THE TREE THAT BEARS QUININE. 101 



so important a rank, led the Government of India to try the experi- 

 ment of introducing the tree into the waste mountainous regions of 



CD CD 



that country. Difficulties almost insurmountable were at first presented 

 in obtaining young plants and seeds from the cinchona regions of the 

 Andes, on account of the obstacles thrown in the way by the different 

 South American governments. Several years passed before a sufficient 

 number of plants could be secured for purposes of experiment. 



Exjjerimental gardens were opened on the Xilgiri Mountains of 

 Southern India, the Himalayas on the north of Bengal, the hills of 

 Assam and the Northwest Provinces, and on the highlands of Burmah. 

 "With the exception of the Nilgirifl and Himalayas, these localities 

 were found to be unfavorable. 



At Darjeeling in the Himalayas, four hundred r ; les north of Cal- 

 cutta, near which the cinchona-gardens are located, I gathered the fol- 

 lowing particulars of the introduction and culture of the cinchona-tree, 

 and the manufacture and use of its alkaloid- : 



1. The soil, climate, and temperature of the cinchona regions of the 

 Andes were carefully noted. Gneiss and mica schist in a somewhat 

 loose and decomposed state, with a covering of vegetable mold, at 

 such an altitude as would secure a moist temperature with the least 

 possible variability, were the observed conditions, and these were 

 sought for in the Himalayas. Gneiss and mica schist compose the pre- 

 vailing formation throughout the Himalayan range, except its snow- 

 capped summits, which are granite. To find the proper altitude was 

 a more difficult matter. The higher and lower were at first tried, but 

 it was found that an elevation of from four to five thousand feet above 

 the sea-level afforded the most favorable conditions. 



The soil is, as far as possible, identical with that of the Andes. 

 The eastern terminus of the Himalavan range, being nearest to the 

 sea, and in the range of the southeast monsoon, which on land ifl 

 southwest, is constantly shrouded in mist, so much so that the ravs of 

 the sun are seldom clear. The eternal snows and glaciers are here not 

 more than fifty miles from the burning plains of Bengal, the highest 

 peak, the second in the world, being more than twenty-eight thousand 

 feet above sea-level. The rain-fall is more than double that of the 

 plains, the last ten years showing an average of one hundred and thir- 

 teen inches per year. A remarkably uniform temperature is thus se- 

 cured, the extremes being 34 r and 90, while the ordinary summer 

 range is between 60" and 70 D , and the winter between 45 and 55. 



Several varieties of the cinchona have been tried. Some have 

 failed entirely, while the C. saccirubra and G. tfisaya prove the most 

 hardy. The former of these has proved by far the most productive, 

 and is now much more generally cultivated. 



'2. The seeds ripen at the commencement of the dry season suc- 

 ceeding the rains, i. e., in October and Xovember. After being gathered 

 they are spread out, in shallow boxes to dry. It is estimated that an 



