Travels in Peru and India: While Superintending the Collection of Chinchona Plants and Seeds in South America, and Their Introduction into India.Markham, Clements R. (Clements Robert), Sir
History
Travels in Peru and India: While Superintending the Collection of Chinchona Plants and Seeds in South America, and Their Introduction into India.
Markham, Clements R. (Clements Robert), Sir
Cinchona; India -- Description and travel; Peru -- Description and travel
The region of chinchona-trees extends from 19° S. latitude, where
Weddell found the _C. Australis_, to 10° N., following the almost
semicircular curve of the cordillera of the Andes over 1740 miles of
latitude. They flourish in a cool and equable temperature, on the
slopes and in the valleys and ravines of the mountains, surrounded
by the most majestic scenery, never descending below an elevation of
2500, and ascending as high as 9000 feet above the sea. Within these
limits their usual companions are tree ferns, melastomaceæ, arborescent
passion-flowers, and allied genera of chinchonaceous plants. Below them
are the forests abounding in palms and bamboos, above their highest
limits are a few lowly Alpine shrubs. But within this wide zone grow
many species of chinchonæ, each within its own narrower belt as regards
elevation above the sea, some yielding the inestimable bark, and others
commercially worthless. And the species of chinchonæ, in their native
forests, are not only divided from each other by zones as regards
height above the sea, but also by parallels of latitude. In Bolivia
and Caravaya, for instance, the valuable _C. Calisaya_ abounds, but it
is never found nearer the equator than 12° S. Between that parallel
and 10° S. the forests are for the most part occupied by worthless
species, while in Northern Peru the important grey barks of commerce
are found. In each of these latitudinal regions the different species
are again divided by belts of altitude. Yet this confinement within
zones of latitude and altitude is not a constant rule; for several of
the hardier and stronger species have a wider range; while the more
sensitive, and these are usually the most precious kinds, are close
prisoners within their allotted zones, and never pass more than a
hundred yards beyond them. All the species are, of course, affected by
local circumstances, which more or less modify the positions of their
zones, as regards altitude.
Thus, to give a geographical summary of the chinchona region, beginning
from the south, it commences in the Bolivian province of Cochabamba in
19° S., passes through the yungus of La Paz, Larecaja, Caupolican, and
Munecas, into the Peruvian province of Caravaya; thence through the
Peruvian forests, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, of Marcapata,
Paucartambo, Santa Anna, Guanta, and Uchubamba, to Huanuco and
Huamalies, where the grey bark is found. It then continues through
Jaen, to the forests near Loxa and Cuenca, and on the western slopes of
Chimborazo. It begins again in latitude 1° 51´ N. at Almaguer, passes
through the province of Popayan, and along the slopes of the Andes of
Quindiu, until it reaches its extreme northern limit on the wooded
heights of Merida and Santa Martha.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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