The chinchona (it is erroneously spelt cinchona) tree constitutes the
type of a natural order (Chinchonaceae), which also includes
ipecacuanhas and coffees.
On the western slopes of Chimborazo, and in several other regions
extending from the wooded heights of Merida and Santa Martha, at the
northern end of the Cordilleras, as far as the Republic of Bolivia, 19
degrees south, the chinchona-tree has its range. Vegetation in the
Cordilleras within the tropics reaches to a much greater height than in
higher latitudes. The sun's rays have there great power in heating the
soil; while the mists drawn from the broad Pacific, rising above the
plains, rest upon the lofty sides of the mountains. The warm and humid
atmosphere thus created is especially favourable to the growth of
certain trees and shrubs. Among others is the chinchona-tree, from
which quinine is obtained. It is generally found growing at a height of
from 6000 feet to 10,000 feet above the ocean.
It would have been strange had not the native Peruvians been acquainted
with the qualities of the bark. The Quichua name for the tree,
_quina-quina_--"bark of barks"--shows that they believed it to possess
medicinal properties; indeed, there is little doubt that they were aware
of its febrifugal qualities, though they might not have attached much
importance to them. Through them, probably, the Spanish colonists in
the neighbourhood of Loxa first discovered its virtues. It was,
however, but little known till the year 1638, when the wife of the Count
of Chinchon, Viceroy of Peru, lay sick of an intermittent fever in the
palace of Lima. The corregidor of Loxa, who had himself been cured of
an ague by the bark, hearing of her sickness, sent a parcel of powdered
quinquina bark to her physician. It was administered to the Countess
Anna, and effected a complete cure. She, in consequence, did her utmost
to make it known. Her famous cure induced Linnaeus long afterwards to
name the whole genus of quinine-yielding trees Chinchona, in her honour.
The Jesuit missionaries, who had learned its virtues, also sent parcels
of the bark to Rome, whence it was distributed to members of their
fraternity throughout Europe by the Cardinal de Lugo. Hence it was
sometimes called Jesuits' bark, and sometimes Cardinal's bark. For many
years, however, great opposition was made by European physicians to its
use. Some Protestants, indeed, went so far as to decline taking it,
because it was favoured by the Jesuits. Although the bark was used for
many years, it was not till Dr Gomez, a surgeon in the Portuguese navy,
in 1816 isolated the febrifugal principle, and called it chinchonine,
that its true value became known. But the final discovery of quinine,
as it is now used, is due to the French chemists Pelletier and Caventon,
in 1820. It is a white substance, without smell, bitter, fusible, and
crystallised.
Chinchonine is of less strength than quinine, and is used in mild cases
of intermittent fever; but in severe cases, the use of quinine is
absolutely necessary. Since the discovery of the medicinal properties
of this bark, it has proved an inestimable blessing to the human race.
For many years the bark itself was used as a febrifuge; but quinine,
which is extracted from it, is of still greater value in curing or
preventing ague. On various occasions it has rendered great service by
preserving the health of troops. Many lives were saved by it in the
disastrous Walcheren expedition. In India it is now universally used
with the same beneficial effect; and several African explorers have been
enabled to prosecute their journeys through pestiferous regions by its
frequent use. Dr Livingstone, among others, speaks of it as the chief
remedy he has employed when attacked by sickness on his journeys.
Most of the Chinchonae, when growing in good soil, and under favourable
circumstances, become large forest-trees. When crowded, they frequently
run up to a great height without a branch; while at the upper limit of
their zone, they become mere shrubs.
There are numerous species of chinchona, producing bark of greatly
different values. There are upwards of nineteen different species of
the true Chinchonae, and upwards of seventy once received as such,
though now considered of no commercial value. The three characteristics
by which the true chinchona may be known are--the presence of curly
hairs bordering the laciniae of the corolla; the peculiar mode of
dehiscence of the capsule from below upwards; and the little pits at the
axils of the veins on the under sides of the leaves. The leaves are of
a great variety of shapes and sizes. In the finer species they are
lanceolate, with a shining surface of bright green, traversed by crimson
veins and petioles of the same colour. The flowers are very small, and
hang in clustering panicles like lilacs. They are generally of a deep
roseate colour, paler near the stalk, and dark crimson within the tube,
with white curly hairs bordering the laciniae of the corolla. The
colour of one species is entirely white. They send forth a delicious
fragrance, which scents the air in their neighbourhood.
The region round the little town of Loxa, on the southern frontier of
Ecuador, is the original home of the chinchona. In its sheltered
ravines and dense forests were found those precious trees which first
made known to the world the healing virtues of Peruvian bark. They grow
at a height above the sea of from 6200 to 8200 feet. The trees are
there from 30 to 48 feet high, with three or more stems growing from the
same root. The leaves are like those already described. The bark is
black when exposed to the sun and wind, but of a brownish colour when
surrounded by other trees; and is always covered with lichens. The bark
from the Loxa region is known as crown bark; that from Chimborazo, as
red bark; while in the Huanaco region of Northern Peru grey bark is
produced.
When first the demand for the bark was established, bark-collectors,
called _cascarilleros_, entered the forests in parties of a dozen or
more, supplied with food and tools. At their head was a searcher
(_cateador_), who, climbing a high tree, looked out for the _manchas_,
or clumps of chinchona-trees, which experience taught him to know by
their dark colour and the peculiar reflection of the light from their
leaves amidst those endless expanses of forest. Having marked the spot,
he descended, and led his party, sometimes for hours together, through
the tangled wilderness, using the wood-knife to mark his way to the
chinchona clump. As soon as it was found, rude huts were built, and the
parties commenced their work. Having with their axes laid the tree
level with the ground, cutting it as close as possible to the roots, the
work of stripping off the bark was commenced. The original mode of
doing this is still continued. It is done by dividing the stems into
pieces of uniform length. The bark is then cut lengthwise, so as to
remove the rind without injuring the wood, or severing any of the
fibres. In a few days the bark is taken off in strips as broad as
possible, and is afterwards pressed out into flat pieces. That,
however, taken from the thinner branches is allowed to retain its form,
and is known as quill bark--called by the natives _canuto_; that from
the solid trunk is called _tabla_ or _plancha_. It is sewn up in coarse
canvas, with an outer covering of fresh hide, forming packages called
_serons_. Thus prepared, it is transported to the coast for shipment.
From the careless way in which the bark-collectors have hewn down the
trees, often digging up the roots themselves, the production has greatly
decreased. When the root is allowed to remain, and the stem hewn as
near as possible to it, an after-growth is produced, which, in the
milder regions, in the space of six years again produces bark. In the
colder regions twenty years are required before a tree is fit to be cut
down.
With great care and trouble chinchona plants and seeds have been
transported from South America to India by Professor Markham; and in the
mountainous regions of the East the tree is now cultivated and
flourishing. It had some years before been carried by the Dutch to
Java, where, however, from want of sufficient care at first, its
cultivation has not been so successful as it appears to be in India,
Coca.
The native Indian, as he climbs the dizzy precipice, or passes over the
rocking bridge, in his journey across the rugged mountains, or leads his
troop of llamas to the seashore, or labours in the dark mines, bringing
up vast weights from the bowels of the earth, is enabled to bear the
fatigue he is called on to undergo by putting a few dried leaves into
his mouth, which he chews, and replenishes from time to time. Thus the
coca leaf is a great source of comfort and enjoyment. As he journeys,
his _chuspa_ or coca-bag, made of llama cloth, dyed red and blue in
patterns, is hung over his shoulders. In his bag he also carries small
cakes--composed of carbonate of potash mixed with lime and water--called
_clipta_. Sitting down, he first puts a few leaves into his mouth,
which he chews, and turns over and over till he has formed a ball. He
then adds a small piece of the cake; and, sustained by the wonderful
qualities of the morsel, will go on for many hours without food. He
usually replenishes his mouth about three times in the day.
The smell of the leaf is agreeable and aromatic, and gives out a
grateful fragrance. When, however, used to excess, like other
narcotics, coca--though the least injurious--is still prejudicial to
health.
The coca plant (Erythoxylon coca) grows at an elevation of between 5000
and 6000 feet above the level of the ocean, in the warm valleys of the
eastern slopes of the Andes, where rain frequently falls. It is from
four to six feet high, with straight and alternate branches. The
leaves, which are of a light green, are alternate, and in form and size
similar to tea leaves. The flowers, which are solitary, have a small
yellowish white corolla. It requires careful cultivation. It is
produced from seeds, and the plants are then transplanted into soil
carefully weeded and broken up. It is found growing on terraces on the
mountainsides, which will allow of but a single row of plants. At the
end of eighteen months the plants yield their first harvest, and
continue to yield for upwards of forty years. The green leaves, when
picked, are carefully spread out in the sun to dry. The name of "coca"
is bestowed on them only when they are dried and prepared for use.
Some writers, objecting altogether to stimulating narcotics, assert that
the use of coca produces all the evil results of opium; but this, from
the evidence of many enlightened travellers, seems not to be the case.
Taken immoderately, no doubt it is injurious,--as is tea, coffee,
tobacco, or wine; but used as it generally is by the natives, it is to
them a great blessing. The valleys, however, most suitable for its
cultivation are reputed to be unhealthy.
So valuable was coca considered in the days of the Incas, that divine
honours were paid to it, and it was especially the property of the
sovereign. Even at the present day the miners of Peru throw a quid of
coca against the hard veins of ore, under the belief that they are
thereby more easily worked. The natives also sometimes put coca in the
mouth of the dying man, believing that if he can taste the fragrant leaf
it is a sure sign of his future happiness.
Its moderate use is considered wholesome; and European travellers who
have chewed coca state that they could thus endure long abstinence from
food without inconvenience, and that it enabled them to ascend
precipitous mountainsides with a feeling of lightness and elasticity,
and without losing breath.