t66 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [May I, 1899. 
iiiR to our Hydrocrraphic Engineer, is the premic-r 
of Qneenslanj. Up to the pi-eaent tinio it has not 
been prove! that cocoa beans fi^-own in Northern 
Qaeenslaiifl are forlile, bat trials wl l be made by 
seeds grovA-n at the St^ite Nursery (Kxmerungi) during 
next year. The riiinfall there is on tlie average about 
one imndred inches a year, but nt tilne^, drought 
extends to thirty days. Thic of course, is most un- 
enltable for cocoa phviit. It would secin that there are 
ftt least niue varieties of this plant, from Mexico, 
New Granada, Guiana, A'o. 
But Mexico, as far as cm bj gathered, is the 
cocoa country. Many varieties of things are made 
from the cocoa bean, including spiritnous liijiiors, *c., 
which have been shown at various international exhibi- 
tions. Siminonds tells us : •' When Cortez and the 
Spaniards entered tiio va'it kingdom of Moctezunia they 
found the use of cocoa onl chocolate as a bevergo 
very common. The Kmperor, however, alone drank 
it flavoured with vanilla from agolden cup. Simmonds 
also says " C'oooa or chocohite is without excep- 
tion, of all domestic drink', the most alimentary ; 
and ihe Spaniards esteem it so necessary to the 
health and support of iha body, tlivt it is consi- 
dered the severest punishment to wit'ihold it even 
from criminals— nay, to be unable to procure choco- 
late is deemed the greatest misfortune in life." 
It would seem that coffee-drinkers such as the 
Americans overtake the Spanish cocoa-drinkers, not- 
withstanding wliat Simmonds says. We all esteem 
cocoa as a h»r«v(igp, and the various cocoa raanu- 
faoturor in Europe vie with each other in making 
it np into almost innumerable shapes and forms. 
Thst the pods can be grown in Queensland h.as 
been proved, but will their production bo of econo- 
mical value ? Certainly there is no reason why every 
pi, inter or farmer in North Queensland should not 
have a few trees in his garden or orchard. It is 
probable that some seed will be available at Kamerunga 
next year. One thing has been aKcertained at that 
nursery about 'J'heohromu Cocoa. It should be left 
nnpruued. Trees tliat hnve been piuned have not, 
np to the present, borne fruit, whatever they may 
do hereafter. The overseer thought some of his plants 
looked unsightly, and cut away a quanlity of branches. 
The resuU was that an extraordinary number of 
branches sprang out from the primary branches 
and stem, and have yielded no fruit, nor do they seem 
likely to do £0 ; so, perhaps, it would as well to allow 
Nature to have her own way in Queensland and pro- 
bably experience will teach. 
It would be, o£ course, little short of folly for 
pe'-sons to go in expressly for cocoa-growing at the 
present stage. The Messrs De Moleyn will demon- 
Btr..ts, probably, which is the best part for the cul- 
tivation of Ibis plant in North Queensland. Indivi- 
duals may well await the result of their trial. It 
is probable that the area of land between the John- 
stone and Mulgrave Rivers, which has the largest 
rainfallinthe colony, will be most suitable for the trial. 
It is understood that the Sandeman Syndicate Com- 
pany, as the Messrs. Do Moleyn, are doing their best 
ja this strip.— From Q. A. Journal for February. 
BARK AND QUININE. 
Daring the past five weeks, fully one-and-a-half 
million oances of quinine have been bougiit and 
,so'd in London. Five or isix buyers have been 
concerned in the speculation, and they have 
bought and sold "spot;" and "forward" stuff. 
May-June delivery has been the favourite, but 
even November-December has been bourjht at 
Is 4Jd per ounce. Tiiese half-dozen speculators 
set themselves against the wisdom of aU the 
sellers when they estimate that quinine is bound 
to be dearer at the end of tiie year than it is now. 
It is admitted all round that they are well advised, 
and the advice in some cases hiis been so ex- 
cellent that some after making their bit have 
q,uietly rekired. Something like £250 profit a day 
has been made during tlie patt month by sellers' ; 
what buyeis will niaki' remains lo be f-een. We 
have etnleavonred to make it quite cl'Sar in our 
market reports that tlie quinine boom is tictitiuuK 
in its scope. Two (>ermiin bruiuU of quinine 
aione have been greatly involved in the boom, 
SpeoulatoiK liave a fancy for lliese— wiiy ihey 
cannot tell; but since so much cf llie "<iuifiine" 
exists on paper only, on,T is tis goo I as anotlier 
for speculative purposes, provideii tlie e|»ecnlnti>r« 
a'.;ree to reeognira specilie arlicle^' It is interestinji 
to note tlie immediate effects of the ci>e"ulatioii 
upon production. In tlicfiist place, there i-i no doubt 
whatever that Jhe tlernian makers have bufn buy- 
ing every .scrap of liark they can lay their liiuidH 
on, and they want it urgently, which lue^iiis 
that thi;y have orders for <{uinine to fill. 
I'rofe-s.seilly they do not sup;dy wpeculatorn, and 
actually speculation siiniulates production. Tli^t 
seems umlenialile. l}ut how much stimulu!* ? The 
quinine landed in London last niontli ninounted 
to 112, 176 oz, .against speculative sales of over a 
million, some of which were " forward." The 
January- February importations and stocks at tlie 
end of February) of qui niue sulphate for tlicliist 
live years are as follows in lb. : — 
1899 1898 1897 * 1896 1893 
Imports 15,4("2 10,811 i.S.W 5,293 •2,75(t 
.Stocks 105,700 87,002 12D,6+8 163.<.»0;j 200,483 
These figures show that there is ennngli stock 
in London to meet the transactions of wpecula- 
tors, which, though totalling a niillion and a half 
ounces, do not leave much in excess of halt a 
million to be provided. A good deal of old 
quinine has changed hands. V.-irions sugges- 
tions are put forward to strengthen the |>osi. 
tion, such as the statement that America will 
be buying soon ; America is always buying, and 
couhl not allor<l to do otherwise seeing that 
she is tliL' largest and siea/liest consumer. The 
substantial justilic-ation of a rise in quinine is the 
fall in baric imports, which are very low, the 
Boaril of Traile figures for the past three years 
being :— 
1S99 1898 1897 
Imported ..4,186 10,493 2,984 cwt. 
Exported ..4,754 2,.503 799 ,, 
Tliese export figures substantiate our statement 
regariling exceptional German i)urchsses this year, 
which have been as four to one by our other 
foreign buyers. — Cliemkt and Druggisl, March 11. 
Forestry, Rainfall and Cultivation.— On» 
of the most sensible Iteports on this subject we 
have read far a long time is by Mr. Horner and 
addressed to iMr. Gift'ard, Chairman of the Hawaiian 
Planters' Association Forestry Committee, con- 
tained in the local monthly periodical. We 
must reproduce it in full in the Tropical Agri- 
culturist ; but meantime we may mention that 
Mr. Horner is sound in saying that rains pro- 
duce forests rathe" than forests the rains or even 
the increasing of rainfall. Forests conserve mois- 
ture and springs are the result, and forests are 
an undoubted blessing to man. Worms, we are 
told, are the great enemies of forest trees in 
Hawaii : and hundreds of acres of koa forest have 
been killed out by them in 10 or 12 years. 
Fire is very destructive. In selling laud for coffee 
culture in Hawaii, the Government reserve a strip 
of forest 150 to 200 feet wide to the windward 
of every 50 or 100 acres lot of land for cultiva- 
tion. Land for new forests is proposed to be 
taken up to the extent of 50,000 acres. 
