- 

 ducers of Cinchona bark. 



The quinine manufacturers, both European am! American, 

 bad formed a convention in ISSa, which had for object 

 to limit the manufacture of sulpliate ot quininei but to 

 Maintain the price of tliis iriediciuc at a fixed heislit. 

 Although it was not the direct intention of the nmnu- 

 facturers to depress the jjrice of barks, vet the natufal 

 consequence of the combination wa.s, that very soon then- 

 Was more bark on hand, thin could be made use of 

 by the limited manufacture of quinine, and so the proper 

 proportion between the value of the quinine in the bark 

 and that of the prepared sulphate of quinine, was en- 

 tirely disturbed. Whilst the price of the sulphiite of 

 qumine was kept at about /I45 per kilogr, the vahie of 

 the qumme (calculated as sulphate of quinine: in the br-rk. 

 fell to about /'(jO, while the just proportion would have 

 required it to have been ./lli to /IL'2. By the con- 

 vention it had been stipulated how much every maau- 

 actory nii§ht produce per month. 



e 



The unavoidable consequence of this convention , if it* 

 continuance could luive been possible, would have been 

 that here or there— probably in J;iva, or Briti.sh India, or 

 elsewhere — one or more new quinine factories would havo 

 arisen, which, not bound by the couvention, would h:ive 

 been able to sell their product :it a much lower price 

 about /80 per kilogr. ' 



But dissensions soon arose in the bosom of tho con- 

 vention itself. One of the members contracted 1st October 

 18S3 for the furnishing of 100 kilogr, ot sulphate of 

 quinine for the use ot the ('olonial Department in Nether- 

 lands, at the price of/ 127 per kilogr. The supposition is 

 authorized that, where this cuuld happen in a public tender 

 it woLihl not be uulikely that, in direct sales from the 

 factories, some of the manufacturers woul.l not keej) 

 strictly to the stipuhited price. The manufacturers soon 

 discerned that the sales became limited to the smallest 

 extent, sijice, by the too high prices of the sulphate ot 

 quinine, only su much was purchased as was required for 

 immediate use, while the stimulus was wanting to take 

 much trouble to increase the consumption. 



There were great profits on what was sold, but so 

 little w:is sold, thet the factories who kept honestly to 

 the agreement, made a bail business of it, whilst tho 

 benefits of the conveution were only oonferred on a few. 



The convention was to have lasted till Jlay 1884 ; but, 

 fortunately, the condition had become so untenable, that 

 it fell asunder as early as the latter part of January. 



It is to be hoped that the expeiieuce gained by the 

 quiuiue manufacturers while this couvention lasted will 

 preveut them from ever again ))roceediug to such a 

 nieasure. To the producers of cinchona bark it was 

 highly injurious, as they obtained a very low price for 

 their product, without the advantage of the consumption 

 iucrea.>,ing by reason of this low price. 



So iu the beginning of the year a healthier state of 

 things set in. The 24th of January 10,000 oz. (321'4 

 kilos)^ of sulphate of quinine were sold in London, at 

 /3075 per oz. or /.09 per kilogr., and Howard & Son soon 

 followed by reducing the price from ./'1-50 per kilogr. to 

 J 120. The price of the bark di<l not rise to any im- 

 portance, but that of the sulphate of quiuiue was lowered 

 more ami more, and so came more iu agreement with 

 that of the bark. 



Iu February the news came that a fire h.ul broken out 

 in the quinine factory of Powers and AVeightman at 

 Philadelphi::, which destroyed part ot the stock, and 

 would al.'.o entail a temporjiry stoppnge of the manu- 

 facture. This intelligence occa:ioneil fur some days an 

 increased demand for quinine, but soon it became evident 

 that the reports had been exiigger.ited, and Unit the loss 

 did not amount to move than .'itlO ba'esof biu-lc. 



Iu March the price of sulphate of quinine fell to/llO 

 per kiliigr. and in April a ve^y birge qu.autity — 14,000 

 a 1.5,000 bales— of Cuprea bark, with a proportion about 

 2^ p. Ot. of sulphate of quinine, was .sold to the factory 

 at Milan, at a price which was kept secret, but thought 

 to be too high in proportion to the value of the sulphate. 

 In May, too, the price of the bark was somewhat forced 

 up, especially by the iu.strnmentalily of the Milan muiui- 

 factory, which seemed then to intend some now spccui- 

 atioUk However, this did not succeed, and an attempt 

 to dispose of another 14,000 b,ale« of Cuprea by aueticn, 

 on 2oth May, failed likewise, an only about fiOO bales 

 found purehaaeii', In Juno the prices remained the saroa 

 as in tbe preccling two months, hut diuee .Tuly they 

 constantly declined, till at thu latter cud of October 

 the price of the sulphate of quinine for Howani's was 

 quoted at /«/« and for tierman manufacture at /'('■", 50. 



The bnrU prices followed this movement, and the unit 

 per half Ullogiam fell for barks of 2— i p. Ct. to 20 cents, 

 in London to 4.^tl. per pound unit. 



In August the failure of the Milan Factory beenfnfi 

 known, .and -horlly afier, that of the fum •'^leyer & 

 Co. at London, the principal importers of barks from 

 South America. It was first feared th:it these failures 

 would have a teiy iniuriou* iuriueuce. because by it the 

 market wa.« threatened with about HO.OOO bales of Cupre.i 

 bark. Viesiiles 2l.f'0<i kilogr, of sulphate of quinine. But 

 fortunately neither contingencies occurrcv!, and it appears 

 that the "stock was gradually disposed oJ by tli<e baitkl 

 who had Ivut money upon it. 



