Chap. XX. CHINCHONA IN THE NEILGHERRIES. 339 



cattle, and horses — have no right to desire to withhold from 

 India a product which is so essentially necessary to her wel- 

 fare. Nor do I believe that the better conditioned Peruvians 

 have any such desire. On the contrary, many of them have 

 shown themselves willing to promote a friendly interchange 

 of the products of the NeAV and Old Worlds; and the 

 foolish decree issued in Ecuador on the 1st of May, 1861, as 

 well as the numerous obstructions thrown in my way in 

 southern Peru, may be imputed either to the narrow-minded 

 selfishness of half-educated officials, or to the ignorant 

 patriotism of backwoodsmen. These are feelings which are 

 not shared by either the educated few, or by the Indian 

 population. 



After much careful consideration it had been decided that 

 the best place for commencing the experimental cultivation 

 of chinchona-plants in India would be the Neilgherry hills, 

 in the Madras Presidency. Here are to be found a climate, 

 an amount of moisture, a vegetation, and an elevation 

 above the sea, more analogous to those of the chinchona 

 forests in South America than can be met with in any other 

 part of India. In the Government gardens at Ootacamund, 

 on the Neilgherries, there were the necessary conveniences 

 for propagating plants and raising seedlings ; and in Mr. 

 William G. Mclvor, the Superintendent, was to be found a 

 zealous, intelligent, and practical gardener, who had carefully 

 studied the botany of the chinchona genus, and under whose 

 care the cultivation would be commenced with the best 

 possible guarantees for its success. 



From the Neilgherries the chinchona-plants will, it is 

 hoped, be introduced into such other hill districts of South- 

 ern India as, after examination, may be found suitable for 

 their growth ; and it was a part of my duty to visit the most 

 promising localities, and, in conjunction with Mr. Mclvor, to 



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