Mr. Spruce's expedition to procure plants and seeds of the "red bark"
or _C. succirubra_--Mr. Pritchett in the Huanuco region, and the "grey
barks"--Mr. Cross's proceedings at Loxa, and collection of seeds of
_C. Condaminea_.
IN a previous chapter I have given an account of the arrangements
which I made for procuring the various species of Chinchonæ in
districts other than that of the Calisaya, and it now remains for me to
record the labours of those whom I employed on this service, and the
successful results with which those labours were rewarded. And first,
both in importance and success, stands the expedition of Mr. Spruce, to
collect the seeds and plants of the "red-bark" tree or _C. succirubra_,
of whose services it would be impossible to speak too highly. I may
mention, at starting, that he received my first letter, requesting him
to undertake the work, on July 2nd, 1859, and such was his zeal that on
the 22nd of the same month he was on his way to the chinchona forests,
at his own expense, to ascertain the best locality for collecting the
plants and seeds.
The species of chinchona, known as the "red-bark" tree, yields a larger
per-centage of febrifugal alkaloid than any other, and must therefore
be considered as the most important.[367] Its native forests are on the
western slopes of the famous mountain of Chimborazo, in the Republic
of Ecuador, and for a great many years it has not been found beyond 2°
36´ S. lat., but Mr. Spruce thinks it probable that in former times the
tree grew all along the roots of the Andes of Cuenca and Loxa to the
limits of the Peruvian desert in 5° S. To the north it scarcely passes
the latitude of 1° S.; and these precious trees are thus confined
within a very narrow latitudinal zone.[368] Within the ascertained
limits of the true "red-bark" tree, it exists in all the valleys of
the Andes which debouch on the plain of Guayaquil; but great havoc
has been made amongst the trees of late years by the bark-collectors.
In the valleys of Alausi, Pallatanga, and Chillanes (see map) all the
large trees have already been cut down. At the bases of the ridges of
Angas and San Antonio, the localities originally mentioned by Pavon,
and where "red-bark" trees once grew in abundance, the same destructive
system has been adopted; and now the "red-bark" grounds are confined to
the ravine of the river Chasuan, and its tributaries, which rise on the
northern slopes of Chimborazo, and fall into the river of Guayaquil.
On the 22nd of July 1859 Mr. Spruce set out from the pleasant town
of Ambato, in the Quitenian Andes, where he was then residing, and,
passing through Alausi, arrived at the banks of the river Chanchan, and
established himself at a place called Lucmas, which is conveniently
near the "red-bark" chinchona forests. Lucmas is a sugar-cane farm,
between 5000 and 6000 feet above the sea; there are forest-trees in
the valleys and on the hills, while the steep slopes are often covered
with scrub and grass. From Lucmas Mr. Spruce went to the forests on
the banks of the river Pumachaca, which rises in the mountain of
Asuay, and falls into the Chanchan, at an elevation of 4000 feet. One
circumstance, among many, will give an idea of the difficulties which
he had to encounter. On reaching the Pumachaca he found that the ford
had been destroyed by the falling of a cliff, and that in its place
there was a deep whirlpool; so, with the driftwood along the banks, a
bridge had to be made where the river was narrowed between two rocks,
by which his party crossed with the baggage. Then, after a long search,
he found a place where the horses could swim across, and, by rolling
down masses of earth and stones, a way was made for them to ascend
on the other side. Once across, a hut was made among vegetable-ivory
palms, thatched with the palm-fronds, and Mr. Spruce commenced the
examination of the forest.
After a long search, during which he passed several felled trunks of
chinchona-trees, he at length came upon a root-shoot about twenty feet
high. It is very rare to find these root-shoots, because the bark is
stripped from the roots as well as from the trunk. Mr. Spruce, from
his observations in the Pumachaca forest, came to the conclusion that
the "red-bark" trees grow best on stony declivities, where there is,
however, a good depth of humus, at an elevation of from 3000 to 5000
feet above the sea. The temperature was very like that of a summer
day in London, but with cold mists towards evening, and from January
to May unceasing rain. He found the chinchona-trees, in this part of
the country, almost entirely extirpated, and, after a short stay at
Lucmas, he proceeded to examine the region of the "hill barks" or
_cascarillas serranas_, which is at an elevation of 8500 to 9000 feet,
on both sides of the river Chanchan. In the forest of Llalla, at the
foot of the mountain of Asuay, he found two kinds called by the natives
_cuchi-cara_ (pig-skin) and _pata de gallinazo_;[369] and on a stony
hill-side there were twenty large trees of the former, from 40 to 50
feet high.
By this excursion in the summer of 1859 Mr. Spruce ascertained the
districts where he should not go to, a very important point; and he
finally determined to carry on his collecting operations, in the season
of 1860, at a place called Limon, at the junction of a stream of that
name with the river Chasuan, which falls into the river of Ventanas
at a place called Aguacatal. (See map.) The forests are all private
property, and, after much negotiation with the owners, Señor Cordovez
of Ambato, and Dr. Neyra of Guaranda, an agreement was made by which,
on payment of 400 dollars, Mr. Spruce was allowed to take as many seeds
and plants as he liked, on condition that he did not touch the bark.
Mr. Spruce had made arrangements for Dr. Taylor of Riobamba to proceed
to Loxa, and collect seeds of the _C. Condaminea_ species; but a severe
rheumatic and nervous attack, almost amounting to paralysis, induced
him to resign the duty of collecting the "red bark" to Dr. Taylor, and
it was only at the last moment that he was strong enough to undertake
the journey in company with his friend. During the whole time that
Mr. Spruce was at work he was suffering severely from illness; the
benefit derived from the milder climate of the forests was neutralized
by the fogs and damp; and, to use his own words, "although upheld by
a determination to execute to the best of my ability the task I had
undertaken, I was but too often in that state of prostration when to
lie down quietly and die would have seemed a relief." Leaving the
town of Ambato on the 11th of June, Mr. Spruce and Dr. Taylor reached
Guaranda on the 13th, and continued their journey towards the forests
on the 17th. At a very little below 4000 feet above the sea they
reached the small farms at Limon. Their abode stood on a narrow ridge
sloping gradually to the river Chasuan. It was merely a long low shed,
two-thirds of which was occupied by the rude machinery of a sugar-cane
mill; the remaining third had an upper story with a flooring of
bamboo-planks, half of it open at the sides, and the other half with a
bamboo wall about six feet high, not coming up to the roof in any part
of it. This was their dormitory, and it was reached by a ladder, merely
a trunk of a tree with rude notches for steps. On the ground-floor was
the kitchen, with a wall of rough planks of raft wood, not touching
each other; so that the whole fabric was abundantly ventilated, and
only too often filled with fog, causing coughs, aching limbs, and
mouldy clothes.
This was their head-quarters during the time that they were collecting
seeds and plants; and the severe hardships, miserable lodging, and
acute sufferings from illness must increase our admiration for Mr.
Spruce's zeal and resolution in performing this great public service.
Mr. Cross, the gardener whom I had engaged to assist Mr. Spruce,
conveyed the fifteen Wardian cases, which I had previously sent to
Guayaquil, up the river as far as Ventanas, and reached Limon on the
27th of July.
In the mean while Mr. Spruce had carefully examined the chinchona
forests, and visited all the bark-trees known to exist within reach
of Limon. He found a good crop of capsules on many of them, which had
already nearly reached their full size on the finest trees; on others,
however, there were only very young capsules, and even a good many
flowers, and not one of the late-flowering panicles produced ripe
capsules. On the tree which bore most capsules they began to turn
mouldy, the mould being not fungi, but rudimentary lichens, which,
whilst it proved that the capsules were still alive and growing,
proved also that they were exposed to an atmosphere almost constantly
saturated with moisture.
The _manchon_ or clump of "red-bark" trees at Limon lies nearly west
from the peak of Chimborazo, and the river Chasuan rises on the
northern shoulder of that mountain. The view from Limon takes in a vast
extent of country, and the whole is unbroken forest, save towards the
source of the Chasuan, where a lofty ridge rises above the region of
arborescent vegetation, and is crowned by a small breadth of grassy
_paramo_. The waters of the Chasuan run over a black or dull blue,
shining, and very compact trachyte, over which, in the bottom of the
valleys at Limon, there is a fine-grained ferruginous sandstone of a
deep brown colour, in thick strata. The soil is a deep loamy alluvial
deposit. The ridges on which the "red-bark" trees grow all deviate
a little from an easterly and westerly direction, and the chinchonæ
are far more abundant on the northern than on the southern slopes.
The northern and eastern sides of the trees, too, had borne most
fruit, and scarcely a capsule ripened on their southern and western
sides. This is explained by the trees receiving most sun from the
east and north, the mornings being generally clear and sunny in the
summer, whilst the afternoons are foggy, and the sun's declination is
northerly. Mr. Spruce also observed that the trees standing in open
ground were far healthier and more luxuriant than those growing in the
forest, where they are hemmed in and partially shaded by other trees;
and he concludes, from this circumstance, that, though the "red-bark"
tree may need shade whilst young and tender, it really requires (like
most trees) plenty of air, light, and room wherein to develop its
proportions.
The lowest site of the "red-bark" tree at Limon is at an elevation of
2450 feet above the sea, and its highest limit is at an elevation of
about 5000 feet. The trees nearest the plain are generally the largest,
but those higher up have much thicker bark in proportion to their
diameter.
The havoc committed by the bark-collectors on these trees within the
last twenty years has been very great. The entire quantity of "red
bark" collected in 1859 did not reach to 5000 lbs., and in 1860 no
"red bark" at all was got out, so that the trade is nearly extinct. In
the valleys of the Chasuan and Limon Mr. Spruce saw about 200 of these
trees standing, but only two or three were saplings which had not
been disturbed; all the rest grew from old stools, whose circumference
averaged from 4 to 5 feet. He was unable to find a single young plant
under the trees, although many of the latter bore signs of having
flowered in previous years; and this was explained by the flowering
trees invariably growing in open places, where the ground was either
weeded, or trodden down by cattle.
Mr. Spruce describes the _C. succirubra_ or "red-bark" tree as very
handsome, and he declares that, in looking out over the forest, he
could never find any other tree at all comparable to it for beauty.
It is fifty feet high, branching from about one-third of its height,
with large, broadly ovate, deep green, and shining leaves, mixed with
decaying ones of a blood-red colour, which give it a most striking
appearance.
The _Cascarilla magnifolia_, a very handsome tree, with a fragrant
white flower, grows abundantly with the "red bark," and attains a
height of 80 feet.
After the arrival of Mr. Cross at Limon the work of collecting
commenced in earnest. A piece of ground was fenced in, and Mr. Cross
made a pit and prepared the soil to receive cuttings, of which he put
in above a thousand on the 1st of August and following days; and he
afterwards went round to all the old stools and put in as many layers
from them as possible. "But," as Mr. Spruce most truly observes, "only
those who have attempted to do anything in the forest, possessing
scarcely any of the necessary appliances, can have any idea of the
difficulties, and Mr. Cross's unremitting watchfulness alone enabled
him to surmount them."
Towards the end of July, in a few sunny days, the fruit of the
"red-bark" trees made visible advances towards maturity; and in the
middle of August the capsules began to burst at the base, and appeared
ripe. An Indian was then sent up the trees, and, breaking the panicles
gently off, let them fall on sheets spread on the ground to receive
them, so that the few loose seeds shaken out by the fall were not
lost. The capsules were afterwards spread out to dry for some days on
the same sheets. In September Mr. Spruce went across to the valley
of the San Antonio, to the southward, in order to secure additional
seeds from "red-bark" trees there, leaving Mr. Cross to watch over the
rooting of the cuttings at Limon. Between the 14th and 19th he gathered
500 well-grown capsules at San Antonio, in addition to 2000 already
collected at Limon. Good capsules contain forty seeds each, so that
at least 100,000 well-ripened and well-dried seeds were now gathered;
and on the 28th of September Mr. Spruce started for Guayaquil.[370]
In November he proceeded up the river again, and purchased one of the
rafts at Ventanas, which are used for conveying cacao to Guayaquil. It
was composed of twelve trunks of raft-wood, sixty-three to sixty-six
feet long and one foot in diameter, kept in their places by shorter
pieces tied transversely, and covered with bamboo planking, fenced
round with rails to a height of three feet, and roofed over. The rope
used for binding the parts of the raft together was the twining stem
of a _Bignonia_. The Wardian cases were got ready on the raft at
Ventanas, and Mr. Cross arrived with the plants from Limon on the 13th
of December, and established them in the cases to the number of 637.
After encountering several dangers and mishaps in navigating the river,
the raft with its precious freight reached Guayaquil on the 27th of
December; and the plants were safely embarked on board the steamer, in
charge of Mr. Cross, on the 2nd of January, 1861.
Thus skilfully and successfully did Mr. Spruce, and his able
colleagues, perform this most difficult and important service. Mr.
Spruce, during the whole time that he was in the chinchona forests,
made most careful meteorological observations. From June 19th to
December 8th the results of observations of the thermometer were as
follows:--
Mean minimum 61-1/2°
Mean maximum 72-1/3
Mean temperature at 6-1/2 P.M. 67-3/4
Highest temperature observed 80-1/2 on July 27th.
Lowest " " 57 on July 11th.
Entire range 23-1/2
Mean daily variation 10-1/2
On the western side of the Quitenian Andes, south of the Equator, the
summer or dry season lasts from June to December, the remaining five
months constituting the wet season. In the summer, at Limon, the early
part of the day is often sunny, and fogs come on in the afternoon and
night; but in the wet season there are fogs in the morning, and heavy
rains during the rest of the day and night.
A perusal of the foregoing pages, which are nothing more than a brief
abstract from Mr. Spruce's official reports, cannot fail to impress
the reader with the valuable nature of the service which has been
performed, and with the energy and fortitude, combined with great skill
and ability, which enabled Mr. Spruce to overcome so many difficulties;
and almost equal praise is due to Mr. Cross. But in recounting these
arduous labours, only half of Mr. Spruce's services have been recorded.
That gentleman is an accomplished botanist, and most accurate observer;
and he has supplied us with a detailed report which, I do not hesitate
to say, contains a larger amount of valuable information on the
chinchona-forests than any account which has yet appeared in Europe.
In addition to the narrative of his proceedings, and his observations
on the "red-bark" tree, Mr. Spruce here gives a minute account of
the vegetation of the "red-bark" forests of Chimborazo, a detailed
meteorological journal, and important remarks on the climate and
soil.[371]
My apprehensions respecting the feelings of the natives, when our
proceedings became known, were fully justified by what took place in
Ecuador, as well as in Peru. But the South Americans are, as a rule,
remarkable for the slowness of their movements; and it was not until
May 1st, 1861, that the legislature of Ecuador decreed that every
person, whether foreigner or native, should be forbidden to make
collections of plants, cuttings, or seeds of the quina-tree; and that
precautions should be taken to prevent those articles from passing the
ports and frontiers of the Republic. A fine of 100 dollars on every
plant, and every drachm of seed, was imposed on those who attempted to
break this decree. But by May 1st, 1861, the plants and seeds of the
quina-tree were safe on the Neilgherry hills, in Southern India.
While Mr. Spruce was engaged in collecting these seeds and plants in
the forests at the foot of Chimborazo, Mr. Pritchett, whose services I
had secured for the Huanuco region in Northern Peru, was employed on
the species of chinchonæ yielding grey bark.
Mr. Pritchett left Lima on the 18th of May, 1860, and arrived in the
town of Huanuco, the centre of the grey-bark region, on the 28th, where
he made the necessary preparations for a journey into the neighbouring
forests. On the 9th of June he set out for the mountain-range of
Carpis, to the northward, where there are several species of chinchonæ.
The _C. purpurea_ is very abundant; the _C. nitida_ is common on
the north-east side, and on the upper part of the mountains; the _C.
obovata_ is more rare; and the _C. micrantha_ and _C. Peruviana_ are
both inhabitants of the lower slopes. After crossing the Carpis range,
Mr. Pritchett followed the course of the river of Casapi to the village
of Chinchao, and went thence to the coca estate of Casapi, at the
eastern end of the valley, where it joins that of the river Huallaga,
and here he was joined by his guide.
[Illustration: CHINCHONA NITIDA TREES.
FROM A SKETCH BY MR. PRITCHETT. Page 323]
About three leagues from Casapi, and close to the Huallaga, is the
mountain called San Cristoval de Cocheros (Cuchero of Pavon and
Poeppig), which rises from the low land at the junction of the two
rivers to a height of about 1200 feet above them, and is the centre of
the bark district of Huanuco. On the northern side Mr. Pritchett found
abundance of _C. micrantha_, and some trees of _C. Peruviana_; but
the latter species was much more rare. They both grow to a very large
size, some of them being thirty inches in diameter and seventy feet in
height. The trees of _C. nitida_ were at a higher elevation.
During June and July, though it was the dry season, heavy rains
continued to fall from day to day; but towards the end of July the
weather broke up, and the sun began to make an impression on the solid
banks of cloud which filled the valleys, and then it was that, during
some portion of the day, the sun penetrated to the very underwood of
the forest. In the first half of August there was fine weather, with
only an occasional shower. The seeds on the chinchona-trees ripened
rapidly in the sunshine, and Mr. Pritchett collected them by felling
the trees--a labour which was performed by Indians, whom he hired from
the coca estate of Casapi. Seven large trees were cut down daily, and
denuded of their capsules, for a fortnight; the drying process being
carried on at the estate, where every moment of sunshine was taken
advantage of. On the 13th of August he started for the coast with his
collection of seeds, and half a mule-load of young chinchona-plants,
which were in perfect health when placed in the Wardian cases at Lima.
Mr. Pritchett reports that in the district around Cocheros, Casapi,
and Carpis, the rocks are of crystalline formation, in many localities
highly disintegrated, and composed of masses of hornblende, felspar,
and mica. He remarks that felspar contains much potash, of which the
chinchona-trees are said to require a large quantity for their full
development; and, as felspar abounds in this region, he attributes the
abundance and size of the chinchona-trees to this circumstance. He also
reports that steatite, a silicate of magnesia and alumina, abounds in
the vicinity of Huanuco.
He describes the climate as moist and warm, and says that the
difference in the degree of moisture and warmth between the lower
slopes where the _C. micrantha_ flourishes, and the higher parts of
the mountains inhabited by the _C. nitida_, is very striking, while on
the lower slopes the soil is much deeper and richer.[372] He reports
the elevation of Cocheros above the level of the sea to be about 4000
feet,[373] but he made no meteorological or other observations; and
I think there can be no doubt that the elevation of that mountain
is much greater than Mr. Pritchett supposes. I do not find any
information on this point in Poeppig's travels; but the Huanuco region
is quite a beaten track, and there are several accounts of it by
modern travellers. Huanuco itself is 6300 feet above the sea;[374]
the distance thence to the summit of the cuesta del Carpis, which is
8000 feet above the sea, is about twenty miles, and there is a descent
on the other side into the valley of the Casapi of 2920 feet.[375]
According to this account the village of Chinchao, in the Casapi
valley, would have an elevation of about 5000 feet. From Chinchao to
the foot of the Cocheros mountain is a distance of twenty-five miles
down the Casapi valley,[376] a gentle descent, with numerous cottages
and plantations on both sides of the road.[377] Thus the foot of the
Cocheros mountain would be about 4500 feet above the sea, and its
summit at least 6000 feet.
We shall not, therefore, be very far from the truth if we place the
region of _C. nitida_ on the Cocheros and Carpis mountains at from 6000
to 7000 feet above the sea, and of _C. micrantha_ at from 4000 to 5000
feet.
Mr. Pritchett performed the portion of this important undertaking which
I intrusted to him with promptitude and zeal. Time was a great object,
and, by going direct from Lima to the best locality in the Huanuco
chinchona region, he completed the necessary collection of plants and
seeds, and returned to the coast in little more than three months.[378]
This shows how essential a previous knowledge of the chinchona region,
of the people, and of the language, was, without which the collector
would probably lose much time, which is the same thing as spending
much money, and eventually wander into a locality where only worthless
species are found, as was the case with the Dutch agent.
Owing to the unavoidable abandonment of Mr. Spruce's intention of
sending Dr. Taylor to collect seeds of _C. Condaminea_ at Loxa, one
portion of my scheme for introducing all the valuable species into
India remained incomplete at the close of 1860. On my return from
India, therefore, in May 1861, I obtained the sanction of the Secretary
of State for India to take measures for obtaining a supply of seeds
from the Loxa forests. Mr. Cross, the gardener who had so ably assisted
Mr. Spruce, and shared his labours, after safely depositing the
collection of seeds and plants in India, had returned to South America,
attracted by the richness and variety of the flora of the Andes. Having
acquired experience of the people and language, of the localities
where chinchona-trees are found, and of the mode of travelling, during
his former visit, he possessed the necessary qualifications; and, as
Mr. Spruce was too ill to undertake the work, it was intrusted to Mr.
Cross, who performed it with expedition and success. He is an excellent
practical gardener, intelligent and persevering, ardently devoted to
his profession, and thoroughly trustworthy.
On the 17th of September, 1861, Mr. Cross left Guayaquil in an open
rowing boat, and landed at Santa Rosa, the port of the province of
Loxa, whence he proceeded, by way of Zaruma, to the town of Loxa, which
he reached on the 27th. He had to pass through dense swampy forests,
over dangerous precipitous ridges of the Andes, in crossing one of
which his mule slipped down a deep ravine and was dashed to pieces, and
along barren lofty plains. He mentions that during the ascent to Zaruma
he saw several "red-bark" trees growing at an elevation of eight or
nine thousand feet.
On the 1st of October he left Loxa, and went to a long low ridge
of hills, called the Sierra de Cajanuma, about eight miles to the
southward, a locality which is mentioned by Humboldt, Bonpland, and
Caldas, as the abode of the most valuable kinds of _C. Condaminea_. He
came to an Indian hut on a little rounded eminence near the summit of
the mountain, which, being far from public roads or other dwellings,
seemed well suited for his head-quarters during the time that he was
searching for seeds. For be it remembered that the Decree of May 1st,
1861, already mentioned, was in full force, and that he was running the
risk of fine and imprisonment in performing this important service. The
owner of the hut, who was an experienced bark-collector, allowed Mr.
Cross to establish himself in a little shed at one end of it, which,
although favourable for drying seeds, was so cold that he was sometimes
compelled, during windy nights, to seek shelter in the bottom of a
neighbouring ravine.
After many comparatively unsuccessful searches in the surrounding
woods, he was one day passing along the bank of a steep ravine, and,
happening to look over a projecting rock, he saw a number of fine young
trees of the _C. Condaminea_ on the steep slope beneath, some of which
bore a few panicles of seeds, which, on examination, he found to be
perfectly ripe. After this discovery he continued to search all the
ravines in the vicinity from sunrise to sunset, some of which he had to
descend by means of the trailing stems of a species of _Passiflora_,
and in this way a good supply of seeds was collected. He reports that
on the accessible slopes there are few chinchona-trees, owing partly
to the annual burning, and partly to continual cropping of the young
shoots by cattle. He describes the rocks, composed of micaceous schist
and gneiss, as being, in many places, in a state of decomposition,
and states that large portions are frequently tumbling down from the
more elevated summits. The alluvial deposit in the ravines, where
the _C. Condaminea_ is found growing, is shallow, in many places not
more than six inches in depth, and Mr. Cross often gathered seeds
from trees which were growing in clefts of rock, where there was not
a single ounce of soil to be found. He describes the _C. Condaminea_
as a slender tree, from 20 to 30 feet in height,[379] and from 8 to
10 inches in diameter at the base; but he saw few trees of these
dimensions, and the plants from which the bark of commerce is now taken
are in general not more than 8 to 10 feet in height.[380] When the
plants are cut down, three or four young shoots or suckers generally
spring up, but this does not always happen, as some of the more
industrious bark-collectors frequently pull up the roots, and bark them
also. The bark is taken from the smallest twigs, and thus the annual
growths are often taken, especially if they are strong. The plants are
sometimes found growing in small clumps, and sometimes solitary, but
always in dry situations.
The temperature of this region ranges according to Humboldt and Caldas
from 41° to 72° Fahr., and according to Mr. Cross from 34° to 70°
Fahr.; but he adds that it seldom falls below 40°, and rarely rises
above 65°; the mean range being from 45° to 60° Fahr. The climate of
Loxa is very moist. The wet season commences in January and lasts until
the end of April or middle of May; in June, July, and August there are
heavy rains, accompanied by strong gales of wind; from September to
January there is generally fine weather, but occasional showers of rain
fall even at that time of year.[381]
The vegetation on the Sierra de Cajanuma is of a semi-arborescent
character, but some of the higher summits are bare. In the bottoms
of the ravines grow a species of _Alnus_, _Melastomæ_, _Peperomias_,
palms, and two species of tree ferns; and on the slopes throughout the
low-lying country, barley, maize, peas, and potatoes are cultivated.
Mr. Cross sent home a large collection of dried specimens of
plants gathered on the Sierra de Cajanuma. Among them I observed a
_Befaria_ with pretty crimson flowers, of which he says that one
ounce of the roots in two pints of water is taken twice a day by the
Indians for dysentery; a very handsome purple lupin, growing six to
eight feet high; an _Embothrium_, a wide-spreading shrub, growing
in dry situations; another smaller _Befaria_, a beautiful shrub,
growing in very lofty dry localities; a _Veronica_, a shrub six to
eight feet high, with a blue flower; a _Gaultheria_; a wide-spreading
_melastomaceous_ plant, with inconspicuous flowers; and a number of
_Lycopodia_ and ferns.
[Illustration: CHINCHONA CHAHUARGUERA.
(From Howard's 'Nueva Quinologia de Pavon.') Page 329.]
Besides the seeds of the _C. Condaminea_, which is identical with
the _C. Chahuarguera_ (Pavon), Mr. Cross succeeded in collecting a
few seeds of _C. crispa_ (Tafalla) after several long journeys up
the mountains. He found this kind growing at a great elevation, in a
deposit of peat, where the temperature sometimes falls to 27° Fahr.
This species of chinchona yields the _cascarilla crespilla negra_, one
of the most esteemed forms of Loxa bark. Mr. Howard[382] mentions that
the _Josephiana_ bears the same relation to the normal _C. Calisaya_
as the _Crespilla_ bark at Loxa does to the normal and full-grown _C.
Chahuarguera_.
Mr. Cross did his work right well, and in December, 1861, he returned
to Guayaquil with nearly 100,000 seeds of _C. Chahuarguera_, and a
smaller parcel of _C. crispa_, which were forwarded to India by way of
Southampton.[383]
Thus were the various operations which I organized for procuring the
valuable species of chinchona-trees in South America satisfactorily
completed; and the labours of Mr. Spruce, Dr. Taylor, Mr. Pritchett,
Mr. Cross, and Mr. Weir, though differing in value and importance, all
deserve the warmest recognition, for all those intrepid and courageous
explorers worked zealously and successfully, and did good service in
furthering this most important public enterprise.