The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1916-02-03
SCARCITY or 0UININE


VI bho WI puAHhhtc VI NuhAihV NoS
selling at about 20 cents an ounce,
Wholesale. A year ago it sold for 40
cents, today II is selling for $3.50 an
ounce. When It is stated that during
the fiscal year ending June 80, 1914,
the last normal year prior TO the war,
the United States imported nearly g.
100000 ounces of sulphate of quinine
then valued at about S65O,00O, and
over S,G4S,OOO pounds Of chinchona
bark valued at $4,000, It may be seen
what such a difference in price may
mean TO the country.
How is the European war respon-
sible? Simply because Greet Britain
controls the chinchona bark industry
in her possessions of Indit Ceylon
and Jamaica and Holland H., product
of Java, and these are L.. aections
Of the world which have be- furnish
ing practically its supply of liuine in
the form Of chinchona bar, for the
last thirty-fye years. Gre Britain
is carefully outstanding the ,Ipply Of
this precious specific for TIE use of
her armies and those of h-r allies,
while the Dutch must he depended
upon to supply those of thu Central
Powers. Armies in the fie'i need a
vastly larger supply of quinine than
would the same number Of non in or
binary occUpations-hence quinine
famine for the rest of the world. If
the war continues, not only will the
price continue to rise. but the serious
question will be-where are we to get
il at all?
Time was when certain countries of
South America, where the chinchona
trees originated, supplied the world,
and the story Of quinine and how il
was introduced into Europe is enter
tainingly told by Edward Albes in the
current number of the Bulletin of
the Pan American Union, Washing
ton, d. c., somewhat as follows:
Once upon a time-278 years ago,
to be more exact--in her viceroyal
castle in Lima, Peru, lady lay i'll of
a fever. She was the Countess Ana,
wife of the Fourth Count of Chinchon,
who at the time was viceroy of Peru
News Of the lady's illness having
reached one Don Juan Lopez de Can
nizaree, the Spanish Corregidor of
LoXa, who dwelt some go miles south
OF Quito, in what is now the Republic
OF Ecuador, he dispatched a parcel
of a certain kind of powdered bark
To her physician, Juan de Vega, with
the assurance that il was a sovereign
remedy and never-failing specific in
cases of intermittent fever. lie knew
this to be true from both oxnerience
and observation, for about eight years
prior to this event he had suffered
from a severe attack of fever and had
been cured by an old Indian of Nal
acotas, who had thus revealed the re-
markable properties of this bark
fects in many other cases-so he knew
Since then he had observed it's eff
whereof he spoke. The remedy was
tried and the Countess was cured.
The name given by the abortgines to
the tree on which grew this wonder
full bark was 'quinaquina."
ain 1910 the Count of Chinchon re-
turned to Spain with his VIE. She
took with her a quantity of TIE heal
ing bark, and thus was the list per-
son to introduce ii into Eurc~e Sub
sequently some of the jesuit .a..sion-
aries in Brat sent parcai OF the
powdered bark to Rome. 'ence II
was distributed by the Card;5 de Luz
go to other members OF the eternity
throughout Earepe. II was therefore
often called "Jesuits' bark . J some
times cardinals bark" 9. mething
over a hundred years after tie Coun-
tess OF Chinehon had introduced 1t
into Spain, linnaeus the great Swe-
dish botanist. in making his remark
able classification of all known trees
and plants, TO commemorate the serv-
ice rendered to mankind by that aldy,
named the genus which yields the
bark Chinchona, and subsequently
still further immortalized the name
by giving il to the great families of
trees and plants now known as the
Chinchonaceae. which includes not
only the Chinchonae but also the ipe-
cacuanas and the coffees."
In their native habitat. in Peru.
Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia, the
trees flourish in a cool and equable
temperature. on the slopes and in the
valleys and rayines of the mountains, |
surrounded by the most majestic |
scenery. never descending below an
elevation OF $500, aud ascending as
high as 5000 feet above the sea. When |
in good soil and under favorable cir
cumstances. they became large for
est trees ION the high elevations and
when crowded and growing in rocky
land. they frequently run up to great
heights without a branch and at the
upper limit OF their zone they become
mere shrubs. The leaves in the finest
species are Immediate. with n shining