“Of course the drug he gave her was the essence of Peruvian bark.”
“Yes, extracted in a primitive form.”
“What was her name?” asked Hope-Jones.
“The Countess of Chinchon.”
“That is why the tree is called cinchona?”
“It is, and to be more correct one should spell it ‘chinchona’ instead of ‘cinchona.’”
“How did the term quinine originate?”
“From the Indian compound word ‘Quina-Quina,’ meaning ‘bark of barks.’”
“You say the trees are isolated, señor?”
“Yes. They seldom grow in clumps, and the task of finding them is often great; the native searchers, or cascarilleros, undergo great hardships in penetrating the jungle-like forests.”