September i, iSgi.] THE TROPICAL AQRICULTURtST. 
171 
The eSect of the suooeseful cultivatiou of the Cii « 
chou-i tree ia Ihe Eist on ti'o wholesale prioea of l)oili 
baik Bucl its derivitivr, sulphate </£ quiuiue, has been 
truly remarkable, both ia this coar^try and thoUoiiti- 
iieat. Bark, which in 1880 realised seven shilliags per 
pound, can at this date be purchased in Loadcn for 
fourpence-halfpemiy per pound, and quinine, whic 1 then 
was sold tor twelve shillings per ounce, can now be 
obtained from the mo?fc noted manufacturer for one 
shilling and fivepsnce per ounce, while the German 
article is priced at from tenpenco to one shilling per 
ounce. 
Taking the present normal consumption of the world 
at seven million onnces of quinine per aunnm— a figure 
which is accepted by the best authorities— the fall since 
1880 in the value of tlie drug annually consumed is not 
less thaa 3£ millions sterling at wholesale prices. 
The trade in bark with South America has been prac- 
tioUly destroyed, as it ia no longer profitable to export 
it, and the wholesale prices obtainable in Baropean 
markets for bark are so discouraging to planters, and 
the glut is so great, that the trees are being largely 
uprooted and replaced witli tea shrubs. 
The estimated number of Ciuchona trees iuOeyloa 
was, in 1882, 90 millions ; ii 18SG, TOmiliions: in 18S8; 
36 millions; and in 1890, 19 millions. 
This glut and these low wholesale prices are not 
due t3 a supply in excess of the needs of the world, 
but mainly to the extraordinary fact that the retiilers 
of the driig li.ivo generally declined to follow the 
wholesale market, and liaTo practically succeeded, so 
far ae the great mass of the public is conocrued, in 
maintaining retail prices at an alcogetber artiaoial, and 
to many a prohibitory level. The price commonly put 
upon Howard'd Qainine by retail druggists in various 
parts of London varies from Os. to 8s. per ounce, wiieo 
delivered in the condition in which it is received from 
the manufacturer ; that is to say, without being 
compounded. In country districts it is often far more 
expensive, and to a great extent beyond the reach of 
the poor. 
It is remarkable that these exorbitant prices are 
maintained notwithstanding the fact that a number of 
ihe co-operative stores retail quinine at present at 
per ounce, even then mitking a gross profit of over 40 
percent, on the wholesale price ot Is. 5d._per ounce. 
Present circumstances lend addilionsl importance to 
these facts from the point of viesv of the public io- 
teiest. Quinine is a drug whiih ia almo-t nniver;ally 
prescribed by metioal men at seme stage or other of 
every attack of iiifluenzi, anl there is very good firouud 
fur considering it to be cue of the very bestprophy. 
lactics which can be ttken during the prevalence of 
the epidemic. It is, therefore, the more desirable that 
the public should obtain the full benefit of the cheap- 
ness of quinine in the wholesale market. This end 
can only be attained by combined action on the part 
of the planters and importtrs of CinchoDa bark, as 
well as manufacturers of quinine, with a view to the 
removal of any restriotioua which may exist on the 
retail sale of the drug in whatever form it may be re- 
quired. 
The Government of Madras, in furtherance of the 
policy which originally led to Ihe creation of their 
plantations of cinchona in India, have recently directed 
their revenue offloers to keep a small stock of quinine 
for sale to the people, iu order that the value of the 
drug may become known to them, and that a demand 
for It may bo encouraged. This is a step entirely iu the 
right direction. There are millions of people iu Asia 
who have never heard ot qumiue, and who are totally 
unacquainted with its properties. Those however, who 
from contact with Europeans or otherwise have had 
experience of it, value it most highly. Mr. Colquhoun. 
the well-known traveller, in his work " Across Ohryse," 
writes: (J iiuiue is the beet present any traveller in 
Yunnan can carry," and mentions also that it is con- 
sidered to bo a cure for the craving which those 
accustomed to opium-smoking Buffer from. 
It would be uufotunato if the existing want of 
harmony between the wholesale and the retail machi- 
nery of distributiou which has been described should 
U(v<il to a serious falling off iu the caUivaUou of ciu- 
chona, and consequent scarcity of a valuable remedy, 
the use of which might obviously be extended iu many 
countries with benefit to 'he inhabitants.— A'conoOT/s?, 
. 
BARK AND DRUG REPORT. 
(From the Chemist and Druggist.) 
London, July 9fch. 
Annatto.— Two hundred and fourteen baa;.s of seed were 
offered at the sales today, but ouly 27 bjgs br.ght, ai.d 
cleau Ceylon sold at )Jrl, while the test, fair to liue 
bright, is held at Ijd to 2id, a bid o£ 2d for the best 
havin» been refused. 
CiNNAMON.— Thirty-eight bales Ceylon partly sold at 
7d to 9i. 
EucALYPTirs-iiHAVES. — A parcel of very ordinary and old 
E. Globulus leaves could not find a purcliiiser. 
EssKNTiAL Oils.— Citronella uila : There was an at- 
tempt to 8< ll 20 cases by one broker. He wus prepared 
to take g'l, but ocUd not get it. Nulmeg Oil : A new 
parcel of this oil sold at 3d. There were also offers of 
bay, bergamot, cinnamon, cinnamon-leaf, and Japanese 
peppermint oil, but noue sold. . 
^ _ ' " 
NEW GUINEA EXPLORERS. 
Lying in tho harbour ot Singapore at the present 
moment is a small schooner wh' se only outward 
characteristic is that of a stump foremast and 
coupb) of deck houses above the or Unary size. Yet 
the " Envy" is no ordinary craft nor the Capta'n ot 
her to be summari'y disimssed from notico. .Since 
the yeir 1874 tias Oaptain Str.ichan devoli dthe greater 
part ot bis lime to New Guinea, and of that little 
explored mass of land he knows probably more than 
aoy other man living. Part of the south-east is 
named after him and his explora'ioos have extended 
for miles and miles of river. They will be found 
written in an interestiog book compiled by the 
Oap'ain while at home in 1888, which is better 
known d^wn in Austialia than in these par's. Aa 
the leader of the "Age" expedition, a profuse writer 
of New Guinea and other matters Captain Straohau 
has made for himself a name among tue Australians 
as a sturdy iudepaudent man, with unbouuded deter- 
mination to do tnorou.ffhly whatever te turns his hand 
to. L'ke most independent men, he has made en3mies aa 
well as friends, and muny and bitter tbiogs have been 
said against the explorer, but he has triumphantly 
vindicited himself from calumnies and is as ready as 
ever to attack what he deems the wrong. 
The " Buvy " coasts rouLd New Guinea and the ad« 
jacent islands, through uncharted seas and in the midst 
of the treacherous natives, of whom her Captain says, 
althongh he has succeeded io establishing the most 
cordial relations with them, that they are emphatically 
not to be trusted. It is not to be wondered at, therefore 
that the armament of the vessel is a gojd one, in- 
cluding a number of swivel guns mounted on the 
bulwarks. The "Envy" is but a small boat, but she 
is eminently a serviceable craft and her Captain has 
every confidence in her. She has just lately come up 
from New Guinea and will stay here a short time for 
repairs, after which the Captain will resume his wan- 
derings, going in the next intance to Melbourne " to 
interview the Victorian Government in connection with 
a scheme for the advancement of the interests of the 
commonwealth of Australia in Polynesia." 
Mrs. Strachan, who is accompanying her husband, 
takes a great delight in natural history and has had 
experiences that fall to the lot of few ladieSi 
The Brisbane Boomeranc/, under the heading " A 
Queen of the Sea " tells the kind of woman she is: — 
" Of medium hr ight, a slight but graceful figure, 
Mrs. Stracbau possesses in a marked degree tho 
oval face and regular features of the daughters of 
Tasmania, her native laud, in which her progenitors 
yet bear a well-known name. Well eduoited, she 
is nj meau naturalist, couohologist, aud lingui.st, 
is now preparing for publication a book of her travels 
and adventures, aud, what has more than once 
stood her in good stead, almost as unerring in aim 
with rifle and revolver as a crack shot among the 
backwoodsmen of America. As is well known in 
mariuo, morcautilej and otber circles, Captaii^ 
