Assam.—

Mr. Mann reports with respect to the small patches of Cinchona plantations below Nungklow, in the Khasia Hills:—" Cinchona officinalis appears to be healthy, the other two species (Cinchona succirubra and Cinchona micrantha) all present a very sickly appearance, and most of them have only a few leaves at the extremities of the branches. Both species flower sparingly and form no good seedpods. This condition of the plants is ascribed not so much to the climate and altitude as to the very steep slope and shallow surface soil resting on rock, which does not retain sufficient moisture to suit these plants. The plants of Cinchona succirubra, near Jirang, look very much better, and both altitude and situation, as well as the soil in that place, seem to be more suited to this species than in the Nungklow plantations."

Burma.—

Major Seaton reports rather unfavourably on the prospects of Cinchona cultivation. The plantation appears to have been made as far back as 1871:—" All things considered, the Cinchona experiment does not promise well. The oldest trees dying off, and the trees of very small size flowering and fruiting freely, aw only too sure signs that the tree finds itself in a site not adapted to its requirements." It appears, however, that a Ceylon planter has made inquiries about a grant of land in the neighbourhood. It is possible, that with the technical knowledge as to the methods of cultivation of Cinchona, and of obtaining a speedy financial return from it, which have been worked out in Ceylon, a better face may be put upon the experiment in Burma.

Central Africa.—

Dr. Lowe, Inspector of Hospitals of the Soudan, informs me that at Gadarif, near the frontier of Abyssinia, Cinchona succirubra does well.

Ceylon.—

The enterprise of the planters, and the necessity of obtaining a speedy return for invested capital, has led to much more rapid methods of harvesting the bark crop being adopted in this island than at the first commencement of the enterprise would have been thought possible. The following statement appeared in the "Ceylon Observer" for Sept. 13th, 1878:—" Over large areas in Ceylon it seems as if Cinchona officinalis came to maturity in four and a half years, while if trees begin to show signs of canker or decay at even two and a half years, the bark ought at once to be utilized. Bark of such trees will pay well for the gathering. We once sent to Messrs. Howard a specimen of bark from three and a half years old trees. The verdict was, 'good' marketable bark as it stands.'"

Jamaica.—

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"Unless the trees are planted thickly enough to 'bower' the ground, as the planters say, the cost of weeding is nearly 4l. per acre per annum. By the third year the trees, if well planted and well supplied, ought to cover the ground and save all subsequent weeding."

Mauritius.—

Mr. Cantley reports:—"The Cinchonas have grown but slowly. Few experiments have been made with the plants, owing to more pressing work. The plants planted in the forests at a greater altitude than that of the gardens have not grown satisfactorily, but it is hoped some method of growing this useful plant, which will give beneficial results, may still be hit upon; only it must differ considerably from that of other countries."

Sikkim.—

In his report for 1878-1879 on the Government Cinchona plantations in Bengal, Dr. King states: page 15 —"The most interesting feature in the details of the crop is the fact that four acres of yellow barks (Cinchona Calisaya) planted during 1871-1872 yielded, when coppiced, at the rate of no less than 1,882 lbs. per acre. The present is the first season during which Calisaya has been cropped, and if this result can be taken as an indication of the rate of produce to be expected, the future prospects of the cultivation of this species are reassuring."

No locality with perfectly suitable climatic conditions having yet been found for the growth of Cinchona Calisaya in British Sikkim, Dr. King was authorised by the Government of Bengal to visit Java to examine the conditions under which the Dutch have there succeeded in growing the tree successfully.

The Government of Bengal, in reviewing the operations of the Cinchona plantations in British Sikkim for 1878-1879, arrives at the satisfactory conclusion that the enterprise is in every way a financial success. "The total amount of capital, with interest at 4 per cent., that has been sunk in the Cinchona plantations and in the manufactory is approximately 10 lakhs of rupees; the receipts for the year 1878-1879, therefore, after paying all expenses, yielded interest of about 4¼ per cent, on the capital outlay, and even if subsequent years show no improvement, as it may be confidently assumed they will do, a sufficient annual income would almost have been realized.

"But this system of computing profits falls very far short of doing justice to the real benefit which the Government has derived from the Cinchona plantations. The 5,500 lbs. of alkaloid taken by the different medical departments replaced an equal amount of quinine that would otherwise have been purchased and supplied to hospitals and dispersaries. At the very moderate rale of Rs. 80 per lb., the cost of this would have come to Rs. 4,40,000, and this amount, plus the actual sales to the public and Staits Settlements Rs. 41,540, in allRs. 4,81,540, is the true measure of the gain to Government from the Cinchona manufacture. looking at the financial question in this way, as may most fairly be done, the plantations by the end of the current year will have cleared off the entire capital that has been invested in them."

Up to the end of 1378-1379 Dr. King shows that the total saving effected to Government by the use of febrifuge in the place of quinine had already amounted to 7¾ lakhs of rupees. He continues: "As for the febrifuge itself, extended experience of its administration appears to have increased the confidence both of the medical profession and of the general public in its virtues as a febrifuge. Complaints of its nauseating effects are now seldom heard of, and there appears to be little doubt that these were originally largely due to the practice of giving too large doses of a drug which is really about as powerful a febrifuge as quinine."

With regard to price, Mr. C. H. Wood, the Government Quinologist, anticipates that the cost of the febrifuge will ultimately be brought to about eight annas an ounce.

Singapore.—

Mr. Murton (Superintendent of the Botanic Gardens) reports:—" All attempts to grow this here have proved fruitless, but Cinchona Calisaya and Cinchona succirubra are likely to do well at 2,000 feet elevation in Perak."

Tinnivelly.—

Col. Beddome reports:—" A few plants were sent from page 16 the Nilgiris for trial in this district (1856), and the Cinchona suedrubra plants were put down at an elevation of about 3,000 feet, in a small clearing in the ghat forests; they have been left entirely to nature, but owing to the moister climate, the growth contrasts very favourably with that of Neddivattum or elsewhere on the Nilgiris. During my last inspection I found one of the larger trees to be nearly 50 feet high; it had three large stems at about 1 foot from the base, the leaves having, it was said, been broken by a monkey when young."