SC7/LVC/1-G0SS//' 



5» 



Something ul the kind has already happenrd <>• 

 suiiie of the trees on the West Indian Islands, 

 which were devastated by the hurricane of Sep- 

 temljcr, 189S. I heard in Noveinlier that /'«/«■ 

 liana reijia and Casnia fintula, which were entirely 

 stripped of their foliage and smaller branches, had 



put forth fresh leaves an<l even ilowers, though 

 normally their flowering season does not begin 

 until May. 



Da'/ nor, /lereforf/nfiirf. 

 May till, 1S99. 



CINCHONA 11\RK. 



By Lr.wis Oiu-.ir, K.L.S., K.C.S. 



'PIIK genus Oinrhona, from which this bark is 

 *■ olilained, constitutes with several allied 

 genera, the tribe Cinchoneae of the natural order 

 Kubiaceae. The tribe consists of trees and shrubs, 

 with opposite leaves, twrt celled ovary capsular 

 fruits and numerous minute ascending or x'ertical 

 prltate, winged albuminous seeds. The genus has 

 deciiluous stipules the lliivvers in terminal panicles, 

 a superior calyx with live teeth, the five lobecl 

 tubular corolla being fringerl at the margin. The 

 flowers are of a purplish rosy or white colour pos- 

 sessing a somewhat agreeable odour. The plants arc 

 evergreen, the finely-veined leaves being trans- 

 versed with a strong midrib. There is a diversity 

 of opinion as to the number of species known. Wed- 

 <lell, in 1870, enumerated thirty-three with eighteen 

 sub-species, besides varieties and sub-varieties, 

 whilst Bentham and Hooker estimate the species 

 at about thirty-si.\, of wdiich eighteen are known 

 to yield commercial bark ; the following lour being 

 the most important : — Ciiu/iona calisaya Weddell, 

 yielding \'ellow Bark. Ciiic/ioiia offuiiia/is Lin- 

 naeus, the source of Lo.\a Crown or I'alo Bark. 

 Cinchona siiicini/ira Pavon, giving Ked Bark, by 

 far the most important, and the variety principallv 

 used at the present time. Cinchona Irindfolia 

 Mutis, from which is derived Columbian or Co- 

 quetta Bark, but by some authorities this is 

 treated as a variety of Cinc/iona offtiinnlin. The 

 Cinchona trees are all indigenous to the western 

 part of South America, where thev grow between 

 lodeg. North latitude ami 22deg. South latitude, an 

 area which includes Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, 

 New Granada and Peru. They are fouml in the 

 mountainous regions, the average altitude being 

 about 6,000ft. above the sea level. The highest limit 

 noticed is 1 1,000ft. One species, iSurrliiihni, is 

 however found as low as 2,000ft. The climate of 

 this region is very variable, sunshine, mist, storms 

 and showers alternating without much thermometric 

 change. Some of the more luirdv species may 

 even for a short time be subjected to freezing-point 

 without injurious results. Their growth appears 

 to be influenced fir more by climatic agencies than 

 by .the composition of the soil, for although the 

 trees occur in a great variety of geological forma- 

 tions, these altered conditions do not, to anv 

 marked degree, control the development of the 

 trees or their chemical constituents. 



Previous to iStjo (he Cinchona trees were onlv 

 found Willi in the above-named countries. Now 

 lliev are carefullv tullivaU-d in Imlia, Cevlnn antl 



Java, and these annually yield thousanils of 

 pounds of bark from which is obtained the bulk of 

 the quinine and other alkaloids for use through- 

 out the world. The word cinchona is not now 

 merely a botanical term, but one which is in con- 

 stant use by' physicians, chemists, planters and 

 merchants. 



The genus Cinc/uiiia is so named after the (ourili 

 Countess of Chinchona, whose husband was in 1628 

 appointed N'iceroy of Peru, which then included 

 the whole of South America except Brazil. Pre- 

 vious to that time the bark was only known to the 

 natives in ime locality, where it was greatly dis- 

 trusted by their itinerant doctors, and it may be 

 said even now with some degree of truth that Peru 

 is the only country where Peruvian bark is not 

 extensively useil. It first came into notice in 1638, 

 when the Countess lay ill of tertian fever at Lima, 

 and a parcel of the bark, then known as quinquina, 

 was sent her by the corregidor of I.oxa, which 

 administered by her physician effected a complete 

 and rapid cure. On her return to Spain two years 

 later she brought back a quantity ot the valuable 

 bark for the use of the sick on her husband's estate, 

 when the medicine was called Countess' Powder. 

 Tile town of Chinchon is situate about twenty- 

 five miles south-east of Madrid, and although the 

 castle is now in ruins, the population is at present 

 about 6,000 inhabitants. A few years later parcels 

 of the i)owder were sent by Jesuits to Rome to be 

 distributed. It was known there as Jesuit's 

 Powder and Cardinal's Bark, with the absurd result 

 that no Protestant would have anything to do with 

 it for some time afterwards. At that time its 

 value was about 100 raels per pound. It was not 

 until 1735 that the forests of Loxa were visited by 

 l-'rench scientific men, and a few ye.ars afterwards 

 specimens were sent to Linnaeus, who described it 

 and very appropriately named the genus in honour 

 of the lady who first maile its healing virtues 

 known. Unfortunately, he was misinformed as to 

 her name and the " h " was omitted, most probably 

 in consequence of having received it through a 

 French source. In some of his later editions, how- 

 ever, the spelling is altered, but as he died soon 

 after his description was published, the word has 

 remained Cinchona, although pleas for its correct 

 spelling have been made from time to time. 



After the introduction of the bark into Southern 

 Europe, its reputation gradually spread northward, 

 but it \vas not until i65(; that it was known in 

 England. Three \ears later one of our earliest 



