292 
Botanical  Sonrcr  of  Cuprea  Bark. 
{ Am.  Jour.  Pharm.. 
■(      June,  1882. 
THE  BOTANICAL  SOITRCE  OF  CINCHONA  CUPREA. 
Bv  J(),SE  Tkiana. 
Since  the  puMicatioii  of  my  "Nouvelles  Etudes  sur  les  Quinquinas/' 
Dr.  Hesse  has  remarked  the  appearance  in  commerce  of  a  new  bark 
which  differed  from  those  of  all  known  cinchonas  in  its  aspect,  density,, 
texture  and  color,  etc.,  but  which  contained  alkaloids  cliaracteristie 
of  the  true  cinchonas.  Subsequently,  Professor  F.  A.  Fliickiger,  in 
the  "  Neues  Jahrbuch  f.  Pharmacie,"  xxxvi,  296,  stated  that  the  same 
bark  differed  considerably  from  the  cinchona  barks  in  its  anatomical 
structure,  which  he  compared  to  that  of  Casearilla  magnifolia,  and 
gave  to  the  new  bark  the  name  of  cuprea  cinchona,  on  account  of  the 
dull  coppery  tint  of  its  external  surface. 
During  the  last  few  years  especially  there  have  been  introduced  into 
Europe  considerable  quantities  of  new  barks,  which  have  maintained 
in  commerce  the  name  of  "  cuprea  bark,"  and  the  importations  have- 
been  so  large  that  the  price  of  all  cinchona  barks  and  of  sulphate  of" 
quinine  have  been  very  sensibly  lowered. 
The  chief  emporium  and  centre  of  exportation  of  the  cuprea  bark& 
is  Bucaramanga,  in  the  State  of  Santander,  and  the  trees  which  yield 
them  are  found  in  abundance  in  the  mountain  chain  of  La  Paz,  which 
breaks  off'  from  the  great  eastern  branch  of  the  Columbian  trifurca- 
tion  of  the  Andes,  and  runs  parallel  to  the  course  of  the  Magdelena 
river,  separating  it  from  its  affluent,  the  Suarez.  At  first  there  was 
only  one  firm  in  Bucaramanga  which  exported  the  bark,  and  by  keep- 
ing secret  the  use  to  which  the  bark  was  destined,  it  succeeded  for 
some  time  in  maintaining  a  kind  of  monopoly.  But  attention  having, 
been  roused  })y  the  regular  exportation,  it  at  length  became  known 
that  these  barks  were  considered  to  be  the  produce  of  cinchonas,  and 
much  valued  in  Europe;  from  that  time  an  eager  search  was  made 
for  them,  and  their  exportation  soon  assumed  such  proportions  that 
the  bark  market  became  rapidly  overloaded  and  supplied  with  sufficient 
to  last  for  a  long  time. 
The  impetus  having  once  been  given,  the  search  for  cuprea  bark 
was  prosecuted  in  other  forests  of  Columbia,  and  barks  quite  equal  to 
those  of  Bucaramanga  were  found  towards  the  base  of  the  great  east- 
tern  branch  of  he  Cordillera  of  the  Andes,  and  as  far  as  the  great 
plain  which  extends  to  the  Orinoco,  and  in  the  valleys  of  the  rivers 
