T II  E 
Vol.  XII.]  COLOMBO,  DECEMBER  jst,  1892.  [No.  6. 
MR.  E.  J.  YOUNG  ON  OOTACAMUND  AND  THE 
MADRAS  GOVERNMENT  CINCHONA 
PLANTATIONS. 
N a second  broohure  on  “ My 
Mission  to  Southern  India,” 
dedicated  to  his  brother  plan- 
ters, Mr.  Young  records  the 
impressions  he  received  du- 
ring a week's  visit  to  Ootaea- 
mund,  and  the  cinchona 
plantations  on  Dodabetta  and  at  Nedevuttam,  Mr. 
Young  was  enchanted  with  the  scenery,  whioh  for 
grandeur  and  beauty  are  almost  unsurpassed. 
The  climate,  too,  from  ils  dryness  (not  45 
inches  of  rain  per  annum  as  Mr.  Young  states, 
but  a little  over  60  inohes)  is  exceedingly  pleasant 
and  salubrious,  and  with  the  rioh  soil  is  nil  that 
oould  be  wished  for  oinchona  culture  although  not 
for  a remunerative  yield  of  tea  leaf.  The  eleva- 
tion of  Ootaoamund  is  not,  as  Mr.  Young  states, 
8,000  feet,  but  only  7,000,  exactly  the  height  of  the 
lofty  table  land  of  Ceylon,  •'  Horton  Plains  ’’ 
which  resemble  the  South  of  India  sanitarium  in 
soil  and  general  surroundings,  although  the  Ceylon 
station  gets  at  least  twice  the  rainfall  whioh  falls 
on  the  Plain  of  Ootaoamund.  On  the  oinchona 
plantation  up  the  side  of  Dodabetta,  however,  and 
especially  at  Naduvatam,  there  is  abundance  of 
rain  100  to  150  inches  per  annum  occasionally  at 
the  latter  station.  Mr.  Young  does  not  take  a 
sanguine  view  of  the  success  of  the  mountain  railway, 
whioh  is  in  course  of  construction  from  the  foot  of 
“ the  ghauts  ” to  Coonoor,  6,000  feet  above  sealevel,  to 
be  ultimately  carried  1,000  feet  higher  into  Oota- 
camund.  Mr.  Young  dwells  on  the  paucity  of  goods 
treffio  downwards,  but  this  traffic  will  increase  as  well 
as  that  in  passengers, Ootaoamund  being,  deservedly, 
a favourite  health  reBort,  not  only  by  Europeans 
in  the  Presidency,  but  others  beyond  it.  The 
success  of  this  mountain  railway  will  be  watched 
with  interest  in  other  parts  of  India  and  Ceylon, 
Much  of  it  will  be  on  the  Rigi  principle,  lines  on 
which  principle  we  expect  will  ultimately  enable 
visitors  to  our  island,  tourists  and  residents  to  ascend 
with  ease  to  the  summits  of  Pidurutalagala,  Adam’s 
Peak,  and  others  of  our  Ceylon  mountains.  Mr.  Young 
recommends  for  adoption  in  the  caseof  Nuwara  Eliya 
and  its  neighbourhood,  the  system  which  the 
Madras  Forest  Department  has  carried  out  in 
Ootaoamund  of  planting  large  plots  of  eucalypts, 
especially  blue  gums,  and  Australian  acaoias« 
and  which  are  now  valuable  for  purposes  of 
shelter  as  well  as  for  timber  and  fuel.  The  leaves 
and  small  twigs  of  the  blue  gum  are  also  valu- 
able as  yielding  an  essential  oil  largely  used  in 
medioine  and  on  the  virtues  of  which,  especially 
as  a cure  for  rheumatism,  Mr.  Young  is  quite 
enthusiastic,  Mr.  Jameson  who,  under  Mr.  Lawson, 
is  in  charge  of  the  exquisitely  beautiful  Botanical 
and  Public  Gardens  at  Ootaoamund,  indoctrinated 
Mr.  Young  into  the  method  of  distilling  this  oil. 
From  a recent  visitor  to  Ceylon  from  the  Nilgiria, 
Mr.  Brown,  who  is  employed  on  one  of  Mr. 
Stance's  properties,  we  received  a bottle  of  this 
oil,  “ Oleum  E.  Globulus,”  prepared  by  himself  at 
the  Felixstowe  Laboratory,  Coonoor,  and  we  have 
just  had  presented  to  us,  as  an  infallible  cure  for 
rheumatism  and  other  ailments,  including  diptheria* 
(which  has  been  cured  by  the  inhalation  of  steam 
from  a deooction  of  blue  gum  leaves,)  a phial  of  Tas- 
manian Euoulyptus  oil.  If  all  that  is  said  of 
this  substance  is  true  and  if  the  demand  increases, 
Ceylon  now  possesses  so  many  blue  gums  that 
it  could  well  be  a source  of  manufacture  and  supply. 
As  we  saw  and  greatly  admired  the  well-grown 
trees  of  C.  officinalis  on  Dodabetta  and  the 
succirubras  at  Naduvatam  in  1877,  we  are  not 
surprised  that  Mr.  Young  should  be  struck 
with  the  gigantic  survivors  of  poor  Molvor’s 
first  plantings.  We  are  rather  surprised,  how- 
ever, that  Mr.  Young  should  have  told  Mr.  Law- 
son  he  never  heard  of  cinchonas  being  manured, 
Why,  the  thousands  upon  thousands  grown 
amongst  coffee  in  Ceylon  received  the  full  benefit 
and  profited  by  it,  of  the  manure  applied  to  the 
main  culture.  In  noticing  the  Nilgiri  Plantations 
reports,  too,  for  a quarter  of  a oentury  or  more, 
we  have  oonBtantly  quoted  statements  as  to  the 
wonderful  effects  of  ammoniaoal  manures  in  in- 
creasing the  cinchona  alkaloids,  especially  quinine. 
The  cinohonas  are  simply  no  exception  to  other 
cultivated  plants  whioh  respond  to  the  application 
of  fertilizing  matter,  and  Messrs.  Lawson  and 
Hooper  are  wisely  following  out  the  polioy  which 
poor  Broughton  recommended  in  his  time.  If 
ever  the  cultivation  of  coffee  and  oinchona  revives 
in  Ceylon,  manure  must  be  liberally  applied  to 
obtain  the  best  results.  Here  as  on  the  Nilgiris, 
of  course,  only  the  best  speoies,  and  best  varie- 
ties of  hybrids  will  be  employed : Ledgerianas, 
Officinalis,  with  Magnifolia  and  other  good 
