CINCHONA  CULTIVATION  IN  CEYLON.  353 
sembling  the  habitat  of  the  plants  in  South  America,  and  he 
bears  testimony  to  the  skill  and  success  with  which  Dr.  Thwaites, 
assisted  by  Mr.  MacNicol,  has  conducted  the  task  of  cultivating 
and  propagating  the  quinine-yielding  plants.    Of  the  many 
thousands  planted  out  on  a  bare  slope  at  Rothschild,  exposed  to 
the  full  influence  of  light  and  wind,  he  also  speaks  in  the  highest 
terms  as  robust  and  flourishing.    He  states  that  the  Cinchonidce 
in  India  are  pretty  certain  greatly  to  excel  the  parent  plants  in 
South  America  in  the  yield  of  valuable  alkaloids.    So  striking 
is  the  improvement,  indeed,  that  what  are  reckoned  inferior 
species  in  the  country  to  which  they  are  indigenous,  vie  in  their 
products  with  the  most  valuable.    It  has  been  proved  that  not 
only  do  the  young  prunings  yield  large  quantities  of  quinine, 
but  that  by  encouraging  the  growth  of  Moss  and  Lichens  on  the 
stems,  the  quantity  of  alkaloids  is  increased ;  and  more  than 
this,  that  if  the  wounds  are  at  once  covered  over  by  Moss,  strips 
of  bark,  rich  in  the  most  valuable  of  febrifuges,  can  be  repeatedly 
taken  from  the  same  trees  without  injury  to  their  vitality. 
Every  encouraging  element,  as  far  as  cultivation  is  concerned, 
is  therefore  present;  and  to  complete  the  inducements  to  the 
Ceylon  planters  to  engage  in  the  pursuit,  there  will  be  a  market 
close  to  their  doors.    The  Government  of  India,  the  largest 
consumers  of  quinine  in  the  world,  are  about  to  establish  a  manu- 
factory for  obtaining  the  sulphate  from  the  bark,  in  the  Madras 
Presidency.    The  red  bark  of  India  and  Ceylon  will  fetch  as 
high  a  price  as  the  Calisaya  of  Bolivia,  the  most  valuable  of  all 
the  barks  (4s.  per  lb.).    If  the  price  went  down  to  one-fourth  of 
this  sum,  we  have  little  doubt  the  cultivation  would  pay.  The 
bark  could  either  go  to  India,  or  it  would  be  taken  at  a  cheap 
rate  to  England  as  filling-up  cargo.    Not  half-a-dozen  years 
have  elapsed  since  the  first  plants  were  introduced  into  India, 
and  now  they  are  to  be  found,  to  the  number  of  at  lq|st  a  million 
and  a  half,  scattered  over  the  hill-ranges  of  Ceylon  and  India, 
from  Hakgalla  to  the  Himalayas — flourishing  everywhere,  except 
in  the  hill  hollows,  where  actual  frosts  prove  fatal  to  them.  The 
Indian  Government  consider  that  the  progress  in  the  operations 
has  been  very  satisfactory,  and  they  congratulate  Mr.  M'lvor  on 
the  important  success  that  has  attended  his  labors  in  this  national 
23 
