Nov. 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 
305 
CINCHONA CULTIVATION IN 
SOUTH INDIA. 
We take the following extracts, on practical 
cultivation from the annual administration report 
on the Uovernmeut cinchona department, Nilgiris 
for the year 1899-1900. 
The total expendiiure on factory account amounted 
to Bl,17,092 -13—11 under the following principal 
Purchaseof 207,2581b. bark .. .. 67,069 9 8 
,, of new machinery 4,211 i4 5 
Cost of chemicals and cost of manu- 
facturing and distributing alkaloids 45,811 5 10 
Total . . 117,092 13 11 
General Condition— (a^ Dot^afieito.— Notwithstand- 
ing the exceptional dryness of the season this estate 
continues to look well. With the exception of a few 
Eatches where tha- soil is inferior, the older trees look 
ealthy and vigorous, and the trees on the small plots 
of new land planted in 1897 and 1898 have made very 
good growth. Further experience confirms the opinion 
expressed in the last Administration Eeport that the 
local seed has not deteriorated, for the seedlings raised 
from seed taken from the estate trees and planted in 
new land in 1898 have come on quite as well as those 
raised from seed received from Jamaica. The 
estate was well cultivated during the year. In addi- 
tion to the ordinary weeding and forking, 14,328 reno- 
vation pits were made and 3,380 yards of deep drains 
were dug in plots which required drainage. A damp 
sab-soil is well known to be a fruitful source of injury 
to cinchona and the beneficial effect of the deep drains 
was well marked ; 113-35 acres of the estate were pruned 
and the yield of dry bark from this operation was 
71,640 lb. or 632 lb. per acre. The trees had not been 
pruned for many years and the yield of bark from the 
thicker branches and from extra stems was conse 
quently high. It is a well known fact that cinchona 
trees, whose stems are shaded from the direct rays of 
the sun, yield a higher percentage of alkaloid in their 
bark than trees whose stems are freely exposed ; and 
in order to prove whether it will pay to protect the 
stems of old trees, a plot of 6 acres in an exposed 
position was selected and the .stems of the trees were 
closely covered with grass. The trees being large, the 
cost of the work was high, amounting, as it aid, to 
K58-2-10 per acre ; but the effect of the grassing on the 
appearence of the trees was most beneficial. The bark 
will be analysed when the trees have been under the 
protection of the covering for two years, and it will 
then be possible to show whether this mode of increas- 
ing the alkaloidal value of the bark is profitable or not. 
An increased yield of 941 units, when the value of the 
unit is one anna, would cover the cost of an annual 
covering of grass, but as the covering will probably last 
for several years, and as the quantity of bark on each 
acre is at least 4.000 lb., a very small increase in the 
richness of the bark would repay the cost of the work. 
An increased yield of snlphate of quinine in the bark 
of 50 per cent, would give 2,000 units more per acre 
and an increase of 25 per cent, would give 1,000 units 
per acre. 
The total expenditure on Dodabetta for the year 
was R15,211-10-5 or R47 1-8 per acre ; the crop obtained 
was 80,248 lb. and the cost of each pound of bark was 
therefore B3-0-39- 
(b) Nedivattai/i. — Although this estate suffered more 
from the drought than Dodabetta, still the amount of 
actual damage done by the failure of the rains was not 
large. "When it is noted that out of the 151 days from 
the 1st of November to the 31st March there were only 
5 days on which rain fell, and when it is known that 
the cinchona tree thrives best in a climate where the 
rainfall is well distributed throughout the year, it is 
remarkable that the old and young trees on the 
Nedivattaca eatfite withstood the drought das well as 
,89 
they did. The coppice plots showed no signs of being 
affected by the drought, but many ot the oldest trees 
as well as younger trees standing on old ground with a 
south-west exposure suffered from the want of moisture 
and lost a good deal of their foliage. Dying trees to 
the number of 6,837 were cut down and yielded 33,488 
lb. of bark. The estate was weeded as usual ^and was 
well dug before the dry weather ; 30,500 renovation 
pits were made in plots 2S and 10 and were filled in 
with weeds ; 33,500 eucalyptus plants were put out in 
plots 22, 27 and 32 and vacancies in the preceding 
year's fuel plantings were supplied. A large number 
of these plants, however, succumbed to the drought. 
The total expenditure on the estate was E14,i89-14-1 
or R45-0-10 per acre. The crop obtained was 33,488 lb. 
and the cost of each pound of bark was therefore 
As.6-9-55. 
( c) Hoolcer. — The old portion of this estate which 
consists of 145'33 acres of cinchona, 48'34 acres of fuel 
trees and 9 93 acres lying fallow, cannot be said to be 
in a satisfactory condition. It was found necessary 
during the year to coppice 10,588 sickly and dying trees 
whi^h yielded 26,5431b. of dry bark, and it is to be feared 
that this process of the elimination of the unfit will 
have to be repeated year by year until the old land is 
entirely cleared. In the Administration Report for 
1896-97 it was pointed out that there were only 10'59 
acres growing a first crop of cinchona, while the re- 
mainitig area was growing a second crop. The trees 
on the iO'59 acres are looking well and their growth on 
the whole is very good, but the second planting on old 
land has never been satisfactory. This land, which 
was originally rather poor grass land with a bad expo- 
sure, has now been under cinchona for 31 to 34 years 
and it is not surprising that under these conditions the 
trees fail to attain their maximum growth The total 
expenditure on the old Hooker estate was 114,927-2-7, or 
R25-7-3 per acre, and the cost of the crop of bark was 
As. 2-11-64. 
The No. 1 extension of SO acres of forest land whioh 
was planted in the southwest monsoon of 1898 has 
come on very well. The young plants suffered very 
little from the drought and their growth has benn 
most satisfactory. The plants were only from 3 to 4 
inches high when they were put out. Many of them 
are new over 6 feet high, and the tallest of 50 plants 
that have been selected for quarterly measurements 
was 6 feet 10 inches at the end of the year. A com- 
parison of the growth of these plants with the measure- 
ments of plants recorded by the late Mr. Mclvorin the 
early days of the cinchona enterprise is of particular 
interest as it shows that under favourable conditions the 
pi-esent growth of cinchona plants raised from local seed 
aud from seed received from Jamaica is quite as 
vigorous as was the case with the plants and saed 
received direct from South America. 
The No. 2 extension ot 80 acres was planted during 
the year, and although the south-west monsoon was a 
failure the plants have grown well and promise to do 
as well as, if not better than, those on the No. 1 ex- 
tension. 
A commencement was made with the felling and 
nurseries for the No. 3 extension which will be planted 
during 1900-1901. 
IV — Manure — On the Dodabetta estat 17-9 acre* 
were manured with cattle and stable manure and 41"73 
acres were treated with lime at the rate of 7^. cwts. 
per acre. The lime was spread over the ground and 
lightly forked in at a total cost per acre of R18-4-5, 
The effect on the trees was decidedly beneficial. An 
experiment was made on i acre with a mixture of fish, 
superphosphate, Thomas' phosphate, sulphate of iron 
and potash. The total cost of the manure and its 
application was Ri85-6-4. The effect so far has been 
a very marked improvement in the appearance and 
growth of the trees. The bark will be analysed after 
the manure has been down for two years. The plots 
referred to in the last Administration Report were 
inter-coppiced with the result that the trees manured 
with the mixture- of bonemeal, white castor poonao, 
nitrate of soda and nitrate of potash gave 4-75 p^f 
