CIMON 



CINCHONA 



253 



the same day. He succeeded likewise in 

 driving the Persians from Thrace, Caria, and Lycia ; 

 and expended much of tin- money which In- li.nl 

 obtain.'.! by tlie recovery of his patrimony in 

 Th race upon the improvement of the city of 

 Athens. The lavish homily with which lie opened 

 his gardens and the honours of his tahle, togethrr 

 \\itli liis rlitM'rful temper and patience, endeared 

 him to his fellow-citizens. At this period he 

 appears to have been the most influential of the 

 At lii-mans. The hereditary enemy of Persia, it 

 was his policy to advocate a close alliance with 

 Sparta: ami 'when the Helots revolted, he twice 

 It-il an army to the support of the Spartan troops ; 

 but on the latter occasion, having lost the confi- 

 dence of his allies, he was ignominiously dismissed. 

 AI'IIT lii- i ft urn to Athens his policy was opposed 

 by the democracy, headed by Pericles, who pro- 

 cured his banishment by ostracism. He was re- 

 called in the lifth year of his exile, and was 

 instrumental in obtaining a five years' armistice 

 between the Spartans and the Athenians. He 

 died in the year 449 B.C., at the siege of a Cyprian 

 town. 



Cilicho'na (properly CHINCHONA), a most im- 

 portant genus of trees of the order liubiaceje 

 < sub-order Cinchonaceae), yielding the bark so much 

 valued in medicine, which has been variously known 

 AS Peruvian Bark, Jesuits' Bark, China Bark, Quina, 

 Quinquina, Cinchona Bark, &c., and from which 

 the important alkaloids quinine and its congeners 

 Are obtained. ' The species of this genus are some- 

 times trees of great magnitude ; but an aftergrowth 

 springing from their roots when they have been 

 felled, they often appear only as large shrubs ; and 

 some of them in tne highest mountain-regions in 

 which they are found are low trees with stems only 

 S or 10 feet in height. They are natives of South 

 America between 20 S. lat. and 10 N. lat., and 

 chiefly on the eastern slope of the Cordilleras. The 

 best cinchona formerly came from the province of 

 Loxa in Ecuador. The range of altitude of course 

 diminishes as we recede from the equator, but may 

 be averaged at from 8000 to 5000 feet for the best 

 varieties. The climate of these regions is extremely 

 variable, and this seems to have more effect upon 

 the trees and their product than differences in soil. 

 All the cinchonas are evergreen trees, with laurel- 

 like, entire, opposite leaves ; stipules which soon 

 fall off ; and panicles of flowers, which, in general 

 appearance, are not unlike those of lilac or privet. 

 The flowers are white, rose-coloured, or purplish, 

 and very fragrant. 



Such 'difficulty has been found in determining the 

 species of cinchona and the different varieties of 

 bark known in commerce that a voluminous special 

 literature of ' quinology ' has been called into 

 existence. This difficulty is due partly to the large 

 number and great variability or the species, and 

 even of individual specimens of bark, as also to 

 the difficulty of obtaining specimens of flowers and 

 leaves along with particular kinds of bark. The 

 most important species are C. officinalis of Ecuador 

 ami Peru, C. Calisaya of Bolivia and south-east 

 Peru, and C. swcir ultra of the western slope of 

 Chimhorazo ; but others (Carthagena Bark, Colum- 

 bian Hark, &c.) are also of importance, while the 

 varieties are too numerous to mention. The barks 

 of allied species which, although more or less bitter 

 and even febrifugal, contain no quinine are apt to 

 be used as substitutes or adulterations. 



The cutting and peeling of cinchona-trees is a 

 laborious and difficult operation carried on by 

 Indians during the dry season. They build a 

 hut, which serves both for their abode and for 

 drying the bark. The trees are felled as near the 

 root as possible, that none of the bark may be 

 lost ; and the bark being stripped off, is carefully 



dried and packed ; the quilled form of the thinner 

 bark in acquired in drying. 



This wasteful and cotjtly mode of collection from 

 almost impassable forest**, in which, moreover, tha 



Cinchona lancifolia. 



tree was becoming exterminated, and this in face 

 of an increasing demand, gradually roused the 

 attention of European Iwtanists to the desirability 

 of inaugurating a regular culture in similar regions 

 and climates of the Old World ; but the successful 

 introduction of cinchona-seeds into Europe was 

 only effected by Weddell in 1848, and his seedlings 

 were sent from the Jardin des Plantes to Algiers 

 in 1850, and to Java in 1852. The Dutch govern- 

 ment also imported A few living plants from Peru 

 in 1854. The credit of really solving the difficult 

 problem of acclimatisation is, however, due to Mr 

 Clements R. Markhani. Himself going to Peru 

 and Bolivia for C. Calisaya, lie secured the services 

 of Spruce, a well-known collector then resident in 

 Ecuador ( who was similarly successful in obtaining 

 C. succirubra), as well as those of three other effec- 

 tive coadjutors. The expedition was attended by 

 much difficulty and danger, and its narrative has a 



K eminent place in the nistory of botanical travel, 

 antations were formed in the Neilgherry Hills, 

 and thence spread to Sikkim at the foot of the 

 Himalayas, to British Burma, Ceylon, &c. Cinchona 

 is also Wng grown in the West Indies, and its 

 acclimatisation in all suitable localities continues 

 to make progress and to become an important 

 industry. 



The Indians of Peru call the cinchona-trees Kina, 

 from whence are derived the names Qttina, China, 

 &.c. But there is no evidence that they knew the 

 use of the bark before the arrival of the Spaniards, 

 nor will they even yet employ it in their native 

 medicine. It was first imported into Europe in 

 1639, by the Countess of Chinchon, the wife of 

 the viceroy of Peru, who had leen cured^ of an 

 obstinate intermittent fever by means of it, and 

 who thereafter habitually distributed it to those 

 suffering from fever. Upon this account it was 

 named C. Bark and Countess s Powder (Pulvi* 

 iiititistas). The Jesuit missionaries afterwards 

 carried it to Rome, and distributed it through their 

 several stations, and thus it acquired the name of 

 Jesuits' Jlttrk and Pain's patrum. Cardinal Juan 

 de Lugo having been particularly active in recom- 

 mending and distributing it, it was also known as 

 t 'iinlinal de Lugo's Powder. It attained great 

 celebrity in Spain and Italy, being at first distrib- 

 uted to the poor, but later' sold at high prices bj 



