738 
THE PHABMACEUTICAL JOUENAL AND TBANSACTIONS. 
[March 9, 1872. 
ns was in their power to obtain the largest possible 
quantity during the short time they held the monopoly 
of buying it, as consistent with their interest, without 
any regard, however, for future supplies, which was of 
most disastrous consequence, in as far as it induced the 
men who tapped and collected the rubber to indulge in 
the most outrageous wholesale destruction of these 
valuable trees, by either felling them with axes, or, if 
this was too troublesome, to collect firewood and bum 
them down, so as to render the operation of tapping 
more convenient than it would have been had the trees 
been left standing; and several hundred magnificent 
trees were counted, in all directions, lying on the ground 
with cuts across their trunks and roots from 6 to 18 
inches long, 3 inches broad, and a foot to 18 inches apart, 
and smaller cuts on the upper branches of them, by 
which all that they could yield was extracted immedi¬ 
ately after they were felled, with an utter disregard for 
future wants. So that at present there is absolutely no 
rubber worth speaking of to be got from these forests, 
nor for centuries to come, unless the tree is replanted.” 
It, therefore, cannot be too deeply impressed on all in¬ 
terested in the subject, that every useful vegetable pro¬ 
duct for the supply of which we depend on spontaneous 
production, and also those which could supplement these 
supplies, should be, by cultivation and acclimatization, 
brought under conditions where the various desiderata, 
such as the improvement of quality, quantity, purity, an 
easy collection, with as little loss of material as possible, 
unfailing supply, and a cheap transit to the seats of con¬ 
sumption, could be attained, thus lowering the price, and 
increasing the utilization. The Indian Government have 
wisely directed their best energies to this subject of 
acclimatization, and in no instance have the results been 
more manifest than in the successful cultivation of the 
cinchonas. 
The first cinchona plants arrived in India from South 
America under the superintendence of Mr. C. B. Mark¬ 
ham, in 1861. The last report from one plantation, that 
in Bengal, gives the following numbers :—Cinchona succi- 
rubra , 1,233,715 ; C. officinalis, 440,000 ; C. call say a , 
33,000. And to show, rather in illustration than in 
proof, that the plants do not deteriorate but improve, 1 
will quote a single case. 
In 1859, Mr. Howard received from South America 
bark and seeds of C. officinalis. The bark yielded by 
analysis 3*11 of alkaloids. The seeds were sown, and an 
English grown plant yielded 1-93. One of these grow¬ 
ing plants was sent to India, and this plant, partly 
grown in England and partly grown in India, yielded 
236, whilst a third generation, descended from the latter 
plant, yielded 3'33, thus showing a percentage of the 
Indian grown plant of 0-22 over that of the South 
American parent. In fact, a variety of C. officinalis grown 
in India yielded 11 ’40 per cent, of alkaloids, and of this 
9'75 per cent, was quinine. 
As to the advancement of our knowledge of economic 
botany, I should like to say a few words. At the present 
time we have no society which deals specially with this 
subject. At one or two of our existing societies papers 
are occasionally read on vegetable products, but what is 
really wanted is a society, or section of an existing 
society, which would give its attention systematically 
to this very important branch of the science of botany. 
I trust I am not too sanguine in anticipating that such 
a body would meet with warm support from our mer¬ 
chants and manufacturers. Any remarks, however, I 
may here venture to make on the work of such a society 
will not be out of place, as they will be equally ap¬ 
plicable to individual effort. 
One of the surest means of progress towards accurate 
knowledge is the collection of well-authenticated speci¬ 
mens of vegetable products, specimens which, being ob¬ 
tained by personal collection or other equally reliable 
source, and accompanied by leaves, flowers, and fruit 
obtained from the same identical tree, could be accepted 
as of critical value. It is very necessary that herbarium 
specimens should be collected from the same identical 
tree. Some trees may be so very similar in general 
appearance as to be considered identical by an inex¬ 
perienced person, yet, when examined by one skilled in 
such things, may be found to be totally dissimilar in pro¬ 
perties and structure. And when the name of the tree 
yielding a useful product is known, it allows of the pro¬ 
duct being searched for elsewhere. Too much reliance, 
it is feared, has been placed in the presumed good faith 
of “intelligent natives.” It is said that the practice is 
not uncommon with them, when instructed to go to a 
particular spot at some distance, and procure a certain 
specimen, that, having arrived at a safe distance from 
their starting-point, they calculate the time it would 
occupy to go to and return from the place indicated, 
they take their rest under some shady tree, and when 
the time has expired, collect a specimen from a neigh¬ 
bouring tree, and return with it as the result. 
Even where a traveller collects his own specimens, 
he has to be constantly on his guard, as the natives 
frequently use every artifice to mislead him. However 
good a specimen may otherwise be, if its history and its 
source are unknown, it is almost valueless for purposes 
of scientific study. Also much good can be done by 
endeavouring to clear up the many doubtful points with 
regard to the history of many of even our commonest pro¬ 
ducts. Dr. Lindley, in the preface to his 1 Flora Medica/ 
says, “All are aware how conflicting are the statements 
found in books and made in conversation respecting the 
sources from which medicinal substances, often of the 
commonest kind, are derived.” These remarks, penned 
in 1838, are, to a great extent, equally true now. The 
Admiralty have done good service to science by publish¬ 
ing a ‘ Manual of Scientific Inquiry,’ a new edition of 
which has recently appeared. One of' the sections is 
devoted to economic botany and the various points re¬ 
quiring elucidation. But this could be done to a much 
greater extent, and with consequently greater results, 
by a society, in sending out instructions and inquiries to 
consuls, traders and other residents abroad. 
Becent and also old collections made by travellers 
should be examined and compared with published or 
other accounts. It has been found more than once that 
where one substance has failed from any cause, a new 
one has been substituted, and had the original name ap¬ 
pended to it. To take an illustration of the good which 
may accrue from these researches, let me refer to an in¬ 
cident in the cinchona history. From the years 1852 to» 
1856, Mr. Howard was working on the Peruvian barks, 
and examining all the materials of the Spanish botanists, 
Buiz and Pavon, with which he was acquainted, but the? 
results did not fully satisfy him, and, to quote his own 
words:—“ I could not help surmising that there must 
remain at Madrid further results of the labours of the 
Spanish botanists which might throw light on the many 
questions still left in obscurity. I consequently caused 
inquiry to be made, and in the year 1858, obtained by 
purchase 54 specimens of barks, of Pavon’s collection, 
together with an original manuscript in Pavon’s hand¬ 
writing, which appears to have been commenced about 
the year 1821, and finished in 1826. This was sold be¬ 
fore Pavon’s death to a botanist in Madrid, from whom 
it passed into my hands.” This manuscript Mr. Howard 
published in a magnificent volume, under the title of 
‘ Illustrations of the Neuva Quinologia of Pavon.’* 
Mr. Markham also found the specimens and drawings 
of Buiz, Pavon and Mutis, illustrating the same ques¬ 
tion, “ buried ” in a cupboard in a tool-house at the 
Botanical Gardens at Madrid. And if this be the case, 
may we not hope that other valuable materials may be 
brought to light if sought for ? The question must occur 
* The original MSS. of Pavon was exhibited at the meet¬ 
ing, having been kindly lent by Mr. J. E. Howard. It is 
written on poor-house paper ( sello de pobres)! 
