CONVEYANCE OF CHINCHONA-PLANTS AND SEEDS FROM SOUTH AMERICA TO INDIA.
Transmission of dried specimens--Voyages of plants in Wardian
cases--Arrival of plants and seeds in India--Depôt at Kew--Treatment
of plants in Wardian cases--Effects of introduction of
chinchona-plants into India on trade in South America--Neilgherry
hills.
THE attempt to make simultaneous collections of seeds and plants of all
the valuable species of chinchonæ was thus crowned with almost complete
success. Out of my original scheme the _C. lancifolia_ of New Granada
was the only one which had not been procured. It is unnecessary to
say more respecting the numerous difficulties and dangers which were
encountered by the collectors, for the narrative of the proceedings
detailed in previous chapters will have made these sufficiently
obvious. So far as the labours in South America were concerned, all
obstacles were surmounted, and the objects of this great enterprise
were fully attained. Not only were plants and seeds safely brought
to the coast, but, in every instance, the collectors took care to
provide themselves with botanical specimens from the chinchona-trees.
Thus the leaves, flowers, fruit, and bark of each species, which were
brought to England, placed the identity of the valuable species to
which the plants and seeds belonged beyond the remotest possibility
of a doubt.[384] But in conveying these precious mule-loads to the
coast of Peru, and safely embarking them, only half the difficulties
had been overcome; and I could not but feel that some failures and
disappointments must be expected before the chinchona-plants were
fairly established in India.
There was not much reason for apprehension with regard to the seeds;
but the plants, in the absence of any provision for conveying them
direct across the Pacific, had to undergo an ordeal of unprecedented
duration. Yet the great advantage of introducing plants as well as
seeds, in the immense start they would give to the young plantations in
India, was strongly felt, and the complete success that attended the
hazardous transit of at least one relay, which came under peculiarly
favourable circumstances, fully justified the attempt.
I gave directions to Mr. Spruce and Mr. Pritchett to send small parcels
of seeds of each species to Jamaica and Trinidad, in obedience to an
order received from England, so that quinine-yielding trees might also
be introduced into our West Indian colonies; and the results of the
experiment in those islands will be given in a future chapter. The
great bulk of the collections, however, were despatched to India, by
the roundabout way of Southampton, directly they arrived on the coast
of the Pacific.
The thirty Wardian cases which I sent out round Cape Horn were three
feet two inches long, ten feet ten inches broad, and three feet two
inches high; and, with soil and plants, each case weighed a little
over three hundredweight. The collection of plants of _C. Calisaya_,
_C. ovata_, and _C. micrantha_ filled fifteen cases; and the other
fifteen received the collection of _C. succirubra_ at Guayaquil. I also
had six cases of somewhat smaller dimensions constructed at Lima for
the plants from Huanuco. The fifteen cases containing the collection
of chinchona-plants from Caravaya sailed from the port of Islay on the
23rd of June, and reached Panama on the 6th of July, 1860, when 207 had
already begun to throw out green shoots. On their arrival in England,
in August, these 207 plants were in a most flourishing and healthy
condition, and continued so until their arrival at Alexandria early in
September. But the intense heat of the Red Sea, where the thermometer
ranged from 99° in the night to 107° in the day-time, proved too much
for them, and the damage was increased by a detention of a week at
Bombay. Their roots were attacked by rot, yet, on their arrival in
the Neilgherry hills, their leaves still looked fresh, and several
hundred green cuttings were obtained from them, which, however, failed
to strike. The cases containing the chinchona-plants from Huanuco left
Lima in September, and were also in a most promising state when they
reached England, but on their arrival in India they were all dead. The
"red-bark" collection, under the able management of Mr. Cross, sailed
from Guayaquil on the 2nd of January, 1861. On their arrival in England
in excellent order, six of them were left at Kew as a precaution, and
replaced by six plants of _C. Calisaya_ supplied by Sir W. Hooker. At
that season the climate of the Red Sea is cool, and, owing to this
circumstance and still more to the intelligent watchfulness of a good
practical gardener, 463 plants of _C. succirubra_ and six of _C.
Calisaya_ were handed over to the superintendent on the Neilgherry
hills, in as vigorous and healthy a condition as could possibly have
been hoped for after such a voyage.
The "grey-bark" seeds arrived in the Neilgherry hills early in January,
1861, and the "red-bark" in the following March, and both collections
came up abundantly. The supply of seeds of _C. Condaminea_ reached
their destination in Southern India in February 1862. In order to guard
against all accidents, a portion of the seeds of each species was left
in England, and a depôt of young chinchona-plants has thus been formed
at Kew Gardens, with a view to fall back upon them in the event of
possible failures or misfortunes in India.[385] Seeds of each of the
species were also sent to Ceylon, to which Sir W. Hooker added a few
plants of _C. Calisaya_ from his stock at Kew.
Thus, in spite of one or two disappointments, the great object of the
undertaking sanctioned by the Secretary of State for India was fully
attained. By the spring of 1861 a large supply of plants and young
seedlings was established in the Neilgherry hills; and at the present
moment we have thousands of chinchona-plants, of all the valuable
species, flourishing and multiplying rapidly in Southern India, and in
Ceylon. When the unprecedented length of the voyages and the numerous
trans-shipments are taken into consideration, the wonder is that any
of the plants should have been successfully conveyed from the slopes
of the Andes in South America to the ghauts in Southern India, over
thousands of miles, through every variety of climate, and subject to
the risk of crossing the isthmus of Panama, of changing steamers at the
island of St. Thomas, at Southampton, at Suez, and at Bombay, and of
the journey through Egypt.
The most important introduction of plants into India, by means of
Wardian cases, previous to the arrival of the chinchonas, was that
of the tea from China in 1849 and following years by Mr. Fortune. On
those occasions the cases were strongly and coarsely made, the glass
shades firmly fixed, and the glass itself thick, and glazed in pieces
of moderate size. The frames were protected by a grating of iron wire,
with a canvas covering capable of being unrolled so as to screen the
plants from the direct rays of the sun, if necessary. The soil was not
less than eight or ten inches deep, and kept down by cross-battens, and
the plants were fairly established in it before starting. In 1849 Mr.
Fortune sowed large quantities of seeds in the cases, between rows of
young plants, which germinated on their way from China to India, and
reached their destination in the Himalayas in good condition. Out of
250 tea-plants, 215 arrived in perfect order.[386]
But it was an easy process to convey plants by the short voyage from
China to Calcutta, when compared with the introduction of plants from
the western coast of South America into India; and the performance of
the latter feat, in the case of the chinchona-plants under Mr. Cross's
care, is undoubtedly the most extraordinary success of the kind that
has yet been achieved.
A few remarks on the treatment of plants in Wardian cases were supplied
to me by Mr. Weir and Mr. Cross, who acquired their experience in the
voyages from South America to India; and by Mr. McIvor, who received
the plants on the Neilgherry hills. The cases were filled with soil to
a depth of nine to ten inches, in which the chinchonas were planted
in rows, from the back to the front of the case. The distance from
plant to plant was regulated by their size, but, in the case of their
having much foliage, they should be rather wide apart, for the crowding
of foliage is always injurious, and often brings on mildew or mould.
After having been planted they were well watered, and shaded from the
glare of the mid-day sun. On the surface of the soil, between each row
of plants, a batten was placed, extending from the back to the front
of the case, and held firmly down by two longer battens extending
lengthways. By this means the soil and plants are not disturbed in the
operation of moving the cases. When the cases are finally closed the
soil should be in a medium state as regards moisture, and all dead
foliage should be removed. The cases should be made as air-tight as
possible by filling the seams with putty, and every precaution must
be taken to preserve the plants from the slightest contact with salt
water.[387] Mr. McIvor strongly recommends that the cases should be
furnished with a false bottom, raised about two or three inches above
the true bottom, by bars of wood of the required thickness being nailed
on the underside. The false bottom should have holes bored in it at
regular intervals, with a few broken pieces of pot and a layer of moss
placed over them. He considers that the best sort of soil is formed of
equal parts of leaf-mould, turfy loam, and sand, mixed in a dry state,
and spread out and exposed to the action of the sun for a few days
before being placed in the cases. During the voyage the plants should
have plenty of light and air, one side of the case being left open for
two or three hours, morning and evening, during fine weather, when dead
leaves should be picked off, and water administered to any plant which
may require it. The soil should be turned up on the surface to the
depth of about half an inch with a small pointed stick every three or
four days, and always kept rough on the surface, so as to allow the air
to circulate in the soil. This circulation of air is also facilitated
by the false bottom. The action of the air on the soil keeps the roots
in fine condition, and entirely prevents the formation of mildew and
damp; but the principal object of the false bottom is to allow any
excess of water to drain off into a place where it cannot _sour_ the
soil, and yet will not be lost. Then, as the soil becomes dry above,
the water will be attracted to it.
With the exception of the false bottom, all the above suggestions
were carefully attended to by the gardeners who were in charge of the
chinchona-plants during the voyage to India; the partial failures
which attended some of the relays from South America could not, under
the circumstances, have been avoided by any human foresight; and, as
the general result of my arrangements has been to introduce all the
valuable kinds of quinine-yielding plants into India, we have every
reason to congratulate ourselves on the success of our labours.
With the chinchona-plants I brought from Peru a supply of seeds of the
chirimoya, of aji-pepper, and of the _Schinus molle_, all of which
are coming up well on the Neilgherry hills.[388] They have most of
the other kinds of _Anonas_ in India, but the chirimoya fruit, the
most exquisite of all, has yet to be raised. He who has not tasted
the chirimoya has yet to learn what fruit is. "The pine-apple, the
mangosteen, and the chirimoya," says Dr. Seemann, "are considered the
finest fruits in the world. I have tasted them in those localities
in which they are supposed to attain their highest perfection--the
pine-apple in Guayaquil, the mangosteen in the Indian archipelago,
and the chirimoya on the slopes of the Andes; and, if I were called
upon to act the part of a Paris, I would without hesitation assign the
apple to the chirimoya. Its taste indeed surpasses that of every other
fruit, and Haenke was quite right when he called it the masterpiece of
nature."[389]
In obtaining plants and seeds of these valuable chinchonas from South
America, it would be a source of deep regret to me if that measure
was attended by any injury to the people or the commerce of Peru or
Ecuador, countries in the welfare of which I have for years taken the
deepest interest. But I have no apprehension that such will be the
result of the cultivation of these plants in other parts of the world.
The demand for quinine will always be in excess of the supply from
South America; and the result of chinchona cultivation in India and
Java will have the effect of lowering the price, and bringing this
inestimable febrifuge within the reach of a vast number of people
who are now excluded from its use, without in any way injuring the
trade of Peru and Ecuador. I trust that not only will this measure
do no injury to the South Americans, but that it may be hereafter
productive of good to them, as well as to the rest of mankind. Hitherto
they have destroyed the chinchona-trees in a spirit of reckless
short-sightedness, and thus done more injury to their own interests
than could possibly have arisen from any commercial competition; but
it may be that the influence of peace and education will inaugurate a
new system in time to come, that more enlightened views will prevail,
and that they themselves may undertake the cultivation of a plant
which is indigenous to their forests, but which, up to this time, they
have so foolishly neglected. It will then be a pleasure to supply them
with the information which will have been gained by the experience of
cultivators in India, and thus to assist them in the establishment of
plantations on the slopes of the eastern Andes.
Under any circumstances the South Americans, who owe to India the
staple food of millions of their people, and to the Old World most of
their valuable products--wheat, barley, apples, peaches, sugar-cane,
the vine, rice, the olive, sheep, cattle, and horses--have no right
to desire to withhold from India a product which is so essentially
necessary to her welfare. Nor do I believe that the better conditioned
Peruvians have any such desire. On the contrary, many of them have
shown themselves willing to promote a friendly interchange of the
products of the New and Old Worlds; and the foolish decree issued in
Ecuador on the 1st of May, 1861, as well as the numerous obstructions
thrown in my way in southern Peru, may be imputed either to the
narrow-minded selfishness of half-educated officials, or to the
ignorant patriotism of backwoodsmen. These are feelings which are not
shared by either the educated few, or by the Indian population.
After much careful consideration it had been decided that the best
place for commencing the experimental cultivation of chinchona-plants
in India would be the Neilgherry hills, in the Madras Presidency. Here
are to be found a climate, an amount of moisture, a vegetation, and
an elevation above the sea, more analogous to those of the chinchona
forests in South America than can be met with in any other part of
India. In the Government gardens at Ootacamund, on the Neilgherries,
there were the necessary conveniences for propagating plants and
raising seedlings; and in Mr. William G. McIvor, the Superintendent,
was to be found a zealous, intelligent, and practical gardener, who
had carefully studied the botany of the chinchona genus, and under
whose care the cultivation would be commenced with the best possible
guarantees for its success.
From the Neilgherries the chinchona-plants will, it is hoped, be
introduced into such other hill districts of Southern India as, after
examination, may be found suitable for their growth; and it was a part
of my duty to visit the most promising localities, and, in conjunction
with Mr. McIvor, to select the sites for chinchona plantations on the
Neilgherry hills. With this object in view we landed at the port of
Calicut, on the coast of Malabar, on the 7th of October, 1861.
TRAVELS IN INDIA.