PERUVIAN BARK. See CINCIIONA. An important instance of commercial enter prise, directed to providing relief for human suffering, has been the introduction of cinchonas, or Peruvian-bark trees, into British India. This had long been urged on the East ,India company by Dr. Boyle, but was not undertaken till after his death. The same thing had been attempted a year or two before by the Dutch in Java, on the urgent representations of the botanist Blume, but with very imperfect success, owing to their having procured chiefly plants of a species which produces bark of very inferior quality, and yields little quinine. But Mr. Markham, who was sent to South America by the East India company to procure seeds and plants, was successful in introdueino. into British India. in the latter part of 1801, a number of the very best species, which were planted chiefly on the Neilgherry hills, and partly also on the mountains of Ceylon and the Himalaya, and from these stations have been diffused throughout the Madras presi c.ency. There are now about 2,700,000 cinchona trees on the government plantations, and
the harvest for 1875 amounted to 65,200 lbs., worth about £6,700. The whole yield of the Madras presidency is about double that, 204,000 lbs. having been brought into the Lon don market in 1877-78. Thus an abundant supply of Peruvian bark, and consequently of quinine, has been secured at a moderate price, and yet with profit to the cultivator. In procuring the young trees and seeds which lie conveyed to India, Mr. Markham experienced great difficulty from the jealousy of the South American governments, anx ious to maintain a rigid monopoly in this precious commodity, and yet taking no effect ual means to prevent the rapidly extending waste of the trees in their native forests. ldr. Markham in all his travels saw only one Peruvian-bark tree which had been planted by the hand of man. (See Markham's Travels in Peru and India, 1862.)