February i, 1892.! THE TROHCAL AGRfCULTURIST. 
5^5 
SINGULAR EFFECT OF CINCHONA. 
The Journal de Pharmacic of May, 1819, gives the 
following account of the singular elfect of einchoua 
bark :— A French merchant, called M, Delpech, who 
poBsessed a rich house at La Gaayra, the port of 
Caraccas, had ston d up in 1806 a very considerable 
quantity of cinchona newly collected. This bark 
filled several apartments upon the ground floor. There 
prevailed at that time in Caraccas a fever ot a very 
malignant type. M. Delpech had occasion to receive 
several travellers, and to entertain them with the 
usual American hospitality. The apartments destined 
for visitors being filled, and the number of his guests 
iucroasingf, he was under the necessity of putting 
several of them in the rooms occupied by the cinchona. 
!Each of them oonlained from eight to ten thousand 
pounds of that bark. The heat was much greater in 
these rooms than anywhere else in the house, in con- 
sequence of the fermentation of the bark, which made 
thorn very disagreeable. However, several beds were put 
into them, one of which was occupied by a traveller 
ill of a malignant fever. After the first day, he found 
himself much better, though he had taken no medicine; 
but he was surrounded with an atmosphere of cinchona, 
which appeared very agreeable to him. lu a few days 
he felt himself quite recovered, without aay treatment 
whatever. This unexpected success led M. Delpech to 
make some other trials. Several persons, ill oE fever, 
were placed successively in bis cinchona depot, and they 
were all speedily cured, simply by the effluvia of the 
bark. 
In the sauie place with the cinchona, he kept a bale 
of coffee, carefully selected for his own use; and likewise 
eome large bottles of common French brandy. They re- 
maiced for bomo months in tte midst of the bark with- 
out being touched. At last, M. Delpech, when visiting 
his depot, observed one ot the krge bottles uncorked. He 
Buspected at first the fidelity of a servant, and deter- 
mined to examine the quality of the brandy. W at 
was his astonishment to find it infinitely superior to 
what it had been. A slightly aromatic taste added 
to its strength, and tendered it mora tonic and more 
agreeable. He uncorked the other bottles, which had 
undergone no alteration, but which, by being placed 
in the same circumstances, soon acquired all the 
good qualities of the first bottle. Curious to know 
if the coffee had likewise changed its properties, he 
opened the bale, and roasted a portion of it. Its 
smell and taste were no longer the same. It was 
more bitter, and left in the mouth a taste similar 
to that of the infusion of bark. 
We are not prepared to believe this story in its 
entirety, though os regards the first part of it, it 
is more than likely that the eick man swallowed a 
great deal of dust and minute particles of the bark 
that were floatiog in the air. If only cinchona could 
be found of advantage for maturing liquor, a new 
impetus might be given to the trade. It is possibly 
needless for us to point out in this connection that 
cinchona bark is used largely in the manufacture of 
lager beer, taking the place of hops. — Madras Times, 
Dec: 3lBt. 
QUEENSLAND. 
[The following letter in the Louisiana Plante'' 
gives the best account we have seen ot the position 
of the sugar industry in Queensland, conducted now 
with European labour.— Ed. T. A,] 
Maokay, September 13th, 1891. 
Editor Louisiana Plantei : Few mishaps amongst 
the sugar machinery in this district, aod none of 
a serious nature, have ooouired to check the 
Bteadv progress of ctushing operations. The weather 
for the last few weeks has been uniformly fine, 
too much so, indeed, that a little moisture is now 
required to stimulate the growing crops, which aro 
beginning to droop under the long spell of bud- 
Bhine aod light breeges. The crop now being 
barveatecl is somewhat disappointinQ, the Iftto wiBtw 
1^ 
having been an unsatisfactory one and the yield of 
the fields turning out to be more and more below 
the expected output as work progresses. The dif- 
ference will, ot couree, be the merest drop in the 
bucket, but to us it is none the less annoying, 
even though it fails to appreciably afftot the 
world's output. 
European labor is plentiful enough this season, 
and wages are not very high. The ordinary mill 
hand gets from $5 to |20 a month and his keep, 
while the olarifier, boilers and other hands receive 
a rate from ^5 to $10 higher. When wages in the 
mill alone add to the cost of making a ton of sugar 
by 2 per cent. ($5), we consider more economy or 
a greater output is necessary. 
The Email mills aro voted a failure, and in this 
district we have only two working this season, 
which will make much under 500 tons of sugar, 
or 1,120,000 pounds. Five mills will make between 
500 or lOOO tons, and six 1000 tons and upward. 
The factory at Homobush, the property of the 
Colonial Sugar Befining Company, making about 
13,410,000 pounds this last season, has made 
cocsiderable advance in procuring farmers to grow 
cane on the company's land, and now there are 
twenty-three men settled on 1000 acres of land, 
while small freeholders of neighboring lands 
are planting cane under five years' agreement. 
The mill pays from 13 shillings to to 14 
shillings a ton for all oanes landed on tram- 
way trucks, which are run into the field. 
The price seems a high one, and yet it is being paid 
to farmers everywhere. In fact, the European will 
not grov; oane for less, as near the tropics as this, at 
any ratef 
Our millers are all green with envy at the 
handsome bounties their Louisiana friends are 
getting for their sugar from the U. S. A, Gov- 
ernment. Aooording to the figures published here 
the amount received is over £9 a ton, a figure 
which to UB would mean colossal fortunes in a 
very few years. The little Queensland industry 
has to fight the world, and is practically un- 
protected, as it makes more than is required for 
its own consumption. The market of London 
is open to the world, while those of the other 
colonies in Australia are protected by different 
amounts up to £5 a ton. The values of our sugars 
on the local wharf may be said to range from 
£10 10s for best whites and i;i3 10s for bright 
yellows downward. Very low grade sugars are 
practically without value here, and usually go to 
London. The prices being so low the latter place is 
also the destination of a good deal of the yellows 
this year, where prices up to £17 a ton are ex- 
pected to be obtained. The Colonial Sugar Refinery 
Company, referred to above, is purchasing or making 
over 23,600 tons of the colony's output of 64,000 
tons for the purpose of refining, and pays £11 log 
without deductions for 88 per cent sugar on tha 
local wharf. 
Those selling to this company are probably getting 
the best values for their sugars, but it will be readily 
understood that at such a figure the margin ot profit 
is wofully small. 
I think I mentioned in a previous letter that 
an experiment was contemplated by some of the 
large estate owners in settling Italian farmers 
on their lands as cane growers. The matter has 
been discussed in Parliament, and it appears, 
that some 800 men and women have been en- 
E?iged in Piedmont and are now probably on 
their way out. These families are und«r agree- 
ment to work for ^ month and keep lot twa 
veara, but ^ special clause is inserted by which, 
1 employer agrees to sell lands on long teius 
I 
