December i, 1888.] THF. TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
CAKTJLUIENA BAliK. 
UY DAVID HOOPER. 
[We give this paper as being much fuller than the 
one on page 30U. — Ed. T. A. \ 
The following two papers wire read anil discussed 
together at the Twonty-lifth Annual Meeting- of ihc 
British Pharmaceutical Uonfcrenco on Wednesday, 
Sept. 5, 1888 :— 
Some of the cinchona barks are known by the names 
of the localities in which they arc collected, others 
are named from the ports whence they are distributed, 
and perhaps none of theso harks has been less noticed 
than that bearing the name of Carthagcua in the 
United Statos of Colombia. As the botanical bource 
of this bark will very probably be cleared up at an 
1 arly date, it would bo interesting in the meantime 
to link together historical facts on the subject, 
and to give the results of the experiments connected 
with the introduction of the Carthagena bark trees 
into tho iSilgiri Cinchona Plantations of the Madras 
Presidency. 
Jo6e Celestiuo Mutis, at the request of the Spanish 
Viceroy, was the first botauist sent out to explore 
tho bark region of New Granada,* and discovered tho 
first cinchona tree at Teena, in the year 1772. A 
few years later Ruiz and 1'avon were sent round to 
Pern to investigate the bark regions of that country, 
and a hot discussiou sprang up between the botanists 
as to the respective merits of the species they had 
discovered in the two countries. It would indeed seem 
that Mutis was not acquainted with the more valuable 
lipecies of cinchona, as the large quantities of bark 
that were subsequently exported from Cartbagena and 
Santa Martha were found to ho so worthless that the 
barks of New Granada were brought into disrepute. 
The distinguished traveller, Alexander von Humbolt, 
with Aim6 Bonpland, visited the ports of the Carib- 
bean sea iu 1801, and expresses an interest in the bark 
trade of South America. He says: "The proximity of 
the port of Cartbagena would render tho neglected 
cultivation of cinchona an object of great importance 
to European trade. The ri al febrifuge ciuchoua with 
the hardy corolla is nowhere el.-e found so near the 
coast, if we except the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta." 
Whatever might have been the value of the barks 
exported at this time, the trade was considerably 
brisk; it is shown in tho Report of the Administrator 
that between 1802 and 18(17 the shipment of New 
Granada bark from Cartbagena was 3,?4O,000 lb., and 
the tint arrivals in Spain sold at 5 to 6 dollars a 
pound. 
Dr. Karsten, a German botanist) arrived in South 
America iu 181-1, and during a long residence examined 
the cinchona trees of New Ciauada, and determined 
the origin of Beveral barks exported from the northern 
towns. He found Cinchona lancifolxa of Mutis to be a 
very variable plant, and tfn furnish barks of very dif- 
ferent "ppoiratice. This species, he says, affords prin- 
cipally two kinds of narks, the valuable varioty called 
Soft Colombian, or Calisaya, of Santa Fe, and the 
less valuable variety, called Cartbagena, or Cogueta 
bark, or Ctirthagone ligneux of the French. Other 
Invi fttigaturs refer the latter bark to the species named 
by Mutis, C. cordifolia, a tree largely distributed in 
South America, arid considered to be very poor in 
alkaloidh. The tjuina <mar<mjada from C lancifolia 
was exported very largely botwecn 1840 and 18$5, but 
.iltrr thai tin., the supplies began to fail. About 
the year 1872 Colombian barks wore again in the 
market, Mid 12 ewt. was shipped to Europe from 
Ciirtbagenn and in ighbuiirin ; ports, but tbo bnrk 
trade at Ibis time censed to bn characterised by one 
or two special kinds, as the 1'iUyo forests had hem 
reeet tly explored by travellers, and quantities of bark 
from this district formed tho bulk of the exports, 
Within the last decade Reroijias have been discovere d 
* In 1811), after the war with Spain, Colombia was 
proclaimed n republic. In 1881 tbo Confederation 
resolved itself into three independent states, Now 
Saudi) Vuuc/.ueln, and Ecuador. In l^dl the former 
w«), rucbristened Colombia, wi'h Bogota as chief 
town. 
in the forests of Colombia, and cuprea barks have 
taken the lead iu the commerce of that country ; in 
1881, for instance, out of 87,000 serous exported, 
60,000 scrons wore cuprea haik. 
The United States of Colombia at the present time 
probably yield the greater portion of the South 
American cinchona bark of commerce. The. cuprea 
bark conies from low elevations at Antioguia in the 
north-west, from the basin of the lower Magdalena in 
the north, from Bucaramanga and Llanos on the 
eastern slopes of the eastern Cordillera, and from near 
tho several affluents of the Orinoco and Amazon. The 
mountainous territory in the south-west alfords the 
Titayo bark and the Calisaya of Santa F6, and includes 
the habitat of the Cartbagena bark trees. In nearly 
every part of the country, from 9000 feet on the three 
branches of the Colombian trifurcation of the Andes, 
down to river basins a little above 6ca-leve), are 
numerous rubiaceous trees more or less valuable as 
quinine producers. The bark from this country i- n t 
all exported from Cartbagena, but this port still holds 
an important position in tho trade. Iu the consul's 
report on the trade of Cartbagena for the year 1837, 
138,000 pounds of cinchona bark were passed! out, 
together with some drugs of loss importance, as balsam, 
ipecacuanha, and saraparilla. 
Mr. Robert Cross was employed in 1S77-187K to 
collect plants of the Calisaya Santa Fe on the eastern 
Andes aird of the Cartbagena bark on the Central 
Cordillera. This intrepid traveller and accomplished 
gardener made a successful journey through Cali and 
Popayan, over the western and central Cordilleras, 
and returned with cuttings and scads of the plants for 
which he went in search. He defined the Carthagena 
bark region as situated on the eastern declivities of 
the central Cordillera on the border of the Magdalena 
Valley in thedistriot of Paez, a little below 3° north 
latitude. The treo grows at elevations of from 4000 to 
SOOO feet in forests with a heavy rainfall. It is rapid 
aud robust in habit, and stands great variations in 
temperature. Five specimens of bark were collected 
from trees in the Cauca Valley, and one from Ooralis 
Inza in the district of the Magdalena, and the latter 
was tho only one that was found to contain quinine. 
The analyses of the six samples by Mr. J. E. Howard 
might hero bo conveniently reproduced. 
1 2 3 4 5 6- 
Quiniue -00 '00 — -00 1'88 -00 
Oinchonidine -00 '10 — -28 M8 -00 
Cmiuidine -00 -00 — -00 -18 -00 
Ciucbonine P23 P25 — 1*30 "SO 1-24 
Amorphous 
alkaloids PG8 197 — 2-18 71 '.-48 
Total ... 2'91 3-68 0-44 3-70 4-75 2 72 
No. 1. Pauiquita variety, Popayan. 5000 feet, valley 
of the Cauca, 
No. 2, Pauiquita variety, Usenda. 8500 feed, district 
of the Cauea. 
No. 3. Smooth leaved variety, Pueblo Nuevo. SOOO 
feet, district of Cauca. Mr. Howard remarks this is 
the Quint blanca of Carthagena, and does not belong 
to tbo Cinchona, but to an allied family. 
No. 4. Pauiquita variety, Silvia. 7500 feet, district 
of tbo Cauca. 
No. 5. Magdalena variety, Coralis inza. 7000 feet, 
district of the Magdalena. 
No. G. Pauiquita variety. 0000 feet, district of the 
Cauca. 
The plants were taken to Kew, arriving there iu 
March, 1878, and forty cuttings were obtained fx m 
tho root pieces of tho plants; much difficulty was 
experienced in preserving the Magdalena plant, owing 
to tbo frost of the following winter and to the cock- 
roaches feediog upon it. Next year tho young plants 
were brought to India, aud six Oartbagenai planted 
out on tho Nilgiris, iu Ootobor, 1880. Tho high 
elevation of Dodnhotta was unsuited to their iiahit 
and growth, but two plants at XaduvaUm found • 
more genial climate, and even now tin ho inosi 
luxuriantly. Colonel BoddOBM reporting on the plan- 
tations iu Juno, 1381, remarks: "The two plant* 
brought lately by Mr. Croat troiu tho central cordrlU-r* 
