Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-10-16

the way, is the Bolivian dollar, and Is
worth 25 cents less than the sol" dol
lar) of Peru; and the Bolivian peso Is
worth % cents less than the bolivian;
while every American dollar in gold or
paper commands at least Sl.SO in Bolt
Wan currency.
As an example of the rapid deprecia-
ton IN the price of bark may be men
toned the Erickson plantation, which
q few years ago, was valued at mill
lion and half bolivinas, and Is now
offered for sale at less than quarter Of
that amount, but cannot find purchat
err, Nearly all of Bolivias cascarilla IL
OF the red variety, known az quina
morada. The number of quna trees
now under cultiyat - In this country
is said to exceed 100000; about two
thirds of them being near the northern
border. In the province Of MapirL whose
business center Is Sorrato. The depart
ment OF Yungas cultivates half mill
lion trees, and a great many are grown
In the Beni province, farther to the
east. II is impossible to get any reliable
statistics regarding Benis productions,
because they all go to the eastern coast
of the continent, via the Amazon and it's
tributaries. Indeed. there are no print
ed statistics OF any kind concerning Boz
livias export or import, and no history
Of the country was eyer written, ex-
cept one small and very incomplete edl-
tion in Spanish, published half CEN
fury ago,
CULTIVATION OF QUINA.
As 20 the treatment of chincona;
at this distance from the equator II
viii not grow at greater elevation
than 5000 feet, nor lower than 5000, The
seeds, which are sown In beds: and so
very small, lighter than the lightest
thistle down, that the least breeze will
blow them away, necessitatlng great
care in the handling. Wher the plants
are about foot high they are trans
planted five or six feet apart. to the
sunnySlde Of a mountain. 1t is assert
ed that virgin soil is absolutely neces-
sary and that the addition of any kind
Of fertilizer would be ruln0us Twice
every year the earth between the trees
il slightly disturbed by the primitive
plows OF the country, and that Is all the
cultivation they require, At the age
of eight years the trees are ready to
strip or il the owners is hard up, as is
usually the case, part Of them may be
utilized sooner and young plants put in
to their places. In some sections II Is
customary To remove from each tree
about one quarter of its bark every
years, but here the tree Is cut down to
the ground. its trunk and large limbs
peeled, and the smallest branches care
fully scrapod, clear to the leaves. An
eight-year-old tree yields from ~ TO Is
pounds Of bark, which In the present
depressed state OF trade. is Worth only
about rs cents, II the peeled-off bark
happens TO get wet II loosss much OF
q to all "a al Int ~
en- has 10 build ample sheds In which
TO dry It. The trunk OF the tree after
having been peeled, Is entirely value.
less, not even good for flrewood in n
country where fuel Is scarce, The cost
OF cutting, drying and packing the
bark IL about Sl.90 per hundred weight
A box Is lined with burlap, and then
with layer Of banana leaves The
bark Is put In and pressed down by
machinery untll the box will hold no
more and the scale indicates exactly
100 pounds. II Is then removed from the
box, banana leaves and all second
sack II added, and the whole bound
tight with rawhide thongs. There are
no fewer than p varieties Of the quna
tree, some worthless, others ranging In
the amount of Wlnine contained I'm the
bark from one-half per cent to per
cent The buyer must know his bust
ness for II not an expert, he Is likely
to be badly sold The gold brick"
swindle has not been so often perpe-
trated IN the United States as that of
selling for cascarilla the worthless bark
OF some other tree. A well known dea-
Ter OF La Paz, who ought to have known
what he was about after years of exper-
ience recently lost 100000, at one fell
swoop on a shipload OF bark supposed
20 be cascarilla, but which, when arr
rived at the English market turned out
to be species Of oak, good for nothing
under the SUM-
FANNIE b. WARD.