April s, 1888] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
679 
quills, I have seen many killed by dogs and have 
caught others alive, and am convinced they cannot 
do so ; when pursued closely by dogs they stop 
suddenly and back, thus causing a collision and 
forcing their quills into the dog. 1 have had many 
dogs seriously hurt, one large dog having a quill 
penetrating 9 inches into the chest and being other- 
wise so much crippled that it had to be carried to the 
kennels apparently dead, though it subsequently 
recovered. The same dog on another occasion had 
a quill so firmly embedded in the bone of the skull 
abovo the eyes that on attempting to withdraw it 
the point broke off and remained in the bone. 
When disturbed in tho thick cover they generally 
frequent, they have a habit of rattling their quills 
which make rather a startling noise, no doubt 
with the idea of frightening away the intruder. 
When in captivity I have observed them do the 
same when disturbed, but I never saw quills be- 
come detached from them, nor do I see how they 
could shoot or jerk them off with suflicient force 
to do any damage. — Yours truly, 
KOTMALEGANGA. 
P.S. — The diving record is held by J, 13. Johnson 
of Leeds, who has remained under water for 3 miu. 
35 2-5th sec. (see British Jlitral Sports, p, 722). This 
beats the Ceylon divers. 
[Thanks for a very interesting communication. 
If the UM is tho true mahseer and is unwhole- 
some while breeding and also when certain flowers 
and fruits are in season, the fish seems to be 
of far less value as a food contributory in Ceylon 
than in India, apart from the fact that the larger 
specimens are said here to defeat the wiles of the 
angler bait he never so wisely. The MIA receives 
its scientilic name from its likeness to a snake, 
but our correspondent seems too well informed to 
confound this lish with an eel. — What is stated 
about the quill-like hairs of " tho fretful porcupine" 
is in agreement with comnionsense as well as with 
science. The quills are powerful as weapons of 
defenoe, but the rodent can neither project them, 
nor carry water to its young in them. We believe 
it to be true that no Ceylon pearl fishery diver 
has approached the endurance under water of the 
gentleman mentioned by our correspondent. As 
the performance is most interesting in a physio- 
logical point of view, as well as in connection 
with pearls, sponge and shell diving, wo should 
feel obliged for the details. Mr. Johnson must 
have had good lungs to begin with, and they must 
have been well educated to bear the deprivation 
of atmospheric air for such a really long period as 
over 3 a minutes ? — Ed.] 
CINCHONA IN" JAVA : 
OFFICIAL REPORT. 
The following is the official report on the Gov- 
ernment cinchona enterprize in Java for the fourth 
quarter of 1887, just received:— 
With the excoptiou of the first half of Octobor, 
in which only a few showers of rain foil, the past 
quarter was vory rainy: in fact, during Novonibor 
und December thoro was not a single dry day re- 
corded. The continuous rain was very favourable to 
tho growth of tho young plants anil tho nurseries. 
At tho beginning of November a coinmencoinout was 
made with the putting out of plants in tho open, 
which operation was carried on uninterruptedly. In 
consequence cif tile wet weutlirr uml in the absence 
on moBt <>f the establishment!! of artificial means for 
drying the bark, the harvesting was greatly 
hindered. At the end of the last quarter, S89t498 
half kilograms of the harvest of 1889 had been 
dispatched to Hatuviu, whilit about ."><>.i)<k> more hulf 
kilograms of this harvest's hark remained in the 
paeking-houges and on the estates, which will be 
neat off during Janunry. Tho outturn of l-v^ pro- 
mises to be considerably greater than that of the past 
year, and is estimated at 850,000 half kilograms of 
bark. Indeed, this outturn can bo obtained without 
much exertion, as the six artificial drying apparatus 
requisitioned and promised should be erected, aud 
the harvesting can proceed uninterruptedly independ- 
ent of the state of the weather. On 8th September 
and 2Uth October sales of Government cinchona bark 
of the crop of 1886 were held in Amsterdam. Tho 
average prieos realized at these sales were 49'84 and 43 
cents per half kilogram. At the sale of 20th Octobor 
the prices, especially for manufacturer's bark, went down 
to a point lower than any yet known. However, for 
ledgeriana barks an average price of 39-13 cents per 
half kilogram was paid, so that, with the rich harvests 
from the Government plantations, an appreciable 
profit was realized. The much higher prices that 
have been lately paid iu the European markets for 
pharmaceutical barks in quills, uob only of C. sicccir libra 
but also of C. calisaija and 0. josephiana, have led 
us to try the experiment of packing ledgeriaua 
bark also in boxes, so far as the harvest of that product 
yields fine unbroken quills. The inducement to this was all 
the greater, because in a few years the production of 
culisaya and josephiana barks will be a thing of the 
past. Tbe experiments made with the graftiug of 
ledgeriaua and succirubra in the open air, which at 
first were crowned with little good result, have lately 
given encouraging results. On 30th Deoember a sale 
of cinchona seed was held at Bandoeng. Seven 
hundred grams of succirubra seed found ready buyers 
at the upset price of 20 cents per gram ; of the ledge- 
riana seed offered for sale only 20 grams sold at 
the upset price of f 1 per gram, whilst for 
the ledgeriana grafts put up at the upset price 
of i 10 each there were no buyers of any 
description. The fact is deserving of mention, that 
tho ledgeriana mother-tree No. 89, which had to be 
dug out on account of disease, yielded a crop of 146 
half kilograms of wet and 72 half kilograms of dry 
bark, and is of value as a new argument for tho opinion 
held by us throughout, that tho future of cinchona 
cultivation must bo sought chiefly in the creating and 
upkeep of old plautations. In the month of December 
many old ledgeriauas and also a portion of the grafts at 
Tirtasari began to blossom, so that, contrary to the 
expectation put forwurd in the report for the third 
quarter of l887i the seed crop of ledgeriana during 
1888 promises to be pretty considerable. 
Van Rokcnsx, 
Director of the Government Cinchona Enterprise. 
Tirtasari, 10th Jan. 1888. 
Total of plants in the Government cinchona gardens 
at end of 1887 : — In tho nurseries — 1,595,500 ledgeriana 
(including 45,000 grafts), 080,000 succirubra : total 
2,275,500. In the open— 867,000 ledgeriana (including 
180,000 stocks aud gruff*, and excluding the more or 
less 3,(i0il original ledgeriauas), 32,(>00 calisayaand hass- 
kurliaua, 591,000 succirubra and calotora, 171,500 
officinalis, 4,000 laucifolia : total 1,605,500. Grand total 
4,041,000 of all kinds. 
Pafkr Trbk.— One of our American exchanges has an 
interesting note on what is culled the "paper tree," 
known to the natives as "Aenta," though it fairly 
deserves the name of Raiment-tree. It is a species of 
mulberry found at tho Otaheites, in .South Pacific, 
from which a cloth is manufactured that is worn by tho 
principal inhabitants. The bark of the trees is stripped 
und deposited to souk in ruuuiog water; when it is 
sufficiently softened, tho fibres of the inner coat are 
carefully separated from the rest of the b.irk; they are 
then pill tied in lengths of eleven or twelve yards, sido by 
side, till they are about a foot broad, ami l mo or three 
layers are put one upon another. This is done in the 
evening, aud the next morning tho water is drained ott , 
and the sevcial fibres adhere in one pieue.lt is after- 
wards beaten on a smooth surlaieof wood with instru- 
ment-, indented lengthwise, with small grooves of 
dilferciit decrees el lincm und by m. ,n. .1 . 
become* a* thin us muslin. After a bleaching process in 
the sun, to whiten the uiulwu.il, U is tit for DM*** 
Iinnm Ayrkuituritt. 
