2l8 
Cinchona  or  Chinchona. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1875. 
raphy  Cinhona  which  occurred  in  the  edition  of  1764,  but  that  he  died 
before  the  error  was  pointed  out  and  corrected.  Mr.  Markham  sums 
up  his  arguments  by  stating  that  all  authorities  agree  that  "  Chinchona  " 
is  correct,  and  that  consequently  "  Cinchona,"  "  Cinhona,"  and  other 
forms  are  wrong  ;  that  the  object  sought  of  commemorating  the  ser- 
vices of  the  countess  is  defeated  by  the  mutilation  of  her  name  ;  that 
in  much  of  the  most  important  literature  of  the  subject,  the  word  is 
spelt  "  Chinchona,"  and  lastly,  that  the  correct  spelling  should  be 
universally  adopted  because  it  is  right."  He  also  quotes  the  following 
botanical  authorities,  who  have  explored  the  native  forests  of  the  genus, 
as  spelling  the  word  correctly  :  Pavon,  Ruiz,  Tafalla,  Mutis,  Zea, 
Caldas,  Seemann  and  Spruce.  Finally,  with  a  chivalric  admiration  of 
the  "  illustrious  and  beautiful  lady.  Ana  de  Osorio,"  which  is  manifest 
throughout  the  book,  Mr.  Markham  pleads  that  the  correct  spelling 
may  be  retained  as  the  only  way  by  which  the  "  memory  of  her  who 
made  known  to  the  world  the  inestimable  value  of  quina  bark  "  may  be 
preserved. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  contended  that  Linnaeus  purposely 
omitted  the  h  for  the  sake  of  euphony,  and  that  the  law  of  priority 
must  obtain  ;  that  botanical  names  are  means,  not  ends,  and  their  use 
as  means  once  established,  it  is  all  but  impossible  to  alter  them.  Fur- 
ther, that  "  Cinchona  "  has  been  so  universally  adopted  that  great  in- 
convenience and  confusion  would  result  frotn  any  attempt  to  substitute 
Chinchona  "  for  it. 
Apropos  to  this  discussion,  Mr.  Hanbury  has  taken  the  opportunity  of 
investigating  the  introduction  by  Linnaeus  of  the  genus  Cinchona^  and 
has  pointed  out  that  the  misspelling  of  the  name  of  the  Countess  occurs 
in  several  authors  much  earlier  than  Linnaeus.  He  also  proves  that 
Mr.  Markham  is  far  from  correct  in  asserting  that  the  Spanish  botanists, 
one  and  all,  support  the  mode  of  spelling  he  (Mr.  M.)  advocates  ;  but 
that,  on  the  contrary,  Mutis,  as  well  as  Ruiz  and  Pavon,  follow  the 
orthography  of  Linnaeus.  Mr.  Hanbury's  strictures  are  contained  in 
the  "  Athenaeum  "  of  Jan.  30th,  and  are  as  follows  : 
In  connection  with  Mr.  Markham's  proposal  in  his  '  Memoir  of 
Lady  Ana  de  Osorio,'  reviewed  in  the  '  Athenaeum  '  of  the  23d  of 
January,  that  botanists  should  abandon  Linnaeus'  word  Cinchona  (  Sin- 
kona)  in  favor  of  Chinchona  (Tshin-tshona),  and,  as  I  presume,  that 
doctors,  pharmacists  and  chemists  should  do  the  same,  and  that  the  re- 
form should  extend  to  the  words  Cinchonine^  Cinchonidine  and  Cinchoni- 
