225 



The work of counting the trees has heen most arduous. No culti- 

 vation has been carried on where the trees are growing for 13 years, 

 and the jungle that has sprung up is impenetrable except by the use of 

 the cutlass. 



A report in detail will be found below of the number of Cinchona 

 trees that can now be barked, and the amonnt of bark that can be taken. 

 It appears that 22,470 trees can be barked at once, and on two portions 

 of the Plantation young self-sown seedlings of Crown Bark trees (Cin- 

 chona officinalis) are springing up in immense numbers, and only want 

 the care of the forester to develop and mature. 



In order to clear up some misapprehension it may be well to offer 

 some explanatory remarks. The land belonging to the Government on 

 parts of which Cinchona trees were planted, is on the southern slopes 

 of the Blue Mountains, extending from the ridge at an elevation of 

 about 6,000 feet downwards to about 3,000 feet. The Superintendent's 

 House is situated at about the centre at an elevation of about 4,800 ft 



The Cinchona trees were planted in different places on the higher 

 slopes. Various other cultures have been under experiment viz : — 

 Fruit trees, including Orange and other varieties of Citrus ; timber 

 trees for supplying local timber supply, for shelter belts, and for gen- 

 eral forestry purposes ; Rubber trees, Tea, Olives, Jalap, Vegetables, 

 China grass, grasses and other fodder plants ; plants for green dressing, 

 and other economic plants. These have been planted out at various 

 elevations throughout the range from the lowest to the highest. 



The name " Cinchona" was applied to the whole Government pro- 

 perty which includes several old estates, but lately the name u Hill 

 Gardens" has been substituted in order to indicate the change in the 

 work. The name u Hill Gardens" includes both the Cinchona Planta- 

 tion and the Experimental Plots. 



The Cinchona Plantation had accomplished the aim of its founder, 

 Governor Sir J. P. Grant ; had paid for itself ; and practically closed 

 its accounts in 1887, shortly after my arrival in the Island. Hence- 

 forth experimental work was carried on in other directions. In all my 

 Annual Reports for 12 years, and especially in those for the years 1891- 

 93, 1893-94, and 1895-96, I have endeavoured to show the necessity 

 for an experimental garden at a high elevation, and the good work that 

 is being carried on there, 



There is no necessary connection between the Plantation 

 and the Experimental Garden, and if the Cinchona Plantation 

 were again taken in hand and worked, these should be a distinct un- 

 derstanding that the fortunes of the two establishments should not be 

 linked so closely that any failure on the part of the plantation to pay its 

 way, would involve the abandonment of the Garden. 



With reference to the question whether the Cinchona plantation 

 is capable of paying its expenses, it will be necessary to consider the 

 two ways in which a Government Plantation may be worked. The 

 bark may either be harvested and put on the market as bark, or the 

 quinine and other alkaloids may be extracted from the bark, and then 

 told. The former hai been the plan adopted by the Government in Java 



