476 
THE  CINCHONA  TREE. 
temperatures  quite  different.  Within  a  few  years,  seeds  of  the 
tree  have  been  sent  to  England  and  propagated  in  order  to  be 
forwarded  to  India.  The  plants  have  been  forwarded  thither  in 
glass  covered  boxes,  with  what  success  remains  to  be  seen.  The 
seed  is  diminutive,  and  may  be  sent  by  post  to  remote  countries. 
In  northern  Ecuador,  and  west  of  the  mountains,  and  of  Quito, 
the  inferior  kind  is  found. 
The  red  bark  variety,  which  is  most  valuable,  is  everywhere 
becoming  scarce  before  the  depredations  of  the  hunters,  and  as 
no  care  is  exercised  in  its  cultivation,  it  may,  after  some  years, 
unless  attention  is  turned  to  the  subject,  become  nearly  extinct. 
The  most  valuable  and  extensive  forests  of  the  tree  are  found  in 
southern  Ecuador,  in  the  vicinity  of  Loxa,  and  it  is  from  that 
quarter,  so  far  as  this  country  is  concerned,  that  supplies  are 
drawn.  Information  regarding  the  cinchona  tree  may  be  found 
in  Humboldt's  Personal  Narrative,  volume  1,  page  138,  and 
more  particularly  in  his  Views  of  Nature  (Bonn's  Translation  of 
1850),  pp.  280,  390,  and  (in  note)  442. 
It  may  be  well  for  you  to  bring  this  subject  to  the  attention 
of  Mr.  D.  Jay  Browne,  connected  with  the  Patent  Office,  and  I 
should  be  glad  to  hear  from  him  concerning  it.  From  my  posi- 
tion here,  I  enjoy  peculiar  facilities  for  obtaining  the  seeds  of 
the  tree,  and  information  regarding  its  culture,  and  will  be  glad 
to  act  in  concert  with  Mr.  Browne,  if  he  will  take  efficient  steps 
for  its  introduction  into  the  United  States. 
Very  truly  yours,  C.  R.  Buckalew. 
It  is  stated  that  about  double  the  amount  of  quinine  can  be 
obtained  from  the  bark  in  its  green  state  than  when  dried. — 
Louisville  Med.  News,  July,  1859.* 
*  [Mr.  Buckalew  is  probably  mistaken  as  to  the  advantageous  culture 
of  cinchona  in  this  climate.  It  is  true  the  tree  grows  in  so  elevated  a  po- 
sition as  to  have  a  moderate  annual  temperature,  but  it  must  be  recollected 
that  this  temperature  in  a  tropical  country  is  nearly  constant.  Besides, 
even  in  its  native  country,  cinchona  ceases  to  yield  the  alkaloids,  in  ad- 
vantageous proportions,  below  a  certain  altitude.  All  the  attempts  to 
transplant  cinchona,  so  far  as  we  know,  have  been  to  intra-tropical  coun- 
tries, except  the  proposed  French  experiment  in  Algeria. — Ed.  Am.  Jour. 
Pharm.] 
