July i, 1881.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
53 
CINCHONA CULTIVATION : 
Quinine and Cinchonidine. 
We give special prominence to the extract from 
the letter of a Java planter which Mr. E. H. Cameron 
is good enough to send us. His correspondent is in 
constant communication with Mr. Moens, and writes 
therefore with all that gentleman's authority The 
fact that there is an age beyond which the cinchona 
tree seems to cease to add to its bark, or at any 
rate to the secretion of the more valuable alkaloids, 
has been already pretty well understood. No doubt 
we have a great deal to learn in reference to the 
age at which this stage is reached in different coun- 
tries, and, indeed, at different elevations with vary- 
ing soils and climates. The further fact that at a 
certain period trees containing cinchonidine begin to 
increase the secretion of this alkaloid at the expense 
of the quinine is a discovery closely affecting the 
possessors of Ledgeriana and other valuable types. 
It is evident that trees containing no cinchonidine 
never lose their richness in quinine. But Ceylon must 
do a great deal more in analysis as a guide to the 
planter before the latter is able to discriminate be- 
tween his trees in the same way that Mr. Moens does 
in Java. Nevertheless, it is of importance to follow, 
step by step, the very valuable discoveries of him 
who certainly stands first in the scientific cultivation 
of cinchona ; and not his least contribution to our 
knowledge will be this discovery respecting the reason 
why quinine is diminished iu trees after a certain 
ago. The letters are as follows : — 
To the Editor "Ceylon Observer." 
Sir, — I have just received a letter from Java con- 
taining information important enough to be of great 
interest to those of your readers who are interested 
in Cinchona. The writer speaks with authority, being 
the largest private grower of Cinchona in Java, and 
also having the advantage of exchanging ideas with 
Mr. Moens ulmost daily. — I am, &c., 
Agra Patana, June 18th. E. H. C. 
(Original, verbatim et literatim.) 
Maintenant encore quelque cho3e pour la connais 
sance de kina, s 
deja depuis quelqu 
quelque ripport e 
par exemple renev 
v.lI. 
ment de Ledger. On sait 
1'il y' a dans les barques 
line et' le cinchonidine ; 
: succirubra on officinalis 
xgne en chiuine, monte 
des Ledgeriana n' a pas 
y a aussi, qui en ont, 
ens a trouve v a toujours 
rait p. e. uue barque 
juiours a unc barque dc 
untenant 14 ans), qui 
ans. Tow les arbres 
de cinchonidine, cepend: 
inemo de tr£s riches. M 
un mauvais signe ; il 
de 8 °/ 0 sans cinchonidi 
10 % chinine avec 
surtout pour la^seminci 
est un pen batard. Soi 
constate. Mr. M. a an 
quelques arbres primiti 
etaient analyses a Page 
eans oinchonidine ont maintenant encore juste le mdme 
contenu de chinine ; — lea autrcs ont perdu de chinine, 
et gagne de cinchonidine, done perdu en valeur. 
Un arbre, qui avait daus le temps 10'77 c de chinine 
avec un peu de oinchonidine a maintenant seulement 
7'5°/ 0 de chinine et 3 - 47 0 de oinchonidine. 
Fiez voub done un peu de tout, qui a de cin- 
chonidine ; e'est au moment pcut etre bon main 9a 
deviant mauvais. Oes autrcs alcaloldes, quinidine 
est 60/1, a meme une assez grande valour; cincftonint 
He vaut rien, mais ne unit pas. 
39 
( Translation. ) 
Now some more facts 011 the subject of cinchona, 
especially Ledgeriana. It ha* been known for some 
time that there is in the " barques " some connection 
between the quinine and the cinchonidiue : e.g. "re- 
newed bark " of succirubra or officinalis fo.se* in cin- 
chonidine and gains in quinine, the value therefore 
increasing. Most of the Ledgerianas have no cinchoni- 
dine : there are, however, some which contain a little, 
even very rich ones. Mr. Moens always looks upon 
that as a bad sign, and would always prefer e g. a 
"barque" of 8 °/ 0 without cinchonidine to a "barque " 
of 10 7 a of quinine with 1 7„ of cinchonidine : 
and thi# especially for seed,— as he thinks it a sign 
that the tree is a little hybridized. His opi- 
nion has now been confirmed. Mr. Moens has 
analyzed for the second time some original trees 
(now 14 years old) which were analyzed at the age 
of 8 years. All the trees without cinchonidine have 
now exactly the same amount of quinine ; the others 
have lost in quinine and gained in cinchonidine, and 
therefore lost iu value. One tree which had at that 
time 10'7 7<> °f quinine with a Utl'e cinchonidine has 
now only 7 '5 7 0 quinine and 3 '4 */ 0 cinchonidine. There- 
fore, do not reckon too much on any that have 
cinchonidine : it may be good at the time, but it will be- 
come bad. As to the other alkaloids, quinidine is good, 
is even of some value ; cinchonidine is worth nothing, 
but does no harm. 
Cinchona Lkdgeriana Seed at £230 per Oz. — 
Some people in Java think Ledgeriana seed worth not 
a little — £230 an ounce ! Such is the tenor of a mer- 
cantile advice which states that for a small quantity 
of Calisaya Ledgeriana Cinchona seed of a superior 
kind from trees of a good age, the bark of whirh 
has been chemically tes ed, as much as 1001. (i'S-li-5) per 
gramme of 3,000 seeds is asked As the ounce contains 
'2S , 34 grammes, tint is at the rate of £230 per ounce ! 
VICTORIAN Apples. — The two small cases of Victorian 
apples suit forward by the P. & O. steamer by the 
C'-ylon Commissioner as a trial shipment arrived here 
to-day. One case was for His Excellency the Governor. 
The other contained, packed with tissue paper in 
t«o compartments, about 130 apples of different 
varieties. Out of this number 30 (or 25 per cent) 
were quite bad; and half as many more nearly so. 
Out of the remainder we are making a distribution in 
the Fort as well as we are able, so as to give 
business men some idea of Victorian apples. What 
are good— say 60 per cent— are very good : palatable 
and of fiue flavour. 
The Sales of Cinchona Bark reported by this 
mail aie chiefly noteworthy on account of the 0s per 
lb. paid for one case of fine crown renewed from the 
Nilgiris with the well known mark " W. R. A. Pros- 
pect." Fo» good medium quill os 7d was bid, but 
not taken. For red bark, bold mossed quill, 3s 9d 
paid. Some of the "Price Currents" Wrongly put 
the Prospect bark down as Ceylon. v The highest price 
got for Ceylon bark at these sales wis 4s to 4? 31 
for bold cnipped quill crown, 4s 3d being but for 
the root bark but not taken. Messrs. James Cook & 
Co. have the following remarks on our bark : — 
The 204 packages offered, went off slowly without 
change in prices, the principal mark sold was a 
good shipment of Hamilton, which, being bark of a 
nice character, met with competition at full prices, 
good and fair quill, although mixed with some weak 
brauc'i and a little coarse growth stem, fetching 3s 
91 to 3s lOd ; the more broken quill sol i at 2s Gd, 
weak and papery branch Is 9d, aud good iwiys 6d. 
17 bales root, however, of the same mark realize! 
but 2s Id, and 3 caBfafl 2s 2d. Of !>4 bale- l e t ift, 
chiefly crown, weighing 21,000 lb., about two-thirds 
sold at .'is 0d to 4s 3d. OA Ouvah red wry bold 
trunk and stem 3s 3d per lb. 
