Deecmber t, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
407 
DISEASE IN ORANGE TRUES. 
Last May the following prescription was given ti 
be used for Orange trees which hart begun to die 
off. Tho hark was d enying at the collar, and from 
the original starting point the decay was spreading 
and in some cases had completely encircled the stem. 
The leaves had begun to turn yellow, and there is 
no doubt that the whole plantation was doomed, unless 
the remedy proved effectual: — 
Apply to the wounds in the bark a mixture composed 
as follows: — 2 lb. stiff clay, 2 lb. fl >wers of sulphur, 
J lb. soft soap, 1 tablospoonful kornsene oil, mix with 
water to consistency of paint and apply with a brush. 
The oil should bo added last, and the mixture should 
be allowed to stand 12 hours before being used. 
It is satisfactory to have received the following 
statement, dated 2nd September: — 
" After having applied on two different occasions— 
at an interval of 10 days — the preparation you were 
good enough to prescribe for my Orange trees — the 
disease — whether fungoid or animal which attacked 
them at the end of the stem just where it touohos the 
earth — completely disappeared. The trees whose peel 
had been eaton away all round the stem have died, 
but wherever thoro remained a strip of peel to connect 
with the peel on the roots tho tree has recovered 
after lingering more or less according to the injury 
it hid sustained prior to the application of your 
prescription. 
There is no appearance of the disease at present 
on any of the trees, and the peel newly formed is 
covering over that part of the stem which the disease 
had eaten away. 
It sterns to be rather singular that all the trees 
of a plantation numbering over 200 were attacked 
simultaneously by this disease, and that they were 
mostly young trees, though a few old trees in the 
immediate neighbourhood suffered equally. 
(Signed) Oscab Mabescaux.'' 
CINCHONA. 
Some Oinchona trees have lately been dying off. 
On investigation, it was found that the bark at the 
janotlon of stem and root had been injured, aud that 
in consequence the mycelium of a fungus had pene- 
trated between the bark aud wood. The bark had 
become loosened on tho roots, and decayed away. It 
is probable that the injury was caused by the wind 
during the last hurricane. It would be difficult to 
detect such injury at first, but probably an early ap- 
plication of the remedy prescribed above for the 
Orvge trees would have saved the trees. Trees 
which are too far gone to save, should be taken up 
by tho roots, an I barked. The bark may be .stored, 
after thorough dryiug, for mildew does not affect the 
quantity or quality of tho alkaloids, when once the 
bark is cured. 
COFFEE CULTURE IN RIO JANEIRO. 
Reporting 011 tho general state of the province of 
Rio Janeiro, tho British Consul thus speaks of the 
coffee : — 
In the districts of Cautagallo, S. Fidelis, and other 
parts, for some vears past, tho c iff ee trees have been 
subject to a disease manifested firstly in tho yellow- 
ness of the upper leaves, and afterwards in the jhoots, 
the trees soon di ving up. In this wav about one- 
tenth part of the treiy in the abovenuned district* 
have perished. This disease is supposed to be propag- 
ated by an insect which lives in and feeds on the 
roots. It deposit* its eggs in tho knots of the roots 
causing the fibres of 'he same to rot. On this Hie 
eggs .ire seen, having the shape of mushrooms. This 
generally takes place in the heaps of weeds or grass 
whic h rot at the foot of the trees, forming a fine soil 
for the new root fibres. As a remedy against this 
»vil it is rerominende.l I ■ v I)r < M.iziou that the weeds 
and grass should never be heape 1 up to rot near the 
roots, but should he left to be dried by the sun and 
afterwards brought together ami hurued. Tho Orao^e 
trees are lUo subje I to he at 'acked by til.' sumo p'atfue. 
Dr. OImIou i» convie 1 if th h rule lie attended to 
that in two year s time the eotfen estates will r»tiirn 
to what they were formerly. — Qanhnen' Chivnids. 
NOTES ON SOMK PUNTS LATELY RECEIVED. 
Seeds of Ceropeyia pusiUa have been received from 
Kew with the following note from Mr. Morris: — "Be- 
sides the flowers which mty be interesting in a West 
Indian Gvrden, tho tubers of this plant are, accord- 
ing to Mr. Jaruieson of Ootacamuud, eaten both raw 
and boiled by tho natives iu the Nrtgiris." 
The Superintendent of tho Forest Department, 
Singapore, has kiudly sent s eds of a rare Palm, the 
Malawarin or Red-stemmed Palm of the Malayau 
Peninsula (Cyrtostackys Rendah). He speaks of it as 
follows: — "The plant lsdoubi.ess the most conspicuous 
and beautiful object tho rich forests here possess. 
When planted on a lawn in suitable soil, it readily 
throws up a succession of stems from the bottom of 
the pareut stem, and thus grows into a pyramid c ivor- 
ed with leaf spathes of a dazzling bright red : those, 
when suddenly come upon iu tho forest standing out 
against a back ground of deep green, present an object 
not soon erased from the memory of the beholder." 
DOES CINCHONA-GROWING STILL PAY. 
It has been frequently stated of late, and sometimes 
with a certain show of authority, that the value of 
cinchona has now depreciated to such an extent that 
Ceylon Planters cannot possibly find it profitable to 
grow it any longer. At present we have no thoroughly- 
reliable statement respecting the minimum price at 
which cultivators in our own colonies cau still have a 
margin of profit left, but recent discussions among 
planters aud others interested in the Java cinchona in- 
dustry have shed some light upon the position of the in- 
dustry in that island, and, iuclirectly, in othor countries 
also. At a meeting of planters held some months ago 
at Baudoeng, in Java, a gentleman connected with the 
Government plantations asserted that even at a sale 
price of 5 cents per unit per half kilo, or about 9-10thd 
per lb tho bark could still be made to yield a profit to 
the planters, provided the trees were not cut down until 
the sixth or seventh year. Mr. van Romunde, the 
director of the Government cinchona plantations in 
Java, gave a qualified support to this assertion estimat- 
ing the lowest sale price at which a well-managed 
pla tation would be profitable at 7 cents, or about 1 
3-15th d. But another view of the case is presented by 
another Java planter, Mr. von Winning, who, in the 
Tndisolu Merouur, protests against the above-mentioned 
assertions, which ho stigmatises as totally erroneous. 
Iu a very interesting letter Mr. Winning points out 
that the official report of the Government cinchona 
plantations in Java for 1885, the last year for which a 
complete statement has been published, proves that the 
average cost of price of Government bark in 1885 was 
37-i cents per half kilo, or about 6|d. per lb., whilo the 
average proportion of quinine sulphate amounted to 
3T5 per ceut., costing 2 l-10th d. per unit. Now, it 
should be taken into consideration that a private 
planter has to defray several expenses from which the 
Government plantations are free, such as taxes, insur- 
ance, iuterest on capital, kc. Taking these iuto ac- 
count, the cost of production of similar ciuchona bark 
ou a private plantation is estimated at 50 cents per half 
kilo, or 9d per lb., ourt the unit cost at 2 O-lOth d. Mr. 
vou Winning estimates the total charges on cinchona 
bark produced in Java and sent to Holland for sale at 
2 7-lOth d. per lb. Formerly they averaged as much as 
•1 7-1'tth d. per lb., but tho expeuseshave beeu gradually- 
reduced, mainly by more careful manageineut of the 
plantations. These charges include everything, from 
the stripping of the bark on tho plantation until the 
proceeds iu cash are roceived by tho planter. They show 
that with ttie unit at 9 lflth d. it would bo <iu:t« am U -9 
if not absolutely ruinous, to collect bark of less than ;i 
per cotit. quinine value, or of less than J J per ceut. 
if tho unit does not exceed I .'t-lothd. the figure at 
which Mr. vau Kouiuude thinks it still possible for the 
planter to reap 11 profit. At present, 1 he average pro- 
portion of quinine iu Java bark barely 1 ICeods U per 
ceut. although it is anticipated that this proportion 
will gradually increase, and Mr. von Winning maintains 
that if the unit should full to 1 ;<-15thd. the gr >' 1 
part of tho Jars plantation* will have to be di.Tontiuucd . 
