38         INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  CINCHONA  TREES  INTO  INDIA. 
dangers  of  the  journey  and  the  vicissitudes  of  climate,  &c.,  to 
which  they  were  exposed  by  such  an  indirect  route. 
The  plants  are  now  on  their  way  to  India,  where,  should  they 
arrive  in  a  suitable  condition,  they  will,  we  believe,  be  planted 
in  the  Neilgherry  Hills,  as  this  district  is  considered  to  be  a 
very  favorable  one  for  the  growth  of  the  Cinchonas.  Mr.  Mark- 
ham  has  also  proceeded  to  India  for  the  purpose  of  superintend- 
ing the  plants  in  their  transit,  and  subsequent  establishment. 
He  proposes  to  return  to  this  country  next  spring,  to  which 
period  he  has  deferred  the  publication  of  his  observations  upon 
the  Cinchona  regions  which  he  traversed,  and  all  other  particu- 
lars respecting  the  expedition  in  which  he  has  been  engaged. 
No  seeds  were  obtained  by  Mr.  Markham  in  the  late  expe- 
dition, as  the  season  for  collecting  them  had  not  arrived  when 
he  was  in  the  bark  country.  Before  leaving  South  America, 
however^  he  commissioned  a  Mr.  Pritchett  to  look  out  for  seeds 
for  him  in  the  more  northern  bark  districts,  and  forward  such 
to  him  ;  these  he  hoped  would  reach  him  by  the  present  month. 
Such  being  the  result  of  Mr.  Markham's  expedition,  upon  a 
full  and  impartial  consideration  of  it  in  all  its  bearings,  we  can- 
not agree  in  the  opinion  which  has  been  expressed  in  some 
quarters — that  it  has  proved  almost  a  failure,  that  is,  taking  for 
granted  that  the  plants  obtained  are  chiefly  those  of  the  true 
Calisaya,  which  Mr.  Markham  states  to  be  the  case,  and  of  the 
correctness  of  which  we  have  no  means  of  judging,  and  have  no 
right,  therefore,  to  call  in  question. 
Some  errors  of  judgment  were,  no  doubt,  committed  in  the 
late  expedition  ;  thus,  we  believe  (and  in  this  belief  we  know 
that  we  are  supported  by  some  eminent  authorities),  that  it  would 
have  been  better  if  Mr.  Markham,  instead  of  endeavoring  at  the 
commencement  of  his  journey  to  penetrate  into  Bolivia,  the  bark 
districts  of  which  are  jealously  guarded  by  the  Government,  had 
at  first  explored  other  more  accessible  regions  farther  north, 
and  then,  after  having  succeeded  in  obtaining  supplies  of  plants 
or  seeds,  or  both,  from  such  regions,  and  forwarded  them  to  a 
safe  spot,  or  at  once  home,  he  could  have  attempted  to  make  his 
way  into  Bolivia  to  the  head-quarters  of  the  Calisayan  district. 
By  such  a  course  of  proceeding,  Mr.  Markham,  would,  we  think, 
have  saved  hinself  much  unnecessary  fatigue  and  danger,  and 
