October i, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



241 



come very true, even the progeny o£ the original seed from 

 BoUvia showing a good deal of variation. The theory that 

 this is due in some measui-e to "cross-fertilization" might ex- 

 plain the imdoubted improvement in the trueness of the seed 

 from a tree grown in proximity to other species, after isol- 

 ation. This has been couspiciously shown in the case of 0. 

 Ledyeriana m Sikldin, the seedlings from which, smce Mr. 

 Ganmiie uprooted nearly all the neighbouring trees, now come 

 remarkably true, whereas before that was done the sporting 

 was so great that Dr. King would not propagate by 

 seed at all. The results have been even more marked 

 in Java. 



According to statements now forwarded to us by Mr. T. 

 N. rhristie, there can be little doubt that the plant figm-ed 

 by Dr. Trimen is recognized in Ceylon by the planter.?, as 

 well as by Mr. Moens, as the " true Leihjciiam" Some 

 flowers and leaves marked A and B received from Mr. T. N. 

 Christie correspond closely with Dr. Trimen's figures in the 

 Journal of Botany. The flowers are small and drooping and 

 the buds not swollen abruptly below the apices, these bemg 

 the features pointed out by Dr. Trimen as most characteristic 

 of this plant. 



The samples of bark corresponding to these specimens give 

 the following results on analy.sis; — 



Quinine ... ... 7'oO 8'32 



Quinidine ... ... — — 



Oinchonidine ... ... '19 1'12 



Oinchonine ... ... "18 '20 



Amorphous ... ... '60 '^ 



8-47 



10-24 



The amount of einchonidino in one of these samples is 

 certainly not in favour of its being the produce of a true 

 Zedfferiana plant. Mr. Christie says, "The plant which Dr. 

 Trimen figured was one "of those raised from Mclvor's 

 " seed by me, and planted on Mahanilu by Mr. Agar, and 

 " its descent from Ledger's original seed is imdoubted. 

 " Other plants exactly similar in blossom, raised from the 

 " same pinch of seed, have given over 12, 13, and 14 per 

 " cent sulphate of quinine, and the very trees which Jtr. 

 " Howard called in to help him, the Yarrow Ledgers, have 

 " the same blossom and came out of the same nursery bed 

 " as the Leilger figured by Dr. Trimen. Before the least 

 " doubt had been thrown upon his figured type. Dr. Trimen 

 " selected a tree here for specimens, as being botanicaUy a 

 " typical Ledger, and his selection was well borne out when 

 " on the following day the analysis of that very tree amved 

 " from England, and showed 11-20 per cent quinine sulphate." 

 The specimens sent by Dr. Trimen to the JIuseum of the 

 Pharmaceutical Society are considered by some not to lie 

 typical Letlt/mana, but more probably hybrids of officinalis 

 and Calisttt/a. Concerning the satiny gloss and hairy margin 

 of the leaves, which Mr. Howard appears to have put for- 

 ward as characteristic of the true Letlyenana^ Mr. T. N. 

 Christie remarks, " The veriest tyro in cinchona cultivation 

 " could have told Mr. Howai-d that these characteristics 

 " are common to all Ledijerianus and all the Calisayas when 

 " young, and that there is not a sign of either in the mature 

 " foliage." It is diflicult to understand this remark, for Mr. 

 Howard must certainly hiive cultivated seed of CaUsaya and 

 would scarcely have pointed out the satiny gloss and hairy 

 margin of the leaves as characteri.iitic of the Lahjeriana if 

 it occurred in other Calisayas, and it certainly was not 

 present in all the Bolivian CaUsayas exhibited by Mr. How- 

 ard and Mr. T. Christy at the meeting of the Linnean 

 Society. Mr. Christie also points out that while Mr. How- 

 ard is said to claim "on Mr. Jloens' own authority" that 

 his plants alone are authentic, he repudiates Mr. Moens' 

 identification of Dr. Trimen's plant. 



Mr. T. N. Christie claims that he, "having lived for 

 " years besides mature Lalr/ei-iana which have given the 

 •* liighest analyses we have yet he.ard of. may presume to think 

 " that he knows a LeJi/triaii/t when he sees it, and that 

 ■■ Dr. Trimen, who has seen the Ceylon and Indian plant- 

 " ations and many mature analysed Lciliicrinnas, Imows 

 " I'. I.edt/eriana, and that the latter has figured it ; and that 

 " Mr. Howard, with the knowledge of hot-house plants and 

 " dried specimens, does not know and has not figured ( '. 

 " Ledijeriana." In support of this claim he refers to Keiv 

 Gardens 'Report,' 1880, p. 12, where it is stated that some 

 j'lants |;rowii from seed were forwarded by Mr. Howard to 



Kew, and through Kew to Mr. J. A. Campbell, of Lindula, 

 Ceylon ; and three others from the same authentic strain, to 

 Jamaica. Concerning tho.se received by Jlr. Campbell, that 

 gentleman writes to Mr. Christie, " No one who knows a 

 " Ledyeriana tree of pure type would think of calling the 

 " trees I have (raised from cuttings received from Mr. 

 " Howard) Ledijerianas. IVo of them are very shrubby in 

 " their growth and with hard sliiny leaves. The other is a 

 *' Calisaya of the broad-leaved variety very much like what 

 "I believe is called in Java, Calisaya Anffticu. I have also 

 " another plant that Mr. Howard gave me, which I nnder- 

 " stood bim to say had been raised from Ledyeriana seed, 

 " received from Java. This is the best, .so far as appearance 

 " goes, but I should not call it a Ledyenana.'' 



It is not sm'prising that Mr. Howard should refer Dr. 

 Trimen's G. Ledyeriana to C. rnicrantlia, since in the 'Quin- 

 ology of the East Indian Plantations," p. 84, Mr. Howard 

 remarks: — "By placmg my plate of the B-form of Ledyeriana 

 " beside that of C. niicrantha in ' Nueva Quinologia,' the 

 " reader will be struck with a certain kind of analogy and 

 "general resemblance." In a previous note on p. 5, he says: 

 — "It is specially remarked by G. M. van Gorlcom that 

 " about three thousand plants raised from seed from British 

 " India present quite a pecuBar character, which partly be- 

 " longs to the Calisaya niicrantJut,^' and adds, " I assisted at 

 " the purchase of the bag of seeds (collected by Lechler*) 

 " for British India, to which no doubt this refers, and ha\"ing 

 " some growing freely side by side with the C. rnicrantha, 

 " brought by Pritchett from Huaunco, can quite confirm 

 " their resemblance. The plants are, I think, those of the 

 " C. niicrantha (BoLi^^an variety) AYeddell." According to 

 these remark.s it would appear that Mr. Howard cor.sidered 

 the plants raised from Ledger's seed to strongly resemble 

 C. niicrantha, and his reference of Dr. Trimen's Ledyeriana 

 to C. niicrantha is therefore easily understood. 



Mr. Howard's plates of G. Ledyeriana do not seem to 

 belong to one distinct form, such as is recognized by Dr. 

 Trimen and the Ceylon planters, since one variety has the 

 flowers light-red, and another has scrobicules much more 

 numerous than in the two others, and Dr. Weddell himself 

 seems to have thought this, a.s indicated by his remarks 

 ('East Indian Quinology,' p. 85); — "I thiidt you are quite 

 " right in considering your two Java plants as constituting 

 " a distinct variety of G. Calisaya, but whether one of the 

 " two forms you have had pictui-ed is worthy or not of being 

 " ranked as a sub-variety of the other could hardly be 

 "afiirmed without comijaring a considerable number of 

 " specimens." 



Mr. Howard doubtless has a right to claim, not only on 

 account of his special acquaintance with the subject, but 

 also as a botanist, that a cinchona, not corresponding with 

 his published description and plates, shoidd not be called 

 by the name he has adopted. In this case, if Dr. Trimen's 

 plant be distinct from what Mr. Howard has described, 

 then the name of C. Ledyeriana, Moens, for the tree dis- 

 tinguished by the Ceylon planters as Ledger Cinchona is, 

 to say the least, confu.sing, and the awkwardness -ivould be 

 best avoided by the adoption of a ditfereut name for Dr. 

 Trimen's plant. Mr. Howard seems to have recognized the 

 likeness of his own Ledyerianas to G. mieraniha when they 

 first came into his hands, and now attributes the same 

 likeness to Dr. Trimen's plant. Moreover, it is understood 

 that Mr. Howard, in selecting his tyjies from a number of 

 specimens, was partly guided by their large yield of quinine. 

 The analysis of Dr. Trimen's pl.ant showed it to be e(iually 

 rich in quinine, and the specimens now sent by Dr. Trimen 

 show the same result. In any case, the question whether 

 Dr. Trimen's Ledyeriana and Mr. Howard's G. Calisaya, 

 var. Ledyeriana, are iudentical or not obviously requires 

 further elucidation. 



"We must, however, admit that we do not understand the 

 botanical part of the subject sufiiciently to offer any oiiinion 

 upon the point at issue or even to say with certainty what 

 that point is. But at the same time the subject is of such 

 importance, and has gained such an amount of public notice, 

 that we think it desirable to place before our readers, so 

 far as we can, a statement of what has been said upon it, 

 without, however, acceptuig any responsibiUty for support- 

 ing either \*iew. — Pharmaceutical Journal. 



* Corrected to " Ledger " ou p. Si, 



