The bark-collectors of Loxa are said to show some little forethought, a quality which is entirely wanting in most of their fraternity. To save the trees they occasionally cut off the whole of the bark, with the exception of one long strip, which gradually replaces its loss; and the second cutting is called _cascarilla resecada_. This practice was in use in the days of the botanist Ruiz, who protested against it, and declared that it was very injurious to the trees, many having been destroyed by it.[46] Later accounts, however, show that the bark-collectors of Loxa are as thoughtlessly destructive as those in other parts of South America. They often pull up the roots, while the annual burning of the slopes, and the continual cropping of the young shoots by cattle, assist the work of destruction.[47] It is, therefore, well that the _C. Chahuarguera_ and _C. Uritusinga_, the earliest known and among the most valuable of the chinchona-trees, should have been saved from extinction by timely introduction into India. The annual export of Loxa bark, from the port of Payta, is from 800 to 1000 cwts. II.--THE "RED-BARK" REGION, ON THE WESTERN SLOPES OF CHIMBORAZO. The species yielding "red bark," the richest and most important of all the Chinchonæ, is found in the forests on the western slopes of Mount Chimborazo, along the banks of the rivers Chanchan, Chasuan, San Antonio, and their tributaries. So early as 1738 Condamine spoke of "red bark" (_cascarilla colorada_) as being of superior quality;[48] and Pavon sent home specimens of the "red bark of Huaranda," and named the species _C. succirubra_. Some of these are now in the British Museum; and in the collection of Ruiz and Pavon, in the botanical gardens at Madrid, I found capsules, flowers, and leaves marked "_cascarilla colorada de los cerros de San Antonio_." In 1857 Dr. Klotzsch, an eminent German botanist, read a paper at Berlin,[49] elaborately describing the "red bark" as a product of _C. succirubra_, from a very good specimen of Pavon's in the Berlin Museum. Mr. Howard has also received a specimen from Alausi, and he is inclined to the belief that there are several varieties of _C. succirubra_, and one or two allied species, as yet undescribed.[50] Much light was thrown upon the history of this valuable species by Mr. Spruce, when he penetrated into the forests to collect seeds and plants for transmission to India in 1860.