CORTEX CINCHONiE. 349 



by Royle, in a report addressed to the East India Company, in which 

 he pointed out that the Government of India were then spending more 

 than £7,000 a year for Cinchona bark, in addition to about £25,000 for 

 quinine.^ 



After some unsatisfactoiy endeavoui*s on the part of the British 

 Government to obtain plants and seeds through the intervention of 

 H. M. Consuls in South America, Mr. Markham offered his services, 

 which were accepted. Markham, though not a professed botanist, was 

 well qualified for the task by a previous acquaintance with the country 

 and people of Peru and Bolivia, and by a knowledge of the Spanish 

 and Quichua languages, — and even more so by a rare amount of zeal, 

 intelligence, and forethought. Being fully aware of the diflBculties of 

 the undertaking, he earnestly insisted that nothing should be neglected 

 which could ensure success ; and in particular made repeated demands 

 for a steam-vessel to convey the young plants across the Pacific to 

 India, which unfortunately were not complied with. He further urged 

 the desirableness of not confining operations to a single district, but 

 of endeavouring to procure by different collectors all the more valuable 

 species. 



The prudence of this latter suggestion was evident, and Markham 

 was enabled to engage the services of Richard Spruce, the distinguished 

 botanist, then resident in Ecuador, who expressed his readiness to 

 undertake a search for the Red Bark trees {G. siLCcirubra) in the 

 forests of Chimborazo, He also secured the co-operation of G. J. 

 Pritchett for the neighbourhood of Huanuco, and of two skilful 

 gardeners, John Weir and Robert Cross. The last-named was employed 

 in 1861 to procure seeds of C, offi-cinaZis from the Sierra de Cajanuma 

 near Loxa, and in 1863-64 those of G. pitayeiisis from the province of 

 Pitayo in Ecuador.^ 



Markham reserved for himself the border-lands of Peru and Bolivia, 

 in order to obtain G. Gcdisaya ; and for this purpose started from Islay 

 in March 1860. Arriving in the middle of April by way of Arequipa 

 and Puno, at Curcero, the capital of the province of Carabaya, he made 

 his way to the village of Sandia, near which he met with the first 

 specimens of Ginchona in the form of the shrubby variety of G. Gcdisaya, 

 termed Josephiana. He afterwards found the better variety a. vera, 

 and also G. ovata R. et P., G. micrantha R. et P., and G. pubesceris 

 Yahl, Of these sorts, but chiefly of the first three, 456 plants were 

 shipped at Islay in June 1860. 



In consequence of the hostile attitude of the people, and the 

 jealousy of the Bolivian Government, lest an important monopoly 

 should be broken up, added to the difliculties arising from insalubrious 

 climate and the want of roads, the obstacles encountered by Markham 

 were very great, and no attempt could be made to wait for the 

 ripening of the seeds of the Calisaya, which takes place in the month 

 of August.^ 



• In 1870, the Indian GoTcrmnent pur- - Beport on the Expedition to procure seeds 



chased no less than 81,600 ounces of sul- of C. Condaminea [1862]; also Report to the 



phate of quinine, besides 8,832 ounces of Under Secretary of State for India on tlte 



the sulphates of cinchonine, cinchonidine Pitayo Chinchona, by Robt. Cross, 1865. 



and quinidine. The quantities bought in ' Great difficulty was at first experienced 



subsequent years have been much smaller in successfully conveying living Cinchona 



until the present year (1874). plants to India, even in Wardian cases; 



