286 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[October i, 1891. 
corn for ils proOiictkn. Taliiog info nccont tbe 
nutriment in each, and the comparative prices of 
the two on an average, the pork is about three tinma 
aa costly a food as the eggs, while it is certainly 
lesa hoalthful.— JlostoH Journal of Cheinistry. 
« 
BAllK AND DRUG RErORT. 
(From the Chemist and Druggist.) 
London, Sept. 6tb, 181)1. 
AnnaTTo.— After showing more flnuacsa reocnily, tills 
article appears lo bir aguiii falling Into ita former neg- 
lected stale, (lood bright seed from Colombo (7t “’K*) 
was borgbt in at 2d tolny. The other day it realised 2id 
per lb. ... , 
Vanilt.a. — D ull ol sale. For coihnioii Mauistlns Ph to 
78 6d was paid today, and from 2s 6d to 5 b tid lor very 
low to fair long fogy Ceylon loans. It m e.st mated 
that Iba coming Mauriiius crop will amount to 13 COd 
Itilos, Tho new cr. p of Mexioan beans la now arriving 
upon the new York niarkot ft is reported that the later 
arrivals are of rather better quality llinn eoino of tho 
earlier shipments. 
« 
CINCHONA PLANTERS CLOSING 
THEIR RANKS. 
WeauuouDced some time ago that the Dutoh Indian 
Government were abont to comn/ission an oflioial of 
the Java Oovernmout planlationa to iuveetigate the 
manufaoture of quinine in Britiab India with a view 
to tie establisbmeut of a qaiuine-factory iu Java. Mr. 
Van I.eeisum, the official in qneati n, ia probably 
by this time cm l ie way to llritibh Iiulia, where ho 
ia certain to receive Irom ti e heads of tho Ilriliah 
Government plan'atious every poesihle assistauco 
in the diecUargo of hi.s miseiou. The liritirh 
Indian Qovernme’it has always shown itself exceed- 
ingly liberal in allowing otlier nations to participate 
ill tho heuefita of its indualrial experimcuis ; and, on 
tho other baud, the Dutch Indian Oovernmoiit has 
on more than one recasion rendered valiinhlo assistaneo 
to the Britieh outhoriii.s in supplying them with 
ciuohona seed and plants. The pruciss of qninjno 
maniifactnro at the Naduvatam factory iu tho Nilgiri 
district has bonn fully described iu uiir issues of June 
Dtb, 1888, and December 20th, 18110, and it will, there- 
fore, be enough to sny that it consists in b.-ating 
iipa mixture of powdered bark, water (ruiulerid alkaline 
with caustic soda), and parafliu and fusel oils in a 
rovolring cylinder for three hours, tlien dissolving 
out the alkaloids by means of watrr acidulated with 
sulphuric noid, filtering the liquid Ihrongh oharooal, 
and crvstallisiug on tho sulpiiate of quinine. 'I'lto 
cost of the fi St batch of quinine made at Nadu- 
vutam, calculated nt tho European market value of 
the bark, was Is fid per oz., but sines then it 
has probably lessened. Plant, sniphurio acid, and 
oil are naturally much dearer than in Europe ; 
labour, on tho other hand, costs less than of a 
penny peroz, of sulphate of quiiiiuoin India, snd may, 
perhaps, reitorctho equilibrium of tho balauceof com- 
petition. 'The Naduvatam factory only produces tho 
insignificant total of about 65,000 oz. ot qiiiniuo per 
aunum, and the object of tho Government is simply to 
provide tho native population with a cheap fubtifiigo al 
about cost price. The Naduvatam quinine ia retailed 
IB rupees per Ib., or, say. Is SJjd per oz. The object 
of the Dutch Indian Government, however, is not to 
supply a cheap racdioiiolothe Malays of their colouiis, 
but to enable the Java planters to have their bark 
manufactured on the spot, and thus not only to swo 
nearly the whole of the freight, warehouse, and rale 
expenses now paid on tlio baik shipped to Amsterdam, 
but also lo obtain a firm hold upon the quinine markets 
of the world. 
If the Java planters possess sufficient power of 
combination, and are Incky enough to find an hon- 
est, strong, anil astute buBiness-man to held tho 
reins, there seems no reason why, within two or three 
years, they should not become the dominant fvreo iu 
the quinine market. Nearly all the Java plantatious 
nro situated Witbin a oomparativf ly small area on the 
westof the island, iu the centre of which it is pro. 
po.sed to erect the factory, which will be uuder Go- 
vcriiracut control, and receive from cecIi plautor tho 
bark_ he grows, rcturuiug to him its contents iu 
quinine salts and by. products, and charging, perhaps, 
a fr.aoiioii above the actual cost of manufacturing. 
That tbero exists amoug tho cincliona- planting in- 
tcro.t a widespread dissatisfaction at the manner iu 
which the conlrd of tile quiuine market hae been al- 
lowed to slip from tho hands cf tlio growors and their 
representatives into thoss of u few quickwitted Ger- 
man quinine maiiufaolurers is abundaully evident; 
That this feeling ef impatience at their lielplcasiiess 
is not confined to Ea-t Indian or Boulh Amarioan 
plantoia is shown by a report which recently reached 
ns from the West Oesst of Africa. The proprietors 
of the plautationa on the Portuguese iiland of Silo 
Thointi who now send all their l-a'k to Loudon, n« 
Lisbiin, are casting about, so we hear, f r n prooeF.s 
which will eiiftblo them to send over ihc-ir produce 
in tho form of a liquor, from which the alkaloids can 
be regained in Europe. They calculate that such a 
process would save them about 20s per owt. ou each 
barrel of Ihpior. As the l ark now shipped from Sao 
Thorne realises only about 30s per cwt. in sale, tho 
saving would bo considerable. It blionld bo stated, 
however, that the experiment has been tried upon 
more than one ocosaion by tlonth American planters, 
and las proved uiiBucocssful. The first sbipmciit of 
concentrated liquor from Bolivia to London was made 
about thirly years tgo. Tho ociisignment remained 
for years iu the docks here without finding a piirohaaer, 
and .subsequent attompts to send over a partly-manu- 
faclured article in tho form of a resin wire equally 
fruitless. But the failure of these attumpla by no 
means proves that i lforts in a similar di.oction could 
not succeed now. Tho inducement is greater, inas- 
much as tlio freight now rcpio onts a much larger pro- 
portion of tho value ot the bark than it did twenty 
.seara ago ; manurnctming proccsaca have been simpli- 
fied, nod tho keenest pcs.sib!e compietition now prevails 
among a number of manufactnicrs iu four or live dif- 
ferent countries, whereas a gonoration ago two or three 
Briti-li and French houses, by simply disci untonanoing 
an innovation which they (lid i ot like, coulil effec'ually 
bar Its success. Thoercotiou of plant in I’erii for tho 
manufacture of cocaine in a crude form has proved 
sulBciently Buocosrfiil to ah or the conditions of the trade 
in 0110 important drug, and the anxiety of even the 
nion insiguiBcaiit and backward foreign Giivornments 
to promote the establishment of industrial works iu 
their torritorirs may similarly altoat the trade in other 
drugs in futuro. 
But, apart from tho estubli-liiuont of a quinine- 
factory, there are indications that tho Java planters 
nro deterniinod to endeavour to as,scrt tho power which 
effective oombination would place in their hands. 
With thoacaon which oommeuoed ou Jul.y Ist, Java 
is taking precedenco over 0(*ylon as a cinchona. pro- 
rlnoiiig country. Tho figures of tlio actual exports from 
Java and Ceylon, both reduced to English lb., and 
both tskon for tho year ou June 30.h— the cloiing dalo 
of tho Java S'asou — show that iu tho season ju-t 
brought to a olose Ceylon still gained a Pyrrhic victory 
iu the matter of weight, tho figutos footiiig up as 
follows : — 
1800-ijl Ijgi) go 1888-89 
Eoplish Lb. Eoglsah Lh. Kuglish Lb. 
Oeykia . 61)00,000 8,600,000 11,800,000 
Java ... 6,000,000 6,22.5,000 4,857,000 
But as the .Java bark contains considerably more 
quDiuic tURO tlint from Ceyloo, Java iias aotually be6o 
a Krcitcr qiuuiuc-produeer tliau Coylon tor at least 
twelve moiithK. 
Tho priucipal phaiters* asaociation of Java lias just 
publishea a most valuaMo return o.F tlie prospective 
production of quiuine bark in tho island for the next 
two aeasoi b. Tliat retnrn will bo found iu auotlier 
column. At the nieotiiig of the association at which 
it wflB mado public a resolatiou waa also adopted de- 
