Travels in Peru and India / While Superintending the Collection of Chinchona Plants and Seeds in South America, and Their Introduction into India.

by Sir Clements R. Markham

CHAPTER XXIII.

SELECTION OF SITES FOR CHINCHONA-PLANTATIONS ON THE NEILGHERRY HILLS.

The Dodabetta site—The Neddiwuttum site.

In selecting sites for chinchona plantations in the Neilgherry hills we had to compare the climate and other conditions of growth which prevail in the chinchona forests and open pajonales in the Andes with any similar localities which might be found in Southern India. For the first experimental sites, it was of course important that the resemblance, as regards elevation, temperature, and humidity, should be as close as possible; but there was every reason to hope that, under cultivation, these plants, like most others, would adapt themselves to conditions of soil and climate extending over a far more extensive area.

It was necessary to fix upon two sites in the first instance, one at the highest point at which chinchona-plants were likely to flourish, for the species from Loxa and others growing at great elevations, and as an experimental plantation; and another in a lower and warmer position for the plants of C. succirubra, C. Peruviana, C. micrantha, and the tree C. Calisaya. The highest point at which these plants will flourish, and the greatest exposure they will bear without injury, are the most favourable conditions for the formation of quinine; while, if the sholas in the upper plateau of the Neilgherry hills should prove to be adapted for their growth, their cultivation might be indefinitely extended in a climate suitable for English settlers.

Previous to my arrival on the hills Mr. McIvor had selected a site for the highest plantation in a wooded ravine or shola at the back of the hills which rise above the Government gardens; and, after a careful examination, I came to the conclusion that it was well suited for the growth of the hardier species, and for the experimental culture of all the kinds which have been introduced into India. It has been named the "Dodabetta" site, from the peak, the highest point of the Neilgherries, and 8640 feet above the sea, which rises up immediately behind it.

With regard to the species for which I considered the Dodabetta site to be suitable, it will be well in this place to recapitulate the circumstances under which they grow on their native mountains.

The shrub variety of C. Calisaya (lat. 13° to 15° S.) flourishes in open pajonales, quite exposed, at elevations from 5000 to 7000 feet above the sea, and in April and May I found the mean temperature to be 60⅓°, minimum 55°, and range 17°. The C. nitida (lat. 10° S.) grows at similar elevations, but we have no exact information respecting the temperature and humidity. The varieties of C. Condaminea (lat. 4° S.) flourish at heights from 6000 to 8000 feet above the sea, where the mean range is from 45° to 60°, in a moist climate, and in exposed but always dry situations; and one kind, the C. crispa, the seeds of which have been received in India and Ceylon, grows in a deposit of peat, 8000 feet above the sea, in a temperature falling as low as 27°.[417] The C. lancifolia (lat. 5° N.) is found at 7000 feet above the sea and upwards, where the annual range is from freezing-point to 75°, in an exceedingly moist climate. The rainy season lasts for nine months, when the constant rain is only interrupted in the day by interchanging sun-rays and fog-clouds. In the dry season cold clear nights follow days in which a warm sun penetrates through the fog, which almost constantly lies on the damp foliage of the forest.[418] Mr. Cross mentions that he saw trees of C. succirubra on his way to Loxa, growing at elevations of from 8000 to 9000 feet above the sea.

The site, in the Dodabetta ravine, slopes down from 7700 to 7600 feet above the sea, yet, from local causes, it is several degrees warmer than the station at Ootacamund; and the temperature agrees with that of the species of chinchona-plants described above. The annual temperature of the peak of Dodabetta, of Ootacamund, and of the warmer station of Kotergherry, are given on the following page.

The Dodabetta site, being four or five degrees warmer than Ootacamund, throughout the year, has a temperature, on the whole, somewhat warmer than the lofty regions where the species of chinchona grow, for the cultivation of which this position was selected. The elevation above the sea exactly corresponds, and the amount of humidity is about the same. The ravine is full of fine trees, with a variety of exposures, the general aspect being north-west; a clear little stream flows through it; and, in most parts, the soil consists of a rich loam four or five feet deep. Outside the wooded ravine there are tree Rhododendrons, Berberis, Gaultherias, lilies, Lycopodia, and brake-ferns, scattered about on the grassy slopes; and the character of the scenery and vegetation very closely resembles that of the pajonal country between the valleys of Sandia and Tambopata in Caravaya, where the shrub Calisaya flourishes. The site is protected by rising grounds from the cold northerly winds, and the colder breezes blowing over it from ridge to ridge prevent the warm air in the ravine from rising, so that the temperature became warmer as we ascended through the wood, and in the highest part there were orchids and pepper-vines hanging on the trees.