372 RUBIACEiE. 



Collection ^ — The ipecacuanha plant, Poaya of the Brazilians, grows 

 in valleys, yet prefers spots which are rather too much raised to be 

 inundated or swampy. Here it is found under the thick shade of ancient 

 trees growing mostly in clumps. In collecting the root, \hQ 'poayero, for 

 so the collector of 'poaya is called, grasps in one handful if he can, all 

 the stems of a clump, pushing under it obliquely into the soil a pointed 

 stick to which he gives a see-saw motion. A lump of earth enclosing 

 the roots is thus raised ; and, if the operation has been well performed, 

 those of the whole clump are got up almost unbroken. The poayero 

 shakes off adhering soil, places the roots in a large bag which he carries 

 with him, and goes on to seek other clumps. A good collector may 

 thus get as much as 80 lb, of roots in the day ; but generally a daily 

 gathering does not exceed 10 or 12 lb., and there are many who scarcely 

 get 6 or 8 lb. In the rainy season, the ground being lighter, the roots 

 are removed more easily than in dry weather. The poayeroSy who 

 work in a sort of partnership, assemble in the evening, unite their 

 gatherings, which having been weighed, are spread out to dry. Rapid 

 drying is advantageous ; the root is therefore exposed to sunshine as 

 much as possible, and if the weather is favourable, it becomes dry in 

 two or three days. But it has always to be placed under cover at 

 night on account of the dew. When quite dry, it is broken into frag- 

 ments, and shaken in a sieve in order to separate adherent sand and 

 earth, and finally it is packed in bales for transport. 



The harvest goes on all the year round, but is relaxed a little during 

 the rains, on account of the difiiculty of drying the produce. As frag- 

 ments of the root grow most readily, complete extiipation of the plant 

 in any one locality does not seem probable. The more intelligent 

 poayeros of Matto Grosso are indeed wise enough intentionally to leave 

 small bits of root in the place whence a clump has been dug, and even 

 to close over the opening in the soil. 



Cultivation — The importance in India of ipecacuanha as a remedy 

 for dysentery, and the increasing costliness of the drug,^ have occasioned 

 active measures to be taken for attempting its cultivation in that coun- 

 try. Though known for several years as a denizen of botanical gardens, 

 the ipecacuanha plant has always been rare, owing to its slow growth 

 and the difficulty attending its propagation. 



It was discovered in 1869 by M'Nab, curator of the Botanical 

 Garden of Edinburgh, that if the annulated part of the root of a 

 growing ipecacuanha plant be cut into short pieces even only -^ of an 

 inch thick, and placed in suitable soil, each piece will throw out a leaf- 

 bud and become a separate plant. Lindsay, a gardener of the same 

 establishment, further proved that the petiole of the leaf is capable of 

 producing roots and buds, a discovery which has been utihzed in the 

 propagation of the plant at the Rungbi Cinchona plantation in Sikkim. 



In 1871, well-formed fruits were obtained from the ipecacuanha 

 plants growing in the Edinburgh Botanical Garden : this was promoted 



^ Abstracted from the interesting eye-witness account of Weddell, I. c. 

 2 The following are the average prices at which the drug was purchased wholesale, in 

 London during three periods of ten years each : — 



10 years ending 1850, average price 2s. 9Jrf. per lb. 



10 ,, 1860, „ 6s. Uid. „ 



10 ,, 1870, ,, Ss. Sid. 



