THE  CINCHONA  TREE. 
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those  with  leaves  more  or  less  petiolate,  whether  lanceolate  or 
ovate,  as  formed  by  a  combination  of  JV.  tabacuTh,  JV.  fruticosa 
and  iV.  rustica.  It  is  remarkable  what  strange  appearances 
these  will  put  on ;  every  possible  variation  of  the  principal  forms 
and  every  gradation  of  position  will  be  found,  all,  however,  easily 
reducible  to  the  three  original  types. — Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Set. 
THE  CINCHONA  TREE. 
The  following  interesting  letter  contains  some  valuable  infor- 
mation to  persons  in  this  country,  which  will  be  enhanced  by  the 
knowledge  that  Mr.  D.  Jay  Browne,  of  the  Agricultural  Bureau 
of  the  Patent  Office,  has  taken  the  initiative  steps  to  procure 
seeds,  and  will  distribute  them  in  the  various  parts  of  the  country 
for  experimenting.  It  is  from  the  bark  of  this  tree  that  the 
celebrated  tonic,  known  as  quinine,  is  obtained.  It  is  now  al- 
most an  indispensable  article  in  medical  practice: 
U.  S.  Legation,  Quito,  Equador,  ] 
January  16ch,  1850.  / 
Dear  Sir, — The  great  importance  which  has  become  attached 
to  the  cinchona  tree,  which  furnishes  the  Peruvian  or  fever 
bark,  will  excuse  me  for  troubling  you  with  this  communication. 
I  do  not  know  whether  attempts  have  been  heretofore  made  for 
its  propagation  in  the  United  States  or  not,  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  some  parts  of  our  country  are  adapted  to  its  culti- 
vation. 
It  is  found  in  Ecuador,  as  well  as  in  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  New 
Granada,  and  its  value  as  an  article  of  commerce  has  very  greatly 
increased  during  the  last  half  century.  In  this  country  it  for- 
merly sold  at  $40  per  hundred,  while  its  present  price  is  $1 
per  pound.  (These  prices  are  in  Ecuadorian  currency,  to  re- 
duce which  to  United  States  money  requires  a  reduction  of 
about  one-fifth.)  In  Ecuador  the  tree  is  found  at  elevations  of 
from  six  to  eight  thousand  feet,  and  where  the  temperature 
ranges  from  60  to  66°.  But  as  Humboldt  observes,  a  compari- 
son between  the  climate  of  these  regions  and  others  is  not  satis- 
factorv.  and  it  does  not  follow  that  the  tree  will  not  flourish  in 
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