JAN. — MAR. 1857.] 



Penman Bark- tree. 



215 



less on circumstances ; in general, however, for the convenience of 

 transport and facility of preparation, they endeavour to make them 

 from fifteen to eighteen inches long, and four or five inches wide. 

 The bark of the branches is separated in the same way as that of 

 the trunk, excepting that it is not deprived of its exterior coating 

 or peridermis.* 



" * Formerly, with very few exceptions, the bark deprived of its peridermis was 

 not received in commerce ; not that any virtue was supposed to exist in that part, 

 but it furnished distinctive characters, by which it was easily known, and render- 

 ed difficult of substitution. The necessity which was thus imposed upon the cas- 

 carilleros of preserving this, in many cases, frail part, demanded on their part the 

 greatest care. Thus in many places it was the custom to fell the tree two or three 

 days before barking it, so that, desiccation having commenced, the different 

 layers of bark might adhere together. 



" I think that the removal of the peridermis from the surface of the thick barks 

 at the time of cutting, is not quite general. Some of the cinchonas of New Gra- 

 nada, which I have recently seen, retained the outer coating. However this may 

 be, we perceive the necessity of studying the bark under both aspects. I am per- 

 suaded that many museum specimens, collected at a period when it was custo- 

 mary to preserve the peridermis, would no longer be thought of doubtful utility, 

 if considered in this point of view. 



" The process formerly employed for separating the young barks from the wood, 

 also differs much from that which is now practised ; hence there is a certain dif- 

 ference in the formation of the cylinders prepared by the two methods. I have 

 already described the way in which it is now done, and it is easy to understand 

 that by this method the dimensions of the separated pieces may depend on the 

 patience or skill of the cascarillero, or on the circumference of the branch or 

 trunk from which they are taken. Formerly, on the other hand, each piece was 

 cut by one operation, the cascarillero holding his knife by the two extremities, 

 and drawing it rapidly towards him. The flat pieces obtained in this way neces- 

 sarily varied in width, according to the size of the trunk from which they were 

 taken, and the quills when dried were frequently no larger than a pen. The 

 pieces also had sharp edges, and they were thicker at the centre. The defect of 

 this method was the immense loss which resulted, for nearly as much bark was 

 left oa as that which they removed, the former being considered useless on ac- 

 count of its being deprived of the peridermis. But this loss was as nothing w 7 hen 

 compared with that which I have next to notice. I allude to the almost entire 

 rejection, for some time, of the bark of thick trunks. The loss resulting from this 

 cause was immense. Many of those experienced in this subject having affirmed 

 that with age the juices disappear by degrees from the bark, and that those barks 

 only are efficacious which are taken from branches of moderate size, four times 

 as many trees were sacrificed as would have been the case under other circum- 

 stance s. It has been said, it is true, that the cascarilhrcs climbed the trees to 



