THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[July 2, 1888. 
they cultivate. Tea-growing in China is la 
petite culture ; in India it is, above all things 
la grande culture. And the tendency, we observe, is 
to amalgamate the gardens in India more and more 
for the sake of greater economy in working them 
Thus a recent return from Assam shows that while 
there were 941 gardens in 1885-86, there were only 
883 at the end of 1886-87. In the same period the 
area under tea cultivation increased by 18,288 acres. 
In the former of the two years in question, the 
average size of each garden was 973 acres, while in 
the latter it was 1,058 acres. The return goes on 
to say the production of manufactured tea in 1886-87 
was the largest ever recorded, amounting to 61 
million pounds. "Improved methods of culti- 
vation," the report says, " are increasing the average 
yield per acre. This average for the whole province 
last year is variously stated at from 349 to 363 
pounds, and it rose to 518 pounds in Lakhimpur, 
which is the most productive district." It appears, 
however, that the planters this year will have to 
reckon with heavy losses caused by the epidemic 
of cholera in Assam, which slaughtered large num- 
bers of coolies who were brought at heavy expense 
from Bengal, but who died before they could work 
for their masters. — L. <& C. Express, May 4th. 
♦ — 
CINCHONA IN JAVA.. 
The report of Mr. Von Romunde, director of 
the Government cinchona enterprisa in Java, for 
the first quarter of 1888, dated Bandoeng, 3rd April, 
has only just reached us, the translation being as 
follows : — 
The weather was very wet during the past quarter. 
On account of the abundant rain tho putting out of 
plants in the open could be carried on uninterruptedly, 
but the continuous moisture was not favourhble for 
the development of the plants and seedlings, and the 
growth of the plants recently has been extremely 
slow. The gathering and drying of the bark was 
greatly hindered by the excessive rain. The crop 
of 18S7 was dijpatched by the end of February to 
Tandjong Priok and amounted to 703,313 half kilo- 
grams of bark. The crop of 1888 is, in conse- 
quence of the slow growth of the trees during 
the last few months and the continuous rain, very 
small as yet, and amounts to not more than 
about 75,000 half kilograms for bark, of which at 
the end of the quarter 5,017 half kilograms had 
been dispatched to Tandjong Priok. On the 8th 
December 1887 the last sale of cinchona bark of the 
crop of 1886 was held at Amsterdam, whilst at the 
sale of 23rd Jauuary 1888 the first lots of bark of 
the crop of 1887 were sold. The average price rea- 
lized at each of these sales was 56 34 and 51 43 cents 
per half kilogram. On 3rd March a sale of cinchona 
seed whs held. The demand for ledgeriana seed was 
comparatively very small, except for that obtained 
from analysed trees, while the succirubra seed 
offered for sale was all sold. The net result of the 
sale was /451. During the first few months of 
1888 the plantations on the Malabar mountains, 
especially Tirtasari, suffered very much from cater- 
pillars, which appeared in such numbers, that they 
caused a serious check to the growth of the plants 
by eating the leaves, and must also be mentioned 
as a cause of the small harvest realized by thinning 
out. Some plantations at Nagrak had also to endure 
a formidable attack of caterpillars. On the older 
plantations ou the Malabar mountains, especially on 
those affected by caterpillars, the Helopeltis antonii 
also made a vigorous attack. As the catching of 
insects on high trees is impracticable, working 
of the soil and manuring ^were utilized as a means 
of combating the plague, whereby a vigorous growth 
was induced, and the results of the piague reduced 
to a minimum. At Kioenggoenoong the ledgeriana 
plantations had to suffer much from canker, which 
attacked the branches and stems of the trees. It 
was stated in the report for the last quarter of 1887, 
that the crop of ledgeriana seed in 1888 promised to 
be pretty abundant, but these prognostications have 
been swept away by the excessive rains, which have 
hindered the setting of the fruit. The erection of 
buildings intended for six Davidson's T sirocco driers 
was proceeded with vigorously on the establishments 
to the south of the mountains, to the end that as 
soon as th ese machines are received a beginning may 
be made with their erec'ion. In spite of the un- 
favourable conditions for the growth of the plants 
in the early months of 1888, the crop of this year 
promises to largely exceed that of last, although it 
very probably will not be so great as was estimated 
at the beginning of 1888. 
The number of plants in the various gardens at 
the end of the 1st quarter of this year is given as 
follows : — In the nurseries : 1,440,000 ledgeriana 
(including 40,000 grafts), 670,000 succirubra— total, 
2,110,000. In the open: 821,000 ledgeriana (in- 
cluding 190,000 cuttings and grafts, and exclusive of 
the more or less 3,000 original ledgerianas), 14,000 
calisaya and hasskarliana, 609,000 succirubra and 
caloptera, 166,500 officinalis, 1,000 lancifolia— total 
1,611,500. Grand total, 3,721,000. 
♦ 
THE MANUFACTURE OF QUININE AT 
THE BRITISH SIKKIM CINCHONA 
GARDENS : 
WHY NOT IN CEYLON? 
FULL PARTICULARS OF MR. GAMMIE'S 
SYSTEM; 
NOTHING DIFFICULT ABOUT IT ; 
A NEW LOCAL INDUSTRY WHICH MESSRS. 
SYMONS & COCHR1N OUGHT AT 
ONCE- TO START. 
We have a very interesting letter from our good 
friend, Mr. J. Gammie, the superintendent of the 
Moungpoo (Darjeeling) Cinchona Gardens. In res- 
ponding to our congratulations on his discovery of a 
cheap and effective mode of manufacturing quinine, 
Mr. Gammie writes : — " We have undoubtedly hit at 
last on au almost perfect plan both for the manu- 
facture of quinine and febrifuge. The plan can 
readily be worked on a small scale in bottles. We 
have only made about 500 lb. of sulphate of quinine 
as yet, but hope soon to be making it on a largish 
scale. Machinery for it is now being rigged up. 
The professional reports on our quinine have all 
been most favourable. The only objection to it as 
yet has been that it is too good, and that a slightly 
inferior product would pay better. The oil plan 
appears to bring out the alkaloids from the bark 
in a pure and highly erystallizable state, and, best 
of all, perfectly exhausts the bark. It costs us about 
R12-8* to work 100 lb. of dry bark. We may 
yet find out how to lessen our loss of oil, but I 
hardly think we can reduce the cost by very much, 
the carriage of fusel, &e. being so very expensive. 
It appears to be nearly as expensive to bring the oils 
&c. to the bark as to send the bark to the oil &c. 
I hope cinchona matters are to look up soon ! 
At present prices there can be very little profit going 
for either grower or manufacturer. 
" I am very glad to hear that your tea is doing so 
well. 600 lb, per acre is just about double what the 
best Darjeeling hill gardens produce, and the most 
of them pay well. It appears to me that for steady 
profits the high up tea gardens are much more to 
be relied on than those low down. No doubt the 
lower gardens at times give enormous profits, but 
they are more subject to blight, <fec. Helopeltis 
was very bad on many of the Terai gardens last 
year, and on some of the lower hill gardens. In 
consequence soarcely any the Terai gardens paid 
* R12-50 Ceylon currency.— Ed. O. O, 
