506 
Aloes  in  Curacao. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
Oct.,  1890. 
that  is  so,  no  distinction  is  made  between  the  two  plants  by  the 
juice  manufacturers,  and  both  are  boiled  down  together.  In  1885  a 
few  young  plants  of  the  East  Indian  Aloe  Socotrina,  which  yields  a 
juice  of  much  higher  commercial  value  than  A.  vulgaris,  were  pur- 
chased from  one  of  the  German  botanical  gardens  through  the  inter- 
vention of  Professor  Suringar,  a  well-known  Dutch  scientist,  and 
forwarded  to  Aruba  with  a  view  of  acclimatizing  the  Socotrine 
variety  there ;  but  the  experiment  failed  completely,  as  most  of  the 
plants  perished  during  the  voyage,  and  the  residue  met  a  similar  fate 
shortly  after  its  arrival.  It  is  not  improbable,  however,  that  fresh 
efforts  will  be  made  in  course  of  time  to  improve  the  species,  and 
this  is  an  absolute  necessity  if  the  industry  is  to  be  maintained,  for 
at  present  the  market  value  of  the  common  Curacao  aloes  juice  has 
fallen  to  such  a  point  that  in  many  cases  the  proceeds  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  pay  the  wages  of  the  laborers  who  cut  the  plant.  Mr. 
Holmes  is  of  opinion  that  Aloes  Perryi  would  be  the  most  suitable 
species  to  employ  for  the  improvement  of  the  Curacao  aloes.  The  prin- 
cipal commercial  use  of  Curacao  aloes  was  in  dyeing,  especially  in  the 
preparation  of  Bismarck  brown.  That  color,  however,  is  by  no 
means  so  much  in  demand  now  as  it  used  to  be,  and  as  in  medicine 
Curacao  aloes  is  used  only  for  veterinary  purposes,  the  demand 
has  naturally  ceased  to  keep  pace  with  the  supply. 
There  is  scarcely  a  culture  which  requires  less  trouble  and  skill 
than  the  propagation  of  Curacao  aloes.  The  soil  need  only  be 
cleared  of  trees  and  shrubs  to  be  ready  for  planting.  Manuring  is 
unnecessary,  and  there  is  no  need  of  fencing  the  plantation,  as  the 
only  animals  from  which  the  young  plants  have  anything  to  fear 
are  pigs,  which  are  apt  to  dig  up  the  roots.  The  plants  are  set  out 
in  rows,  between  which  a  space  of  about  two  feet  is  left  open. 
They  grow  everywhere,  even  in  the  most  rocky  soil,  with  remark- 
able facility.  The  plants  yield  their  juice  after  the  rainy  season,  and 
they  are  propagated  from  the  young  shoots,  which  sprout  up  all 
around  the  parent  plant,  and  are  sold  by  the  thousand.  It  does  not 
appear  that  the  plants  are  ever  propagated  from  seed.  The  flower  of 
the  aloes  growing  in  Curacao  is  of  a  yellow  color,  while  that  of  the 
Socotrine  aloes  is  red.  Mr.  Van  Koolwyk,  a  gentleman  who  lived 
in  the  Dutch  West  India  islands  for  many  years,  gives  the  follow- 
ing account  of  the  collection  and  preparation  of  the  aloes  juice  :  The 
plants  are  cut  some  time  after  the  rains  have  ceased  as  the  juice  is 
