CuAP. XXVlll. QUILL-BAUK. 503 



several of the quills Avliich come into the London market, 

 and find that none of them have bark equal in thickness to 

 that already attained by some of the young plants reared by 

 Mr. Mclvor at Ootacamund,'^ These qnills are evidently 

 taken from small slu-ubs, and they yield a very good per- 

 centage of quinine. Several samples of quill Calisaya bark, 

 sold in London in March 18G2, contained four per cent, of 

 quinine. Their bark was one-eighth of an inch thick, and 

 the quills were just under an inch in circumference. In a 

 cultivated state the yield will of com'se be much greater, and 

 jMr. Howard, judging from the usual yield of quill-bark, is of 

 opmion that a largo produce may be annually realised by 

 growing the chinchonse as shrubs.^ 



In cultivating the chinohonae in rows on cleared planta- 

 tions it will probably be found advisable to grow them to a 

 height of ten or twelve feet, and about twelve feet from each 

 other, so that they may be able to spread out until they are 

 nearly as broad as they are long ; and they should be induced 

 to branch as near the ground as possible. A certain number 

 of the branches should be lopped annually for the quinine 

 harvest ; shoots would immediately be thi-OAvn out below the 

 cuts, from which one or two should be selected to take the 

 place of the lopped branch ; and in about sis years the new 

 branches, thus formed, would be sufficiently grown to be 

 again removed. In the mean while the same operation would 

 have been going on with other branches, and thus an annual 

 harvest of quill-bark may be obtained for any number of 

 vears. Mr. Mclvor considers that this treatment will ensure 



~i Mr. Mc Ivor reports the thickness 

 of the bark of some of the yomig 

 plants at Ootacamund to be nearly a 

 qiiarter of an inch. The bark of 

 qnills uf G. Calisaya given me by Mr. 

 Howard, as samples from a lot on 

 sale, is only one-eighth of an ineh in j ^(iW«-l>ark. 

 thiekncss. 



8 The only reason why the value of 

 qnill-bark is much less tlian that of 

 fahla-haik is that the former is usually 

 mixed with spuriou.s barks. Otlierwise 

 tlie value of quill-lxirk would only be 

 about tlueeixnec per lb. less than 



