55& 



"tn^ TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Feb. i, iS86 



[Here 



Snmo years ago coppicing was tried as a means 

 of increasing the yield of bark, but the results were 

 not satisfactory and it is no longer practised. 



The old method of harvesting the bark is by 

 stripping the trees ; to which end they are either 

 cut down or pulled up by the roots when ten or 

 twelve years old. A Ledfitnaim tree of ten years should 

 yield from 10 to 15 kilcs. (24 to a5 lb.) of bark. 

 Mr. Mclvor's process, which consisted of removing 

 long vertical strips of the bark and covering the 

 exposed surface with moss, has been largely employed. 

 I noticed a immber of trees that h.ad been so treated, 

 the trunks of which had a very singular appearance, 

 somewhat resembling fluted columns. This mode of 

 collecting answers very well, provided sufficient care 

 be exercised not to injure the cambium layer, a 

 matter iipt to be neglected by the native work-people; 

 but it has a serious drawback in the shelter that the 

 moss atfords to all nianner of noxious insects, and it 

 has been relinquished in favour of scraping. It is 

 well known that the exterior portions of the bark 

 are richest in quinine, and the plan now preferred is 

 to scrape off the outer layer with a long flat knife — 

 a process that does not appear to interfere in the 

 least with the normal growth of the tree. The .stem 

 and larger branches are scraped half round at one 

 operation, the other half at the end of six months, 

 and this may b-" repeated at the same intervals year 

 by year. I observed some trees of C. Let/'icriana 

 which had been scraped eight mouths before, with 

 renewed bark fully a ipiarter of an inch in thickness. 

 Like all other cultivated plants Cinchona has its 

 enemies. Hy far the most serious pest is a hemipterous 

 in.sect, hetnpcfils antovn, the so-called Assam tea-bug, 

 specimens of which, collected at Nagrak, are on the 

 table. 



follow two figures of the in.sects.] 

 Hehpdtis anionii, 8ignoret. 



a. Male : h. female: 



c. side view < T the scutellum. 



Magnified about 3^ times linear. 



The female insect is slightly larger than the male, 



and has a red thorax. 

 The insect punctures the leaf buds and very young 

 leaves, and feeds upon the juices of the plant. The 

 leaves shrivel and die, the growth of the shoots is 

 stopped, and the tree, if not killed outright, becomes 

 unhealtliy and dwindles away. The plantations of 

 ('. Calisatjaj C. Ledijrriana and C. olj^ciHa/i^ have 

 suffered most from the ravages of this pest, whilst those 

 of (-'. siiLviridira have hitherto passed comparatively 

 unscathed. Mr. Forbes states that the eggs of the 

 insect " are laid and batched on a species of Vatnva 

 which is one of the plants most widely distributed 

 over the district, thereby rendering all attempts to 

 eradicate the evil rather hopeless," On some of the 

 plautatious the insects are collected daily in vast num- 

 bers and burned. I noticed also one or two clumps of 

 trees, the leaves of which were completely riddled by 

 a caterpillar, species unknown, but the danjage in such 

 cases is ussually local and is not regarded in any serious 

 light. 



The permanent stafTof the Nagrak plantation con- 

 sists of about sixty natives, in addition to a variable 

 l/iimber of coolies. The women and children of course 

 do mnch of the lighter work. The pay of the natives 

 detietido more or IcM on the price of food J at the time 

 of my visit, rice being cheapf it was twenty cents, or 

 about I-/, per day. The Nagrak e."italilishmcut placed 

 on the market last year about 165,000 lb, of hark, 

 of one sort or other, fetching au average of 80 to 00 

 cents (.says Xf, id, to \s. 6A.) per lb. This year it was 

 e.<(pceled that the yield would be about 200,000 lb. 

 of which the value was estimated at a guilder (Is. 

 8/.) per lb, 



'llie.se, so far as I recollect, were the principal facts 

 gathoreclon the day's ramble. 



1 was hospitably entert lined for the night at the 

 superintendent's house, anil the following morning, 

 whilst Mr. Van Koniundo was otherwise engaged, the 

 Controleur and I mounted our horses, and accompanied 

 by native g(ddes took a bridle track to the summit of 



the mountain, some 1,500 feet above the station. The 

 path lay through uncleared forest and nothing could 

 exceed the magnificence of the vegetation. Of the 

 larger forest trees at this height a considerable pro- 

 portion were new to me,— various species of oak and 

 Ficics, Lnvravcir and MtHciceie, Mi/rittinr. and I'odo- 

 carjiK.^, with great climbing aroids and parasites 

 innumerable. There were thickets of tree-terns, the 

 fronds of which formed fairy arches overhead as we 

 rode, and amongst le-sser jdnuts were raspberries of 

 more than one species, with almost tasteless fruit, a 

 little Hhododeiidrou and one or two other Ericaeeir, 

 Jlelastomas, ami Begonias, bal.sams, violets, orchids 

 epiphytic and terrestrial, ferns and lycopods, in pro- 

 fusion. On attaining the summit we found that we 

 hail to descend a shurt distance on the opposite side 

 to reach (he crater. Tangkoeban Praoe has in fact 

 two craters, one at .somewhat lower level than the 

 other. The upper is the older of the two, and is to 

 all appearance extinct. As we saw it, the bottom, 

 which was at no great depth, was marly level, and 

 , covered with stones, gravel, and sand. There was a 

 little water near the middle, the remains of what in 

 the rainy season forms a small lake. The lower .^nd 

 ; larger crater, though not at present active in the ordin- 

 ary sense, that is to say not eruptive, showed plenty 

 of signs of subterranean energy. The bottom was 

 partly occupied by a pool of boilina; water or mud, 

 which was often eompletidy hidden by the cloud of 

 sulphurelted steam is.suing from it. The atmosphere 

 of the whole place was strongly sulphurous, and the 

 trees in the immediate neighbourhood, especially on 

 the higher side, were blasted by the poisonous eman- 

 ations; though .shrubs and herbaceous plants of certain 

 species appeared to flourish far down the precipitous 

 sides of both craters.* From the platform above, 

 one of those wonderful panoramas of hill and dale so 

 often enjoyed by the traveller in Java, lay before 

 us: a broad smiling fertile valley shut in by mountains 

 — to the north-west the cone of Mount Boerangrau; 

 to the east the three peaks of ]5oekit Toengocl ; 

 their summits all reaching a height about equal to 

 that on which we were standing. 



We had not a great deal of time to spare, so after 

 a general survey we retraced our steps by the .same 

 path to the Superintendent's house. On our arrival 

 wc found Mr. A'au Komunde already waiting to aceom- 

 pany us to the plantations at Lembang, a village about 

 4,000 feet above the sea-level lower down on the 

 mountain-side. 



After leaving the forest tho downward road lay 

 through cleared ground chiefly occupied by coffee 

 plantaions, fenced in with hedges of a fine arborescent 

 Daliirii, bearing large, white, trumpet-shaped flowers, 

 or sometimes, as at lower elevations, with fences of 

 Lantiinn, gay with bloom of every shade from delicate 

 purple or pink to orange-biown. A prelty Tliunhen/ia, 

 with showy yt'llow blo.ssom was common by the hedge- 

 sides, and the cinious little Kubiaceous tree, Mufsmda 

 /;w«/o.»ii,vvith its cojispicuous white bracts was observed 

 at intervals all the way. 



The establishment at r.embaug is altogether ou a 

 omaller scale than that which we had previously .seen, 

 the total area under cultivation being only 70 

 atTes; but it exhibits just the fame completeness, and 

 the same evidence of careful managtment in every 

 detail. Near the house is a fine large tree of Cinclioiiii 

 cordifnliu, spared like that at Nagrak, not for its value, 

 but for its beauty. Here, also, is a magnificent ex- 

 ample of C. r'ncvirnhra. about thirty years old, said 

 to be the finest Oinchona in the Kast lutlies. A.H 

 nearly as I could judge it was about (iO feet hi:,'b, and 

 tie trunk If inches in diameter at i! feet Inun tho 

 ground. The liark had an ngi-d appearance, being a 

 good ileal covered with the so-c:dled '"moss" — a sort 

 of giej-lieard llihcn, 



Amongst the points of interest on this estate is a 

 plantation of Cinchona Vititutnih.—fme young trees 

 about 10 feet high, the leaves bright green with red 



* There is a special fern, called " the volcano 

 fern," which flourishes on the sides of the crater. — Ep. 



