548  Cinchona  Bark  Grown  in  Jamaica.  {%l?™;m£*' 
The  radiated  spots  in  rhubarb  are  really  transverse  sections,  more 
or  less  oblique,  of  adventitious  roots,  which  penetrate  from  the  base 
of  the  root  into  the  parenchymatous  mass  of  the  stem,  where  they 
appear  as  a  pith  of  medullary  rays,  with  triangular  portions  of  paren- 
chyma and  wood  interposed.  This  makes  it  practically  possible  al- 
ways to  distinguish  the  rhubarbs  met  with  in  commerce  consisting  of 
the  cauline  portions  of  the  plant  from  those  consisting  of  the  root. — 
Pharm.  Journ.  Lond.,  Oct.  19,  1872. 
REPORT  ON  CINCHONA  BARK  GROWN  IN  JAMAICA. 
By  the  kindness  of  J.  E.  Howard,  Esq.,  we  are  enabled  to  print  a 
report  made  by  him  upon  some  samples  of  cinchona  bark  forwarded 
to  him  by  Mr.  Sargeaunt,  the  Crown  Agent  for  the  Colonies.  The 
samples  included  five  species  grown  in  the  Botanical  Gardens,  Jamaica, 
and  one  from  a  locality  named  Cold  Spring.  Those  from  the  planta- 
tion had  been  planted  out  three  and  a  half  years,  the  specimens  from 
Cold  Spring  was  supposed  to  be  about  eight  years  old. 
Report  by  J.  E.  Howard,  Esq.,  F.L.S.,  etc.,  to  the  Crown  Agents  for 
the  Colonies  on  the  above  samples. 
Sir, — Referring  to  your  letter  of  the  27th  June,*  I  have  to  inform 
you  that  the  samples  of  cinchona  bark  from  Jamaica  have  been  re- 
ceived and  fully  investigated,  and  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  report  that 
the  result  is  highly  satisfactory  as  regards  the  prospects  of  cinchona 
cultivation  in  that  island. 
The  total  contents  in  alkaloid  may  be  described  as  quite  favorable 
for  the  time  of  growth,  with  specialities  which  seem  to  indicate  that 
some  species  are  more  exactly  suited  than  others.  The  C.  calisaya  is 
in  this  case  decidedly  the  most  promising,  and  it  has  already  attained 
*  "The  samples  of  cinchona  bark  have  been  forwarded,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to 
reeeive  the  report  which  Mr.  J.  E.  Howard  has  kindly  promised  to  give  on 
their  botanical  qualities  and  commercial  values.  I  enclose  an  extract  from  a 
letter  from  the  Superintendent  of  the  Botanical  Gardens,  Jamaica,  which  may 
be  of  assistance  to  Mr.  Howard  in  his  examination  of  these  specimens. 
"  Extract  referred  to  under  date,  April  22,  1872  :  '  I  send  herewith  all  the 
species  (five)  grown  here,  and  also  a  specimen  from  Cold  Spring.  They  are  all 
labelled.  Those  from  the  plantation  are  now  three  years  and  a  half  old,  that 
is,  from  the  time  they  were  planted  out,  when  they  were  four  to  six  inches  high. 
The  specimen  from  Cold  Spring  is,  as  nearly  as  I  can  make  out,  about  eight 
years  old.' " 
