128 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. ["August i, 1889. 
THE AMSTERDAM OINOHONA AUCTIONS- 
(Telegram from our Correspondent.) 
Amsterdam, June 13th. 
Of the cinchona offered by auction today, particulars 
of which were given in our last issue, 2,051 were sold, 
at an average unit price of about 7 cents per § kilo, 
(equal to ljd per lb.) Manufacturers' bark, in quill, 
broken quills, chips, and shavings, sold at 10 to 68 
cents (equal to If d to Is per lb.) ; root at 10 to 18 
cents (equal to If d to 3Jd.) Druggists' barks in quills, 
broken quills, &c, brought from 7 to 50 cents (equal 
to lJdto9d), and root from 7 to 54 cents or l^d to 
9|d per lb. The principal buyers in order of prece- 
dence were the Amsterdam Cinchona Works, the 
Brunswick Factory, and the Auerbach Factory. The 
result of the auction shows some decline on the last 
auction rates. — Chemist and Druggist. 
♦ 
Java: Cinchona Planting.— Judging by their 
annual reports and balance sheets — says the Chemist 
and Druggist — a good many of the Java cinchona 
plantations have been doing pretty well last year 
and do not at all appear to regard the commercial 
position of their product as desperate. The Soeka- 
negara Company announce that in 1888 they have 
made a sufficiently large profit to cover the loss 
of the previous year, and to leave a fair residue. 
The uprooting of officinalis trees in the gardens 
of the company is being continued, and the vacant 
places are being filled with the richer ledger trees 
— the average sulphate of quinine equivalent of 
the ledger stem bark from the company's gardens 
having been 6'91 per cent last year. The whole of the 
product of the Company in 1888 has been sold to the 
Brunswick Quinine Works, at an average price for 
the equivalent of quinine of sulphate in the bark 
of 18-13f. per kilo., or lOJd per oz. The Melattie 
Company, which last year harvested a bark aver- 
aging 3-85 per cent quinine sulphate, gives some 
particulars of the cost of production of this bark, 
from which it appears that the bark has cost for 
rent and taxes of soil, harvesting, curing, pack- 
ing, freight to Holland, and sale expenses there, 
4T8 1 cents per kilo, (equal to 3 13-15ths d. per 
lb.) The average net sale price was 65-97 cents 
(equal to 5 14-15ths d. per lb), leaving a profit of 
24-16 cents (equal to 2 l-15ths d. per lb), or about 
57 per cent on the cost price. The company's 
report states that at a unit of ljd per lb (8J cents) 
all bark analysing over 1J per cent quinine sul- 
phate can be harvested at a profit. On the Melattie 
estate also the poorer trees are being steadily 
replaced by richer plants. A dividend of 9 per cent 
was declared by this Company. 
Kew. — Kew is, as it always is, full of interest, 
and even fuller of beauty than usual. Among the 
plants in bloom are Gerbera Jamesoni, a Natal Com- 
posite like an Arctotis with sinnate leaves, and 
flowerheads nearly 2 inches across, of an orange- 
crimson colour. Rosa simplicifolia is a great 
curiosity, and a very elegant one having slenJer 
stems, leaves glaucous, reduced to the terminal leaflet 
only, and small yellow flowers, each petal provided 
with a brownish-purple spot at the base, so that the 
flower looks more like a Cistus than a Rose. Satyrium 
Hallackii is a noble terrestrial Orchid from Natal, 
with broad leaves, like those of an Hsemanthus, and 
a stout erect spike capped by a dense pyramidal spike 
of crimson flowers. That very extraordinary and 
certainly not handsome Acanthosicyos horrida is thriv- 
ing, as well as two or three Welwitschias some eight 
or nine years old. For those to whom these have no 
charms the flush of Bluebells under the group of 
Araucarias near the Palm-stove will be as to every 
one else deliciously attractive. The beds of Parrot 
Tulips are still very showy, and the patch of Primula 
japonica on the wild mount very remarkable. The 
alpine-house is a blaze of beauty, but we trust the 
Directorate will keep it as an alpine-house or a house 
for the display of such plants as can be grown with- 
out artificial heat, or its raison d'etre will be lost. As 
to the rockery— well — go and see. — Gardeners' Ohroniel 
The XL All Tea Machine. — An estate proprietor 
writes :— " Just ordered from Edinburgh an XL 
ALL, large size. I am now convinced that I am 
right in accepting this as the machine for a poor 
planter in cloud-rolling valleys of mist and driz- 
zle, for it dmply defies the elements. I can give 
you chapter and verse too for this, but what a 
hunt I have had for it." 
Tea Notes.— Ohittagong, 15th June.— The rains set 
in on 10th June, since when, there has been continued 
cold, showery weather.— Oharali, 18th June : We have 
had two bright days without ram, but this morning it 
is as per usual, raitiin?. Mosquito, red spider and 
green fly seem to like it and are flourishing. — Dehra 
Dun, 19th J une : There has been nothing of any im- 
portance to note the last few weeks. We had heavy 
rain on the 9th and it rained hard all last night and 
i s still pouring. We ought to have an early and good 
crop these rains. Sonari, 16th June.— Rain registered 
every day this month. Total to date 47 inches. Soil 
saturated with moisture, and growth of leaf has been 
checked. Quantity will suffer during June, and quality 
still leaves much to be desired. Temperature, some- 
what higher within the p ist week, but more sun wanted. 
— Sootea, 17th June: The weather, since about the 10th 
instant, has been the most favourable that we have 
had since general plucking commenced. All the gar- 
dens, however, and particularly those situated on high 
land, have not responded to the change as yet. The 
fly and spider are still very severe. On plots where 
the latter pest is rampant, handfuls of old shed leaver 
are lying below the bushes.— Dibrugarb, 17th June 
Rainfall this month ... 10 96 inches. 
Total to date 1889 ... 47-73 „ 
„ „ 1888 ... 54'85 „ 
The outturn of leaf for the week was still short, but 
as wormer weather has now set in, it is hoped the 
second half of June will yield better. Taking the dis- 
trict as a whole, the outturn is still well ahead of last 
year. — Darjeeling, 21st June : Nothing but rain and 
togs : sunshine for the week about 5 hours. If more of 
the latter and less of former were to appear, a good 
flush might come on as it is leaf in upper portions 
of gardens is staudiug still. Rainfall 25 inches agaiust 
12 inches in 1888. Our latest telegram from Darjeeling 
is : — Heavy rain yesterday and today. Tea blights 
much the same, diarrhoea amongst coolies better 
throughout district. — Indian Planters' Gazette. 
Antiaeine. — At the meeting of the Linnean Society, 
on June 6th, Mr. Thomas Christy, f.l.s., showed the 
succus or milk, also the antiarine, with the plant 
Antiaris toxicaria. This antiarine is likely to be- 
come an important feature in commerce It has 
hitherto been obtained from the Upas tree, which 
grows in Java. According to Dr. Trimen, of Cey- 
lon, however, there is a large number of antiaris 
grown in that country, and should thai variety 
turn out to have toxic properties, even if not so 
strong as the tree that grows in Java, it will be 
of great importance to the Colonies. At the pre- 
sent time large quantities of the Antiaris toxicaria 
are being distributed to our Colonies, with a view 
of their growing the plant. Mr. Christy also showed 
the strophanthus plant, which is a glabrus variety 
from the Gaboon, and which yields the African 
arrow poison. The texture of the leaf of these 
two plants is almost identical. Enormous fields 
remain open at the present time for introducing 
the plants which Mr. Christy is growing at Syden- 
ham, which he receives from South America, and 
all of which would do well on the highlands of 
Ceylon and India, and yield large returns, owing 
to the high prices put upon the drugs. It may 
not be useless to say that at the present time 
supplies of these South American drugs are being 
drawn from private gardens in the South of Europe. 
— Colonies and India, 
