402 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Dec. I, 1885, 



alkaloids, of which l-SH was f|uinine. Tlie crown 

 bark was taken from trees growing on Dodaijetta, 

 some of which wore 22 years old, some 111 and 

 some 14. The younger trees gave belter results 

 than the older, and, whatever may be the ease 

 in the Andean forests, it seems clear tliat here 

 in India, cinchonas pass their prime soon after 

 the tenth to fifteenth year of their existence. 

 As the hybrids are now so largely cultivated in 

 Ceylon, we quote what Mr. Hooper writes about 

 these : — 



The bark from liybrid trees between ''. Oljiiiwihn 

 and C. succiiiihiti has received of late a great deal 

 of attention from planters. There are t\\o kinds, 

 named respectively C. MoainfoUa and <'. pvhract'vs. 

 The first approaches in general appearance the Ojfi- 

 ciiia/is, and the second very niucli resembles in growth 

 and shape and size of tlie leaf the peculiarities of 

 fSinrirvhia. But as regards the alk:iIoidal composi- 

 tion, as far as my analyses h.ave gone, tlie reverse 

 seems to be the case, for in the alltaloids of tlie 

 Afafjtii/iilni. bark the cinclionidine predominates as in 

 Siiri:ii ithra, bnt tlie rnhisti us b.ark forms cliii^dy quinine, 

 and so exliibits a relation to the t'/fniim/is. In the 

 accompanying table, the analyses of the Natural IMagni- 

 folia bark is the aver.age of se\'en analyses made on 

 selected trees at Naduvatam. The chief alkaloids are 

 cinchonidinc .and qninine, and the totals very often 

 reach as much as 8 per cent. The highest total in 

 a bark, I have met with, was from a hybrid tree 

 grown in the Oucbterloiiy valley ;itga\e on analyses 

 4'4 per cent, of quinine, the other alkaloids bringing 

 the sum up to lu per cent. This bark very readily 

 yields more qninine by stripping, mossing and renew- 

 ing, a face which is seen in tlie table wliere the in- 

 crease appears to t.ake place at the exiJense of the 

 cinclionidine. This feature will be observed more dis- 

 tinctly by quoting the analyses of some samples lately 

 received, also gro\Mi in the Ouchterlony Valley; — 



Qninine. Other Alkaloids Total. 



Origin.al bark . . IHn 5-.S7 7-2'2 



Once renewed . . 2-4() 4''2'2 {'.(IM 



Twice renewed .. .H-(iO 3i)i» 7a'.t 



The analysis of the Pithe-^cnifi w'as made on a nat- 

 ural tree planted in the year IHlt.^j ; there is a fair 

 amount of total, more than h.alf of which is quinine. 

 The Ledrifilanii barks operated on were found to 

 be very thin, whereas the .specimens we saw from 

 Yarrow estate in the Tussellawa distiict, were re- 

 markable for their thickness. A succiruhra tree 

 2.S years old, 31 feet liigli, growing at Naduvatam 

 was divided into parts each of which Avas analyzed, 

 witli the general lesnlt thus staled by Mr. Hcioper : — 



The table shows that the minimum yield in the stem 

 was ill that part at which the branches were given off, 

 and that the smaller and thinner bark of the summit and 

 branches contained more tlian the thicker bark , at the 

 base. The ratio between the quinine and cincbon- 

 idine remains constant tbroiighout the stem and 

 branches. 'I'be root is an exception to this rule as 

 the quinine is in the .ascendant, and as usual is rich 

 in quinidine. The whole examination is a proof that 

 trees when neglected and exposed deterior.ate very 

 perceptibly in their alkaloidal value ; also that in 

 fast-grownig cinchonas a maximum yield of alkaloids 

 is reached at a somewhat e.arly period, and unless 

 the yield is encour.aged by removal of the natu.arl 

 bark and renewing under shelter, a decrease of the 

 alkaloids takes place. 



As a general rule, cinchona bark gives H-oO per 

 cent of ash. Ceylon tea gives 1 to 2 per cent more, 

 which seems an unexpected result ? Mr. Hooper ana- 

 lysed other products, and we quote the results in 

 two cases as of local interest : — 



Mniiiiffii (hull. — The gummy exudation of the Horse- 

 radish tree (.l/f»/7;»/ff /th ii/t/o.ynrnni] consists cliemic- 

 ally of a large quantity of bassorin or insoluble gum 

 with a small proportion of arabin or the soluble kind 

 and a trace of moring»tannic acid. It swells up to 

 a remarkable extent when steeped in water, gelat- 



inizes with ferric chloride, give.s an .abundant preci- 

 pitate with subacetate of Icatt, and is soluble in caustic 

 alk.alies. In these and other respects it resembles the 

 Gum-Hogg of .Vmerit-a. tJnm-Hogg is derived from 

 an unknown source and imiKute;! from the East Indies; 

 it is used in marbling paper for binding books. It 

 seems not improbable that .Moringa gum if not ident- 

 ical with it, could be used for the same purpose in 

 the arts. 



/iry/ov// /luii'. Ihc intllji sifi-rtioii of Ihr Jitrk j'niil 

 (Aftm-arims iulcyi-ifoUa). — This was a thick white 

 tenacious substance similar to bird-iinie, with no 

 marked odour and taste. It contained "2(1 per cent, 

 water and the residue burnt with a bright tianie giving 

 oti a sooty smoke. It was insoluble in water, partly 

 so in alcohol, and entirely in benzol. It was a variety 

 of caoutchouc, and as such would be useful as a bird- 

 lime, and a cement for ijrokcn articles. 

 The season had been distinguished by drought at 

 Dodabetta, only Cl"20 inches having fallen spread 

 over 12:i days, most of the rain falling in storms. 

 At Naduvatam, which gets the south-west monsoon 

 in force, the rainfall was !12'.l(i inclies spread over 

 141 days, a great delieiency on ordinary years. A 

 storm of IW'HS inches in .luly with fierce wind de- 

 stroyed the .June planting. The following passage 

 will sound very strange to Ceylon planters; who believe 

 in Iceeping the ground perfectly free of weeds : — 



Of the II-si( inches which were recorded in October, 

 no less tb.an ll'lj inches fell in about thirty hours. 

 Of course such a continuous downpour necessarily 

 caused some wash, but owing to the gi'ouiid beipg 

 well covered with weeds, the damage done was com- 

 paratively triHing. 

 Again, Mr. Lawson writes: — 



Tioihthdla. — The trees on this estate, taken alto- 

 gether, are in a fair condition. Those parts of the 

 plantation, the trees on which I stated in my report 

 of last year to be past their prime, have been cop- 

 piced and interplanted. The coppiced stumps have 

 .already nearly all of them thrown out shoots, and 

 the interplanting is also doing well. For fear of 

 denudation of the soil taking place during the heavy 

 spring rains and before the ground would be covered 

 with weeds, I had a number of brushwood revetments 

 made on all the steeper slopes where the trees had 

 been cut down. 



Naduvatam, which had been neglected, was in course 

 of resuscitation, and the plantings of 1KS2 and 1S<8H 

 looked exceedingly well bei-iinse tln'ilkadhtvii liheiaUij 

 mnniircil. Much attention is paid to manuring on 

 the Nilgiri plantations, cattle being easily and cheaply 

 kept and Mr. Lawson had added to the establishment. 

 Of course a great deal of the bark which went 

 from Ceylon in former years received the benefit 

 of the manure applied to the coffee in wliich so 

 many of the cinchonas grew. About 400 plants of 

 0. Oartlieneiia are reported as growing well and so 

 with a single remaining specimen of the SkiiIu t'6 

 species. Mr. Lawson states in his report on Nadu- 

 vatam : — 



I jiropose groupiug together in thi.-- part of the estate 

 all the dirtereiit species and more strongly marked 

 varities of cinchona which have been growu in South- 

 ern ludia, in order that those who take an interest iu 

 the history of the introduction of the ciiichoua into 

 this country may have an opportunity of studying the 

 different kinds side by .side. .Vgaiu, berause many of 

 the species so freely hjliridize, the plants which 1 pro- 

 pose tT establish here have all of them 'lieiii rai.sed 

 from cuttings which huve been taken from the trees 

 originally introduced by Mr. Clemonts Markhani and 

 others. 



It will lie cnnvenieiit to mention here that Mr. 

 Jamieson has rai.'cd from (he seed sent by Jlr T. 'J'hisel- 

 tou Dyer from Kew about "JHO healthy )ilants of the 

 llemijia, which yields the Ci'jnca bark. These I shall, 

 before the end of the season, plant out also at Naduva- 

 tam, 



