678 
YME TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[March i, 1892, 
INDIAN GUTTA PERCHA. 
The Panehotee Jree, Diclmpfu jSllipHca, (frows 
■plentifnlly in the Wynsad and yieldi an abundance o[ 
milk, and aoma of the plautelts have been aekini; for 
information on the eubject and enquiring wbetlier it 
could be made Into a commercial article. The milk 
baa been known for aome years to afford what waa 
called Indian Qutta Percha or Palm Gum, and has 
beenaaed aa’an adnlterant of Singapore Gotta. General 
Onlleu bronght it to notice about thirty-five ye»re 
ago and Dr. Cleghorn when Oonaervator of Foreata 
wrote an intereating memorandum on the aubiuol. It 
Waa reported upon by experta in London who found 
that it was unfit tor water-proofing purposea as it§ 
aolution in coal tar and turpentine dry up to anoh a 
brittle conaiatenoe that the fabric is quite useless. Mr. 
Hooper, the Government Guinologiat, saya, " it 
could be used as a birdlime or cement, and keeps 
well under water, as a cable insulator, eapeoially 
if mixaed with some genuioe gutta and that by 
boiling the milk of the Pauebotee treo, a white mass 
separalea, which can be kneaded by the fingers, but 
which becomes bard and brittle by the cold.” The 
brittle ebaraoter of this snbstanoe Mr. Hooper says 
“ is due to a large proportion of a oryataline substance 
found in the true gutta and called crystalban, or alhan. 
Crystalban, aooording to Payne, occurs to the extent 
of from 13 to 19 per cent, in the best of gutta per- 
oha, but I have extraoted ns much as 69 2 per cant, 
of orystalbao from the seocetion obtainod from the 
Wynaad. The presence of a large quantity of crystals 
in this gum of course, would interfere with its utility 
but oryatalbau is easily removed by boiling alcohol, 
and the residue consists of a very good and pure 
“ Qutta Peroha.” Mr. Hooper adds that he cannot sea 
why this process could not be used to purify the Indian 
Gntta Percha and ao obtain an article aimilar to the 
Malayan gum.” — Snul/i cj India Observer, Jan. 23. 
INDIAN GOVERNMENT QUININE. 
The report for the year ending March Slst, 1891, 
of the Goveromeot oinohona plantatioos in India* baa 
jnal been published, and we gather from it' that the 
Naduva'am qninine-taotory has emerged sueoessfully 
from the moat critical period of its exiatonce, though 
it has been by no means exempt from tee nsnal trials 
of intanoy. In the spring of 1890 all work was tem- 
porarily suspended, owing to an onthresk among the 
workmen of an influenza epidemic, an affliction wbioh 
one would hardly look for m a quinioe-factory. q’hen 
it was found that part of the new plant erected in 
the works wss in sooh a bad condition that it was 
neoessaty almost to remake it before it ronld boused, 
a circumstauoe whicb seems to prove that tbo curse 
of Bosmped work, so rife among certain Government 
departmouts at homo, is not unknown in India. After 
these difficulties had baeu surmounted a good part of 
the year was gone, and in the meantime the stock 
of bark in the Government warehouses had become 
so large as to cause serious iuconvenienoe. Then 
came another adversity. Tb«,Qovernment bad mado 
a oontraot in Hamburg for the supply of 20,000 lb. 
of loeel oil for the works, and by some means or other 
the shipment of this requisite was inexplicably delayed 
for many months. Similar delays occurred in the 
supply of caustio soda and sulpheric acid, and. by 
the end of Juno, the oharcoal and filtering-paper alone 
of all tbo requisites ordered had been recaived at 
Naduvatam. When the fusel oil began to arrive, at 
last, it waa found to be pecked in litoma inntead of 
casks, a needless outlay of over -lOf. being therobi 
caused upon the first shipment alone. After long 
wailiog, caustio soda and aniphutic acid had to bo 
purchased in India at a cost much exceeding that 
which would have been incurred had the responsible 
individuals, whoever they were, boon more alive to 
their duties. " A private firm in Madras,” says Mr. 
Lawson, oomplaiuingly, “ wonld have obtained the goods 
within (our months of tlioir writing for them —as 
* Boutbecn India.— E d. 7’. A, 
good a Commentary as can be made upon the in- 
ability of our State departments, as now constituted, 
to compete against private enterprise. However, even 
official delay comes to ao end ; and in the ssooiid 
b> if of the year the factory was fairly started. Its pre- 
sent capacity, calculated upon the basis of iiiiintarrupted 
work, is -1,000 lb. of sulphate of qniuiuo per animm; 
but the total output for tlio financial year ending 
March 81 last only amounted to 2,928 lb. in addition 
to 1,060 lb ;of febrifnge. It is now proposed to increase 
the capacities of the factory, experience having shown 
that the possibilities of increased consumption of 
qninine among the poorer classes of natives are practi- 
cally unlimittd. The present ontpnt could be almost 
doubled by a slight extenaiou of tbo vats and steam. 
pans. Many improvements in the plant have already 
been effected, and everything is ready to increase the 
usefulness of tho (aotofy as soon as the neoeasary 
funds are conceded by the Indian (loverument. The 
grinding room has been separated from the boiling and 
crystalln-ing room. Tbe macerating vats and stills 
have been lodged in a separate building, and a second 
drying-room has been erected, which ta heated by 
steam. A second boiler for healing the stills was also 
purchased during tbe year. A wuU has been sunk and 
a reservoir put up. The Nadnvatam quinine is sold 
exclusively in India. In July last the first quarterly 
supply of ^0 lb. was forwarded to the Medical Stores 
Department in Colombo, the superintendent of whiob 
expressed himself in no flattering manner about the 
drug. ** Tbe appearance of the quinine,” he said, 
“ is very much against it, and 1 hope that future 
supplies wilt be better orystallised. Unless this point 
is attended to, it can never compete with Howards & 
Sons' or other well -known quinine,” I'beso candid obser- 
vations were rather hard upon tbe Naduvatam people, 
especially as they had evidence to show that the 
({nality of their quinine was excellent so far as freedom 
from iraperity waa oonceruod. They explained to 
their Ceylon critic that tlie crystallisation was really 
very good ami tbe bad appearance due to the drug 
having been partially dried by preesoro instead of by 
absorption in consequence of which the crystals had 
been broken. Since then the process which gave rise 
to the criticism has been abandoned, and the (|uiniue 
sapplied ieavee no further room for criticism. Mr. 
David Hooper is now at work upon tho acid snlphate 
process used in Holland and fl-irraany, and by means 
of which, upon second crystallisation, nearly the whole 
of the oinobonicine is eliminated from tho quinine. 
Particnlars of Mr. Hooper’s inveetigatiousarenol given, 
but they loem to have been satisfactory, for we are 
told that tho process will probably before long be 
adopted when working upon red and hybrid cin- 
chonas, 
Tho greater part of the quinine prodnoed 
at Naduvatam is supplied to the Govern- 
ment medical stores in Madras, Bombay and 
Colombo; but we gather that it is hoped that 
in coming years the factory will find its principal 
outlet among the natives, to whom it has lately com- 
nioncod to supply the drug iu .l-grain pqwdi rs through 
the medium of certain petty local officials. Pockets 
ooiitainiiig 100 such powders are supplii-d to these oUi- 
cials at 1 rupee 8 aunaseacli. They retail the powders 
at 3 pies each, and have n selling oominissinn of 1 
anna pur packet for themselves. Of the nine officials 
to whom supplies were rent by way of experiment 
two disposed of the whole lot, and carried from 31. to 
4/. commission each. Bevei’al others have shown great 
apathy, but they are being stirred into activity ; sod 
it is liopml that tho villagers will gradually be brought 
to sppreoialu the born wbicli the Imliau Gi ver-. uient 
are extending to them, ntnl which was the underlying 
oeusiileratiou wliich led to the eslablisbmeut of the 
Indian Government cinchona plantation and of the 
Nadnvalaui factory. H"t it seems that, at present, the 
iiativu appreciation of the H-pie packets is iiiterlcred 
witli somewhat by the tact that tho Hind' os by walk- 
ing to tbo nearost towu dispeussry, and npp"»bng 
tliora in forma pimperis, cau get a quinine powder 
gratuitously. The walk to lowu is often along one, 
and ilie native is naturally iiidolout ; but coppers, on 
