TREE PRODUCTS 143 



There is, for example, only the difference of 

 one atom of carbon and of four atoms of hydro- 

 gen between a molecule of quinine and a mole- 

 cule of strychnine. Considering that the mole- 

 cules comprise in the aggregate not far from 

 fifty atoms, in each case, this discrepancy seems 

 trifling. That the two drugs should have such 

 utterly different effects upon the human system 

 is a mystery that will be solved only when a much 

 fuller knowledge is gained as to the physiological 

 processes than anyone has at present. 



But the plant developer, of course, has no con- 

 cern with this aspect of the subject. What in- 

 terests him is the knowledge that different races 

 of cinchona trees, for example, are known to 

 vary greatly as to the proportion of commercial 

 alkaloid deposited in their bark. And the same 

 is true of most or all other producers of commer- 

 cial alkaloids. 



Apparently there is a splendid field, then, for 

 the plant experimenter, could he establish a labo- 

 ratory and experiment garden in the tropics, in 

 the development of improved races of cinchona 

 and almost innumerable other suppliers of medic- 

 inal alkaloids. The monetary return from such 

 an enterprise would probably be larger than that 

 which usually rewards the efforts of the plant 

 developer in temperate zones, because the field is 



