April 2, 1888.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
the result that several millions of lb. of rich bark 
would very speedily take the place of the few hundreds 
of thousands of lb. hitherto exported. It is quite 
possible that the warning so freely given upcountry 
and through our columns by the Java Chairman 
had somewhat to do with the enormous exports 
of inferior bark from Ceylon in seasons 1885-6 
and 1880-7 ; for it was natural to give some weight 
to the statement that there would be no market 
at all for ordinary Ceylon bark after the period 
named by Mr. Mundt. That period has long ago 
elapsod ; but the exports by millions of lb. from 
Java have yet to come, and so far ae we can 
judge, wo may wait many years beforo Java sends 
treble the comparatively moderate quantity shipped 
last year, 
We may as well at once give our latest ex- 
perience of the exaggeration attending Java cin- 
chona information. We were favoured with a 
call a few days ago from Herr Anton Kessler, 
the owner of an extensive coffee and cinchona 
plantation in Java. He called on us on his 
way to Europe a year ago, and rather added 
to the prevalent alarm as to what Java was 
to do. On the present oooasion Mr. Kessler 
was full of a statement which he had seen attri- 
buted to the Director of the Government Cinchona 
Gardens in Java — a statement made, he believed, at a 
publio assembly — to the effect that he (the Director) 
could easily export from the Government Gardens 
alone, 2 million lb. of bark of fine quality (5 or G per 
cent) and keep this up for many years. If that 
be the case, Mr. Kessler added, we, private plan- 
ters, can easily sond three or four times this quantity 
and of bark rising to an average of G per cent I But 
hero the will was clearly father to tho thought. 
The day after Mr. Kessler left us, came the 
Director's Official Report for the last quarter of 
1887, which, specially translated for our issue, 
can be read in another column, and in it not one 
word oocurs about an export of "2 million lb." 
On the oontrary Hr. van Komunde estimates his 
total crop of 1888 at 850,000 half-kilograms or 
930,000 lb. There are some other interesting facts 
in the Report — in reference to the prices obtained 
for seed (the highest being R28 per ounce for lodge- 
riana) and the 80 lb. of bark got from a famous 
mother ledgeriana tree probably twenty years old, 
which had to bo uprooted. But tho great fact of 
all is that from the eight plantations (ranging from 
1,250 to 1,'JOO feet above sea-level) under his charge, 
Hr. van Konninde expects a crop of loss than one 
million lb. in 1888, while his total of trees planted 
out is 807,000 ledgeriana (including 180,000 grafts 
on euacirubra well spoken of), 171,500 oflicinals, 
30,000 others, and about 600,000 succirubra trees : 
total l,66f,500,* 
As regards privato plantations in Java, our 
correspondents, Messrs. Rivers Hicks and John 
Hamilton, enter into calculations which cannot fail 
to show the absurdity of the pretensions made by 
Java alarmists to the quantity which they can 
year by year henceforward throw on the markots 
of the world. Without going so far as 170,000, 
tho Java Planters' Ch urman was certainly respon- 
sible for stating 35,000 acres as tho area planted 
with cinchona in p.iv.ite plantations. Now, in 
place of discussing tho Amsterdam Circular or 
Market Report (furnished to the London Clismitt 
and D, .wist, whioh is responsible for its publica- 
tion), and its rather wild ttguroH, or an extract 
from tho Indian Ayi icultui i. t (probably taken from 
our own oolumns, ciphers boing strangely 
dropped in tho reprinting in Cnlcuttn),— we 
* A largo number of the trees iu the Government 
gardens must bo much oldur thuu any in private planta- 
tions. 
may fall back upon the report made by British 
Consul Neill of Batavia to the Ceylon Govern- 
ment on the 18th Jan. 1887. In it, he embodied 
the estimate of the Java Planters' Association, 
framed in answer to an official application, to the 
effect that 21,000 acres was the area privately planted ; 
the number of trees planted was given at 30 millions' 
(of which 14 millions were succirubra), and the 
crop for 1887 estimated at 1,433,250 lb. At the 
same time the area planted in the Government Gar- 
dens was given at 1,778 aores, and we feel sure 
it cannot be over 1,900 acres now for the 1,665,500 
trees planted out. That would give about 880 trees 
per acre, a much more likely proportion than can be 
deduced from tho statement of 30 million trees on the 
private plantations. Unless this latter figure in- 
cludes plants in nurseries, we would certainly feel in- 
clined with our correspondents to reduce the number 
by one-half and say 15 million trees, of whioh not 
more than half can be ledgers capable of giving 2 
to 3 lb. of bark on being coppiced. We call attention 
to Mr. Hamilton's estimate, based on very similar 
figures, for the Java export from next year. But 
it must be especially noted that it is, in Mr. 
Hamilton's opinion, a maximum estimate when he 
puts down 4 J million lb. of ledger bark from private 
plantations and J million from the Government 
Gardens, besides lj million succirubra bark from both 
sources or a total of 6'J million lb. Mr. Hamilton doei 
good service by contrasting the results in quinine of the 
Java maximum bark export, with the total consump- 
tion of the world, showing that Java is not likely to 
supply one-half the requirements. All this is very 
reassuring. But when we turn to Mr. Rivers 
Hicks' calculations, the competition of Java shrinks 
into even less proportions. We would be inclined 
however, in view of the larger acreage taken to 
exceed Mr. Rivers Hicks, while cutting down Mr. 
Hamilton's estimate, and to put the Java exports 
for 1889 at quite i million lb. less, that is 
Bark from (Led. 3 millions ) - .„. ., 
Private Gardens jsuc. 2 millions \° milhon lb " 
r„„f I Led. 750,000 1 . .„. ., 
Govt d0 - (Sue. 250,000 1 1 milll0n lb " 
But even more important is our alteration of the 
proportions of ledger and succirubra bark baaed 
on the admission of the Java Planters' Associ- 
ation itself that nearly half the trees in the 
private plantations were succirubra. This is very 
important ; for it reduces the result in quinine as 
follows :— 
lb. Bark. per cent. oz. 
3j million @ 3£ = 1,950,000 Quinine. 
'4 @ li 630,000 
2,580,000 
a reduction of 570,000 ounces of quinine. 
That would leave about 5 million ounoes of quinine 
to bo made up by Ceylon, Indian and American 
barks, and if this Colony had only three out of 
the five millions to provide for, we should have to 
ship of our two per cent avernge bark at least nine 
million lb. In other words evon when Java cornea 
into full competition from next year onwards with her 
private supply of bi.rk, there ought, year by year, 
to be a fair demand and remunerative price for 
as much as uiue or ten millions of Ceylon Bark. 
OCKAN CURRENTS, THE GREAT ENE- 
MIES OF THE PEARL OYSTERS. 
Capt. Donnan's official report on tho loss of 
the oysters which so lately teemed on the pear) 
banks and afforded roa-ioiiablo hope of a scries Of 
fisheries, tho greatest on record, proves that tli 
Inspector of Pearl Hank's did not originate "th 
floods" theory *hi«h wai so strangely imbuJiOj 
