CHAPTER IX. 



THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS OF THE CORDILLERAS. 



CHINCHONA OR PERUVIAN BARK.* 



N the western slopes of Ghimborazo, and in several 

 other regions extending from the wooded heights 

 of Merida and Santa Martha, at the northern end 

 of the Cordilleras, as far as the Republic of Bolivia, 19 south, 

 the chinchona-tree has its range. Vegetation in the Cordil- 

 leras within the tropics reaches to a much greater height 

 than in higher latitudes. The sun's rays have there great 

 power in heating the soil ; while the mists drawn from the 

 broad Pacific, rising above the plains, rest upon the lofty sides 

 of the mountains. The warm and humid atmosphere thus 

 created is especially favourable to the growth of certain 

 trees and shrubs. Among others is the chinchona-tree, from 

 which quinine is obtained. It is generally found growing at 

 a height of from 6000 feet to 10,000 feet above the ocean. 



It would have been strange had not the native Peruvians 

 been acquainted with the qualities of the bark. The Quichua 



* The chinchona (it is erroneously spelled cinchona) tree constitutes the type of a natural 

 order (Chinchonacete), which also includes ipecacuanhas and coffees. 



