July 2, 1888.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
43 
tinually undergoing considerable extension. In the 
first quarter of tho year under notice the fields uprooted 
in 1885 wero nearly all replanted with ledgeriana and 
suceirubra, whilst in the last quarter a commence- 
ment was made with the replanting of the estates 
uprooted in 1886, as well as with the plauting up 
of some bits of new land, which was undertaken for 
the separation of the plantations on the Malabar 
Mountains. These operations will be continued and as 
far possible completed during the first quarter of 1887. 
The graft plantation at Tirtasari also underwent 
further extension during the second and third quarters 
of 1886, which was done by the employment of sturdy 
grafts raised in pots, which suffered little or nothing by 
the transplanting. The year 188G was noteworthy from 
its great production of excellent ledgeriana seed, a 
result of the long and continuous drought of 1885. 
The graft-and-stock plantation at Tirtasari especially 
yielded a superabundance of good ripe seed, a portion 
of which was planted in the Government gardens, 
but the greater part was sold by public auction. The 
yield of seed by the analysed mother-trees was not, 
when the abundant blossoming of these is taken into 
consideration, correspondingly large. Especially was 
this the case with the plants originating from grafts 
from the mother-tree No. 25, which at the end of 
1885 began to blossom so abundantly, that their death 
was even apprehended, a fear which, thanks to the 
vigorous repeated stirring of the ground, was base- 
less j these gave only a very small crop of seed. No 
other explanation for this phenomenon is to be found, 
than that in the case of these plants, which, though 
not entirely isolated, are yet more or less separate, 
fructification took place with difficulty. In the case 
of those plantations, however, formed from grafts 
derived from one and the same mother-tree, 
legitimate fructification was as good as impossible, 
but even self-fructification, i. p., illegitimate fructi- 
fication of the most unfavourable form, could 
scarcely take place. The large quantity of seed offered 
for sale during the last quarter of 1886 found buyers, 
it is true, but in consequence of the great supply 
as well as through combinations of private planters 
the result of the sales was very small. Upset prices 
for grafts and seed were therefore fixed by G. O. of 
8th Dec. 188l'>, No. I/O. At a sale of ledgeriana 
grafts held on 3l)th December, only some fifty found 
Buyers at the upset price fixed by Government of 
/ 10 each. The total result of the sales of 1886 was as 
follows: — 
Seed... .. ... /1 ,385 
Grafts ... ... 500 
Total.. /"1,88s 
As in former years, portions of the seed offered for 
sale were allowed to germinate on the Government 
plantations, in order to obviate eventual complaints 
regarding the non-germination of seed purchased. All 
the experiments made gave good results, and no 
complaints were received. Very small quantities of 
suceirubra seed were asked far by foresters, which 
Orders wore executed as speedily as possible. Very 
small quantities also of ledgeriana and suceirubra seed 
were applied for by botanists and representatives of 
Scientific institutions or foreign Governments. In 
consequence of tho mild east monsoon of 1886 the 
blossoming of ledgeriana and suceirubra plants was 
not abundant, so that the crop of seed from these 
trees in 1W docs til promi.se to lie great. The 
question has Ik on raised, whether the inllueuce of 
tho snccirtibra stem, which is the cause of tho forma- 
tion of by-alkaloids ill the bark of the ledgeriana 
grafted thereon, should also be felt in the plants 
raised from the seed obtained from tho graft-plants 
at Tirtasari. Experiments to ascertain the truth of 
this, by means of artificial fructification, all entirely 
failed, but they will bo repeated in the courao of 
1M87. 
8, Clearing and Vpketp. — At Tirtasari during 1886 
ir.mo houws of forest land wcro cleared intended for 
tho formation of graft plantations. At Tjinjiroean 
anil Tjibeiireum also several houws of forest were 
felled and cleared, so far as thoso lota happened to 
come within the new roads formed for the comple- 
tion of those gardens. Some bouws of the gardens 
mentioned, formerly planted with O. josevhiana, were 
not replanted, on account of the difficult nature of 
the land, so that the actual extension was not of 
much account. The completion of these gardens has 
been continued, in proportion as the uprooting of tho 
old inferior cinchonas has progressed, whereby the 
system of roads is simultaneously extended and im» 
proved. The greatest care was bestowed on the 
upkeep of the plantations. On young fields the ground 
was at first worked very superficially, only as far as 
was needful to keep the soil clear from all weeds, 
which working was repeated when the weeds onco 
more put in an appearance. As the plants de> 
veloped the soil was dug to a greater depth. 
In the older fields the making of two feet deep 
trenches was continued, by which means the 
whole of the surface soil was worked to that 
depth. This method of working was not, however, 
carried out on all the plantations, but more vigor- 
oualy in the case of ledgeriana plantations, and the 
good results of such working of the soil have not 
been backward in showing themselves. In all, a 
large sum was spent on the upkeep of the gardens 
and on deep working of the soil, but the expense 
was abundantly recouped by a correspondingly larger 
crop, which, as regards the outturn of ledgeriana 
alone, rose in a single year from 155,287 to 238,764 
half-kilograms, without a single plant boing uprooted, 
and which outturn was the result simply of urgently 
needed thinning out. The results of a thorough 
working of the soil were most evident in the case 
of the graft and stock plants at Tirtasari, where 
from the very beginning a system of high cultiva- 
tion was carried out, and where gardens of an aver- 
age age of five years yielded a return of about 
1,200 half-kilograms of bark. But even more than 
can be shown by figures are the good results of a 
high system of cultivation apparent in the forma- 
tion of bark by the plants, which results will be 
seen in future harvests. There was general activity 
in the formation and conservation of thick planta- 
tions. The great attention paid to the upkeep was 
beneficial to a vigorous growth of the side branches 
and will cause a speedy formation of a dense planta- 
tion. Though the amount of money expended on 
the upkeep of the nlantations is pretty considerable 
at the beginning, if under "upkeep" is understood 
simply the freeing of the plantations from weeds, 
in order to insure for the plants an undisturbed 
growth, on the other hand that upkeep is of short 
duration, and is confined to two or at the most three 
years. Tho deep digging and trenching then are of 
actual service only in inducing a vigorous growth, 
and obtaining as speedily as possible large and regular 
crops. Beside the thorough working of the soil, 
tho growth was promoted as much as possible also 
by manuring, but on account of the small quantity 
of manure available this method of improving the 
existing plantations could be carried out on only a 
limited scale. At Nagrak good results were obtained 
by filling up the trenches with surface soil from 
the neighboring jungles, but this method also of 
improving backward plantations could be employed 
only on a small scale. The most certain and least 
costly means of improving the top part of the tree 
is found in a large formation of humus, from fallen 
leaves, which can only take place undisturbed in 
dense plantations. Another experiment made at 
Tjinjiroean is deserving of nientiou. A suceirubra 
plantation that had remained backward for years, in 
spite of all attempts at improving the growth deve- 
loped vigorously shortly after the surface of tho 
ground was covered with a half foot thick layer of 
all sorts of rubbish, such as wasto alangalang, saw- 
dust, &o. As has been mentioned above, through 
the continuous keeping clean of the young planta- 
tions tho branches were able to respond by a 
vigorous development, but as a consequenco of 
this vigorous growth of tho branches these latter 
entered into competition with the niaiu stem, whence 
a more or less bushy growth of the plants resulted. 
By tho regular pruning of the trees, it is true, tho 
