CINCHONA, a genus of plants of the order Cinchonacem, natives of South America. Joseph de Jussieu, in his history of Peru, relates that in 1600 a Jesuit, who had a fever at Malacotas, was cured by Peruvian bark. In 1638 the Countess Anna of Chinchon was suffering from tertian fever and ague at Lima, whither she had accompanied the viceroy, her husband. The corregidor of Loxa, Don Juan Lopez de Canizaries, sent a parcel of powdered quinquina bark to her physician, Jua de Vega, assuring him that it was a sovereign and infallible remedy for tertiana. It was ad ministered to the countess, who was 62 years of age, and effected a complete cure. This countess, returning with her husbajid to Spain in 1640, brought with her a quantiii of the healing bark. FIence it was sometimes lled ,,.' c6untess' bark ' i and ' countess' powder ; ' a d-Linnmus, long after, named the whole genus of quinine-bearing trees, in her honour, Chinchona. By modern writers the first h has usually been dropped, and the word is now almost invariably spelled in that way, instead of the more etymological Chinchona. The Jesuits afterwards made great and effective use of it in their missionary expeditions, and it was a ludicrous result of their patronage, that its use should have been for a long time opposed by Protestants and favoured by ilsflinlieq in 1 R79.
Louis xiv. bought the secret of preparina quin quina from Sir Robert Talbot, an EnglisCdoctor, for 2000 louis-d'or, a large pension, and a title. Under the Grand Monarch it was used at dessert, mingled with Spanish wine.
The British, in British India, Ceylon, and Burma, and the Dutch in Java, have successfully introduced several of the species,at Neddiwat tam, Pykara, Kalhatti, and Ootacamund, in many private plantations, also in Wynad, in the Baba booden, and hills of Biligiri Rang= ; also in Ceylon ; also at Darjiling, in the Doons of the N.W. Provinces, and in Sikkim ; and the Travancore Government has likewise aided in their diffusion, by selling seed and seecllings ; also in Burma it has been planted near Tounghoo, at Thau-toung gyee in the Sitang division ; likewise on the Kliassya hills. The better known species are C. Boliviana, calisaya, condaminea, cordifolia, lanci folia, lucummfolia, magnifolia, micrantha, nitida, oblongifolia, officinalis, ovata, Pahudiana, Peru viana, purpurea, succirubra and scrobiculata.
The commercially valuable species are,-= C. offieinalis, var. .&. eondaminea, var. R. bonplandiana, var. v. crispa, crown bark ; of Loxa region.
C. succirubra, Pavon. , red bark ; west slopes of Chim borazo.
C. Pitayensis, etc., C. lancifolia, C. cordifolia, Colom bian bark; Colombian region.
C. nitida, C. micrantba, C. Peruviana, grey barks ; of Huanuco region in North Peru.
C. calisaya, yellow bark ; in Bolivia and South Peru.
Cinchona calisaya bark, of the best kinds, of South America, yields, on the average 3.8 per cent. of quinine. That of the variety 'C. Jose phiana, 3.2 per cent. One variety, grown in Java from seeds transmitted by Mr. Ledger, yields nearly 10 per cent. of quinine ; but in Java and Ceylon 13 per cent. of quinine has been obtained,
and from Ledgeriana plants grown on the Neil gherries, 11 per cent. ; and it is recognised that the yield of the plants is the sole guide in planting. The treatment of the trees, by barking, mossing, and sha.ving their bark, adds greatly to their yield of quinine. Up to 1880, the quantity of quinine imported into British India was about 10,000 lbs., value about £40,000. In Madras there have been the following gratifying comparisons between ex penditure and revenue : Year. Expenditure. Revenue. Profit.
1876-77, . Rs. 1,18,742 1,18,960 2181877-78, . 1,34, 228 3,71,071 1,36,843 1878-79, . 1,44,179 4,30,908 2,86,729 1879-80, 1,56,708 4,89,731 3,33,023 Cinchona barks imported into Londim front June 1879 to June 1880 amounted to 6,002,330 lbs. from Colombia, and 959,030 lbs. from all other parts of South America. India and Ceylon, 1,172,0601bs. ; Java (to Amsterdam), 70,088 lbs. ; Jamaica, 21,140 lbs. In September 1882, at a sale of barks from the Madras Government plan tations, the following table shows the prices realized as compared with those of the sale on llth Jan. : . In 1881, in Ceylon, almost all estates had trees planted along road-sides, or in the midst of the coffee, or in places where the coffee trees had died out ; but in other estates almost the whole acreage had been planted with them, in regular rows between the Imes of coffee. They are said to grow hi the Yatiyantota district on the western slope, at 500 feet ; and at Ktdutura, about 30 milea S. of Colombo, nearly at the sea level. The number of cinchona plants growing in Ceylon at the begitming of 1881 was estintated Fergusson's Handbook at from 50,000,000 to 100,000,000. C. succirubra was tho most nunuerous, being reckoned at more than one half. The remainder consists of C. oflicinalis and C. calisaya, with such varieties as C. Ledgeriana and C. pubescens. The export from Ceylon of cinchona bark for the eleven years 1869 and 1871 to 1880, shows an increase from 28 oz., value Rs. 50, in 1869, to 1,161,989 lbs. in 1880, value Rs. 12,00,000 , 1869, . . 28 oz., . . . Value, Rs. 50 1871, . . 80 packages, . . . 313 1872, . 11,547 lbs. and 694 packages, 64,102 1873, . 44,836 . . . 32,667 , 1874, . 40,354 . . . . 25,277 1875, . 19,152 . . . . 17,963 1876, . 14,932 and 1 package, . 14,720 1877, . 72,127 and 1 . . 88,738 1878, . 186,797 lbs. . . Value, Ita. 1,71.= 1879, . 507,368 5,19,056 1880, 1,161,989 . . (aay) 12,00,000 The organic constituents of cinchona barks are, quina, chinchonia, nricina, quinidin, chinchon idia, quinie, tannic, and quinovic acids, chinchona red, etc. ; in medicinal forms, quinine, chinchoni dine, quinidine,chineonine. The quill bark stripped from saplings, just as cinnamon is prepared, is found to be rich in quinine. The bark that is obtained at Sikkim is all made into a febrifuge in a factory on the estate. This febrifuge is said to be quite as efficacious as quinine, and it is much cheaper, and very easily made. The cost is Rs. 0-3-10i per lb., or about 9 annas per ounce.