CINCHONA 



CINCHONA 



317 



and its varieties Ledgeriana and verde ; " Carthagena 

 bark," from G. land folia; "Columbian bark, "from C. 

 cordifoHa and G. laneifolia ; "Gray bark," from G. 

 micrantha, G. nitida and C. Peruviana. 



Certain alkaloids, namely, quinine, quinidine, cincho- 

 nine and ciuchonidine, occur in these barks in varying 

 quantities in different species. These alkaloids possess 

 powerful antiperiodic, tonic and antiseptic properties. 

 In the barks there are also quinovic and other acids, 

 and other substances possessing astringent properties 

 which render them useful in certain cases, where the 

 alkaloids have failed to give relief. 



The bark was iutroduced into Europe in 1640, by the 

 Countess of Chinchon, wife of the Viceroy of Peru ; 

 hence it was called Countess' powder and Peruvian 

 bark, and also Jesuits' bark, from the knowledge of it 

 spread by that religious order. The word quinine is de- 

 rived from the name by which it was known in Peru, 

 quinaqtiina, or "bark of barks." 



Dr. Ainslie, at the end of the eighteenth century, and 

 Dr. Forbes Royle, in his work on Himalayan botany in 

 1839, advocated the introduction of the trees into India. 

 At length, in 1859, Clements Markham was entrusted by 

 the government of India with the task of collecting 

 plants and seeds on the Andes, and establishing them 

 in India. In his book "Peruvian Bark : a popular ac- 

 count of the introduction of Cinchona cultivation into 

 British India," Markham recounts the difficulties in S. 



471. Cimicifuea 

 racemosa. 



Amer. and his final success. The object of the govern- 

 ment was to put it within the power of the poorest na- 

 tive to purchase a dose, and this aim has been accom- 

 plished. At any post office in India, a 5-grain dose may 

 be bought for three pice (IK farthings). The gov- 

 ernment not only uses bark from its own plantations, 

 but buys bark from Cinchona planters at a good price, 



and is now extending its own cultivation with seed 

 procured from Jamaica. In Ceylon the cultivation was 

 altogether in private hands, and has been abandoned for 

 tea. In Java, the Dutch have been most successful, as 

 the variety Ledgeriana, which is very rich in quinine, 

 is particularly well suited to the climate, In Jamaica, 

 the government plantations had realized by sales from 

 1880 to 1887, £17,000 (about $85,000), and then the price 

 of bark fell considerably and no more has since been 

 exported. C. officinalis has become thoroughly natur- 

 alized, and is reproducing itself, as if it were in its na- 

 tive home. 



CHWtere.— The seedlings maybe raised either in boxes 

 or in beds. The boxes should not be more than 3 or 4 

 in. deep. Three-quarter-inch drainage holes should bo 

 made in the bottom, about 6 in. apart. Whitewash the 

 boxes or dust them inside with lime. Put pieces of 

 broken flower-pots over the drainage holes, and cover 

 the bottom with gravel to a depth of 1 in. The soil 

 should be made up of one-third leaf -mold, one-third 

 good soil and one-third fine river gravel. These should 

 be thoroughly mixed and passed through a quarter- 

 inch sieve. Fill the boxes to within one-quarter of 

 an inch of the top, and slightly water. Sow the seed 

 evenly, and sprinkle over it some of the sifted soil, only 

 just covering it. The boxes should be under shade, 

 sheltered from rain, and watered every day with a very 

 fine spray from a watering can. The seedlings will ap- 

 pear above the ground in 3 or 4 weeks. If the seeds are 

 sown in beds, they require the protection of a roof slop- 

 ing south, and supported by posts 4 ft. 6 in. high on the 

 north, and 3 ft. 3 in. on the south side. The sides may 

 also have to be covered in. The breadth of the beds is 



3 ft., and these should be made up of soil as for the 

 boxes. The roof projects beyond the south posts suffi- 

 ciently to keep off direct sunlight, and in the summer 

 time, at any rate, a narrow north roof must be added at 

 right angles. If the sheds are built under the shade of 

 tall trees that keep off d Irect sunlight, the roof is only 

 needed for shelter from rain, and can be constructed 

 solely for that purpose. The shed may run as far as 

 convenient east and west, and others may be added 

 2K-3 ft. on either side. 



When the seedlings are l>^-2 in. high, they should be 

 transplanted into nursery beds, made up in the same 

 way as for seeds. In transplanting, use a wooden peg 



4 or 5 in. long, % in. thick at one end and tapering to a 

 dull point. A seedling is picked up with the left hand 

 from a bundle brought from the seed-beds, a hole is 

 made with the peg in the right hand, big enough to re- 

 ceive the roots without bending or crushing them. The 



soil is then pressed closely over the rootlets with the 

 'peg. Two inches between each plant is enough 

 room. At first the plants should be shaded, but when 

 they are twice or thrice as high as when transplanted, 

 the shading may be gradually removed to harden 

 them for putting out in their permanent positions. 



The soil and subsoil should be free and open to 

 insure good drainage; newly cleared forest land on a 

 hillside is the best for Cinchona trees. In Jamaica, 

 Ginchona officinalis flourishes best at an elevation of 

 about 5,500 ft., with a mean annual temperature of 

 about 60° F. , ranging from a minimum of 46° to a 

 maximum of 75°, and with a total annual rainfall of 

 120 to 150 inches. 



The distance when planted out in their permanent 

 positions is 3 ft. by 3, and as soon as they begin to in- 

 terfere with each other's growth, they should be thinned 

 out just sufficiently at first to prevent this. The bark of 

 those cut down may be worth stripping if the price of 

 bark is high. 



In taking the bark from the trees, there are several 

 methods that have been used. In S. Amer. the tree is 

 uprooted, and the whole of the bark may be taken from 

 both root and stem. A second plan is used if shoots 

 spring from the root ; the trunk is cut through above 

 the ground, the bark stripped, and the stump left to 

 coppice, one or two of the shoots being allowed to grow. 

 The third method is to make the same tree yield bark 

 in successive seasons ; for this purpose longitudinal 

 layers of the bark are removed from the trunk, and the 

 exposed surface is sometimes covered with moss; the 

 bark renews itself, and the " renewed bark" is as rich or 



