Ara.  Jour.  Pliarm.  ) 
Jan.,  1885.  I 
Harveding  of  Cinchona  Bark. 
41 
bark  is  required,  or  when  the  sort  does  not  allow  of  the  "  mossing  sys- 
tem the  felling,  or  rather  nprooting,  of  the  tree,  is  still  practised 
exceptionally,  when  it  withers,  or  when  the  plantation  requires  thinning. 
Lastly,  by  way  of  trial,  another  method  has  been  followed  for  a 
short  time,  viz.,  scraping  off  the  outer  bark ;  but  though  this  product 
offered  a  precious  and  valuable  material  for  the  quinine  manufacturer, 
the  "  scraping  system  has  not  been  continued  on  account  of  culture 
and  commercial  considerations.  If  I  do  not  mistake,  the  Ledgeriana 
(in  chips)  realized  at  the  sales  in  Amsterdam,  in  1879,  the  enormous 
price  of  10*44  f.  per  J  kilogram.  The  quinine  proportion  was  13 
per  cent. 
Tlie  "  coppicing  system  "  in  a  modified  form,  by  leaving  one  shoot 
on  the  stem,  is  now  generally  and  successfully  practised  in  Java  with 
the  C.  Ledgeriana. 
The  harvest  of  cinchona  bark  deserves  a  moment's  further  attention, 
as  so  little  is  known  about  it.  Do  not  expect  a  description  like  "  Les 
Vendanges"  in  Provence  or  Languedoc,  or  a  mill-feast  in  a  sugar- 
works  in  East  Java,  or  of  thepadi-cutting  in  Java  described  by  Multatuli. 
The  reaping  of  the  cinchona  bark  is  unattended  by  poetical  accessories, 
and  the  work-people  are  all  quiet.  In  those  elevated  regions,  sparsely 
populated,  and  then  only  temporarily,  no  clamor  whatever  prevails. 
All  nature  bears  an  appearance  of  monotony  and  gloominess.  In  the 
gardens  and  woods  the  sun  can  hardly  penetrate ;  the  trees  mostly 
dripping  with  rain,  or  from  the  clouds  floating  above,  it  breaks  down 
in  a  dreadful  thunderstorm.  Then  the  laborers — among  whom  are  not 
unfrequently  mothers  with  infants  at  the  breast — experience  all  the 
miseries  of  a  mountain  climate  at  an  elevation  of  7,000  feet.  Shiver- 
ing with  cold,  the  women  sit,  sheltered  as  much  as  possible  by  a  screen 
of  plaited  dried  leaves,  peeling  the  lopped  branches,  and  cutting  the 
wet  bark  to  measure;  the  small  slivers,  or  so-called  refuse,  is  carefully 
collected  in  l)askets. 
The  heavier  work  is  performed  by  men ;  they  lop  the  branches,  or, 
if  the  ^'mossing  system''  be  followed,  they  make  incisions  lengthwise 
in  the  stem,  at  intervals  of  3  to  5  or  more  centimetres,  according  to 
the  thickness  of  the  tree,  and  then  strij)  the  stem  from  below  upwards 
to  where  the  branches  begin,  but  in  such  a  manner  that  strips  of  bark 
of  equal  breadth  are  left  alternately  on  the  stem,  by  which  it  assumes 
somewhat  the  appearance  of  a  fluted  column.  The  strips  of  bark  are 
then  cut  into  lengths  of  50  centimetres,  and  the  stem,  which  is  partially 
