159 



large representation, because of the possible future evil effects of too 

 close in-breeding. 



Each lot of 20 ears (more or less) from each of the ten best rows and 

 Anally each single ear of the 40 seed ears ultimately selected is kept 

 labeled, and permanent records are made of the number and the des- 

 cription of the ear, the compositiou of the graia, performance record 

 of the row, &c., so that as tho breeding is continued aa absolute pedi- 

 gree is established, oa the female side, for every ear of corn which may 

 be produced from this seed so long as the records are made aad pre- 

 served. It is known also that there is good breeding oa the male side 

 although the exact individual pedigrees of the males cannot be knowa 

 And recorded. 



CINCHONA CULTURE IN INDIA AND JAVA. 



Professor Yerne, who was sent by the French Minister oi Instruc- 

 tion to investigate the cinchona culture, mentions the following in- 

 teresting facts in his report : The Indian plantations are found about 

 27° north latitude, 3,600 feet high, in a territory having temperature 

 ranging between 28° and 85° F. The mechanical labour is performed 

 by the natives, who receive from ^I to ^1.70 per month, without food 

 according to age and sex The favorite species of cinchona is the 

 C. ledgeriana. The plants are raised on mossy ground, sheltered from 

 the winds one side by a hill and on the other side by thickets of bam- 

 boo, the young shoots being particularly susceptible to sudden changes 

 ^f temperature By the third year after planting, the tree is suflB.- 

 ciently grown to permit the removal of bark, which grows on again 

 within three years without recourse to mossing operation. The same 

 ■system is in vogue in Java, where, however, the variety of cinchona 

 is not the English C. ledgeriana (Howard's), but the C. ledgeriana 

 of Moen, the latter being found to yield 9 per cent, of quinine ; or, if 

 only the trunk bark about a metre above the ground is chosen, it 

 yields 14 per cent, of quinine. On the other hand, the English Cj 

 ledgeriana assays on an average 4 per cent. In Java the cultivation 

 of the latter variety is abdudoned ; while 0. succirubra planting ia 

 diminishing. In both the English and Javanese plantation a very large 

 source of profit is the manufacture of quinine on the spot from small 

 and defective pieces of birk, unfit for shipment. Particularly striking 

 is the method of quinine extraction as practised in Java, it simply con- 

 sisting of treating the powdered bark with a 5 per cent, solution of 

 caustic soda, heated to 50° C, throwing this mechanically agitated 

 mass into a reservoir containing Java petroleum of specific gravity 

 •999, removing the petrolic solution of alkaloids by mechanical de- 

 Tices into a warm reservoir, into which is poured water acidulated 

 with sulphuric acid. This watery layer is removed, evaporated and 

 from the concentrated solution the quinine sulphate separates by crys- 

 tallization, which it is not necessary to recrystallize, since it contains 

 only one-half of 1 per cent, of cinchonine. Of such quinine 50,000 

 kilogrammes are exported annuall}' to the United States. The special 

 reason of the success of this quinine manufacture is due to the ex- 

 ceedingly clever mechanical devices used in the extraction. — (Am. 

 Journ. Fharm.) 



