i IXOHONA BARK AXD QUININE. 



By C. M. & C. WooKHOUst. 



REPORT FOR 1898. 



Few articles of commerce have ever been depreciated so much in 

 value in consequence of overproduction as have cinchona bark and qui- 

 nine. 



The following statistics, taken from the Board of Trade lieturns, 

 give some idea of the extent of the fall in values : — 





Imported into 







U. K. 



Valued at 





lb. 



£ 



1878 



6.131.552 



658,228 



1881 



14.024,304 



1,812,501 



1886 



16,281,104 



801.353 



1891 



11.933,712 



250.697 



1896 



3.952,592 



61,578 



1898 



5,143.040 



98.132 



The above figures are manifestly only approximate, as whilst the 

 supplies in 1879 mainly consisted of Columbian barks with an analysis 

 of rather under 2 per cent of quinine, the Ceylon and East Indian barks 

 were considerably richer, and contained an average 2 to 3 per cent., 

 whilst the average per centage in Java barks has of late been over 5 

 per cent. 



Mr. Clements Markham, in his book on Peruvian bark, states that 

 the sources of supply of bark to the Loudon market from all parts of the 

 world from June, 1879, to June 1880, were : — 



From Columbia 

 do India and Ceylon 

 do South America (except Columbia) 

 do *Java 



do Jamaica . about 



* To the Amsterdam market 



lu addition about 1,000,000 lb. South American were shipped di~ 

 rect to the United States. 



The highest paice ever paid for Bark in the London market was in 

 187/. when some renewed Officinalis bark from the Nilgiri Plantations 

 was sold at 15s 8d per lb: supposing that this parcel to have contained 

 6 per cent of crystallised Sulphate of Quinine, the value of the unit 

 would have been at that time over 2s 6d per lb ! as late, however, as 

 the year 1880 considerable quanties of Bark were sold about 2s per unit 

 per lb. From that time the market has been steadily declining until the 

 lowest point was reached in January, 1897, when the Public Sales in Hol- 

 land sold at an average unit of 2*12 cents per ^-kilo (equivalent to under 

 £d per lb). In 1877 " Howard's* Quinine (in bottles) was sold at 



lb. 

 6,002,000 

 1,172,000 

 959.000 

 70.000 

 21.000 



8,224,000 



