Dec.  2,  1895.J 
375 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
TOJfACUO. 
This  is  a very  important  industry  in  Toliuia,  and 
it  affords  cmfsloyment  to  many  thousands  of  the 
peasantry,  for  the  cultivation  of  the  article  entails 
incessant  care  and  attention,  and  its  subsequent 
manipulation,  from  the  preparation  of  the  crude 
product  to  the  manufacture  of  cigars  involves  ex- 
ceptional conditions  of  labour.  Women  and  children 
arc  largely  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  cigars. 
The  best  cigars  are  sent  to  Bogota  and  other  largo 
towns.  The  price  of  these  averages  from  ‘2  to  5 c. 
each  (Colombian  currency).  There  is  comparatively 
little  difference  in  the  quality  and  aroma  among 
these  cigars.  The  higher  priced  kinds  are  the  pro- 
duce of  the  most  carefully  cured  and  best  formed 
leaves.  In  point  of  quality,  it  is  worthy  of  remark, 
there  is  a much  wider  range  in  this  respect  tha  ' is 
the  case  in  the  Jamaica  cigars,  which  are  no  doubt 
superior,  and  this  is  a new  industry  in  that  colony. 
Among  the  common  classes  of  people  in  Tolima  a 
very  inferior  ill-made  cigar  is  extensively  smoked. 
These  are  sold  in  the  districts  in  which  tobacco 
is  cultivated  at  the  rate  of  some  30  for  1 real 
(about  ‘Id.). 
This  cultivation  in  Tolima  formerly  occupied  a 
much  more  important  position  than  it  now  does. 
The  great  falling-off  in  cultivation  is  the  result  of 
a disastrous  disease  which  attacked  the  plant  about 
a score  years  ago.  The  cause  of  this  disease  has 
been  attributed  to  the  unintermitted  rcprodirction  of 
the  article  on  the  same  land.  The  plant  is  now 
generally  cultivated  in  small  patches,  so  that  the 
effects  of  the  disease  is  neutralised. 
.\nterior  to  the  appearance  of  the  disease,  Tolima 
was  the  chief  tobacco-producing  centre  of  the  Republic, 
now  tlie  quantity  exported  from  Tolima  is  insignificant. 
At  preseuD  the  principal  seat  of  this  industry  is 
occupied  by  the  Department  of  Bolivar,  which  fur- 
nishes .')0  per  cent,  of  the  total  exportation  from  the 
country. 
20  years  ago  the  total  quantity  of  tobacco  exported 
from  the  country  was  somewhat  higher  than  at 
present,  then  it  was  about  4.000  tons,  valued  at 
2.600.000  dol.  In  1891  it  was  9,8J0  tons,  valued  at 
1.489.000  dol. 
Agriculture  in  general  in  the  tropics  is  carried  on 
in  a rough  and  primitive  fashion,  weeding  the  fields 
coii'titutes  the  one  domiirant  elemant  inseparable 
from  the  cultivation  of  most  products,  that  is  to  say, 
weeds  grow  apace  in  such  a way  that  agriculturists 
unacquainted  with  the  tropics  are  total  unable  to 
form  the  slightest  conception  of  their  rapid  and 
irrepressible  yrowth.  Moreover,  the  system  of  weed- 
ing pursued  is  commonly  performed  in  a most  per- 
functory manner.  The  conditions  of  climate  are,  of 
course,  not  conductive  to  painstaking  efforts  on  the 
p.art  of  the  peasantry.  This  is  the  kind  of  treat- 
ment usually  accorded  to  most  agricultural  products 
in  tropical  America.  These  is,  howeveifoue  notable 
exception  to  this  rule  ; I refer  to  the  cultivation  of 
tobacco.  It  is  a delicate  plant,  and  easily  overpowered 
with  weeds  and  with  insects,  so  that  careful  cul- 
tivation is  indispensable.  A tobacco  plantation  is, 
therefore,  cultivated  like  a garden.  Peasantry  em- 
ployed in  this  cultivation  necessarily  become  trained 
to  superior  jneihods  of  cultivation.  There  can,  there- 
fore, bo  little  doubt  that  a Gevernment  that  fosters 
tobacco  cultivation  in  tropical  America  fosters  a 
genuine  predilection  for  improved  husbandry  on  the 
part  of  the  agricultural  labourer, 
CINCHONA. 
There  is  but  little  interest  nowadays  attaching  to 
cinchona  cultivation,  but  the  following  brief  remarks 
may  prove  interesting: — 
Several  species  are  indigenous  to  this  department, 
and  prior  to  the  great  reduction  in  the  price  of 
quinine — a reduction  from  about  10.'!.  per  oz.  to  M. 
—large  quantities  of  bark  of  excellent  quality  were 
exported  from  this  department. 
Cultivation  was  started  in  various  parts  of  Tolima 
over  a dozen  years  ago,  when  barks  still  fetched 
a high  price,  but  coincident  with  the  marked  decline 
in  prices  the  plantations  were  abandoned.  The 
largest  and  most  important  was  established  under  my 
supeiintondence ; some  400,000  trees,  comprising  the 
best  species,  were  thus  established  at  an  elevation 
of  troni  6,000  to  8,000  feet  above  sea-level.  Though 
abandoned  tor  several  years,  a large  proportion  of 
the  trees  are  growing,  and  as  they  assume  larger 
dimensions  will  bo  turned  to  account  some  day. 
heeds  of  the  more  important  species  grown  in  the 
east  were  obtained_  and  planted  to  a considerable 
e.x  ent  thus.  / . C.  CaU.Haya,  nar.  Le.dycriana, 
and  ( oWcuuiliH.  These  species  flourished  here,  but 
alter  half-a-dozen  years  of  cultivation,  one  of  them 
VIZ.,  C.  offinnahs,  began  to  show  symptoms  of  what 
IS  denominated  “canker,”  an  in.sidious  diseasp  and 
large  numbers  have  since  succumb  d.  This  is  e.xactlv 
what  occurred  with  regard  to  this  species  in’  the 
Jamaica  cinchona  plantations,  which  I alsDinaumir 
ated.  '■  ” 
Besides  the  above-m=ntioned  species,  several  indi 
genous  species  were  planted  on  a largo  scale  and 
these  proved  the  most  important,  as  will  be’  seen 
from  the  analysis_  given  below,  which  analysis  was 
iiiade  by  Mr.  David  Howard,  of  the  well-known  firm 
of  quinine  manufacturers. 
A deta'led  account  of  the  Colombian  species  was 
given  at  a meeting  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Societv 
m London,  m April,  1892,  by  Mr.  Holmes,  the  curator 
and  it  may  be  h^re  added  that  gentleman  then  stated 
111  regard  to  one  of  these  varieties,  viz.,  Tumi- 
“Probably  the  richest  khowu  in  the  percentacre  of 
quinine.'’  The  result  of  the  analysis  shows  remark- 
able average  richness:  — 
line 
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Thomsoniana 
Ledger,  verde 
Negra 
Morada 
Tuna 
Poinbiana 
Officinilis 
Succivubra 
Hybrid 
iNDI.t-HUBUEi;. 
A very  important  species  of  rubber  is  indigenous 
and  I am  inclined  to  think  peculiar  to  Tolima 
Uu  ike  other  important  kinds  of  rubber,  it  errows 
at  high  elevations,  viz.,  at  from  6,000  to  S.OOb  feet 
above  sea-level.  Some  thousands  of  bales  of  it  were 
exported  a dozen  years  ago.  But  as  the  tree  was 
only  locally  distrihiited,  the  source  of  supnlv-  was 
soon  exhausted.  The  autliorities  at  Kew  have  iiamed 
this  plant  Sapiiiiii.  hirilundalosuin.  a species  which  is 
also  said  to  be  found  in  British  Guiana,  where 
pScer,  ''  ^ 
In  connection  with  the  cinchona  plantations  above 
referred  to,  a plantation  of  this  rubber  was  mulf' 
ado.it  10  years  ago.  The  tress  grew  witl^  re i ,S 
able  rapidity,  with  trunks  a foot  in  diameter  iTs  x 
years  ; but  this  plantation  shared  the  same  fact  as 
he  cinchona,  that  is,  it  was  abandoned  years  a-o 
because  the  cinchona  was  abandoned.  Withrenewld 
A few  years  ago  I directed  the  attention  of  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  India  to  the  advi.sabihty  of 
cultimuig  this  plant  on  a large  scale  in  that  country 
My  letter  was  refen-ed  to  the  Government  of  India. 
110  progress  has  been  made. 
This  valuable  plant  could  be  cultivated  over  a wide 
range  of  latitude  m India,  thus  extending  from  the 
e evated  mountainous  regions  of  Southern  InXr  o 
the  low-lying  valleys  of  the  Himalaya  as  far  as  ofio 
north  latitude.  And  this  is  a great;  advantage 
compared  with  the  limited  zone  in  which  the fther 
American  species  of  rubber  intro- 
duced  to  India  can  be  cultivated. 
