90 Select Plants for Industrial Culture 



Cinchona succirubra, Pa von.* 



Middle Andine regions of Peru and Ecuador. A tree, attaining a 

 height of 40 feet, yielding the Red Peru-Bark, rich in cinchonin and 

 cinchonidin. It is this species, which is predominantly cultivated on 

 the mountains of Bengal. In India it thrives at lower elevations 

 than other Cinchonas, proves of quicker growth, and there the mixed 

 cheap Cinchona-alkaloids forming the " Quinettum " are largely 

 derived from this plant. (G-. King, J. S. Gamble.) It has been found 

 hardy in Lower Gippsland and the Westernport-District of Victoria. 

 It grew in Madeira at an elevation of 500 feet, after having been 

 planted two and a half years, to a height of 20 feet, flowering freely. 



All these Cinchonas promise to become of importance for culture in 

 the warmest regions of extra-tropical countries, on places not readily 

 accessible or eligible for cereal culture. The Peruvian proverb, that 

 Cinchona-trees like to be " within sight of snow," gives some clue to 

 the conditions, under which they thrive best. They delight in the 

 shelter of forests, where there is an equable temperature, no frost, 

 some humidity at all times both in air and soil, where the ground is 

 deep and largely consists of the remnants of decayed vegetable sub- 

 stances, and where the subsoil is open. Drippage from shelter-trees 

 too near will be hurtful to the plants. Closed valleys and deep 

 gorges, into which cold air will sink, are also not well adapted for 

 cinchona-culture. The cinchona-region may be considered as inter- 

 jacent between the coffee- and the tea-region, or nearly coinciding 

 with that of the Assam-tea. Cross found the temperature of some of 

 the best natural Cinchona-regions to fluctuate between 35 and 60 F. 

 We here ought to consociate the Peru-bark plants with naturally 

 growing fern-trees, but only in the warmest valleys and richest soil. 

 The best temperature for Cinchonas is from 53 to 66 F.; but for 

 the most part they will endure in open places a minimum of 32 F.; 

 in the brush-shades of the Botanic Garden of Melbourne, where 

 already many years ago Cinchonas were raised by the thousand, they 

 have even resisted uninjured a temperature of a few degrees less, 

 wherever the wind had no access, while under such very slight cover 

 the Cinchonas withstood also a heat of a few degrees over 100 F. 



The plants are most easily raised from seed, best under some cover 

 such as mats: they produce seeds copiously a few years after planting. 

 C. succirubra, first introduced into California by the writer of this 

 work, together with the principal other species, thrives well in the 

 lower coast-ranges as far north as San Francisco; better indeed than 

 C. Calisaya, according to Dr. Herman Behr. The quantity of 

 alkaloids in the bark can be much increased by artificial treatment, 

 if the bark is only removed to about one-third on one side of the stem 

 and the denuded part covered with moss or straw matting (kept 

 moist), under which in one year as much bark is formed as otherwise 

 requires three years' growth such forced bark moreover containing 

 the astounding quantity of 25 per cent, alkaloids, because no loss of 

 these precious substances takes place by gradual disintegration 

 through age. The root-bark of some cinchonas has proved to contain 



