May 2, 
THt TR0h6AL AfiftlbULtUmSt. 
8^7 
QUININE AND CINCHONA IN 
ISRITISII INDIA. 
In our issue of June !), 1888, we gave an account 
of the process for manufacturing sulphate of quinine 
then newly inaugurated by the Indian Government 
upon some of their cinchona estates. Further de- 
tails of this process are now made public in Mr. 
Lawson’s report on the Indian Government cinchona 
plantations. That report deals with the quinine 
factory at Nadnvatam, in the Nilgiri district. The 
jiiodiu opt^'andi followed^ at Nadnvatam is practically 
the same as that published about two years ago; 
hence, although the account is repeated in the pre- 
sent report, it does not add, and could not be ex- 
pected to add, much to our knowledge. Some wrinkles 
have evidently been gained by experience. The bark 
is no longer powdered so fine as it was at first, a 
No. 64 sieve having proved sufficient for the purpose, 
instead of the No. 1.80 one first employed. The pro- 
portions of cinchona powder, alkali, and kerosene, 
have also boon slightly modified, the present formula 
being to place 2001b. of powdered bark in a cylindri- 
cal vat with 100 gallons of water holding 14 lb. of 
caustic soda in solution, adding to this amixtur o 
of 96 gallons paraffin and 24 gallons fusel oil, and 
agitating for three hours with a revolving paddle, 
'rhe subsequent process of drawing off the oil into 
which the alkaloids have been incorporated, dissolving 
out the latter by means of water acidulated with 
Bulpburic acid, filtering the acid liquor throi^h char- 
coal, cryatallisiug out the sulphate of quinine, and 
drying the crystals, is all substantially the same aa 
when described eighteen months ago. The bark now 
used for manufacturing purposes at Nadnvatam is 
a mixture of branch, stem, and root of Ciwhona ofii- 
cinaUa. It has an alkaloidal value of 3 02 per cent, 
quinine, 101 per cent, cinchonidine, 0T4 per cent, 
quinidine, 0'24 per cent, cinchonine, and O'SO per cent, 
amorphous. Its equivalent in quinine sulphate is 
4 06 per cent. The factory has had to struggle 
with a good many adversities before it was able to 
work without interruption on a large scale. The 
manufactory was started at Nadnvatam in .Tune, 
1889, but it took four months to train the native 
workmen to their task. This work accomplished, it 
was found that the loss of the costly fimol oil was 
so groat aa seriously to hamper the working of the 
process, and the manufacture hod to bo suspended 
until February, to admit of the erection of a still 
for recovering the fusel oil. .Tnst aa everything was 
ready to start, influenza broke out at Nadnvatam, 
and all the native workmen ran away to their homes 
in Mysore, a fresh squad having to be engaged and 
drilled. Finally, the steam-engine was found in- 
adequate for its work, and the plant had to undergo a 
thorough alteration. All obstacles, however, wore 
ultimately overcome, and since the end of May of 
this year the factory is in full working order. The 
cost of manufactiiring the first batch of 227 lb. sul- 
phate of quinine was 3,915'12 rupees, or 17’4 rupees 
per lb., equal to about la. 6i/. per oz. It took 6,000 
b. of bark to obtain that quantity of sulphate of 
quinine. The value of tho bark was 3,626 rnpoos ; 
ftiol, chemicals, and the coat of plant amounted to 
206 rupees ; and for labour only 84 rupees, or leas 
than one-third of a penny per oz. of quinine, is 
charged. It is, therefore, not likely that tho Indian 
Government quinine will do ninch injury to the sale 
of tho European article in the East, even if it 
should ever attempt to enter into serious competi- 
tion with the latter. But as the Naduvatam factory 
is only estimated to turn out tho comparatively in- 
significant total of about 6.6,000 oz. per annmii, there 
is not much chance of that. 
Added to Mr. Lawson’s report on quinine manu- 
facture is a statement by Mr. D. Iloopcr on the 
progress of tho Government plantations during the 
year under review, which contains some interesting 
notes on the experiments on the artificial increase 
of tho alkaloidal value of cinchonas. Since 1886 a 
valuable scries of experiments on the effect of manur- 
>bg on the different species of cinchona has been 
Inaugurated, and the result has been to prove that 
(he applicatiou of atumouiitcal manuro, each aa 
IQS 
Fb 
cattle, stable and poonac, to cinchonas is always 
attended with a profitable outturn of a large quan- 
tity of richer bark, especially on young and fast- 
growing species, as Sueeiriiiras, Ledi/em, and llyhnda, 
and that the agents employed act more energetically 
upon younger trees than older ones and upon the 
fast-growing trees just mentioned that on the slow- 
growing oj/icinatia. It remained to be proved whether 
the action of fertilising agents for a longer period 
on otficinatia trees would be attended with remuner- 
ative resnlts, and what effect they would havenpon 
mossed and renewed barks. 
In order to elucidate this problem careful experi- 
ments were made with ten ofliciiialia trees at Doda- 
betta. Four of these were oloven-years old trees 
and six twonty-ono-yoar-old trees. The manures used 
were bone-meal, fish, lime and cattle manure. One 
pomid of tho bone-meal manure or 2i lb. of fish 
manure were used to each tree, but the quantity of 
the other manures employed is not stated. Of the 
elovon-year-old natural odicinalis trees, the one 
manured with bone-meal yielded 6’f8 per cent, of 
total alkaloid and an equivalent of 4'9.5 per cent, of 
sulphate of quinine. That manured with fish afforded 
respectively 6"a2 and 5-94 per cent., while from lime 
and cattle manure .6-68 and 6-19 per cent., and from 
bone-meal and cattle 5’97 and 6'.85 per cent, respec- 
tively were obtained. Tho results obtained from the 
twenty-one year old trees, were; os follows Eenowod 
bark : fash manure, 8'21 per cent, total alkaloid, 8-4.8 
per cent, sulphate of quinine ; bone-meal manure, 7-03 
per cent, total alkaloid, 7 02 per cent, sulphate of 
quinine. Mossed bark : fish manure, 6-61 and 6-97 pep 
cent,; bone-meal, 7-48 and 7-03 per cent, respectively. 
Natural bark; fish-manure 6-14 and .5-.64 per cent." 
bone-meal, 7-38 and 6-85 per cent, respectively. ’ 
All these are exceedingly good barks, when com- 
pared with the natural crown bark, containing an 
average of 3 per cent, of qninine when grown in the 
same situation without manure. The fish manure 
especially has raised tho amount of qninine to a 
considerable extent in the barks to which it was ap- 
plied. 
Ill tho present critical state of tho cinchona industry 
such experiments must be of considerable value to 
planters. — Chetnial aiid nmi/yiat. 
SUGAR FROJI SORGHUM. 
(Front, Jlnlletiti No. 13. of the Jaoutsiattd 
Sugar Fa-periment Station.) 
Tho sorghum plant in China is poor in sugar and 
sensitive to frost. At Rio Grande it has been oo- 
climated ro that it will ntaiid quite a severe frost 
with ice, and been educated to imbibe five times its 
nornial dose of sugar. Such results so doservedlv 
merited from tho persistent energy of its intelligent 
managers, is exceedingly gratifying especially wVn 
It IS remembered that State bounty was withdrawn 
two years ago. -..uiowu 
Encouraged bv tho prospects of diffusion extracting 
all the sugar from cane, the citizens of Ottawa, 
at that point a few years since a largo and com- 
plete factory. It is merely necessary to say here 
that It failed, after the promise of great succobb. 
■ ^hat only a few more persistent and 
intelligent efforts wme needed to wrost^om sorghum 
the sugar which it contained this same Mr P»r- 
kerson, repaired to Fort Scott, and there erected the 
Parkerson Sugar Works, whose name and fame are 
now wiutten and spoken in every tongue With 
national aid, liberally bestowed, with scientific skill 
bending Bs energies upon one single accomplish, 
ment, with inmroved machinery erected for a 
purpose, the Pittkeraon Sugar Works of Fort Scott 
Kansas, sounded its determined attack unon snr^t., . ’ 
early in the fall of ’86, and millions offlsTwtt 
the issue with intense solicitude. awaited 
The interest deepened as time wore on and tk.. 
dailies with intelligent correspondonts at the alt ^ 
war, were dgugnncb^ fpi withholOias the uewa Itqq 
