2S5 



K\yt €nra£itrw at 3Satang. 



[CINC 



ally used under the name of sulphate of 

 quinine— next to opium and calomel, pro- 

 bably the most important of all drugs. 

 The alkaloids extracted from the harks 

 are recognised by their distinctive chemi- 

 cal characteristics, while the barks pro- 

 ducing them are likewise distinguished by 

 a careful scrutiny of their external ap- 

 pearance, the lichens, &c, growing on 

 them, the way in which they break, their 

 taste, odour, &c, as well as by their mi- 

 croscopical and chemical characteristics. 

 All these varied points require long prac- 

 tical experience for their due acquirement. 

 The way in which the barks break, or the 

 fracture, as it is termed, depends on their 

 anatomical structure, that is to say, on 

 the size and arrangement of their cellular 

 and woody portions. "Where the former 

 preponderates, the fracture is smooth and 

 even, and such barks are said to yield the 

 greatest quantity of quinidin. When there 

 is less cellular tissue, or the constituent 

 cells are smaller, then a fibrous or stringy 

 fracture is observable, and a short stringy 

 fibrous fracture is considered to bean in- 

 dication of the presence of quinine. Withal 

 there is still much uncertainty as to the 

 trees producing the various kinds of bark. 

 Xo doubt the same tree, in varying cir- 

 cumstances, may, nay does, produce differ- 

 ent sorts of bark. Similar-looking barks 

 too may be produced by very different 

 species, and the same package may con- 

 tain the produce of more than one species 

 of Cinchona. These difficulties are en- 

 hanced by the jealousies and restrictions 

 of the various governments, and of the 

 merchants. 



The Cinchona trees grow in the forests 

 of Bolivia, Peru, &c, in groups or clusters. 

 The cascarilleros, or bark collectors, en- 

 camp in these forests, and ascertain where 

 the trees are to be found, a process in 

 which the sagacity and endurance of the 

 Indians are put to a severe test. They are 

 reported to be able to tell the trees at a 

 distance by a peculiar movement of the 

 leaves, and by the colour of the masses of 

 bloom. When the position of the trees 

 has been ascertained, there is frequently 

 much difficulty in getting to the spot; 

 this done, however, the trees are felled ; 

 nolight labour, for the intertwining climb- 

 ing plants sustain the trunks when cut 

 through. When the trees are at length 

 felled, the bark is stripped off all round, 

 and cut into pieces of a convenient size 

 for carriage ; and particular care is taken 

 to secure the bark near the root, as it is 

 there thicker and more valuable. The 

 bark from the small branches rolls up 

 when stripped into cylindrical pieces or j 

 quills, while the larger pieces are placed j 

 in stacks to dry, with a heavy weight on i 

 the top. The carriage of the packages of 

 the bark to the place of encampment, by a 

 route which is traversed with much diffi- 

 culty by the unembarrassed Indian, is a 

 work of great hardship and labour. 



In the process above described, the trees 

 are necessarily destroyed, and hence the 

 supply of this valuable drug is likely to be | 



greatly diminished, if means be not taken 

 to secure the growth of these trees. Che- 

 mists, however, tell us we need not de- 

 spair of finding a substitute. Thanks, 

 nevertheless, to the labours of Messrs. 

 Markhani, Spruce, and others in South 

 America, as well as to those of Mr. Mclvor 

 and other cultivators in India, there are 

 now established in many of the hilly dis- 

 tricts of the latter country large planta- 

 tions of the most valuable kinds of cin- 

 chona. Mr. Wilson also has met with 

 tolerable success in the cultivation of these 

 plants on the higher mountains of Jamaica, j 

 Mr. Howard's reports on the analysis of i 

 bark derived from these sources are very [ 

 encouraging. 



Bark was first employed in Europe in ! 

 the middle of the seventeenth century, i 

 The discovery of its medicinal value is i 

 a matter of fable and conjecture. The j 

 name Cinchona is derived from the wife | 

 of a Viceroy of Peru, who is said to 

 have brought the drug from South Ame- 



Cinchona Calisayf 



rica in 1639. Afterwards the Jesuits used 

 it ; and it became generally known when i 

 Louis XIV. purchased of Sir R. Talbor, an 

 Englishman, his heretofore secret remedy 

 for the cure of intermittent fever, and I 

 made it public. For full information on ] 

 the subject of Cinchona and its barks, the j 

 reader should consult the magnificent 

 works of Weddell and Howard, the account ! 

 of Mr. Markham's travels, Mr. Spruce's re- 

 port of his explorations, or the valuable 

 epitome contained in, Pereira's Materia 

 Medica, from which sources the greater 

 part of this notice has been gleaned. The 

 aspect of a Cinchona, forest is shown in 

 Plate 12. The name is now sometimes 

 written Chinchona. [M. T. MJ 



CINCHONACEiE. (Eubiacem, Cinchonads, 

 the Peruvian bark family.) A natural order 

 of gamopetalous calycifloral dicotyledons, 

 characterising Lindley's cinchonal alli- 

 ance. The order is sometimes considered 

 as a sub-order of the natural family of 

 Rubiacece, or Madderworts. Trees, shrubs, 



