284 
CINCHONA. 
The only proper season for cutting the bark is from September 
to November : this being the only period of intermission fron» 
rain in these mountainous districts; and it seems essential, not 
only that the bark should be cut during a dry season, but that 
it should afterwards be carefully preserved from wet.* The opera- 
tion of barking is performed by the Indians, for whom tempo- 
rary huts are built in the neighbourhood of the trees, and also a large 
one, into which the bark is immediately removed, to guard against 
wet; from this place it is sent as speedily as possible to the nearest 
plantation in the low country, where it is dried in the open air. Two 
Indians are allotted to one tree, who are provided each with a large 
knife, and a bag that will contain about 50 lbs. of the green bark ; 
they commence their operations on the lower part of the tree, and 
continue them upwards, ascending by means of a temporary ladder, 
which they construct on the spot, one Indian remaining below to 
gather what the other cuts. 
Sensible and Chemical Properties of Bark. There are 
several varieties of the common or pale found in commerce, of these 
the most remarkable are, the quilled bark, which comes from Loxa, 
and the flat bark from Guanaco. The former consists of thin, singly 
or doubly roiled pieces, four or five inches long, and scarcely a line 
in thickness; externally rough, of a greyish brown colour, and gene- 
rally covered with a kind of lichen ; externally of a cinnamon 
colour. The best sort breaks close and smooth, and proves friable 
between the teeth; the inferior kinds appear, when broken, of a 
woody texture, and in chewing separates into fibres. It has a slight, 
somewhat musty smell, but not altogether disagreeable ; its taste is 
very bitter, astringent, very durable in the mouth, accompanied 
with some degree of aromatic warmth, and very ungrateful to the 
palate. The bark which comes from Guanaco, consists of much 
thicker, coarser, and flatter pieces; externally of a dark brown co- 
lour, approaching to black, but internally of the same colour with 
the Loxa bark, which it likewise resembles in all its other sensible' 
qualities. 
* Mr, Arnot, who has described the process of collecting the bark, sajs, " As much 
care as possible must be taken that the bark is not cat wet ; should it so happen, it is 
to be carried directly down to the 1o\y country to dry, for otherwise it loses its colour, 
tiirns black, and rots ; and if it be any time in the hut without being spread, it runs the 
same risk; so that while the Indians are cutting, the mules, if the weather permits, 
ought to be carrying it down to the place appointed for drying it, which is done by 
spreading it in Ihc open air, and frequently turning it." 
