3. Report of the Expedition to procure Plants and Seeds of the Chinchona succirubra, by R. Spruce, Esq., Sept. 22, 1861.
[372] Letter from Mr. Pritchett to the Under Secretary of State for India, dated July 9, 1861.
[373] Letter from Mr. Pritchett to the Under Secretary of State for India, dated Dec. 13, 1860.
[374] Smyth's Journey from Lima to Para, p. 63.
[375] Herndon's Valley of the Amazon, p. 126.
[376] Herndon's Valley of the Amazon, p. 136.
[377] Smyth, p. 115; who says that, according to a register which had been kept there, it rains at Casapi on more than half the days of the year.
"From May to November the sun shines very powerfully in the valley of Chinchao, and consequently the soil, when it is cleared of wood, becomes so parched that its surface opens in chinks, but underneath it always preserves humidity, and therefore needs no irrigation. From November to May it rains much, sometimes six or seven days without intermission."—Dr. A. Smith's Peru as It Is, ii. p. 57.
[378] Of the identity of the species collected by Mr. Pritchett there is no doubt. He brought home specimens from the trees whence the seeds were obtained, which have been examined by Mr. Howard, and proved to belong to C. nitida, C. micrantha, and C. Peruviana. The barks also have been found to contain a satisfactory percentage of alkaloids. Some further particulars respecting these species have already been given in chap. ii. p. 30-35.
[379] Pavon gives its height at from 18 to 24 feet, and 8 to 9 inches in diameter.