MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 559 



"Tho two first objects of the experiment (he writes) arc tlie provi- CII. XXX. 

 sion of an abundant and certain supply of bark for tlie use of hospitals "7^ 



and troops, aud the spread of cultivation through the lull districts in Culture. 



order to bring the remedy within the reach of the frequenters of 



jungles and of the native population generally. Your Government 

 has very justly deemed that the experiment cannot be regarded as a 

 mere money-speculation, nor are the commercial advantages that may 

 be derived from it to be considered as other than a secondary consi- 

 deration, though, of course, a return of the outlay and the spread of 

 chinchona cultivation by private enterprise^ are very desirable in 

 themselves." 



In 1871 the propriety of selling the plantations, or of dispensing 

 with two of the four, was considei'ed by the Government with a 

 view of leaving the development of chinchona. to private enterprise, 

 peeing that the successful cultivation of the tree had been proved ; 

 but it was ultimately decided that it was inexpedient for the 

 Government to leave the undertaking to private industry, as 

 in many respects it was still in an experimental stage ; — " for 

 (remark the Madras Government in a despatch to the Secretary 

 of State) the barks of the already discovered species of cinchona 

 yield a varying ratio of alkaloids at different stages of their growth, 

 and it is possible that the species now least valued may, when more 

 matured, be found rich in alkaloids, and vice versa. The questions 

 raised by the frequent discovery of fresh varieties of cinchona, 

 or of an unprecedentedly large proportion of alkaloids in some 

 of the known varieties, will be most expeditiously solved under 

 Government supervision, which allows the freest scope for 

 experiment.^' These views were accepted by the Secretary of 

 State,- who inclined to the opinion that a portion of the plant- 

 ations with the manufactories should remain permanently under 

 the superintendence of Government ; but he added : — 



" It should be clearly understood that the intention of Government 

 in sending their surplus bark to England for sale in the open market 

 is not to enter into permanent competition with private growers, whose 

 success would be viewed by Government with great satisfaction, but 

 rather to act as the pioneer, and to establish the reputation of Indian- 

 grown barks for their advantage. At the same time the Government 

 will do rightly in continuing the sale of bark until the outlay attendant 

 upon the introduction and cultivation of the plants is repaid." 



These remarks have all special reference to the local manu- 

 facture of quinine alkaloids as well as to the trade transactions 

 of Government. The question of the continuance of the planta- 

 tions under the State has been much discussed in the recent 

 infjuiry, and the Secretary of State has decided that the plant- 



' Blue Book, Vol. 1, page 255. 

 2 Despatch, April 1871. 



