326 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov.  2,  1896 
dences  o£  the  evil,  lu  fact  any  body  can  see  an 
excellent  example  of  it  by  examining  the  margin  of 
the  plantation  at  the  distance  of  a few  hundred  yards 
of  the  Director’s  bungalow  at  Nedivattam.  And  the 
mischief  is  even  greater  on  the  Wood  estate  than 
at  Nedivattam.  Fencing  appears  to  afford  little  or 
no  protection  against  this  kind  of  game,  and  the 
only  efficient  way  of  protecting  the  young  planta- 
tions and  coppice  is  by  shooting  the  deer.  For  many 
years  there  has  been  on  the  Cinchona  establishment 
one  shikari  whose  duty  it  is  to  frighten  the  game  of 
the  three  plantations  of  Nedivattam,  Hooker  and  Wood. 
I have  read  the  memorial  of  the  Game  Preservation 
Association  and  the  comments  of  the  Director  and 
of  the  Collector  of  the  Nilgiris  thereon.  And 
much  as  I sympathise  with  the  objects  of  the  Associa- 
tion, I must  say  that  the  grievances  complained  of 
by  it  are  chiefly  matters  of  the  past.  1 fail  to  see  how 
the  proceedings  of  a single  shikari,  spread  over  three 
such  large  areas,  can  be  very  destructive  to  game.  And 
1 cannot  understand  how,  in  the  face  of  the  existing 
evidence,  both  oral  and  ocular,  it  can  be  contended 
that  game  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Cinchona  plan- 
tations has  been  virtually  exterminated.  This  is  not 
the  opinion  of  a large  cinchona  and  tea  planter  in  the 
neighbourhood  who  assured  me  the  other  day  that 
sambur  and  jungle  sheep  literally  swarm  at  a distance 
of  3Js  mile  from  Nedivattam.  As  the  subject,  however, 
appears  to  have  elicited  some  warmth  of  feeling,  1 
would  suggest  that  the  Wood  plantation,  where  game 
most  abound  and  where  there  are  only  27  acres  of 
cinchona,  should  be  abandoned  ; the  cinchona,  being 
first  uprooted  and  its  bark  taken  to  the  factory.  I 
cannot  recommend  the  dismissal  of  the  shikari,  but  I 
would  restrict  him  (as  at  present)  to  the  actual  area 
of  the  Government  estates. 
10.  Accoukts. — Thei'e  annually  appears  in  the  re- 
port of  the  Director  a statement  showing  the  capital 
and  revenue  accounts  of  the  plantations  from  the  com- 
mencement up  to  the  date  of  the  report.  In  this  re- 
turn the  disbursements  of  each  _year  are  given  in  one 
column  with  interest  at  4^  per  cent.  There  are  also 
columns  in  which  the  surplus  and  deficit  each  year 
are  stated.  Up  to  the  end  of  last  year  the  total  deficit 
is  stated  to  amount  to  lis.  611,288-3-6.  If  the  yearly 
accounts  were  to  be  stated  like  those  of  a joint  stock 
company  this  deficit  w'ould  stand  as  the  capital  or  as  a 
liability  of  the  company.  I cannot,  how-ever,  under- 
stand how  the  large  deficit  just  named  is  arrived  at. 
In  Captain  Campbell  Walker’s  report  (p.  16)  on  the 
plantation,  he  gives  Rs.  13,04,360  as  the  Accountant- 
General’s  calculation  of  the  total  cost  of  the  estates, 
phis  annual  interest  to  the  end  of  the  official  year 
1875-76.  During  the  seven  succeeding  years  such 
large  quantities  of  bark  were  sold  in  England  that  the 
surplus  of  receipts  over  expenditure  during  these  years 
amounted  in  round  numbers  to  Rs.  18,39,000 ; in 
other  words  the  receipts  of  the  plantations  at  the 
end  of  the  year  1882-83  had  exceeded  the  total 
expendture  on  them  from  the  beginning,  pfits  in- 
terest by  the  sum  of  R5,34,640.  The  actual  expen- 
diture' up  to  the  latter  date  should,  therefore,  surely 
have  been  considered  as  wiped  out,  and  the  plan- 
tations should  have  been  credited  with  the  difference, 
t.e.,  with  the  sum  of  R.O,34,640.  From  1882-83  until 
the  present  time,  the  plantation  has  been  worked 
at  an  unusual  loss.  The  net  receipts  for  these 
twelve  years  were  R6,85,172  and  the  net  ejqrendi- 
ture  was  (exclusive  of  interest)  R9,66,816.  If  the 
surplus  prior  to  1883-84  be  added  to  the  receipts  since 
that  date,  the  amount  comes  to  more  than  12  lakhs 
of  rupees,  as  against  less  than  10  lakhs  of  expendi- 
ture. If  2 lakhs  be  allowed  for  interest  (a  sum 
which  surely  must  bo  considered  as  ample)  the  capital 
cost  of  the  estates  has  really  been  extinguished,  and 
no  annual  charge  for  interest  is  really  admissible. 
It  is  utterly  disheartening  for  any  man  to  have  to 
work  under  a financial  disability  (even  although  it  be 
only  imaginary)  such  as  the  Director  of  these  plan- 
tations has  hitherto  done.  I venture  therefore  to 
recommend  that,  from  1st  April  1895,  a new  departure 
should  be  taken  in  the  accounts  ; that  the  charge 
for  interest  should  disappear,  and  that  a stock  account, 
debit  andcreditcash  account  and  balance  sheet  should 
be  annually  given.  In  this  way  the  exact  results  of  the 
year’s  working  would  be  shown  within  the  compass 
of  a single  page. 
II.  The  Resources  of  the  Plantation.— -I  need 
hardly  remind  you  that  since  the  suspension  during 
the  official  year  1883-84  of  the  practice  of  selling  the 
bark  produced  on  the  estates,  these  plantations 
have  not  been  worked  up  to  their  full  producing 
pow’er.  They  have  in  fact  been  very  lightly  crop- 
ped ; and,  even  since  the  manufacture  of  quinine  was 
begun,  the  demand  for  that  drug  has  ni  ver  yet 
been  equal  to  anything  like  the  producing  power  of 
the  plantation.  The  natural  increment  of  the  bark 
of  many  trees  therefore  remains  on  the  trees  as  an 
undrawn  dividend.  The  result  of  this  light  croppng 
and  of  the  judicious  method  of  cultivation,  and  of 
collecting  the  bark  which  have  been  followed  during 
the  past  12  years,  is  that  the  plantations  are  now 
in  a much  better  condition  than  they  were  when  I 
went  over  them  in  1878.  An  examination  of  some 
of  the  figures  given  in  the  Dii-ector’s  report  for  the 
official  year  which  ended  on  31st  March  last 
gives  an  idea  of  the  present  actual  condition  of  the 
plantation.  I find  that,  during  the  year  1894-95,  6,720 
crown  bark  trees  were  coppiced  on  Dodabetta  and  the 
yield  of  dry  bark  from  them  was  51,522  lb.  On  Nedi- 
vattam 4,713  trees  were  coppiced  with  a yield  of 
17,081  lb. ; and  on.  Hooker  estate,  the  6,949  trees 
which  w'ere  coppiced  yielded  27,0081b.  of  dry  bark. 
This  is  at  the  average  rate  of  about  5 l-5th  lb  per  tree. 
The  Director  assures  me  that  the  trees  for  coppicing 
were  not  selected  because  of  their  size.  On  the 
contrary,  they  were  selected  as  trees  which  had,  from 
repeated  stripping  and  mossing,  begun  to  show  signs 
of  weak  health,  and  they  were  coppiced  in  order  that 
they  might  have  an  opportunity  of  springing  afresh 
from  their  cut  stumps.  In  the  language  of  French 
forestry  the  trees  were  coppiced  as  part  of  a coup  de 
regeneration.  Trees  to  the  number  of  18,382,  cut  as  a 
measure  of  arboricultural  improvement  (and  which, 
owing  to  their  sickly  state,  yielded  bark  of  poor 
quality  from  which  not  more  than  3 per  cent,  of 
quinine  may  be  expected)  thus  yielded  95,611  lb.  of 
dry  crown  bark.  After  deducting  these  trees,  there 
remained  of  crown  barks.on  the  Government  planta- 
tions (according  to  the  returns)  more  than  a million 
trees,  some  in  excellent  and  the  others  for  the 
most  part  in  fair  health.  If  the  propor- 
tion of  the  bark  on  the  trees  that  remain 
be  in  proportion  to  that  of  those  which  were 
coppiced  last  year,  the  crown  bark  trees  on  the 
three  Government  estates  carry  a grand  total  of  6 
million  pounds  of  dry  bark.  These  results  w’hich 
have  so  surprised  me  that  I have  had  all  the  calcu- 
lation checked  are  seen  at  a glance  in  the  following 
table:— 
Dodabetta 
Nedivattam 
Hooker 
O 05 
U GO 
p tuc 
a 
03  *r 
u 'V 
H 
03 
2 
% 
ce 
P5 
^ CO 
03  <3 
u ^ 
eS  05 
GO 
o ^ 
” n 
-S!  P< 
S<! 
cq 
6,720  61, .522  568,295 
4,7;3  17.081  89,636 
6,919  27.008  373,044 
4,357,090 
324,970 
1,449,064 
Total..  18,.382  95,611  1,031,003  6,131,124 
From  the  foregoing  calculation  I have  entirely 
ommitted  the  663,328  hybrid  trees  which,  according 
to  tile  Dii'ector’s  returns,  existed  on  the  four  planta- 
tions at  1st  April  last.  If  the  bark  on  these  be  calcu- 
lated as  equal,  when  coppiced  to  four  pounds  per  tree, 
there  is  an  addition  to  the  resources  of  the  plantation 
of  about  2^  million  pounds  of  bark.  The  total  amount 
of  bark  which  the  plantation  ^\’ould  yield,  if  coppiced 
at  once,  is,  according  to  these  estimates,  therefore 
over  8i  million  pounds. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  calculation  founded 
on  the  number  of  trees  may  be  fallacious ; for  the  num- 
bers are  cqntimially  being  altered  by  death  and  acci- 
dent , and  it  is  impossible,  short  of  an  annual  census 
(which  would  cut  more  than  it  would  be  worth)  to  esti- 
