ON  THE  RED  VARIETY  OF  PITAYO  BARK. 
515 
Pitayo  bark,  which  bears  a  high  value  in  this  market,  as  well  as 
in  Paris,  equal  in  fact  to  that  of  Calisaya.  From  a  small  por- 
tion of  that  given  to  me,  gathered  by  Cross,  I  obtained  the  sur- 
prising amount  of  8«6  per  cent,  of  alkaloid  soluble  in  ether,  and 
the  portion  which  formed  crystalline  salts  indicated  like  results 
with  those  mentioned  by  Dr.  Jameson. 
There  is,  I  believe,  no  doubt  that  this  is  the  same  sort  of 
bark  which  was  given  by  Mr.  Delondre  to  Dr.  de  Vry,  described 
by  him  as  the  root-bark  of  0.  lancifolia,  and  from  which  Dr.  de 
Vry  obtained  8»66  per  cent,  of  alkaloid.  If  I  understand 
rightly,  this  identity  isadmitted  on  all  sides  ;  but  the  questions 
remain, — First,  is  it  the  produce  of  C.  lancifolia  (Mutis)  ? 
Second,  is  it  root-bark  at  all  ?  As  to  the  first  question,  it  is 
certainly  an  error  to  identify  the  0.  Pitayensis  with  the  0.  lan- 
cifolia (Mutis).  I  send  a  drawing  of  the  C.  Pitayensis,  which 
was  made  by  Mr.  Fitch  from  specimens  gathered  by  Mr.  Jer- 
vise,  and  now  found  in  the  herbarium  of  Sir  William  J.  Hooker, 
at  Kew.  They  comprise  the  roja,  or  red,  and  naranjada,  or 
orange,  varieties,*  and  are  accompanied  by  characteristic  speci- 
mens of  the  bark  of  these  two  sorts.  Between  these  no  botan- 
ical difference  that  I  am  aware  of  can  be  traced,  and  both  con- 
stitute a  species  markedly  distinct  from  the  C.  lancifolia  (Mu- 
tis),f  which  has  been  very  well  figured  both  by  Weddell  and 
Karsten  ;  whilst  the  Q.  Pitayensis  has  never  till  now  been  repre- 
sented, as  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  although  it  is  certainly 
one  of  the  very  best  kinds  of  Cinchona,  and  far  superior  to 
the  0.  lancifolia  (Mutis) ,  which  last  has  been  for  a  long  time 
almost  entirely  neglected  by  the  collectors. 
In  the  next  place,  is  it  root  bark  ?  I  presume  not,  as  Cross 
never  intimates  anything  of  the  kind  respecting  the  specimen 
bark  which  he  sent  home.  The  appearance  of  the  bark,  which 
is  peculiar,  might  most  readily  correspond  to  that  which  would 
be  produced  by  shrubs,  growing  high  up  the  mountains,  and  in 
so  low  a  temperature  as  is  above  described.  This  is  exactly 
the  climate  and  circumstances  to  favor  the  production  of  qui- 
*I  have  also  from  Paris  the  morada  and  blanca  varieties  exhibited  in 
sections  of  branches,  but  not  in  flowers  or  fruit. 
f  I  have  specimens  given  by  Mutis  to  Bonpland,  and  presented  by  the 
authorities  cf  the  Museum  of  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  ;  also  an  excellent 
specimen  gathered  by  Dr.  Karsten. 
