?iS THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [July i, 1881. 
that tliey are referred to only as of South American 
•origin, and he points to the development of the sup- 
ply of bark from British India since 1867 as having 
now reached a stage when India- grown bark requires 
to be considered in a very different manner from 
what was possible when the last German Pharma- 
copeia was published in 1871. 
The que-tion to be considered is how the cultivated 
cinchona bark imported from India should be dealt 
with in a new Pharmacopoeia, and Professor Fliickiger 
is cf opinion that its consideration must not be con- 
fined merely within the limits of a pharmacopoeia 
commission, or undertaken exclusively from a medical 
or pharmaceutical point of view, but that it must be 
conducted also with suitable regard to the pre-ent pcsi- 
tioai of cinchona bark as an article of commerce as 
web as the probable form that it may take in the future. 
From an examination of the various circumstances 
obtaining in regard to those varieties of South 
American cinchona bark which are now official, Pro- 
fessor Fliickiger arrives at the following conclusions, 
which, we think, will be of interest to our readers. 
The flit calisaya or yellow bark of the Pharma- 
copo3 : a, he fiuds to be more scantily and less regu- 
larly exported than formerly and at the same time 
it has become inferior in quality, the amount of 
alkaloid in the Peruvian and Bolivian calisaya bark 
being very much less than we were formerly 
accu-tomed to. Whatever may be the cause of this 
deterioration it is unquestionable that the official 
calisaya bark does not meet the requirements which 
the Pharmacopoeia should demand of cinchona 
bark to which preference is to be given ; such bark 
ought to be obtainable abundantly and uniformly at 
a comparatively moderate price, and it should contain 
an adequate as well as a constant amount, of alkaloid. 
In addition to these points it is to be remembered that 
the therapeutic action of cinchona bark must be in part 
ascribed to other constituents besides the alkaloids. 
The quinotannic acid, quinovin and quinovic 
acid, as well perhaps as quinic acid, are present in 
smaller proportion in the stem bark of calisaya 
than ill most kinds of branch bark. All these facts 
are regarded by Professor Fliickiger as being 
eo unfavourable to calisaya bark that, he would re- 
commend its being abandoned as an article of the 
official materia medica. As a further reason for taking 
snch a step, he refers to the geographical as well as 
the political situation of the frontier lands of Bolivia 
and Peru where the cinchona calisaya is indigenous. 
The high table-land surrounding the Xiticaca Lake is 
very difficult of access, very insufficiently connected 
with the rathe* defe-'tive ports of the Pacific Coast 
Islay, Arica, or, if the territory in question be some- 
what further extended, even Iquique and Cobija. 
Occasional violent floods and earthquakes also combine 
to render the development of these localities very 
•questionable, and the present unsettled state of the 
country is a further reason why the pharmacist should 
not rely upon such an uncertain source for the supply 
of fcuch an important drug as cinchena bark. 
The same remarks are applied to the bark known 
as l.oxa or Huauuco bark, and even somewhat more 
forcibly. Though perhaps it may be hoped that at 
some future time the Chilians may improve the con- 
dition of the southernmost cinchona district adjoining 
the ports of Cobija and Iquique, there is now little 
propeot of rapid economical advance in the central 
district of Peru (unrounding Huanuco. If the Peru- 
vian.-> have not hitherto seen the desirability of 
making a sensible use of their cinchona wealth, it is 
not likely they will now be able to undertake the 
culliva iou and planting of trees as a business, and 
it mav bo feared that impending revolutions will 
BCa>J'0§)y leave the Government of that unfortunate 
country time or means of opening up the interior for 
trade. 
; As to red bark, it is urged that the district where the 
I Cinchona succirubra is indigenous in South America is 
; eo limited as to account foi the very scanty supply of 
this bark and also for the high price it commands. 
Whether bark of the same character may not eventually 
be obtained at a cheaper rate from India is a question 
that must be left for the future to solve, but for the 
present there can be no hope of obtaining thick stem 
bark, such as is ordered by the German Pharmacopoeia. 
Such bark is not often to be had at all, aud its intrinsic 
value seldom corresponds to its price. 
In Bolivia and tbat part of Peru within the valley 
of the Atnazon cinchonas are probably a^undaut, as 
indicated by Ledger's discovery of the very valuable 
tree named after him ; but those sources of supply 
will become accessible only when the numerous rivers 
of that immense region shall have been opened up for 
regular traffic. The possibility of exporting cinchona 
biirk of excellent quality from that locality has al- 
ready been practically demonstrated, but it will prob- 
ably be a long time before there be any trustworthy 
means of communication. 
Beyond these sources of South American cinchona 
bark there is the northern part of the cinchona 
region in Columbia and Venezuela, to which belong 
the C. lancifolia and C. pitayemis. The south western 
section of this district is partially connected with 
the Atlantic Ocean by the rivers Cauca and Magda- 
lena and this part of South America undoubtedly 
still yields the greater portion of the cinchona bark 
of commerce. At the ports of Carthagena and Sav- 
anilla especially, as well as those of Maracaibo, 
Puert o Cabello aud La Guaira, are very consider- 
able harbours, which are connected with the Atlautic 
Ocean by the Carribean Sea, and for the ship- 
ment of bark they have an obvious advantage over 
those situated on the Pacific. The objection raised 
by Professor Fliickiger to taking the bark supplied 
from this district for pharmacopoeia purposes is 
based upon the difficulty he thinks there would 
be in making a selection from among the various 
kinds differing very considerably in their appearance 
and in the amounts of alkaloids, etc. For the pre- 
paration of quinine, mere differences of character are 
of less importance, provided that the amount of 
alkaloid be sufficient ; but in selecting a variety of 
cinchona bark for the Pharmacopoea, it is, in Profes- 
sor Fluckiger's opinion, at least necessary to put pro- 
minently forward a specific kind of bark, even if it 
be not exclusively ordered. If the bark thus adopted, 
is to be moderately uniform in outward appearance 
he thinks it is scarcely possible to look for it from 
Columbia or Venezuela, while at the same time he 
thinks there is much reason for giving preference to 
a braneh bark rather than a stem bark. The latter 
is always proportionally more costly, since it is better 
to work in the quinine factory. 
After thus surveying the native habitat of the cin- 
chonas from the Central Cordilleras to the northern 
most extremities of the mountain range without find- 
ing any part of it whence cinchona bark is to be 
obtained to suit the requirements of the Pharma- 
copoeia, Professor Fliickiger points to the cinchonas 
cultivated in India as presenting the most advantageous 
opportunity for the selection of an official bark for the 
Pharmacopoeia. 
As regards the amount of alkaloid in Indian grown 
bark, experience ha< shown that it is increased by 
cultivation and though ail Indian grown cinchona 
bark may not be equally rich, that is also the case 
with the bark growing wild in South America. As 
time progresses it may be expected that the systematic 
culture of cinchona trees in India and Java will have 
led to a knowledge of the moet favourable conditions 
for securing the largest and most uniform produce. 
It is now beyond question that India furnishes ex- 
cellent cinchona bark and it only remains to inquire 
