Am.  Jour.rharm.  I 
Sept.,  1883.  j 
Effect  of  Altitude  on  Red  Bark. 
461 
has  a  more  fibrous  structure  and  less  alkaloid.    This  last  has  for  many- 
years  been  familiar  to  me  in  importation  from  South  America. 
But  I  must  defer  for  the  present  any  further  remarks. 
From  a  letter  from  Mr.  Ledger,  February  7,  1881  :  — 
"  I  repeatedly  used  to  joke  poor  Manuel  when  he  used  at  first  to  tell  me 
the  trees  from  which  the  thick,  heavy  slabs  of  bark  (in  fact  the  JRojo)  came 
from  had  white  flowers.  The  Hojo  from  Coroico  and  in  South  Yungas, 
though  with  purple  red  leaves  underside  [the  morada],  are  nothing  to  be 
compared  with  the  Hojo  of  Caupolican  and  Apolobamba.  The  Hojo  or 
Lcdgeriana  is  very  little  known  in  Bolivia  even.  According  to  Manuel 
this  tree  is  never  met  with  in  Manchas  (patches)  like  the  other  classes  of 
Cinchona.  It  is  found  by  itself  here  and  there.  With  all  cascarilleros  from 
Pelechuco  a  '  slab '  of  Calisaya  rojo  means  unsurpassable^  and  is  meant  to 
say,  where  that  is,  all  the  rest  is  good  or  Calisaya." 
(From  Ceylon  Observer^  A^vW  9,  1883.) 
THE  EFFECT  OF  ALTITUDE  ON  THE  ALKALOIDS  OF  RED  BARK. 
Sir. — Everything  that  may  tlirow  any  light  upon  the  relationships  of 
the  cinchona  alkaloids,  or  on  the  causes  wnich  influence  their  production, 
is  of  much  interest ;  it  also  has  a  practical  value  to  cultivators.  I  therefore 
no  longer  delay  in  making  public  the  results  of  two  remarkable  analyses  of 
Ceylon  C.  succirubra. 
With  the  object  of  ascertaining  the  effects  of  altitude  on  the  alkaloid  pro- 
duction of  this  species,  I,  towards  the  end  of  last  year,  barked  two  trees 
growing  respectively  at  elevations  of  5,500  (Hakgala)  and  1,500  (Pera- 
deniya),  a  difference  of  4,000  feet.  The  trees  were,  I  have  every  reason 
to  believe,  of  common  origin ;  both  being,  in  all  probability,  raised  from 
the  original  seed  collected  in  South  America  by  Dr.  Spruce,  and  planted 
out  in  the  midst  of  other  trees,  in  or  about  1863.  They  were  therefore 
about  nineteen  years  old  reckoned  from  the  planting,  and  both  had  grown 
up  under  fairly  similar  conditions,  excepting  as  regards  climate.  Their 
growth,  however,  had  been  very  different.  The  tree  at  Hakgala  was  one 
of  the  largest  there,  37  feet  high  to  the  point  where  the  stem  was  but  1 
inch  in  diameter  and  37  inches  in  girth  at  the  base,  lessening  to  24  inches 
at  5  feet  from  the  ground.  It  afforded  25  lbs.  of  dry  bark  (77  lbs.  of  wet), 
and  the  sample  sent  home  was  large  quill  18  inches  long,  with  a  "brown 
coat."  On  the  other  hand,  the  Peradeniya  tree,  though  not  far  off  from 
the  other  in  height,  being  drawn  up  by  the  large  trees  around,  girthed  only 
about  20  inches  near  the  ground,  and  yielded  about  7  lbs.  of  dry  bark  (21  of 
wet).  The  sample  of  small  quill  sent  home  was  described  as  having  a 
' '  grey  coat. ' ' 
It  is  to  my  friend,  Mr.  J.  E.  Howard,  who  is  ever  most  liberal  in  helping 
to  advance  our  knowledge  of  quinology,  that  I  am  indebted  for  the  follow- 
ing comparative  analysis  of  these  two  samples.  He  is  himself  much  inter- 
ested in  the  result,  and  we  may,  I  believe,  expect  some  observations  upon 
it  from  his  pen  : 
