loo 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jllv i, 1881 
6. Distribution or Cinchona. 
Ledgeriana seed was sent to a number of private 
persons, whilst officinalis and succirubra seed was 
also distributed in lar«e quantity. From Ceylon there 
was also a request for lancifolia and Calisaya Javanica 
seed, which was supplied. But the endeavours of 
many Ceylon and British India planters to obtain 
Ledgeriana seed also could not this time be gratified, 
on account, of the too limited supply. The native 
population are still as little inclined as ever to 
plant cinchona. Succirubra seed was applied for by 
the foresters of the jungle districts of Samarar.g, 
Bayelen. and Madioen. These officers wish to try 
and utilize this tree for the planting of portions of 
the woodless mountains of their districts. The applica- 
tions were fully met. J welve waidian cases were 
sent to Japan, containing officinalis, Ledgeriana, succi- 
rubra and Calisaya Schuhkraft (Josephiana) plants. 
7. Information on the Varieties or Cinchona 
Cultivated in Java. 
As it was important, on account of the notorious 
proneness 10 hybridization of the varieties of cinchona, 
to obtain a more accurate knowledge of the mode 
of fenilization, particular attention was paid to this 
subject at the proper blossoming season of the cin- 
chonas, which lasts from January to March. The 
cinchonas have heterostyle flowers, which are thus 
brought into mutual fertilization by insects. In most 
cases the corolla tube is pretty long, and the style 
often very short, so that, as a rule, only insects 
possessing a long proboscis can be of help in the 
fertilization. At the top of the inferior ovary, and 
thus at the foot of the style, is found a disc, which 
secretes honey, and the insects cannot get at- the 
honey unless they penetrate the corolla tube with 
their proboscis, and in doing this bring the pollen 
of the mature stamens in contact with the pistil. 
But they also carrj r off a portion of the pollen on 
their proboscis from one flower to another, and so 
the fertilization takes place easily enough. Not only 
in. the case of the insects to be mentioned afterwards, 
is the pollen found on all parts of the mouth, but 
on the droues (Bornbus rufipes) it is met with in 
clusters on the metatarses of the hindlegs, and easily 
recognized under the microscope as cinchona pollen. 
The chief agent in the fertilization is the drone al- 
ready mentioned, Bombus rufipes, Lepel , which is 
found in millions in the cinchona plantations, attracted 
by the very strong odour of the cinchona blossoms, 
an odour which can be perceived at some distance. 
These hymenopters are to be seen flying with eager- 
ness from one cluster of blossoms to another and not 
omitting a single open flower : from each blossom 
they 'rather honey and increase their stock of pollen. 
If one stands in the midst of blossoming cinchona 
trees soon every sound is overpowered by the hum 
of the thousands of busy insects, Besides these 
drones there arc several lepidopters of the largest kinds 
which aid in the fertilization, notably Papilio Pviamus, 
Boisd , Omithopte.rn criion, Feld., Omithoptera Pom 
ipejui, Cham., whilst some smaller ones are also met 
with, especially Pterin Crithoe, Boisd., Terias Hecabe, 
L ., and IpMhyma Stelkm, Eschscholz. These insects 
also appear in thousands in the gardens during the 
blossoming season, and the first three named, excep- 
tionally large butterflies, are seen from early morn- 
ing til! evening near mi n set flying regularly from 
flower to flower seeking their food. Now, as these 
insects flj also from one plantation to the next, from 
one F&rietj of cinchona to another, it is evident that 
frequent^ pollen from the one variety is transferred 
to the other, and, so often from seed hybrids are ob- 
tained : and also that in a year like 1878, when, 
aftei the preceding drought, almost all the Ledgeriana 
trees blossomed, the chance of hybridization is much 
less, — as the insects can then keep more to the one 
variety of cinchona, and do not need to fly from one 
to the other, — than is the case when in each planta- 
tion only a few trees of the same variety come inti 
flower at the same time. Among tho plants from 
the seed of 1878 moreover there appeared much fewei 
hybrids than among those raised from seed obtained 
in other years. Experiments were tried purposely this 
year with artificial fertilization, and of these the fol 
lowing succeeded : nucrantha > Calisaya Javanica 
micrantha x Calisaya Schuhkraft (Josephiana), micr 
antha x officinalis, Pahudiana x Calisaya Schuh- 
kraft, and succirubra > Calisaya Javanica. Tbe fruitf- 
are not yet ripe : the seeds will be kept separate 
in order to gain further knowledge of the product 
of thesa crossings. 
6. Chemical Analyses. 
The state of the weather was not favourable for the 
blossoming of the Leiltrerianas On this account also 
little bark from blossoming trees was analyzed — only 
the numbers 22, 71 and 72 refer to such analyses. 
The analyses 1 — 21 are of various portions of bark 
from the same tree. The analysis showed that in 
the case of these (now twelve years old,) Ledgeriauas 
the bark over a great portion of the stem is very 
rich in quinine, aDd that only that from the upper 
portion of the tree and from the thinner branches is 
of less value. Perfectly inexplicable is the variation 
which was observed: that, for instance, tbe bark at 
a height of 5 meters was equally rich in quinine as 
at 1J; meter above the ground, while the portion lying 
between them contained less of that alkaloid. It was 
in accordance wiih previous experience that the root 
bark contained much more cinchonine than the stem 
bark, and it is noteworthy that quinidine, which is 
entirely wanting in the stem bark, was found only 
in this root bark. In order to have a basis of com- 
parison for the Ledgeriana seed plants it was ascer 
tained what was the yield of alkaloid from the inter- 
mixed bark obtained by cutting a strip of bark 
from ten two year old strong shoots of coppiced ori- 
ginal Ledgeriana^. The analysis is given under No. 
48. As a second basis of comparison, use can be 
made in the investigation of the young twig bark 
under No. 21. In the examination of the Ledgeriana 
seedlings several important results were obtained. In 
the first place it appeared that the young trees fol- 
lowed as a rule the composition of the mother 
trees, so that for example when the latter contained 
quinidine the seedling also contained that alkaloid. 
In the second place, it was seen that it was possible 
to pick out the very worst, mostly hybrid sorts, 
for when this was done the analysis showed quinine- 
yield corresponding with the valuation based on the 
external appearance. If of seedlings of one same 
parent tr^e four types were taken, of which 1 was 
considered the best and 4 the worst, the analysis 
generally confirmed this. And lastly it was found 
that in general the quinine-yield for such young tree- 
is v<-rv satisfactory, and gives the best hope for the 
futur e'. The analyses 29—43, 49— 6'9, and 73—80, refer to 
these young three to four year seedlings. Those dis- 
tinguished by letters (A, 8, C, &e..)were examined, 
partly as representatives of the Ltdgeriana type, partly 
(-9—53) as types of large-leaved micrantha-like de- 
scendants, which, as was supposed, appear to be ot 
little value. Very high figures for quinine were 
given by No. 32, 36, 37, 38. 41, 61, and 69. 
Of otherwise similar descent and exterior, those 
trees which had developed most gave the 
highest figure for alkaloid-yield. As was said ih 
sec. 4, the five test trees which a year ago wer- 
scraped now again had the renewed bark taken oft 
For comparison of the difference in composition be 
tween the original bark and that renewed, aftei 
