NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
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mizes space in the propagating cases. By this system more then three
times the number of cuttings can be placed in a four-inch pot.
18. Propagation by Buds.—The plants can also be success-
fully propagated by buds with the leaf attached, and as this method
has the advantage of producing a large number of plants, it was exten-
sively and most satisfactorily adopted in the beginning of our experi-
ment. Plate III., Figure II., illustrates the method by which this is ac-
complished, the whole secret of success depends entirely on the amount
of moisture given ; if this is supplied in excess, they rot immediately,
even in a day ; but if sufficient care is exercised, the losses will not ex-
ceed three or four per cent., and this per-centage has not been exceeded in
many thousands thus propagated. By this method, fine plants are
obtained in every respect resembling strong, healthy seedlings. The
period required to form roots is nearly the same in all the species,
varying from three to six weeks. In the figure abovementioned, the
pot on the left represents six Cinchona Calisaya buds put in on the 30th
J anuary 1862, which were all rooted in forty-one days, the date on which
the drawing was made by Mr. Batcock. The drawing on the right repre-
sents a rooted bud of the Red bark, put in at the same time. It may
be observed, that it is not indispensable that a leaf be attached to the
bud ; this is no doubt a great advantage, although we have struck
many buds without any leaf.
19. The usual way in which we prepare the buds is to remove
the point of the shoot for a cutting, the stem is then divided near the
middle of each internode, split down the centre, and immediately
placed upon the brick or in the brick dust in the pot ; the bud itself
being covered with about quarter of an inch of soil, while the leaf of
course projects above the surface. The pots are then plunged in damp
sand and treated in every respect as cuttings.
20.
Hardening.—When the cuttings are rooted they are removed
to the hardening cases, and there exposed to light and currents of air,
at first gradually, but more and more daily until they are sufficiently
hardy to bear the open air and full exposure to sunshine. This opera-
tion occupies about three weeks, when the plants are transplanted direct
to the nurseries. When it is desired to take particular care, from scar-
city or other cause, of the plants, they are transplanted singly into pots
about two inches square, formed of cowdung, as illustrated at Figure I,
Plate IV,; A, being the cowdung pot; B, the soil; C, the plant; D, the
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section. These pots, prior to use, are dried in the sun, by which they
become hard, and in every respect answer the purpose of an ordinary
pot ; when buried in the soil they become soft by the moisture, and in
this condition are easily penetrated by the roots of the plant, but are
still sufficiently adhesive to permit of handling without breaking when
removing or transplanting the plants.
21. Substitutes for earthen pots.—These cowdung pots are made in
a mould, as at Figure II., Plate IV. A, being the mould into which the
cowdung is thrown by the hand and pressed into the sixteen divisions ;
B, the block, having sixteen plugs to fit the divisions at A, is now placed
over the mould, which is raised up by the guides O, and the sixteen pots
thus formed are thrust through on to the removing board D, and carried
to a convenient place to be dried, and are then ready for use. A man
will make from 1,000 to 1,200 per diem, they are thus produced at less
than one-hundredth part of the cost of an ordinary pot, and they more
effectually answer the purpose required in giving nourishment to
the young plants, while in the operation of permanently planting
out, this plan admits of the pot with the plant being at once placed
into the soil, thus avoiding the injury done to the roots in removing
the plant from ordinary earthen pots.
22. Nurseries, formation of, in, the open air.— Nurseries are form-
ed of horizontal terraces having sufficient fall on one side to carry off
surface water. The terraces, are cut along the face of the hill in a. suc-
cession of steps, about seven feet wide, and with a deep drain at the
back, to be also used as a path ; the terraces being thus formed to the
extent the nurseries are intended to occupy, the surface of each terrace
is marked off into beds, about five feet square, a pathway being left
between each bed, and a path and drain along the back of the
whole. The beds are now covered with rich vegetable soil from the
forest, and dug over to a depth of about eighteen inches. This being
completed, forked sticks, three feet in height above the surface, and four
feet apart, are placed along the front of the beds or terraces, the same
description of sticks (but five feet in height above the surface) are placed
along the back of the beds or on the outer edge of the pathway or drain
above described. Upon these perpendicular forked sticks, horizonta
ones are placed for the support of thatched hurdles, which are
used in covering the beds, and in protecting the sides in windy weather,
while the young plants are being transplanted, and until such time as
they have become established ; when the hurdles are removed by
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degrees, by raising them more and more daily, according as the plants
indicate their ability to bear the effects of light and sunshine, the side
hurdles being retained where the nurseries are liable to be affected by
high winds.
23. The terraces are now again dug over their entire width, with
the exception of the pathway at the back, and formed into beds five feet
six inches in length, and five feet wide, with a pathway of one foot be-
tween each bed. These beds when raked smooth are ready for the recep-
tion of the young plants, which are planted four inches apart in rows across
the bed, the plants being three inches apart in the row, which gives 300
plants to each bed, or fifteen rows with twenty plants in each ; this allows
for the spaces lost at the ends of the beds. Of course, the plants in the
nurseries require watering when the weather is dry, and even if
showery, so long as they are covered with the grass hurdles. In mild
showers, it will be found beneficial to the young plants, even if not
well established, to remove the grass hurdles while the rain is falling,
but they should again be covered immediately the rain ceases.
24. When the plants are transplanted direct from the cutting
pots into the nursery, it is desirable, in order to enable the plants to be
transplanted without damage to their roots, that a layer of moss be
introduced under each line of plants. Figure II, Plate V., A represents
a transverse section of the nursery bed with moss as at C, B being the
longitudinal section. The manner in which the plants are planted
being the same as described in paragraph 30, it being essential to
success not to catch the roots of the plants in the hand, as the least
bruise destroys them, therefore the plants should invariably be lifted by
the leaves.
25. When the plants in the cowdung pots have been established
in the hardening cases, they are planted in the nursery beds, as illus-
trated at Figure III., Plate V., A being a transverse section of a row of
cowdung pots as placed in the beds, and filled in between with earth ;
B shewing a longitudinal section of the bed, the pots being placed at
the distance of two and a half inches apart, and the spaces between them
filled up with earth to a level with the stem of the plants. In this way
the plants can be removed and transplanted by untrained laborers,
without danger of damage to their roots.
26. Cultivation. —The question as to the way in which the land
should be prepared for the cultivation of Cinchonas, is one that has
been much discussed since the plants were introduced to India ; we
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have advocated that the land should be entirely cleared of forest, at
least so much of it as is intended to be planted with Cinchonas. In
very exposed situations, or such as are subject to occasional storms and.
high winds, perhaps it might be well to clear patches of a few acres in
extent here and there throughout the forest, in order to ensure shelter.
The only objection to this system is in the liability of the trees
left standing on the borders of the patches to be blown down, and
damage the plants within their reach. The system of cultivating the
Cinchonas in partially cleared land is liable to the same objection, for
the forest trees, when deprived of a portion of the support upon which
they are accustomed to lean, are also liable to be blown down ; and,
moreover, this system has the more serious objection of shading the
plants too much from the sun, while they are subjected to the damag-
ing effects of the drip during the rains, and the roots of the forest trees
immediately fill up and choke the holes into which the Cinchonas are
placed, thus depriving the young plants of nourishment. In forming
our plantations, we have planted a considerable extent of land in this
way, but with such bad results as now render it necessary to clear away
the remaining forest trees. Our principal plantations have been formed
on land entirely cleared of forest, and here the growth of the plants has
been incomparably more satisfactory than that of those placed under
any degree of living shade. It is, therefore, certain that the open system
of planting will be the only successful one, especially on the Neilgher-
ries ; it is true, that while the plants are young, this system has dis-
advantages, which should not be overlooked. I refer to the excessive
evaporation and radiation during the bright and cloudless season, when
our dry and cold weather prevails. We have hitherto combated this
difficulty, by sheltering the young plants with a temporary shading of
bamboo or fern. Many thousands of our plants, however, have passed
through successive dry seasons without any protection whatever ; and,
although their growth has not been so rapid during the cold weather,
their health is quite equal, if not superior, to any of those protected by
artificial shade, while during the spring and rainy season the growth
is more rapid in the plants without shade, than in those which have
been shaded ; consequently, the system of artificial shading may be
abandoned altogether, except in very exposed situations, and when the
plants are newly transplanted.
27. Cultivation. Preparation of Sites.—The sites being select-
ed, the operation of felling is begun at the lowest portion of the land,
and proceeding with the work upwards, until the whole is completed.
Belts of forest may be left upon the ridges to give shelter, but these
must be pretty wide, otherwise they will be destroyed by fire when.
burning the fallen forest. After the forest has lain for a sufficient time,
two to three months, to become dry and fit for burning, the
afternoon of a dry clay with a brisk wind is selected for firing,
and this operation should be done with care, as great saving in
expense and labor is secured by its being well done. A. row of coolies
being placed about twenty or thirty yards apart across the entire
length of fallen forest, at its lowest extremity, each provided with a
fire-stick and a large bundle of dry grass, the grass being carefully
placed under the leaves and branches of the fallen trees opposite to
each man, at a given signal the whole is set on fire at once, thus im-
mediately generating a force of fire which consumes nearly the whole
of the trees, and saves an immense deal of after-labor in lopping and
burning. By thus firing the forest, a good burn (as planters term it)
is almost certain, whereas if the forest is set on fire in one or two
places, it travels comparatively weakly through ' the trees, consuming
only the leaves and small branches. The burning being finished, the
next operation is to lop and burn such portions as are entangled by
the stems of the trees.
28. When the lopping is completed, the lines of road are marked
in such positions as render the different parts of the plantation easily
accessible, all the main roads should be ten feet wide, and the branch
roads five to six feet. The next operation is that of lining or marking
off the distances at which the plants are to stand apart. For C. Suc-
cirubra, C. Calisaya, and the varieties of 'Grey bark,' when the
plants are scarce, the lines should be placed ten feet apart, but when
plants are abundant the distance at which the plants may be planted
can be much reduced. The plants being thus placed close together
causes them to run up with strong stems, and afford each other shelter
and support. For the varieties of the 'Crown barks,' the lines should
be placed eight feet apart. This being done, the land is trenched over
three feet wide, and two feet deep along the lines, and the plants planted
in the trenches at six or ten feet apart. In placing the plants in the
trenches, they should stand alternately, that is, the plants of the second
row should be in the centre of the vacancies of the first row. When
trenching is considered too expensive, pits may be dug for the recep-
tion of the plants, two feet square, two feet deep, and four, six or eight
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feet from centre to centre, according to the species intended to be plant-
ed. When filling in the holes, the best surface soil mixed with a little
charcoal and the burned earth is selected, care being taken not to fill
the pits with wood ashes, which proves destructive to the plants.
29. Planting .—The best season for planting is the early part of
the year, or after the ground is well soaked by the first showers of
spring ; this gives the plants time to become well established before
the setting in of the dry winter months. Damp, cloudy or foggy
weather, without rain, is best for planting, and when the soil is not too
wet, that is, in a state that it will not clog and adhere together, which
is the case with all soils, when worked during heavy rains. In placing
the plants in the trenched land or pits, the roots must not be pressed
with the hand, as this invariably causes decay. The soil in the
trenches or pits being carefully dug over, the operation of permanent-
ly planting out may be commenced. In order to facilitate this work,
the plants when removed from the nurseries are laid in a deal box in
nearly a horizontal position, between thin layers of moss, as at Figure
I, Plate V., beginning to fill the box at D and finishing at E ; in this
way from 1,000 to 2,000 plants are placed in each box, and carried by
one or two men from the nursery ground to the planters, where the
box is placed in the centre of the line between the planters, in order
that it may be conveniently moved along as the operation proceeds.
The planters remove the plants one at a time, beginning at E, and con-
tinue this operation until the box is emptied.
30. Each plant is lifted from the box by catching the leaves
between the forefinger and thumb of the left hand, while with the
right hand the roots are freed from any obstruction ; the plant
is then carried to the spot where intended to be planted, the right hand
being thrust into the soft prepared soil in a sloping direction, and
gently raising the back of the hand to the dotted line shown at F,
Figure I., Plate VI., the earth is then drawn forward as at G, leaving a
straight bank behind the hand at H, the plant is now placed by the
left hand against the face of the bank, the collar or top of the root be-
ing held on a level with the ground, the roots are now spread out with
the right hand and the hole deepened should the length of the roots re-
quire it, the earth from G is then brought forward with the right hand
against the roots, but not pressed, and thus the operation of planting is
completed ; in this way a man can plant from 400 to 500 plants daily.
In removing the plants which are established in cowdung pots, from the
nurseries to be permanently planted out, they are raised from the
nursery beds and arranged on a light dealwood tray, two feet by three
feet, as at Figure II., Plate VI, B; this tray being filled, is lifted by the
handles and placed in the bottom of a box at C ; another tray is filled in
like manner, and three round sticks being run through the holes in the
sides of the box at D, the second tray E is placed on and supported by
these sticks, and the third tray F treated in the same way. The box
being now filled, and containing about 540 plants, is lifted by the pole
and carried by two men to the planters, where it is deposited, the same
men returning with an empty box to be re-filled. The planters first
draw out the pole G, and remove the upper tray F from the box, and
proceed to plant out the plants as illustrated at Figure III., filling in the
soil in the same manner shewn at B, this completed, the plants are
immediately shaded, and the operation of planting is completed.
31. The young plants may be shaded after planting by a cylin-
drical basket open at both ends, twelve inches in diameter, and fourteen
inches long, as at Figure I., PlateVII., made out of suitable and plentiful
material, one man making from eight to ten of such baskets daily, this
is found to be an efficient as well as an economical way of protecting
the plants, as when they are established the baskets can be removed and
are available for further use. When timber is plentiful on the spot, the
plants can be as effectually protected with split wood placed around the
plants, as at Figure II., Plate VII. This rough split wood, as a protec-
tion and shade for the young plants, has been found very suitable, while
one man is able to shade from fifty to sixty plants per day. As the
plants grow they are protected against chafing by a grass rope being
twisted round the top, as at H.
32. It may here be observed, that no plant should ever be watered
while the sun is shining upon it, as every globule of water forms
a lens, which burns up the portion of the leaf on which it rests ; neither
should any plant be buried deeper in the ground than the collar, or
union of the stem and roots. When a portion of the stem is buried in
transplanting, the growth of the plant is much retarded, and it does
not, as some suppose, give it a firmer hold of the ground, but the re-
verse. When manure can be obtained, its application will be found to
be highly beneficial, as Cinchona plants, like the coffee, delight in a good
soil well enriched by manure. If used too fresh, the application of
manure might prove injurious ; it is, therefore, always safest to apply
such manure only as is well decomposed.
When the planting is finished, the young plants must be carefully
attended to until such time as they become established; should the
weather prove wet with high gales of wind, the shading should be
drawn out to such a distance as not to touch or rub upon the plant
when moved by the action of the wind.
33. The plants when young are shaded and protected as describ-
ed above, and when they attain the height of two to three feet, they are
staked, and tied with grass ropes, as at Figure III., Plate VII., A, great
care being taken to see that the grass rope does not touch the stem of
the plant, as when this is the case, the movement of the plant by the
winds cuts the bark through at the point of contact with the rope, and
destroys the plant; this can be effectually avoided by drawing the rope
up to encircle the leaves and small branches when present, so that the
leaves or branches come between the rope and the stem of the plant.
This requires particular attention, because, if not attended to, a whole
plantation might be destroyed in one storm, it being much better
that the plants be not tied at all, if not scoured etictually. To
stake a large number of plants may occasionally prove inconvenient
and sometimes impossible, especially where labor is scarce. On the
Neilgherries our plants suffer most from the violence of the winds in
June and July, when, on exposed situations, they are frequently cut
to pieces by the heavy gales, in consequence of the branches lashing
one against the other, and the heavy top giving the action of the
wind a leverage over the stem, renders the plant liable to be broken
off a few inches above the ground. These bad effects can be in a great
degree avoided by trimming the plants up,
c., removing the side
branches and large leaves in the early part of June, an illustrated at
Figure IV., Plate VII., B. The trimming of the plants and the conse-
quent removal of leaves in some degree retards the development of the
stems, but asthis pruning does not require to lie alter thu secon,1
year's growth, the injury is merely temporary, and is more than com-
pensated in the saving of the expense and labor atamdant on staking
and tying. The plants being once fairly established, the plantations,
like those of coffee, will merely require to be ocasioually weeded, and
the surface turned over from time to time, in order to permit of the
action of the atmosphere upon the soil,
34. It may be expected of as to answer the very natural, and
probably the first question which will arise in the mind of every plan-
ter, namelv. " How will Cinchona cultivation pav
Althoiagh
have not yet practically answered this question, I feel called upon to
contradict a very erroneous notion which has been extensively propa-
gated, that " Cinchona trees will not produce bark under forty or fifty
years." It is hot desirable to be over-sanguine as to the produce to be
obtained from any new cultivation, but still the advantages which the
Cinchonas offer should be taken fairly into consideration. In the
early part of this experiment, it occurred to me that a small produce
might be obtained in the sixth or seventh year after planting, since
then it has been proved, that a small harvest of bark may be pro-
cured in the fourth or fifth year, and that Cinchonas will not be far
behind coffee or tea in the period which must elapse between the time
of planting and that of reaping the first crop. Another serious
objection urged against the profitable cultivation of Cinchonas is the
supposed necessity of felling the trees in order to procure the bark,
because this has usually been done on the Andes. There can, however,
be no doubt that such a system can never be put into operation with
plants under cultivation. The opinion which I first advanced has
already been fully confirmed, namely, that constant and uniform yearly
supplies of bark can be obtained by lopping and pruning the trees, this
operation being necessary in order to give our Cinchona trees straight
clean trunks of from twenty-five to thirty-five feet in height from the
ground to the first branch, the stems yielding at the same time large
supplies of bark by the system described in paragraphs 42, 43 and 44.
35. Judging from the growth the plants have attained here, I
estimate as the probable produce of the fifth year half a pound of bark
from each tree, or 250 lbs. per acre.
36. The cultivator of Cinchona should bear in mind that the
expenses of the plantations are heaviest at first, namely, from the first
to the fifth year, as after this period the cost of maintaining the planta-
tions will be a mere trifle, the trees being once fairly established,
require neither care nor attention, but only time to enable them to gain
their full development. After that age, neither would the health of
the plants nor the annual produce of the plantations be affected by
adverse seasons.
37. Value of' South American bark, compared with that pro-
duced on the Neilgherries.
We find that Howard, in his noble work " Nueva Quinologia,"
gives, as the finest produce of South American bark, the following
results:—"A particular parcel of fine Calisaya, examined carefully