596 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [January 2, 1882. 
Pykara, and I would draw the attention of chinchona 
planters generally to the great importance and value 
of these or similar break-winds, and I know of no 
tree that wouM answer better than the Bluogums 
at high elevations. 
Calisaya.— I had rio opportunity of seeing any good 
plantaiions of calisaya such as, I believe, ex'At in 
Maskeliya and other pirts of the island which I had 
not time to visit However, I saw some fin? trees 
mixed with other chinchonas and coffee in different 
estates at low elevation?. Considering the fine ap- 
pearance and growth of one that I saw growing on 
the estate called Agrakanda in Lindula (about 4,000 
feet), I think it probable that finer calisiya will be 
grown in Ceylon than in India, and that with this 
species the moist climai e of the island has the ad vantage 
against our droughts ; but I have had very little experi- 
ence with calisaya. The analysis of this tree, 
by Mr. Howard hid given 5'65 per cent of 
quinine, 1 22 of chinchonidine, 44 of chinchonine and 
only a trace of quinidine. Two miles from Nuwara 
Eliya, at the head of the Kamb' da pass, I saw a most re- 
markable plantation of what were called "hybrid 
calisaya." The elevation is too high, I should think 
for the species being about 6,000 feet, and the trees 
are all quite shrubs, 4 to 6 feet high, densely branched 
from the base. The plantat'on is, however, looked 
upon as one of great value by some experienced planters. 
I recognized our var. Javanica, but there were quite 
a crowd of other forms that I have not seen in our 
plantations (we probably had some of them and they 
have died out) and which would completely puzzle 
any botanist. It is quite possible that we have here 
only a single species, a very protean one, producing 
all these varieties from the same seed, but it is, I 
think, more likely that there are many really different 
speci s mixed, speeie9 which have not as yet been 
worked out by a botanist ; either of these views are, 
I think, preferable to the hybrid theory. On the 
subject of classification Dr. Trimen has written the 
following valuable remarks (vide Mr. Owen's "Chin- 
chona Planter's Manual"): — 
"The genus cinchona presents us with a very well- 
marked and striking instance of a clearly defined 
natural group, in which the individuals composing it, 
instead of as usual being with more or less facility 
thrown into different sets marked out by clear dis- 
tinctive characters, (and thus forming the ' species ' 
of the naturalist) offer themselves as a crowd of forms 
closely connected in different directions, but showing 
only trifling modifications of structure of a sort usually 
regarded as of but little systematic value. Such general 
are not very uncommon and the botanist of Europe is 
but too familiar with cases in Salix (willows), Rubus 
(blackberries) and Rosa (wild roses). 
"This state of things is natural and has not arisen 
under cultivation. In ' chinchona,' the great majority 
of the described forms have been found in the Andes 
them-elves, where the genus has a range of over 2,000 
miles from north to south, and at altitudes from 2 000 
— 11,000 feet, but chiefly between 5,000 and 8,000 feet. 
It would appear that every district of this extensive 
area has its own peculiar chinchonas, and very few 
tpecies are known to range widely through it j none 
to occur throughout. A very similar statement might 
be made with regard to the fruticose Rubi in Europe." 
Ileal I y careful experiments with the seed of each 
marked variety or species would be exceedingly in- 
teresting and would probably clear up the doubt 
whether they are distinct species or all forms of one 
very protean species ; but if the latter he proved to 
be i he case, the botanist will have a most difficult 
task in I he classification of the genus. Analysis is all 
important in a plantation of this sort, if profit is to 
be looked to, and the same may be said of the ordin- 
ary form of Calisaya or of Javanica or any other 
of its forms, as it has been proved that forms appar- 
ently quite similar in every way may in some indi- 
viduals be very rich in quinine and in others have 
no trace of it. The planter has therefore to be cau- 
tioned against any indiscriminate growth of "Yellow 
barks" at this stage of our knowledge, as not only 
is this an established fact, but we at present know 
little about the elevation or climate adapted for th/se 
species. 
Ledgeriana. — Dr. Trimen informs me that both he 
and Mr. Moens of Java consider this speeies as quite 
a distinct one and not as hitherto supposed only a 
variety of "calisaya" and that he has lately de. 
scribed it as such in his "Journal of Botany." He 
also pointed out to me that the flower pedicels always 
have a drooping habit not seen in " calisaya," and 
that the flo»er buds want the knob-like apex charac- 
teristic of " calisaya." 
The enormous profits of the Ledgeriana plantation 
in Java under Mr. Moens, and the visit la<(t year 
of that gentleman to Ceylon, have given a great im- 
petus to the planting of this species in Ceylon. I had 
not an opportunity of seeing the best or oldest grown 
in Ceylon, but I saw some large trees many of young 
growth, and also experiments with Mr. Moens' sys- 
tem of grafting this species on "succirubra.' I, how- 
ever, learnt that no analysis of this bark in Ceylon could - 
in any wuy be compared with that in Java, and it is prob 
able that the deep, rich, volcanic soil in the latter place 
is the real cause of the wonderful results. Mr. Moens 
has obtained as much as 13 per cent, of pure quinine 
from one tree of this species, and Dr. Trimen tells me 
that he (Mr. Moens) destroys all trees which on ana- 
lysis do not give a very high yield, and that he grafts 
from the richest on to "succirubra," and that he has 
a small area of these grafts which are giving most 
surprizing results and astonishing every one. Dr. Tri- 
men also informed me that this grafting on "succi- 
rubra" was resorted to, owing to the great difficulty 
of propagating this species by cuttings ; but Mr. Grant 
in the Ouchterlony Valley (I was over bis establish- 
ment lately) has been most successful with cuttings 
under glass with bottom heat, scarcely having a fail- 
ure, so I cannot, I confess, see the advantage of the 
grafting, if cuttings can be grown easily in India, and 
I beliwe not only Mr. Grant but also Captain Cox 
has had no difficulty ; the grafting process besides 
could hardly be resorted to for large areas. It is, 
however, important I think that we should have some 
experiments on this plan, when we open ground for 
"calisaya" and "Ledgers" at a lower elevation. Mr. 
Moens' plan is described as follows in the Chinchona 
Manual above referred to : — 
"This system has been largely pursued by Mr. 
Mopus in Java for the multiplication of Ledgerianas, 
with great success. For a description of the method 
we are indebted to 'Viator' and Mr. Kay-Shuttle- 
worth who visited Java and there saw the operation 
performed. Succirubra being the commonest and 
most rapid-growing cinchona is chosen for the stock 
succirubra plants about a year old are chosen, and 
to economise space are stumped at a point six or 
eight inches above the soil. This is done just above 
a joint. A flat cut is then made in the stem under 
the bark which is not removed sufficiently deep to 
make a surface large enough to allow a ledgeriana 
shoot (cut through diagonally, the cut being one to 
one and-a half inches long) to fit cambium to cambium 
to the succirubra, the bark of the succirubra overlying 
the cut being left intact. The ledgeriana shoot must 
be cut just where the hard mature wood ends and 
where the branch begins to be tender and succulent 
from the newness of its growth. It is then fitted 
carefully into the cut in the succirubra stem, the flap 
of bark put over it and the whole bound firmly with 
Berlin wool. String pulled out of an ordinary sack will 
