On the Neilgherries, nearly every species has been planted in the several plantations, the pre ference being given to C. suceirubra, C. officinalis, and C. pubeseens. C. lanceolata was also culti vated during 1877-80. Succirubra and officinalis were the best of the available kinds for cultivation upon the high Neilgherry plantations. On 31st March 1882, there were 183,498 C. succirubra and 551,307 C. officinalis plants in permanent plan tation, 552 plants of Ledgeriana, 1874 of C. mierantha, 44 of Pitayensis, 9613 of hybrids and others; ' only 8 left of 120 C. Carthagena, and 5 of 15 C. Santa Fd plants raised early this year.
In the year 1880-81 the cinchona factory at Darjiling disposed of 8600 lbs. of febrifuge ; the plantation harvested a crop of 348,560 lbs. of bark. The earnings for the year amount to 80,290 rupees, representing a dividend of 8 per cent. on the capital of the plantation ; exclusive of the saving which Government derive from substituting the febrifuge for quinine in public hospitals and dispensaries. This saving Dr. King estimated at 41i lakhs for the year,—almost the value of half the capital expenditure on the plantation. The Government encouraged cotnpetition by their free sale of seed; and in 1879-80 as much as 1711Ibs. of seed were distributed. They had 847 acres under cultivation ; and at the end of 1879-80 there were 677,350 plants in permanent planta tion. The people of India owe a deep debt of gratitude to Mr. Clements Markham for bringing cinchona to them, and they should exercise it while lie still lives. It is one of the largest boons con ferred on India and its people. Ile went and resided in South America. He published (1862) his travels in Peru and India, while superintending the collection of cinchona plants and seeds; and in 1880 his Peruvian Bark ' gave a popular ac count of tho introduction of cinchona cultivation into British India.
Cinchona calisaya is found to be a very vari able species in Sikkim ; and ita variations are not confined to the form of leaves and flowers, but extend also to the chemical constitution of the bark, some of the varieties grown in Sikkim con taining nearly eight per cent. of pure quinine, while the bark of others yields very little of quinine or of any other useful alkaloid. I3ut the differences in external form and of richness in alkaloid are not related to each other in any very definite way ; and trees, of which the leaves and flowers are so much alike as to be undistinguishable from dried specimens, have been found to yield bark' of quite different chemical compesition. In Java the
Dutch have a variety of calisaya, the bark of which is richer in quinine than any bark ever imported from South America; son3e of the Dutch sarnples having yielded on analysis the extraordinary amount of 13.7 per cent. of quinine. They had been raised from a parcel of seed purchased in 1866 by the Dutch Government from Mr. Ledger. Mr. Ledger got them from a half-caste, who would not tell where be collected them, and who was murdered soon after ; the exact locality in Bolivia where they were gathered, therefore, remains un known. Mr. Ledger's seed produced 6300 trees, -which have since been largely propagated trona. The 6300 plants all agree in being rather shabby looking trees,averaging in height 25 feet, and girth ing at 6 feet from the ground 27 inches. They have tall stems, and rather small, lax, conical heads, the branche,s of which are more or less distinctly arranged in tiers. The cinchonas under favour able circumstances becotne large trees, and have the handsomest foliage of the forest. The leaves are lanceolate, glossy, and vividly green, traversed by rich crimson veins ; the flowers hang in clus tering pellicles like lilacs, of deep rose-colour, and fill the vicinity with rich perfume. Nineteen varieties of cinchona were established by Dr. Wed dell. The cascarilleros of S. Anterica divide the species into a category of colours, according to the tinge of the bark ; there are yellow, red, orange, violet, grey, and white cinchonas. The yellow, ainong which figure the Cinchona calisaya, lanci folia, condaminea, micrantha, pubescens, etc., are placed in the .first rank ; the red, orange, and grey are less esteemed. This arrangement is in proportion to the abundance of the alkaloid quinine, used in medicine instead of the bark itself. The following prices have been realized in London :— C. succirubra, red bark, 2s. 6d. to 8s.,6d. per lb.
C. G, frutex, C. vera, ys116w bark, 2s. 10d. to 7s. per lb.
C. officinalis, var. Writusinga, Loxa bark, var. (b) Con darninea, select crown bark, 2s. 10d. to 7s.