134 THE CHEMISTRY OF ESSENTIAL OILS
became the regular cinnamon peelers. The bark previous to shipment
was examined by special officers to guard against frauds on the part of
the Chalias. The cinnamon trade fell into the hands of the Dutch in
1636, but it was not until 1770 that the idea of De Koke of attempting
the cultivation of the tree was carried out, and with such success that
the Dutch were able, independently of the kingdom of Kandy, to obtain
400,000 Ib. of cinnamon annually, and supply the whole of Europe,,
and so ruled the trade that they would even burn the cinnamon in
Holland lest an excessive supply should reduce the price.
" In 1796, when Ceylon was taken from the Dutch by the English,
the cinnamon trade became a monopoly of the East India Company,
and when the kingdom of Kandy fell under British control in 1815, the
wild cinnamon produced there was added to the cultivated kind, but
the annual export did not usually exceed 500,000 Ib. The monopoly
granted to the company was abolished in 1833, and the merchants of
Galle and Colombo were allowed a share in the trade. But a heavy
export duty of one-third or one-half its value, and the competition of
cinnamon grown in Java, and of cassia from China and other countries,
decreased the cultivation in Ceylon. This duty was not removed until
A.D. 1853.
" The Cinnamomum zeylanicum is a very variable tree, and, as al-
ready pointed out, it is difficult to classify the varieties that occur, some
botanists regarding them as distinct species. Dr. Beddome, who was
Conservator of Forests in Madras, states that there are seven or eight
well-marked varieties of Cinnamomum zeylanicum in the moist forests
of South-Western India, which might easily be regarded as so many
distinct species, but for the fact that they are so connected by inter-
mediate forms that it is impossible to find constant characters worthy
of specific distinction. He was, therefore, inclined to regard them as
forms of Cinnamomum zeylanicum, especially since they grew from the
sea level up to the highest elevation, and might owe their differences
to their local environment. They are, perhaps, better regarded from a
horticultural and commercial point of view as deserving a distinct
varietal name, in so far as their products possess a different odour, or a
different chemical composition. There can be little doubt that special
strains might be obtained by careful selection and cultivation, yielding
barks richer in oil, or oil of better quality than others.
" According to Thwaites the best cinnamon is produced from a culti-
vated form (var. a), having large leaves varying somewhat in breadth
and length on the same tree. But the shape of the foliage does not
afford any guide to the quality of the bark, so far as uncultivated trees
are concerned, so that the collectors usually taste the bark before com-
mencing to peel the wild trees. Thus the var. b. multiftorum and
y. ovalifolium yield a very inferior bark, which is only collected for pur-
poses of adulteration.
" In the Herbarium of the Pharmaceutical Society four varietes of
the wild Ceylon Cinnamon tree are represented, collected near Pera-
deniya, which were presented by the late Dr. H. Trimen, at one time
director of the Botanical Gardens in Ceylon. The first variety has
oblong-lanceolate leaves, tapering above, and has a cinnamon taste with
a slight flavour resembling that of Calamus aromaticus. This is the
best kind of the collector, but, of course, not equal to the cultivated
plant.