332 CONVEYANCE OF PLANTS AND SEEDS Chap. XX. 



veying these precious mule-loads to the coast of Peru, and 

 safely embarking them, only half the difficulties had been 

 overcome ; and I could not but feel that some failures and 

 disappointments must be expected before the chinchona-plants 

 were fau-ly established in India. 



There was not much reason for apprehension with regard 

 to the seeds ; but the plants, in the absence of any provision 

 for conveying them direct across the Pacific, had to undergo 

 an ordeal of unprecedented duration. Yet the great advan- 

 tage of introducing plants as well as seeds, in the immense 

 start they would give to the young plantations in India, was 

 strongly felt, and the complete success that attended the 

 hazardous transit of at least one relay, which came under 

 peculiarly favourable circumstances, fully justified the 

 attempt. 



I gave directions to Mr. Spruce and Mr. Pritchett to send 

 small parcels of seeds of each species to Jamaica and 

 Trinidad, in obedience to an order received from England, 

 so that quinine-yielding trees might also be introduced into 

 our West Indian colonies ; and the results of the experiment 

 in those islands will be given in a future chapter. The great 

 bulk of the collections, however, were despatched to India, by 

 the roundabout way of Southampton, directly they arrived 

 on the coast of the Pacific. 



The thirty Wardian cases which I sent out round Cape 

 Horn were three feet two inches long, ten feet ten inches 

 broad, and three feet two inches high ; and, with soil and 

 plants, each case weighed a little over three hundredweight. 

 The collection of plants of G. Calisaya, C. ovata, and C. 



fruit, and bark of C. nitida, C micran- [ bark, leaves, and flowers of C. mspa 

 iha, 0. Feruvimui, and C. obovata, is in ; of Tafalla, and bark and leaves of 

 the possession of Mr. Howard. : C. Lmumxfolia, are partly in my pos- 



Mr. Cross's dried .specimens of leaves, | session, partly in that of IMr. Howard, 

 flowers, fruit, and bark of C. Conda- \ and partly in that of Mr. A\iteli. 

 minea {C. CMhuanjuera of Pavon), 



