160  THE  QUININE   DISTRICTS  OF  THE  ANDES. 
economical  and  physiological  considerations,  gives  them  a 
seventh  day  rest, — the  Christian  Sabbath. 
D.  J.  Macgowan. 
— Journ.  Applied  Chemistry,  Jan.,  1867. 
THE  QUININE  DISTRICTS  OF  THE  ANDES. 
The  official  report  on  the  efforts  of  the  Indian  Government 
to  introduce  the  quinine  plant  in  the  mountainous  regions  of 
India,  to  which  we  drew  attention  in  a  previous  number,  con- 
tains also  a  very  interesting  account  of  the  culture,  climate,  and 
habitat  of  the  cinchona  plant  of  South  America.  Mr.  C.  K. 
Markham  of  the  India  Office,  in  a  memorandum  which  he  sub- 
mitted to  the  Indian  Government,  stated  that  he  considered  it 
to  be  very  important  that  seeds  of  the  species  which  grow  in 
New  Granada,  being  hardy,  and  yielding  a  large  percentage  of 
quinine,  should  be  obtained  for  propagation  in  India ;  and  the 
Secretary  of  State  made  arrangements  with  Mr.  Cross  for  this 
purpose.  That  gentleman  accordingly  made  a  tour  of  the 
Andes,  and  passed  through  districts  which  had  not  been  pre- 
viously explored,  for  it  appears  that  even  Humboldt,  who 
visited  Popayan,  did  not  penetrate  many  of  the  forests  which 
were  visited  in  this  search  for  seed.  The  official  notice  of  the 
work  performed  states  that  Mr.  Cross  had  to  face  dangers  and 
hardships  of  no  ordinary  kind,  which  proved  fatal  to  the  object 
of  his  first  mission,  as  the  seeds  he  had  collected  were  destroyed  ; 
but  a  renewed  visit,  made  at  the  instance  of  the  India  Office,  was 
more  successful.  At  the  time  of  receiving  his  instructions, 
Mr.  Cross  was  residing  near  the  Bed  Bark  Forests,  on  a  high 
table-land  on  the  western  slopes  of  Chimboraza,  at  an  elevation 
of  10,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  from  this  district 
he  commenced  his  ascent  of  the  northern  shoulder  of  the 
Chimboraza,  and  reached  the  highest  part  of  the  pass,  which 
has  an  elevation  of  nearly  15,000  feet.  After  passing  through 
districts  where  barley  and  potatoes  were  cultivated,  he  came 
upon  an  edible  species  of  Oxalis,  and  then  reached  immense 
tracts  of  land  covered  by  a  species  of  Stipa,  which  with  genti- 
