May 2, 1892.] THe: TRO^lCAt. AdRlCULTUftlSt. 
83? 
QUININE AND CINCHONA IN 
BEITISII INDIA. 
In our issue of June 9, 1888, we gave an account 
of the process for manufacturing sulphate of quinine 
then newly inaugurated by the Indian Government 
upon some of their cinchona estates. Further de- 
tails of this process are now made public m Mr. 
Lawson's report on the Indian Government cmchona 
plantations. That report deals with the quinine 
factory at Nadnvatam, in the Nilgiri district. Ihe 
modm operandi followed at Naduvatam is practically 
the same aa that published about two years ago ; 
hence, although the account is repeated in the pre- 
sent report, it does not add, and could not be ex- 
pected to add, much to our knowledge. .Some wrinkles 
have evidently been gained by experience. Ihe bark 
is no longer powdered so fine as it was at first, a 
No 64 sieve having proved sufficient for the purpose, 
instead of the No. 130 one first employed. The pro- 
portions of cinchona powder, alkali, and kerosene, 
have also been slightly modified, the present formula 
being to place 2001b. of powdered bark in a cylindri- 
cal vat with 100 gallons of water holding 14 lb. of 
caustic soda in solution, adding to this a mixtur e 
of 96 gallons paraffin and 24 gallons fusel oil, and 
agitating for three hours with a revolving paddle. 
The subsequent process of drawing off the oil into 
which the alkaloids have been incorporated, dissolving 
out the latter by means of water acidulated with 
sulphuric acid, filtering the acid liquor through char- 
coal, crystallising out the sulphate of quinine, and 
drying the crystals, is all substantially the same as 
when described eighteen months ago. The bark now 
used for manufacturing purposes at Naduvatam is 
a mixture of branch, stem, and root oi Cinchona offi- 
cinalin. It has an alkaloidal value of 3-02 per cent, 
quinine, I'Ol per cent, cinchonidine, 0-14 per cent, 
quinidine, 0'24 per cent, cinohonine, and 0-30 per cent, 
amorphous. Its equivalent in quinine sulphate is 
4-06 per cent. The factory has had to struggle 
with a good many adversities before it was able to 
work without interruption on a large scale. The 
manufactory was started at Naduvatam in June, 
1889, but it took four months to train the native 
workmen to their task. This work accomplished, it 
was found that the loss of the costly fusel oil was 
so great as seriously to hamper the working of the 
process, and the manufacture had to be suspended 
until February, to admit of the erection of a still 
for recovering the fusel oil. Just as everything was 
ready to start, influenza broke out at Naduvatam, 
and all the native workmen ran away to their homes 
in Mysore, a fresh squad having to be engaged and 
drilled. Finally, the steam-engine was found in- 
adequate for its work, and the plant had to undergo a 
thorough alteration. All obstacles, however, were 
ultimately overcome, and since the end of May of 
this year the factory is in full working order. The 
cost of manufacturing the first batch of 227 lb. sul- 
phate of quinine was 3,915-12 rupees, or 17'4 rupees 
per lb., equal to about is. %d. per oz. It took 6,000 
lb. of bark, to obtain that quantity of sulphate of 
quinine. The value of the bark was 3,626 rupees ; 
fuel, chemicals, and the cost of plant amounted to 
205 rupees ; and for labour only 84 rupees, or less 
than one-third of a penny per oz. of quinine, is 
charged. It is, therefore, not likely that the Indian 
Govoriviient quinine will do much injury to the sale 
of the European article in the East, even if it 
should over attempt to enter into serious competi- 
tion with the latter. But as the Naduvatam factory 
ia only estimated to turn out the comparatively in- 
significant total of about 65,000 oz. per annum, there 
is not much chance of that. 
Added to Mr. Lawson's report on quinine manu- 
facture is a statement by Mr. D. Hooper on the 
progress of tho Government plantations during the 
year under review, which contains some interesting 
notes on the oxporinionts on the artificial increase 
of the alkaloidal value of cinchonas. Since 18>S() a 
valuable series of experinionts on the effect of manur- 
ing on tho dilfercnt species of cinchona has been 
inaugurated, and the result has been to prove that 
tho applicutiou of ammouiaual manoic, auuh as 
IO9 
cattle, stable and poonac, to cinchonas is always 
attended with a profitable outturn of a large quan- 
tity of richer bark, especially on young and fast- 
growing species, as Hnccirvbras, LpjlfierH, and Ihjhndu, 
and that the agents employed act more energetically 
upon younger trees than older ones and upon the 
fast growing trees just mentioned that on tne slow- 
growing qt/icinalis. It remained to be proved whether 
the action of fertilising agents for a longer period 
on ofjicinalis trees would be attended with remuner- 
ative results, and what effect they would have upon 
mossed and renewed barks. 
In order to elucidate this problem careful experi- 
ments were made with ten officinalin trees at Doda- 
betta. Four of these were eleven-years old trees 
and six twenty-one-year-old trees. The manures used 
were bone-meal, fish, lime and cattle manure. One 
pound of the bone-meal manure or 2J lb. of fish 
manure were used to each tree, but the quantity of 
the other manures employed is not stated. Of the 
eleven-year-old natural oHicinalis trees, the one 
manured with bone-meal yielded 5"f8 per cent, of 
total alkaloid and an equivalent of 4'95 per cent, of 
sulphate of quinine. That manured with fish afforded 
respectively 6 82 and 5-94 per cent., while from lime 
and cattle manure 5"68 and 519 per cent., and from 
bone-meal and cattle 5'97 and 5'35 per cent, respec- 
tively were obtained. The results obtained from the 
twenty-one year old trees, were|as follows : — Renewed 
bark : fish manure, 8'21 per cent, total alkaloid, 8'43 
per cent, sulphate of quinine ; bone-meal manure, 7 '02 
per cent, total alkaloid, 7 02 per cent, sulphate of 
quinine. Mossed bark : fish manure, 6'61 and 5-97 per 
cent.; bone-meal, 7 48 and 7'02 per cent, respectively. 
Natural bark: fish-manure 6"14 and 5 54 per cent.; 
bone-meal, 7'38 and 6 85 per cent, respectively. 
All these are exceedingly good barks, when com- 
pared with the natural crown bark, containing an 
average of 3 per cent, of quinine when grown in the 
same situation without manure. The fish manure 
especially has raised the amount of quinine to a 
considerable extent in the barks to which it was ap- 
plied. 
In the present critical state of the cinchona industry 
such experiments must be of considerable value to 
planters. — Chemist and Diurjrjist. 
SUGAE FROM SORGHUM. 
(From Bulletin No. 12. of tlie Louisiana 
iSugar Exxieriment Station.) 
The sorghum plant in China is poor in BUgau and 
sensitive to frost. At Rio Grande it has been ac- 
climated so that it will stand quite a severe frost 
with ice, and been educated to imbibe five times its 
normal dose of sugar. Such results so deservedly 
merited from the persistent energy of its intelligent 
managers, is exceedingly gratifying especially when 
it is remembered that State bounty was withdrawn 
two years ago. 
Encouraged by the prospects of diffusion extracting 
all the sugar from cane, the citizens of Ottawa, 
Kansas, led on by Hon. W. L. Parkerson, established 
at that point a few years since a large and com- 
plete factory. It is merely necessary to say here 
that it failed, after the promise of great success. 
Convinced that only a few more persistent and 
intelligent efforts were needed to wrest from sorghum 
the sugar which it contained this same Mr. Par- 
kerson, repaired to Fort Scott, and there erected the 
Parkerson Sugar Works, whose name aud fame are 
now written and spoken in every tongue. With 
national aid, liberally bestowed, with scientific skill 
bending its energies upon one single accomplish- 
ment, with improved machinery erected for a sole 
mirpose, the Parkerson Sugar Works of Fort Scott, 
Kansas, sounded its determined attack upon sorghum 
early in the fall of '86, and millions of souls awaited 
the issue with intense solicitude. 
Tho interest deepened as time wore on, and the 
dailies with intelligent correspondents at the seat of 
WW) wore dcuoiuicod for withholding (ho uova I{QQ( 
