APPENDIX. S3 



i a thousand feot above this elevation. According- to Cross, tlio ciucLona region has a 

 temperature varying from 60° to 35° or 36°. Tliis is all alcove tlie frost liuc, and is 

 subject to continued liail-stonns in tlio rainy seasoj], and even to freezing in tlio ui)j)(.'r 

 portions. One of the most valuable and most easily cultivated of all the varieties, 

 C. pilayensis, was found by Dr. Wcddel in a temperature varying from 60°, to 30°. C. 

 succiruia, the prince of cinchonas, grows in a warmer climate, sometimes reaching to 

 70° 



It is evident from the above data that the cinchona region has a climate covering 

 at least forty degrees of extreme variation, aud that single varieties eudure a varia- 

 tion of about thirty. This is greater than the maximum variation at certain ]toints 

 on the Pacific coast. It may be possible tliat elevated situations could be found near 

 the coatai in which these very grades of temperature are rejiroduced. It is true that 

 o:i the sia-coast the thermometer rises higher even than 70°, but it is yet to be fdiown 

 whethe he cinchona cannot endure a northern summer of a few months' duration. 



That li calculations of this nature are only approximate is shown by the fact that 

 the cin .hona region, as described, includes the entii-e range of the oak and nearly that 

 of the walnut. If one were to form a judgment as to the range of these two' trees, 

 bn^ird on observations here, he would have to conclude that they would flourish only 

 in .1 temperature varying from fifty to seventy-five degrees, as that would take in 

 their upper aud lower lines on the Andes. To tell one who knew these trees only as 

 ■found hero that they would Bvirvivo a northern season of either summer or winter, v/ould 

 be to repeat the experience of those who tried to convince the Xing of Biam of the 

 existence of ice. It remains io be discovered ivhcthcr Ihe endurance of the cinchona may not 

 equal or nearhj equal that of the ■walnut, oalc, iviUoir, apple, peach, and tvild cherry, all of 

 which seek as loio and some a lower ranf/e on the Andes. 



I am unable to learn that the cinchona is found as far south as the twentieth parallel 

 of latitude. Its extension north uiiiHt have l)ecn limited, as Humboldt suggests, by 

 the lov/ness of the mountain range of the isthmus. But, v»'hatever may bcthe cause 

 of its limitation on the south, the English have shown that it maybe extended on 

 the north by artificial means. The plantations in the Pnnjaub are above the thirtieth 

 parallel ; that is to say, at the same latitude as the Gulf States, Now Mexico, Arizona, 

 .and Southern California, It is true that tlie Himalaya Eaiij^e protects the Punjaub, 

 making it a true portion of the tropics. But as the planttiliouH there are at 'some 

 elevation above the eea-level, and as very nearly the natural conditions as to temper- 

 ature do actually exist on tiie Pacific coast of the United States, lliere seems to be no 

 antecedent improbability in the supposition that the culture may be extended farther 

 north. 



The cinchona seems to seek a dry soil, but a climate affording ])lenty of rain in cer- 

 tain parts of the year. The coasts of Northern Califomi.'). and Oregon would fiillill 

 the conditions a3 to moisture ; the slopes of the mountains would probably furuisli 

 hilly ground, very similar to tliat occupied by the tree in its native habitat'; while I 

 believe that the temperature would admit of its cultivation even north of the mouth 

 of the Columbia. It is also uncertain as to how far any undue dryness of the atmos- 

 phere may bo overcome by irrigation. The surprising results already attained in the 

 cultiA^ation of the trees pre]iare us to expect further advances, and this may be one 

 of them as natvirally as anything else. 



It is well known that tiio barks produced under cultivation are much superior to 

 tlie natural bark, as the process of mossing the tree causes a remarkable development 

 of the alkaloids in wliicli their virtue consists. Also that the cultivated trees are not 

 destroyed. A strip is taken otf reaching the length of the trunk and one-third of its 

 circumference. The wound is then dressed with straw mattinii' and kept wet until 

 Ihe bark forms anew. The next year another strip is taken, and so on, indefinitely. 

 I am told that the harvest begins when the tree Is five years old, but am not in a 

 position to verify the statement. 



I have calculated roughly, according to the prices of laud and labor here, that a 

 plantation of a hundred acres might be put in at less than a thousand dollais an acre, 

 covering .all outlay— or say fifteeii humlred dollars to cover interest and all contiji- 

 g-'ucies. I do not see why it should coGfc laoi'o iu tho States, as labor, if dearer, is pro- 

 ]Kutioually better. Accurate estimatcis could probably be obtained fiom the English 

 growers. 



To sum wj) the matter, I believe that, with a -vvise choice of sites and judicious treat- 

 ment, together with a careful selection of the proper varieties, tbo ciilchona could be 

 cnltivatedm many parts of the Paciiic coast and probablv in New Mexico; that if 

 irrigatioii can be made to supply tho place of a natur.ally moist climate, the cultiva- 

 tum ca'h bo carried into a large part of the Colorado V.alley and Texas, as well as into 

 Not'^^hern Georgia and Alabama, and thence north along the soulhern sloi.i5 of tho 

 Blue Ridge. I should not be sirrprised if tho hardier varieties were found to grow 

 even in Virginia and Colorado and iu Arkansas, iu favored situations on the southern 

 slopes of the Ozark Mcnuitaiiis. 



Thoronglily convinced, as I am, that it is possible to cultivate the cinchona in tho 



