476 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



the plant, with an average price of five cents 

 per quart. The rosella plant in some instances 

 grows to a height of seven feet, and 800 to 1,000 

 of the plants can be grown on an acre, which 

 requires considerably less cultivation and atten- 

 tion than many of the valley products. 



In the experimental gardens at Fort Brown 

 the seeds of the rosella plant were shown last 

 June, and the harvesting of the fruit began in 

 .November. 



On account of the climatic conditions of the 

 valley, the rosella plant ia more profitable there 

 than in any other section of the state. The 

 plant will bear from one to two months longer 

 on accouut of absence of frost until late in the 

 winter.— tfcm Antonio Express. 



[The Rosella is a common fruit in Ceylon 

 (it is botanically Hibiscus subdaritta), but is 

 little appreciated locally.] 



THE GOVERNMENT CINCHONA PLAN- 

 TATION AND FACTORY IN BENGAL. 



The 48th annual report of these for 1909-10 

 byMajor A.T. Gage, m.b., i.m.s., the Superin- 

 tendent of Cinchona Cultivation in Bengal, 

 has reached us. The plantations are two in 

 number and called Mungpoo and Munsong. 

 In the year under review weather conditions 

 were practically normal with 123*33 in. of rain 

 on Mungpoo and 101 82 in. on Munsong. The 

 total number of cinchona plants on both planta- 

 tions on 31st March, 1910, was 2,654,000— a de- 

 crease of 303,804 since last year. The decrease 

 is much less than that of last year, but due to 

 the same cause, viz.: — extraordinary drought. 

 Of the total number of plants 2,172,926 were C 

 Ledgeriaua, the remainder being chiefly Hybrid, 

 C. Succirubra and C. Officinalis. The total bark 

 harvest amounted to 326,560 lb. of dried bark, 

 showing a decrease of 125,208 lb. from last year ; 

 but this was anticipated in the previous report. 

 Of the total harvest 252,156 lb. were C. Ledge- 

 riaua mostly from Mungpoo. The total number 

 of plants uprooted was 454,304. This gives an 

 average of 11$ ounces of dried bark per plant up- 

 rooted. This is by no means a very satisfactory 

 yield aud indicates fairly well the decline of 

 Mungpoo as a cinchona plantation. Munsong 

 plantation taken all round has an excellent 

 appearance and its condition testifies to the 

 good work of Mr. Parkes, the Manager, and 

 his lieutenants, Messrs. Kennedy and Green. 

 Careful measurements are being made and re- 

 gistered of the growth of about 50 represen 

 tative trees on Munsong, so as to obtain data 

 as to their rate of increase in size and conse- 

 quent yield of bark. As regards the factory, it 

 had not worked up to the maximum capacity 

 last year, owing to lack of funds to purchase 

 enough bark to supplement the present meagre 

 supply — so the quantity of bark worked up fell 

 from 938,800 lb. in 1908-9 to 468,461 lb. in 1909. 

 10 and the production of quinine sulphate from 

 36,619 lb. to 23,0972 lb - Tne percentage of yield 

 was 3'67 from plantation bark against 6 28 from 

 purchased Java Ledger, In addition to quinine 

 sulphate 2,390 lb. of cinchona febrifuge were 



produced and 220J lb. of residual alkaloids col- 

 lected. It is hoped there will be a decided im- 

 provement in the outturn of the current year. 

 The sale of quinine sulphate rose from 18,585 lb 

 in 1908-9 to 23, 899J lb. in 1909 10, but the cin- 

 chona febrifuge declined from 30.408J to 2,592|. 

 The increased distribution of quinine sulphate 

 has been chiefly due to the expansion of the pice- 

 packet system. The year's working shows a small 

 surplus of R4,236, after meeting all thecharges. 



A CHEMICAL COAGULATOR. 



For Ficus, Castilloa and Hevea Latex. 



A new substance for effecting the coagulation 

 of the latex of the Ficus elastica has, according 

 to the "Iudische Mercuur," been introduced 

 by Dr. O von Faber, Director of the Sugar 

 Industries Laboratory at Soerabaja. Its precise 

 composition has not been announced by the 

 inventor pending its protection by patent. But 

 the " Soerabaja Handelsblaad ,: says it is called 

 " Coaguline," It had been discovered by a rub- 

 ber planter of Deli, who does not seek pub- 

 licity. It is prepared and sold by the Soera- 

 baja Sugar Industries Laboratory Company,- 

 Limited, in wine bottlees of 600 grammes, at 

 2"50 gulden. Analyses by the Agricultural and 

 Commercial Analysis Bureau disclosed a com- 

 position as follows : — Tartar emetic, 3 per cent. ; 

 formaldehyde, in the form ofiformaline, 0*5; carbol 

 - 5 ; water 96. The cost per bottle is but a few 

 cents. The effective part of the mixture as a 

 coagulator is the tartar emetic. The anonymous 

 discoverer, says the ■' Soerabaja Handelsblaad," 

 must not claim originality, for a Mr Bird, ob- 

 tained a silver medal at the Ceylon Rubber 

 Exhibition in 1906 for such a composition, 

 wherein not tartar emetic, but cremor tartar, 

 was used. Here there is some error, for cremor 

 tartar is.very difficult to dissolve in water whereas 

 tartar emetic is easy so to dissolve. The latter, 

 not the former, must be used for this purpose. 

 The corresponding quantity in each of the com- 

 positions is about the same. 



To the foregoing Dr. von Faber replied : — 

 "The cost is no criterion of the effective work- 

 ing value of the substance — see, for example, 

 D Sandmann's 1 Purub,' another rubber (paten- 

 ted) coagulator. 1 am not aware that Bird's 

 composition has been used anywhere ; it is 

 not known at Buitenzorg, . , The credit of 

 a discovery belongs to him who has proved its 

 value. . . . Various planters in East Java 

 have obtained good results with it, not only 

 from the latex of the Ficus, but also of the 

 Castilloa, the Ceara and the Hevea. A sample 

 from three-year-old Ficus of Koelon Bambang, 

 grown about 2,800 feet high, is splendid, light 

 in colour, very elastic and quite free of sticki- 

 ness. Are there those in the world who a few 

 months ago could have thought this possible ? " 

 Further, a woodsman sends a sample of Ficus 

 from Oosthoek, treated but imperfectly with 

 coaguline, and writes : — "The rubber is better 

 than usual .... it is not sticky at all." 

 More is written by the doctor in defence of his 

 coaguline. But enough has been said to show 

 that, whether the medium be his or Bird's, it 

 is to all appearance a useful and cheap coagula- 

 tor.— Financier, Oct. 15. 



