Drugs and Medicinal Plants. 



22 



January, 1910. 



at the juvenile gaol at Alipore, where 

 thirty boys are engaged in the work. 

 Special arrangements have been made 

 to stock the tablets in large quantities, 

 and the Inspector-General of Prisons is 

 confident of being able to meet any 

 sudden demand when malaria appears 

 in epidemic form. He reports that over 

 four millions of pice packets were made 

 and despatched to various post-offices 

 during last year, and operations hence- 

 forward are to be on a much larger 

 scale, which probably accounts for the 

 fact of the recent purchases in London, 

 but those, it need hardly be said, did 

 not awaken any responsive chords in 

 the quinine-market here, speculation 

 being to all intents and purposes dead. 

 In view of this increased consumption 

 of quinine, the annual reports of the 

 two Government cinchona-factories in 

 India for the year 1908-9 are more 

 interesting than usual. Last autumn, 

 it appears, there was a considerable 

 demaud for quinine when a widespread 

 epidemic of malaria occurred, and both 

 the Madras and Bengal factories readily 

 disposed of their stocks. The former 

 produced about 420,000 oz. of quinine, or 

 128,000 oz. more than the annual average, 

 but it must not be supposed that this 

 was all indigenous bark. On the con- 

 trary, the output was the result of 

 working up Java bark imported into 



India from Amsterdam, the yield being 

 5-5 per cent, of quinine sulphate, against 

 3'1 per cent, from Indian bark. In the 

 Bengal factory, where the output of 

 quinine was about 586,000 oz., Java bark 

 was also used, the percentage of quinine 

 being 6 71 per cent., as compared with 

 3*59 per cent, from local bark. The 

 question arises : Why should not the 

 Indian Government be in a position to 

 import bark direct from Java? Valu- 

 able analytical work has been accom- 

 plished at the Bengal factory during the 

 year, and some time has been devoted 

 by the quinologist and his assistant to 

 the production of quinine tablets. The 

 results were very satisfactory, and it is 

 now stated that the factory, if required 

 to do so. could turn out tablets in any 

 desired quantity, with the necessary 

 additional machinery. Entirely new 

 arrangements have been made for the 

 re-crystallisation of quinine sulphate, 

 and a quinine-drying room has been 

 built with the machinery essential for 

 maintaining a constant supply of fresh 

 air. The profit of the Bengal factory 

 was Rs. 1,29,805, but as the price of the 

 quinine was estimated on the highest 

 market rate rather than the average, it 

 is doubtful if such a profit would be 

 realised if the quinine was suddenly 

 thrown on the market. 



EDIBLE PRODUCTS. 



RICE-CROP PROSPECTS, 1909-10- 

 Land Records Department, Burma. 



By H, M. S. Mathews, 



Commissioner of Settlements and Land 

 Records, Burma. 



(Summary of Rice-crop Forecast .for 

 the month of October, 1909.) 



(On an average of the five years end- 

 ing 1907-08, the area under rice in the 

 territory to which this forecast relates 

 has represented some 10'02 per cent, 

 of the total area under rice in British 

 India.) 



The area under rice cultivation in the 

 fifteen chief rice-producing districts is 

 now reported to be 7,571,559 acres. Cor- 

 rections of local estimates of planted 

 areas are the cause of the reduction 

 of 20,733 acres from the estimates of 

 October. Notwithstanding favourable 

 early rains, comparison of the area 

 planted this year as estimated by 

 District Officers with last year's actual 



area shows less than the ordinary rate 

 of annual increase ; and owing to the 

 extensive destruction by floods (now 

 reported as 232,499 acres), the nett in- 

 crease is further reduced to 5,480 acres. 

 In localities immune from floods, how- 

 ever, the rains have continued favour- 

 able with late showers in November, 

 and the crop is reported almost every- 

 where to promise an excellent harvest. 

 Rangoon, 12th Nov., 1909. 



ADDITIONAL NOTES ON RICE 

 CULTURE. 



(Prom the Philippine Agricultural 

 Review, Vol. II., No. 7, July, 1909.) 



Methods of Seeding. 



In addition to the teport on rice culti- 

 vation in Zambales and Pangasinan pub- 

 lished iu the May number of the Review, 

 the writer desires to mention a third 

 method of seeding, or preparing the 

 •'semillero" practised by the rice growers 



