634  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST.  [April  i,  1893. 
.developed  into  young  plants.  In  the  Peninsula 
and  Rhio  the  plants  are  never  grown  from  cuttings, 
and  indeed  I never  found  them  to  strike  well. 
Seedlings. 
The  plants  when  about  nine  months  old  and  a 
foot  tall  are  removed  from  the  nurseries  and  planted 
out  in  the  future  plantation.  Small  square  holes  are 
dug  in  the  ground  about  12  feet  apart,  and  the  plants 
put  in  so  that  the  top  leaves  are  on  a level  with  the 
top  of  the  hole,  and  a piece  of  fern  is  laid  on  the 
top  to  shade  the  little  plant.  This  prevents  any 
damage  from  a too  sudden  change  from  the  shaded 
seed  bed  to  the  hot  open  field.  The  trees  grow  very 
rapidly,  sometimes  as  much  as  a foot  a month,  and 
in  a year,  or  better  still  a year  and-a-half,  the  first 
cutting  takes  place. 
The  plants  are  never  manured  at  all,  but  in  some 
plantations  the  used  leaves  are  thrown  back  upon 
the  soil  and  serve  as  manure.  Manuring  properly 
would  probably  make  a great  improvement  in  the 
ield,  as  the  strain  on  the  plant  from  cutting  so 
eavily  must  be  very  great. 
The  soil  that  seems  to  suit  the  plant  best  is  rather 
sandy  and  quite  [dry,  with  full  exposure  to  the  sun. 
Care  must  be  taken  that  water  cannot  accumulate  at 
the  roots  in  anyway,  which  is  most  injurious  to  the 
plant.  It  is,  therefore,  usual  to  select  a hillside  for 
the  cultivation  so  that  the  water  may  escape  as 
quickly  as  possible  after  rain. 
The  common  cultivator  takes  no  pains  to  keep  his 
plantation  free  from  weeds  and  grass,  and  under  scrubs 
are  allowed  to  grow  up  so  as  often  to  quite  conceal 
the  bushes.  It  is  only  cleared  shortly  before  cut- 
ting for  convenience  of  the  gatherers.  In  the  better 
plantations  the  ground  beneath  the  bushes  is  kept 
absolutely  clean  of  weeds.  The  advantages  of  this 
are  obvious,  but  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  in  a hot  and  dry  climate  the  rootlets  of 
the  plants  are  very  liable  to  suffer  from  sun  heat 
on  the  soil,  if  they  are  not  shaded  in  any  wTay. 
For  this  reason  it  is  advisable  to  plant  the  seedlings 
close  enough  for  their  branches  to  touch  each  other 
when  adult,  and  so  throw  shade  over  the  whole 
ground. 
It  often  happens  that  other  plants  get  mixed  in 
among  the  seedlings  in  the  nursery  bed,  and  there 
is  among  them  especially  a Rubiaceous  plant  (Chasalia 
curvijlora),  which  is  very  common,  and  of  which 
seedlings  are  liable  to  be  mistaken  for  gambir  plants. 
There  is,  however,  an  easy  test  for  the  true  plant, 
apart  from  the  taste  of  the  leaf,  which  is  unmistake- 
able.  Take  a leaf  of  the  suspected  plant  and  rub 
it  to  pulp  between  the  finger  and  thumb,  when  if  it 
is  gambir  a white  sticky  liquid  will  presently  exude 
and  form  a lather. 
Enemies. 
The  plant  is  remarkably  free  from  the  attacks  of 
insects  and  other  pests.  The  deer  do  a small  amount 
of  damage  by  nibbling  the  young  shoots,  and  it  is 
due  to  their  constantly  visiting  the  fields  at  dusk  and 
early  dawn  that  the  tiger  is  so  frequently  seen  in 
or  near  the  gambir  plantations  and  not  rarely  attacks 
and  kills  the  coolies  at  their  work  at  these  times. 
The  only  insect  I have  observed  on  the  plant  is 
the  larva  of  the  common  Atlas-moth  ( Attacus  Atlas), 
a very  destructive  insect  on  account  of  the  amount 
of  foliage  it  devours.  It  is  rarely  found  on  the  gambir, 
however,  and  usually  seems  to  have  attacked  the 
tree  after  devouring  all  the  leaves  of  some  other 
plant  upon  which  the  eggs  were  originally  laid,  and 
finding  itself  then  pressed  for  food. 
Chopping. 
Although  some  cultivators  take  the  first  crop  as 
early  as  six  months  after  planting,  it  is  much  better 
to  wait  for  a year  and  a half  before  taking  the  first 
crop.  Many  planters  crop  at  the  end  of  the  first 
year  without  doing  any  apparent  damage  to  the 
plant,  but  the  crop  taken  then  is  very  small,  and 
it  is  much  better  to  let  the  plant  get  to  its  full 
strength  before  cutting. 
The  small  cultivator  in  Singapore  crops  three  times 
in  two  years,  but  then  crops  very  heavily.  The 
more  careful  planter  takes  a smaller  crop  every  four 
months.  As  there  are  practically  no  seasons  in 
Singapore,  the  time  of  the  year  when  the  crop  is 
taken  is  of  no  importance,  so  long  as  it  is  not  taken 
too  soon  after  the  last  crop. 
In  extensive  cultivations  it  is  generally  so  arranged 
that  different  portions  can  be  cropped  in  rotation, 
by  which  means  a comparatively  small  boiling  plant 
can  be  kept  regularly  at  work  all  the  year  round, 
instead  of  having  a press  of  work  at  one  time  and 
nothing  to  do  at  another.  For  this  reason  cropping 
on  a small  scale  every  four  months  is  most  suitable 
for  large  estates. 
In  the  small  cultivations  pepper  is  usually  cultivated 
with  the  gambir,  the  same  apparatus  doing  for  both, 
partially.  In  this  case  the  two  crops  are  allowed  to 
alternate,  so  that  while  the  pepper  is  growing  the 
gambir  is  being  cropped  aud  boiled. 
With  ordinary  care  a plantation  will  last  for  from 
13  to  20  years,  but,  as  a rule,  after  15  years  it  is 
nearly  worn  out.  With  really  careful  cultivation  it 
will  last  from  25  to  30  years.  It  is  at  its  best  in 
about  8 years  after  planting. 
The  ordinary  Chinese  coolie  crops  the  gambir  with 
a curious  little  knife,  the  blade  of  which  is  curved 
and  broad,  and  about  three  inches  long.  With  the 
aid  of  this  he  breaks  rather  than  cuts  off  the  branches 
of  the  plant. 
The  Malay,  on  the  other  hand,  plucks  the  leaves, 
saying  that  the  Chinese  cut  the  tree  to  death,  but 
on  enquiry  I found  that  under  their  system  the 
bushes  are  decidedly  less  proliferous  and  live  shorter 
lives.  At  the  same  time  there  can  be  no  question 
but  that  the  Chinese  do  in  many  cases  over-cut  the 
plants,  and  treat  them  very  roughly.  This  is  es- 
pecially the  case  in  small  cultivation  where,  unless 
a large  quantity  is  cut,  the  amount  of  gambir  made 
is  too  small  to  bring  a sufficient  amount  of  profit. 
It  is  probable  that  the  cutting  of  the  branches 
has  the  advantage  over  mere  plucking  of  the  leaves, 
in  that  it  keeps  down  the  excessive  development  of 
wood,  and,  in  fact,  takes  the  place  of  pruning.  Like 
all  species  of  the  genus  Uncaria  the  plant  has  a 
tendency  to  make  wood  very  rapidly  at  the  expense 
of  the  leaves,  and  this  requires  to  be  kept  back, 
especially  as  the  twigs  produce  but  little  gambir, 
and  are  to  all  intents  useless  in  the  production  of 
the  drug. 
The  Chinese  on  cutting  the  branches  put  them 
into  large  rattan  baskets  about  three  feet  tall  and 
carry  them  to  the  gambir  shed.  Here  they  are 
thrown  into  a trough  and  the  bigger  sticks  removed. 
The  rest — leaves,  twigs,  flowers  and  fruit— are  all 
thrown  into  the  boiling  pan. 
The  bushes  recover  their  mutilation  with  surprising 
rapidity,  and  young  shoots  are  put  out  again  very  soon. 
In  cutting  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  old, 
dark  green,  firm  leaves  only  produce  the  drug,  the 
young  leaves  and  buds  little  or  none,  at  the  same 
time  the  terminal  shoots  must  be  cut  at  least  from 
time  to  time  to  keep  the  bushes  at  a convenient 
height  (usually  about  four  feet  tall)  for  gathering. 
Whether  it  is  preferable  to  cut  the  bushes  com- 
paratively lightly  so  that  too  great  a strain  is  not 
put  upon  the  plant,  by  which  means  the  plantation 
might  be  made  to  last  in  good  producing  order  for 
a great  number  of  years,  or  whether  to  cut  heavily 
(as  the  Chinese  and  Malays  often  do)  and  work 
out  the  trees  in  six  or  eight  years,  and  then  re- 
plant, will  depend  on  the  circumstances  of  the 
planter. 
Gambir  grows  so  rapidly  that  it  is  probable  that 
the  latter  plan  may  pay  best  in  many  cases. 
(To  he  continued.) 
Tea. — OwiDg  to  the  unsatisfactory  quality  of  the 
tea  tendered  last  month  for  the  Commissariat  De- 
partment, fresh  tenders  were  again  called  for.  These 
were  opened  last  Saturday  by  a Committee  of 
Officers  with  the  result  that  the  tender  of  Messrs. 
Octavius  Steel  and  Co.,  of  Calcutta,  through  their 
local  Agents,  Messrs.  Parry  and  Co.,  was  accepted. 
The  tender  is  for  a supply  of  122,000  lb.  of  tea.— AT. 
Mail. 
