September i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
183 
To the Editor of the " Ceylon Observer." 
COMPARATIVE COST OF OPENING TEA 
ESTATES. 
Dear Mr. Editor, — I am one, and, no doubt, there 
are others who wish to invest in a block of land in 
the lowcountry, but are in the same dilemma 
as myself regarding cheap districts. Udagama, I 
have often observed in print, is considered one of 
the cheapest for opening up an estate, so that 
should this meet the eyes of , Messrs. Dobree, Kershaw, 
or any other gentlemen, then a reply to my few 
questions I should take as a favour. 
Cost of felling and clearing per acre of ordinary 
jungle not being virgin forest. 
Holing per hundred holes 9" + 15". 
Planting per aore and shading if necessary 
with fern. 
Drains per chain 15" x 12". 
Eoads 3 feet on solid with 9" side drain. — Yours 
truly, IGNORAMUS. 
THE CINCHONA MARKET. 
65 Cornhill, London, 27th July 1887. 
Dear Sir, — I beg to thank you for some cuttings 
from Ceylon Observer received this morning. I go 
to London tomorrow and will oirculate them among 
those interested in oinchona. 
In my letter of the beginning of July I sent 
you some figures under the head of results to 
planters whioh must have been quite unintelligible. 
I now give these figures in an intelligible form : — 
Result to planters supposing that none of the lew 
quality (below 1J per cent) bark came into the 
European market. 
Increase in price owing to low quality bark (j of the 
whole) not coming into tho European market. 
15 tons (average 2 per cent) at 4d per unit = 8d £ 
per lb. ... ... ... ... 1,100 
Less curing, shipping and sale charges at Id 
per lb. ... ... ... ... 135 
£965 
£619 
Gain to planter ... ... ... ... £346 
All bark boing sent to Europe for sale as at present. 
15 tons (average 2 per cent) at 2£d per unit = 5d £ 
per lb. ... ... ... ... 688 
5 tons (1 per cent) at 2£d per unit = 2£d 
per lb. ... ... ... ... 114 
£802 
Less curing, shipping and sale charges at Id ... £183 
£619 
I said I would write again on the subject of 
utilizing abroad the low quality bark analyzing under 
14 per cent quinine of which one-fourth of the 
shipments from Ceylon is composed, and so keep- 
ing it off the European market. 
My proposal is that all those interested in the 
cultivation of cinchona should form an Association or 
Company to manufacture in the East, say at 
Colombo, the low quality bark in the form of 
" quinetum." 
2. That members tako shares of say £1 each 
as follows:— 10 shares for every 100,000 cinchona 
trees or under. This is a very small proportion, 
but the object is to got as many as possible to 
join tho Association. Any members wishing to take 
a Largei number of shares can do so. 
3. That members agree to sell all their branch 
bark to tho Absooiation after it has commenced 
work and can lako tho bark. 
4. That the bark be paid for by the Associ- 
ation at the rate of ljd per lb., the price to be 
lowered if the value of the unit should go lower 
than it is at present. 
5. That the manufactured quinetum be packed 
in small bottles containing \ ounce marked with 
the trado mark of the Association and distributed 
at first gratis with the object of creating , a 
demand. 
In India through the Government and its officers. 
,, China ,, the missionaries and "med- 
ioine men." 
" Africa ,, ,, ,, 
I have merely sketched the outlines of a scheme 
which I believe to be perfectly practicable if the 
planters will only exert themselves to carry it out. 
I am already working in England in the matter 
among those interested, but men here, naturally, say 
it is useless for them to consider such a scheme 
unless it is organized by the planters in Ceylon and 
India who are the persons chiefly interested and 
who have it in their power to make it a success or 
the reverse. 
Judging by the prices whioh parcels of bark 
realize at every sale, Id, 2d, 3d per lb., many 
planters must have already realized that they are 
actually losers by shipping. 
The preparation of quinetum is a most simple 
and inexpensive process. The manufacture might 
be commenced at once and carried on for some 
time at least in a hired building. 
Consumption. — In answer to the proposal that the 
great London drug houses should make known the 
present cheapness and the virtues of the febrifuges, 
I can state that the London manufacturers charge 
Is 9d per ounce for quinetum. That quinetum can 
be prepared in India or Ceylon at less than 6d 
per ounce including cost of bark. 
When a demand for quinetum arises, it might 
be sold at an absurdly low price, yet at a price 
which would pay the Association handsomely. 
I believe that it is in the power of the pro- 
ducers of bark to increase the consumption of the 
alkaloids enormously. — Yours faithfully, 
W, T. HODY COX. 
Exports op Cinchona from Ceylon. — In the 
face of the wretched — and we should think in many 
cases unremunerative — prices obtained, and although 
many large growers of cinchona have either ceased 
to harvest, or have merely stored their bark to 
wait for better times, the export of bark from 
Ceylon for 1886-87 is likely to closely approach the 
highest figures yet attained. Up to date the 
quantity sent forward approaches 13J millions of 
pounds, so that there can be little doubt that by 
30th Sept. tho round 15 millions will either be 
made up or closely approached. No signs of ex- 
haustion yet, and European cinchona planters seem 
as perversely determined to swamp the market 
with twig bark as the Burgher and native growers 
of cinnamon have been in regard to chips. 
Exports of Coffee, Cacao and Cardamom*. — 
Having devoted special paragraphs to tea and cin- 
chona, we must not forget poor old coffee, although 
he is "in the sear and yellow leaf of decadence." 
The figures to date are below 170,000 cwt., so that 
we suspect the total to 30th September will not 
much exceed, if even it roaches, 200,000 cwt. Ah 
what a falling oil is hero ! compared with more 
than a million cwts. in 1809, tho yoar in which tho 
fatal fungus suddenly and mysteriously appeared. 
But even now we aro askod to wait for " next year." 
Cacao, like tea and cinchona, however, has advanced, 
and tho total for the season is likely to roaoh 18,000 
cwt., while oardamoms already exoeed 300,000 ll>. 
so that tho total will probably reach or exceed 
3 20,000 pounds, 
