June i, 1892.] tME TROPICAL AQRIOiiLtU f^lSt. 
935 
Over the estimated year's expenditure ; and after these 
indents h=id all been complied witb, there would tie 
Btill left ia stock on tfap Slst December, 1891, 1,1501b. 
of finished qniuiae ana about 100 lb. of unpuwdered 
febrifuge. The macliinery at presunt freclel wa?, he 
said, adequate to turn out the quinine au'l febrifuge 
likely to bo indented for ; but the machinery in dupli- 
cate. Mr. Dawson hoped the Government < f Iiidia 
was right in thinking that the native populatio'i bad no 
reluctance to taking the quinine ; and that tbe small 
sale of thupowders hitherto was dne solely to their 
high price, which he agreed might be reduced to 2 pies 
each. 
TheSurgeon-Gi-neral with the Government of Madras, 
to whom the correspondence was forwarded for remarks, 
Baid he did not see that any ftpprccinble snvine would ba 
effected by sending quinine snd jilap in bulk as pro- 
posed by tbe Government of India. On the other 
hand, it would throw ad-itioual work on the subordi- 
nates at Municipal ho»pit;il9, who had already a' much 
work as they cou'd attend to. Moreover, uniformity 
in appearance, &o., could only be obtaii ed by ad- 
hering to the present .system. He did not approve 
of the sugs^ehtion to wrap the powders in o d papers, 
which would increase the pos^ib llties of one powder 
being mistaken for the oth' r, "moreover, tbe outer 
covering of a drug even among m ro civilisod people, 
has a decided effect on its sale. A recoguisfld fea- 
ture of the success of proprietHry dmgs is ihe neat 
and at ractive way they re made up." To prevent 
any miatake tbe wrappers might h^ive printed oa 
them in Tau;il "Purgative powder," and "Fever 
powder," rtspectively and the outer wrapper inclos- 
ing both powders niiglit contain cirap'o directions, 
such as " the purgative to betaken fir-t and when it 
has acted, the fever powder." Surgeon General de 
Fabeok's own opiniou regarding tbe sale ofthesedrugs 
wa.s that it would be in direcit ratio to the interest 
taken in the sale and distribution bv R'ivenue officials. 
The price of tbe S-grain quinine powder has ac3ord. 
iogly been fixed l>y the Madras Government at 2 pies 
and that of the 100 powder packet at Rl, the jahp 
being issued free of ciinrge as hitherto. This arrange- 
ment will give the eeller a commission of Spies in the 
rupee or about 4 per cent, as at prese t. The Mndras 
Government is of opinion that it would be better to 
continue the existing method of distribution, and it 
has ordered that the naaies of the drugs and direc- 
tions for their ush are to be printed on the wrappers 
in the vernacular of the district to which tbe packets 
are sent for distribution. — J/. 3Iail, Miy 5th. 
... ^ 
SOURCES OF FEKTILITY. 
Among the substances produced in the courpc of the 
fermentation of dung, organic acids are formed similar, 
to those found in what is anciently known as humus. 
These organic acids have a strong affiuity for amrnon'a 
which they retain firmly in combination. But for this 
fact, there would doubtless be a much greater loss of 
ammonia from the manure heap during fermentation 
than there is, though there is acttially more waste 
every day than should be, by allowing the manurial 
fluid — the very essence of dung — to drain away from 
ihe mass. 
It is too ofl;en forgotten that farmyard dung has 
something more to command it than its completeness 
as a manure. Farmers aro very apt to look on one 
side of its usefulness only, Its mechanical virtues are 
not sufficiently appreciated. It is well known that 
manuring ij not all that the soil requires ; its physical 
condition must bo leaked after. While dung replen- 
ishes the soil with cheraicul constitueutn, it also adds 
bulk and porosity, and thus accelerates draiuage. It 
has, therefore, much to do with tlio tenaperature of 
laud. Besides assisting in the removal of superfluous 
moisture, it renders the soil mor<( absorptive, enabling 
it to make better use of the heat of the sun than it 
would otherwise do. This is an e.xtremely important 
matter. 
The temperatnre of the Boil is affected by other 
oausea than the sun's rayi. Deoayiag vegetable matter 
is a source of heat, as evidenced by the high tempera- 
ture germinated by the process of fermentation of 
dung- Farmyard manure thus supplies heat to the 
soil from two different sources, while it helps it to 
retain much valnable mnnurial ingre<*ient8, which, in 
ft collier or more punly mineral soil, wonld be washed 
Bwav. It also opens up dense, stiff 'oils to the iofluenoea 
of the air and gives freer courBP to the roo's of plants 
It is not to be commended for application alone, but in 
conjunctiono with phospbatio manures we believe that 
farm-yard dung is imlispensable in maintaining the 
neces.sarv temperature and fertility of the soil. — Far- 
mer and IStock-Brecder, April 4th. 
CINCHONA-SAMPLING IN AMSTERDAM. 
We gave particulars some time ago of a meeting 
held under the auspices of the Cinchona Warehousing 
Association in Amsterdam at which it was decided 
to adopt a new plan of drawing samples of bark. 
We now understand that the necessary machinery 
for grinding the bark has been put down, and that the 
samples for the auction of May 5th, next will be treated 
upon the new system. — Chemist and Druggist. 
AGRICULTUEAL PRODUCTS OF THE 
PHILIPPINES. 
The United States Consul at Manilla says that 
the principal products of the Philippines are hemp, 
coffee, rice, tobacco, corn, and fruits. The cultiva- 
tion of hemp is a very simple operation, and as 
it yields a large revenue it is not surprising that 
it is a popular occupation among the people. This 
staple is the product of a species of planting which 
grows wild on the Pacific slopes of the volcanic ele- 
vations of the Philippine islands, particularly the 
southern ones. Under cultivation the tree attains a 
height of 15 or 20 feet, with a trtmk from 8 to 12 
inches in diameter. In its green state it is crisp 
and juicy, and can' be readily cut down with an 
ordinary carving knife. The preparation of the 
hemp for market is very simple. When the tree 
has properly matured, it is cut down and divided 
into long strips, which are shredded under a large 
knife kept in the proper position by a rude lever. 
This separates the juice and spongy matter from 
the fibre, and the latter is spread out in the sun 
to dry, after which it is packed in bales of about 
240 lb. for shipment. There are a large number of 
plantations owned by natives, as well as by Spani- 
ards and mestizos, where the trees are set out in 
regular rows, a:id well cared for. The cultivation 
of the coffee tree has been followed to some extent 
for the past thirty years, but interest in this branch 
of cultivation has been renewed during the past four 
or five years, and it is expected that its export will 
increase atmually. There is no way of ascertaining 
the area of land occupied by coffee trees nor the 
amount of coffee annually produced, as the trees are 
scattered in various parts of the archipelago. The 
largest plantations are in the province of Batangas, 
in the island of Luzon, but many of the natives 
have a few trees in their front yards, under the 
shade of the plantations, that may yield four or five 
bushels of coffee berries. The increase in production 
has been marked within the past few years. In 1887, 
a little over 5,387 tons were exported ; in 1888, about 
7, .501 tons. Although rice is the native's principal 
article of food, there is not enough of it produced 
in the archipelago for local oonsimiption, and more 
than 70,000 tons are imported annually. The tobacco 
industry in the Pliilippines employs a large amount 
of capital aud a vast number of hands. The best 
tobacco comes from the provinces of Cogayan and 
Isabella on the island of Luzon, the average annual 
yield from theS3 being from 60,000 tons to HX»,000. 
Tobacco is also grown in the provinces of North and 
South Ilocos, Abra, Lepanto, Nueva Exija, and Union, 
all on tho island of Luzon, and on the islands of 
Cebu, and Panay. The tobacco produced in tho 
former provinces is called Ljorrotcs, while that from 
Cebu aucl Pauay ia ciesiguated Visatjas. lu cVi^Uvftt- 
