162 
THE  QUININE  DISTRICTS  OF  THE  ANDES. 
the  cinchona  it  rose  during  the  hottest  days  to  59°  or  60°,  but; 
at  night  fell  to  46°  or  48°,  and  at  certain  periods  below  freezing 
point ;  at  the  upper  limit,  the  temperature  ranged  during  the 
clay  from  40°  to  48°,  and  at  night  fell  to  35°  or  36°.  Hence 
it  would  appear  that  in  dry  situations  it  favors  the  plant  to 
have  an  occasional  fall  in  the  temperature  of  three  or  four  de- 
grees below  freezing  point;  and  a  daily  range  of  from  eight  to 
twelve  degrees. 
The  general  vegetation  of  this  region  consisted  of  pipers, 
solanums;  brugmanzias,  fuchsias,  smilax,  etc.  The  winds, 
which  in  summer  are  often  violent,  do  not  appear  to  affect  the 
cinchona,  but  the  forests  are  very  rarely  enveloped  in  mist.  It 
appears  to  be  a  delusion,  therefore,  on  the  part  of  those  persons 
who  assert  that  torrents  of  rain  and  mist  are  necessary  for  its 
growth.  Mr.  Cross  states  that  "  he  had  been  in  localities  in 
the  Andes  which  had  altitudes  similar  to  that  of  the  cold  cin- 
chona region,  where  only  a  species  of  Solanum  would  grow,  and 
which  looked  as  if  on  the  point  of  extinction,  from  the  abun- 
dance of  mosses  which  twined  round  the  smallest  shoots  to  the 
points.  No  cinchona  could  live  in  such  a  climate,  a  certain 
amount  of  dry  weather  being  necessary  for  ripening  the  cap- 
sules." It  appears  that  all  the  bark  taken  from  Pitayo  is  sent 
to  France,  and  that  the  bark  sold  in  England  under  that  name 
is  not  true  Pitayo  bark,  but  comes  from  the  mountains  which 
border  on  the  valley  of  Magdalena,  from  Almaquer  and  Pasto. 
Mr.  Cross  states  that  the  spurious  Pitayo  bark  of  the  English 
market  is  from  the  0.  lancifolia  of  Karsten,  and  is  very  inferior 
in  quality  to  that  of  "  Pitayo,  the  latter  being  not  much  thicker 
than  window-glass,  being  taken  from  small  plants ;  the  large 
trees  having  been  destroyed  long  ago."  Mr.  Cross  then  con- 
tinued his  journey  to  the  great  valley  of  the  Magdalena,  the 
town  of  Neyva  being  the  principal  emporium  for  the  bark  of 
the  district;  and  thence  he  returned  to  Paramo,  having  accom- 
plished a  difficult  and  interesting  journey,  during  which  he 
collected  a  vast  amount  of  information,  which  cannot  fail  to  be 
of  great  practical  importance  to  cultivators  of  this  valuable 
plant.  Viewed  merely  as  a  geographical  exploration,  this 
journey  over  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Andes  cannot  fail  to 
