Dec. 1, 1900. J THE TROPICAL AC4RICULTUR1ST. 429 
repeated manoeuvre. But they leave out of con- 
sideration, that, although they have grown fat 
and sleels upon it in the past, many cinchona 
planters have been ruined by it and their estates 
abandoned or planted up v. iLl'i otlier products and 
though some, who have been able to hxst out, 
are now reaping mighty profits from their ability 
to do so, they are in the minority. Once more 
the move may be effective, but only once and it 
■will accentuate the difficulty they will have to 
deal with afterwards. 
What has been the reply of Java to a steadily 
rising unit ? A decrease in shipments, as against 
the increase v.-hich manufacturers doubtless ex- 
pected. The bark shipments from Java for the 
last nine moiitiis are a million and a half pounds 
short of what they were during the same period 
last year and a million lb. short of what they 
were the year before. These figures in them- 
selves are instructive, for they show that last 
year Java tried its best to respond to a higher 
unit and did put in half a million lb. more, 
(thus enabling the ma,nufactarers to again re- 
duce the unit) only to fall short, all the more 
during the present year. I believe this fact has 
caused some astonishment everywhere, probably 
most of all in Java itself. It is largely due to 
a theory that a comparatively small number of 
large trees per acre would give the same amount of 
bark as, or more bark thiin a number of smaller 
ones. In very many places the thinning out of the 
smaller ones has therefore been quietly pro- 
ceeded with and now that it is the turn of the 
large ones left, they are proving a disappoint- 
ment. Nor is this strange ; for it is not the bark 
on a large tree that is so much thicker and hea- 
vier thati it is on a small one, it is the wood 
inside the bark. This is no doubt one of the 
reasons why oak is grown in coppice, when its 
object is to provide bark for tanning, though 
there are otlier reasons as well. 
But by this, I do not wish it to be inferred that 
there is iiot a lot of bark left in Java : such a state- 
ment could be so easily disproved that there 
would be no object in making it. What 
, I mean to indicate is that there is not the 
large amount of superfluous bark, either on 
the estates or held in stock that was expected. 
If there had been, it would have been rushed in 
and Java planters would have been unable to 
keep control of the market as they are now doing. 
It must not be forgotten that they serve two 
ends in doing so ; they keep up the price of bark 
and they keep up the price of the quinine they 
themselves manufacture. That, no doubt is one 
of the most important factors in the situation, 
that they are no longer quite at the mercy of the 
quinine manufacturers in Europe, and they have 
probably all learnt the lesson that alb. of bark at 
a 2d unit is equal to 3 lb. at a Id unit as regards 
net results on every 4 per cent bark. 
As to India and Ceylon, they are just now 
putting in rather more bark than usual ; but that 
is a flash in the pan, which will not last. Stocks 
of bark are exhausted and the area under cin- 
chona bark has dwindled to an insignificant acre- 
age. Take for instance, the district th it I Vi rite 
from. This was in past time, specially a district for 
cinchona, which with a rich soil and suitable cli- 
mate was at its best. There were about 2,550 acres 
supplying a good deal of bark well known under 
the " Elephant Brand". Of these, there are only 
1,100 acres left and even a great deal of this 
has deteriorated, and has been coppiced. Speaking 
well within the mark, I should say there v/as not 
more than l-3rd of the bai'k in the district that 
there used to be. Any very large amount put into 
the market must therefore, of course, mean 
coppicing or uprooting. And, if this is the case in 
a district that made cinchona its speciality and, 
because of its rich bark and well grown trees. - 
was able to hold Out longest, no further illustra- 
tion is needed, if what has happened in other dis- 
tricts even where cinchona has not died out of 
its own accord. 
As I am one of those whose Cinchona prospects 
at all events have been ruined by the policy of 
the Quinine Manufacturers, I cannot be expected 
to look uijon them with any particular favour. 
Yet, I c mnot blame them for doing the best they 
could for themselves, even while I think they 
were unwise in their way of doing so. It will 
at all events be interesting to know what they 
intend doing in the future. Their wisest policy 
would undoubtedly be to be as generous as they 
can, to reduce their margin of profit to a mini- i 
mum and thus by a good and stable unit to en- 
coui-age the planting of as much cinchona as 
possible in the near future and the cultivation of 
every cinchona tree in existence. It is, of course, 
impossible to tell what stocks of quinine they 
liold and what of bark ; but although these will 
form a larger facior in their calculation, they must > 
put them against a period of, as I have stated, 
five to six years of decreased production and a _ 
steadily increasing demand. It will naturally be ' 
difficult for them to exercise the large-hearted i 
policy I advocate ; yet in their own interests if not :-; 
in the interests of humanity, it is necessary. Any , j 
manoeuvre, tending towards a rapid overthrow of 
the unit from its present position, would decrease 
the amount of cinchona which will otherwise be 
planted out in the near future. Whereas an ex- 
pression of opinion on their part and a desire 
shown to equalise profits as between themselves 
and the growers and to keep the unit up for some 
years to come, would foster schemes of planting. 
It would also prevent the owners of cinchona 
from rushing at their trees and cutting them 
down, so as to have their bark in, while the 
good times last. By this it would -tend to keep 
the supply of bark up during the time the - ' ' 
new openings will require to grow into bearing. ' 
There is, however, another factor to be consi- 
dered by the quinine manufacturers and that , , 
is the deterioration of cinchona generally andj, f 
especially the deterioration of available seed. , 
They may rest assured that a large amount of 
the cinchona planted out recently and a 
larger amount of that about to be planted out 
in the near future, will not grow into anything 
worth barking. And even where good seed can 
be obtained and good plants raised there will not 
be much suitable land available. All this the 
planter knows; but the manufacturer does not 
linow. It would probably be to the interest of 
the manufacturers if they were to send a capable 
man round the Cinchona Districts of the World 
and get a reliable report made for tliem. This, 
they should, in fact, have done a couple of years 
age, or more, when they could and would pro- 
bably as a result have bought up a very large 
acreage at very low prices. That cliance they, 
have allowed to pass, nobody is likely to part 
with cinchona now, excepting at a very high 
figure. But apart from the basis of calculation 
which such a report would furnish them with, 
a l asts, which I feel sure would agree with my 
views as above given, they could probably do a 
good deal to promote planting up of suitable 
land or acquire such land and get it planted 
up for themselves. It may be asked " Que 
diable prit il done dans cette galere?" Why 
should this cinchona planter go and advise the 
quinine manufacturers what to do in their own 
interests, instead of leaving them alone to re- 
duce the production of bark still further by 
promoting a rush of hai'vesting "a tout prix."^ 
He surely, knowing all that he says, he does, 
would hold his bark and come in at the fabulous 
prices that would ensue. 
