34 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CINCHONAS. 
as at the base the bark] is thickest, and therefore most 
profitable, it is customary to remove the earth from around 
the trunk, so that the barking may be more complete. The 
tree seldom falls immediately when cut through, being sus- 
tained either by climbing plants or by the adjacent trees ; 
these are fresh obstacles to be overcome by the cascarille- 
ros. 1 remember having once cut the trunk of a large cin- 
chona in the hope of bringing its flowers within reach, and, 
after having felled three adjacent trees, had the mortification 
to find it yet standing, being held up by the interlacing 
creepers. 
When at length the tree is down, and the useless branches 
have been cut off, the peridermis is removed by striking it> 
either with a little wooden mallet, or even with the back of 
the hatchet ; and the inner bark, being thus exposed, is often 
further cleaned by means of a brush. The bark is then di- 
vided by uniform incisions circumscribing the pieces which 
are to be removed, and these are separated from the trunk 
with a common knife or some [other instrument, the point 
of which is carried as close as possible to the surface of the 
wood on introducing it into the incisions previously made; 
and if the position of the trunk prevents the operator from 
removing the whole of the bark by the first operation, it is 
subsequently divided so as to admit of its being turned. 
The dimensions and regularity of the pieces necessarily de- 
pend more or less on circumstances ; in general, however, 
for the convenience of transport and facility of preparation, 
they endeavor to make them from fifteen to eighteen inches 
long, and four or five inches wide. The bark of the 
branches is separated in the same way as that of the trunk, 
excepting that it is deprived of its exterior coating or peri- 
dermis.* 
* Formerly, with very few exceptions, the bark deprived of its peri- 
dermis was not received in commerce ; not that any virtue was supposed 
to exist in that part, but it furnished distinctive characters by which it 
