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James Alexander Gammie
James Alexander Gammie (12 November 1839 - 13 April 1924) was a Kew-trained Scottish gardener and botanist known for his work in raising cinchona plantations in Mungpoo in northeastern India and in introducing a process for the extraction of cinchona alkaloids at the factory in Rungbee. Gammie was born in Kincardine to George Gammie and Jean Silver. Gammie apprenticed at Drum Castle, Aberdeenshire, where his father was gardener for 45 years. He worked at Stapleton Park and with J. Veitch in Chelsea. He joined Kew in 1861 along with W.B. Hemsley and J.R. Jackson working for about four years until he was selected by the Secretary of State for India in August 1865 to manage the cinchona plantations in Sikkim. He moved to India and worked for eleven years retiring in 1897. An achievement was in the introduction of C.H. Wood's process for extracting the cinchona alkaloid using a solvent, fusel alcohol, from which the alkaloids were precipitated as sulphates using sulphuric acid. He wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 staff. Its board of trustees is chaired by Dame Amelia Fawcett. The organisation manages botanic gardens at Kew in Richmond upon Thames in south-west London, and at Wakehurst, a National Trust property in Sussex which is home to the internationally important Millennium Seed Bank, whose scientists work with partner organisations in more than 95 countries. Kew, jointly with the Forestry Commission, founded Bedgebury National Pinetum in Kent in 1923, specialising in growing conifers. In 1994, the Castle Howard Arboretum Trust, which runs the Yorkshire Arboretum, was formed as a partnership between Kew and the Castle Howard Estate. In 2019, the organisation had 2,316,699 public visitors at Kew, and 312,813 at Wakehurst. Its site at Kew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinchona
''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the Tropical Andes, tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are reportedly naturalization (biology), naturalized in Central America, Jamaica, French Polynesia, Sulawesi, Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, and São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of tropical Africa, and others have been cultivated in India and Java, where they have formed hybrids. ''Cinchona'' has been historically sought after for its medicinal value, as the bark of several species yields quinine and other alkaloids. These were the only effective treatments against malaria during the height of European colonialism, which made them of great economic and political importance. Trees in the genus are also known as fever trees because of their anti-malarial properties. The artificial Quinine total synthesis, synthesis of quinine in 1944 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mungpoo
Mungpoo (also referred to as Mangpu Cinchona Plantation, or rendered Mungpoo) is a village in the Kurseong 24 Bidhan Sabha Constituency Rangli Rangliot (community development block) in the Kurseong subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. History The ancient Incas, in what is now Peru, knew that the bark of a tree had miraculous property of curing Malaria. Carl Linnaeus established the botanical genus of Cinchona in 1742. Dr. Thomas Anderson, Superintendent of Royal Botanical Garden at Calcutta, started his experimental trial for cultivation of Cinchona in the Darjeeling Hills and in 1862 selected the Mangpu hills for commercial cultivation. After successful establishment of Cinchona plantation at Mangpu, it was extended to Munsong, Rongo, Latpanchar and Ambotia. The Directorate of Cinchona and Other Medicinal Plants started functioning in Darjeeling in 1862, initially for growing Cinchona trees and to produce the life-saving anti-Malarial dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kincardine, Aberdeenshire
Kincardine was a burgh in Scotland, near the present-day village of Fettercairn. It served as the first county town of Kincardineshire. The settlement gradually developed around Kincardine Castle. The origin of the castle is not known, although it has been popularly identified as the place of death of Kenneth II. The Carnegies were made stewards of the castle during the reign of William the Lion. In 1296, it was the location where John Balliol confessed to rebellion against Edward I of England. It was kept in good repair over the following centuries, and was visited by Mary, Queen of Scots. By 1532, the castle was a secondary residence of William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal, and appears to have been at the centre of the small town, occupying about two hundred yards between gates on the main road. The Earl petitioned for Kincardine to be declared as a free burgh and county town for the Mearns. The petition claimed that the sheriff courts for the Mearns were already being ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drum Castle
Drum Castle is a castle near Drumoak in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. For centuries it was the seat of the chief of Clan Irvine. The place-name Drum is derived from Gaelic ''druim'', 'ridge'. The site is located approximately northeast of Banchory and west of Peterculter. The property is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is open to the public. History The original 13th-century tower of Drum Castle has been suggested as the work of medieval architect Richard Cementarius, who built the Brig o' Balgownie, the first Bridge of Don, in Old Aberdeen. It is believed to be one of the three oldest tower houses in Scotland (and notably unaltered). A large wing was added in 1619 by the 9th laird, and further alterations were made during the Victorian era. The castle and its grounds were granted to William de Irwyn in 1323 by Robert the Bruce, and remained in the possession of Clan Irvine until 1975. William de Irwyn (of the Irvings of Bonshaw clan) was armour bearer/secret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Veitch (horticulturist)
James Veitch (25 January 1792 – May 1863) was the second in a long line of horticulturists who established the renowned family business Veitch Nurseries. Veitch was the youngest son of John Veitch and his wife, Anna Davidson. James was a natural gardener and he helped his father on the Killerton estate from a very early age. When Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet resurrected the landscaping projects at Killerton, James introduced many of his own ideas and working methods, and some of the mature Spanish chestnuts and beech trees on the estate are a testament to this work. The Budlake nursery continued to flourish, and in 1832 with James now at the helm, the nursery was expanded with the purchase of of land at Mount Radford on the Topsham Road, Exeter. This was followed by the first of a number of shops or seed warehouses in the city centre area, with the first at 54 High Street and the last at the site of the Well House Inn in Cathedral Yard. By 1837 James Junior, the el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Hemsley (botanist)
William Botting Hemsley (29 December 1843, in East Hoathly – 7 October 1924, in Kent) was an English botanist and 1909 Victoria Medal of Honour recipient. He was born in East Hoathly, Sussex and in 1860 started work at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew as an Improver, then Assistant for India in the Herbarium, finally Keeper of Herbarium and Library. He wrote a number of botanical works. In 1888, a genus of flowering plants from south-east Asia, belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae was named '' Hemsleya'' in his honour. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ... in June 1889. Publications * * ''Biologica Centrali-Americana Botany. Vol. I '', 1879–1888 * Biologica Centrali-Americana Botany. Vol. III', 1882–1886 * ''Botany ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles H
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "free man". The Old English descendant of this word was '' Ċearl'' or ''Ċeorl'', as the name of King Cearl of Mercia, that disappeared after the Norman conquest of England. The name was notably borne by Charlemagne (Charles the Great), and was at the time Latinized as ''Karolus'' (as in ''Vita Karoli Magni''), later also as '' Carolus''. Some Germanic languages, for example Dutch and German, have retained the word in two separate senses. In the particular case of Dutch, ''Karel'' refers to the given name, whereas the noun ''kerel'' means "a bloke, fellow, man". Etymology The name's etymology is a Common Germanic noun ''*karilaz'' meaning "free man", which survives in English as churl (< Old English ''ċeorl''), which developed its de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fusel Alcohol
Fusel alcohols or fuselol, also sometimes called fusel oils in Europe, are mixtures of several higher alcohols (those with more than two carbons, chiefly amyl alcohol) produced as a by-product of alcoholic fermentation. The word ''Fusel'' is German language, German for "bad liquor". Whether fusel alcohol contributes to hangover symptoms is a matter of scientific debate. A Japanese study in 2003 concluded that "the fusel oil in whisky had no effect on the ethanol-induced emetic response" in the Asian house shrew. Additionally, consumption of fusel oils with ethanol suppressed subjects' subsequent taste aversion to alcohol, which suggested subjects' hangover symptoms were lessened, according to the journal. Usage Fusel oil and fusel-oil acetates are used in the lacquer industry as high boiling point solvents. Compounds Excessive concentrations of some alcohols other than ethanol may cause off-flavors, sometimes described as "spicy", "hot", or "solvent-like". Some beverage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George King (botanist)
Sir George King (12 April 1840 – 12 February 1909) was a British botanist who was appointed superintendent of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta in 1871, and became the first Director of the Botanical Survey of India from 1890. He was recognised for his work in the cultivation of cinchona and for setting up a system for the inexpensive distribution of quinine throughout India through the postal system. Early life George was born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, to Robert King and Cecilia Anderson. Robert King was a bookseller who moved to Aberdeen to partner with his brothers who were also in the book business. One brother Arthur was the founder of the Aberdeen University Press. Another brother George was an antiquarian, founder of a local liberal newspaper and a prominent writer on economic and social matters. King's parents both died from phthisis (tuberculosis), the father in November 1845 aged thirty six and the mother in 1850 at the age of forty. Orphaned at the age of ten, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry John Elwes
Henry John Elwes, FRS (16 May 1846 – 26 November 1922) was a British botanist, entomologist, author, lepidopterist, collector and traveller who became renowned for collecting specimens of lilies during trips to the Himalaya and Korea. He was one of the first group of 60 people to receive the Victoria Medal of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1897. Author of ''Monograph of the Genus Lilium'' (1880), and ''The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland'' (1906–1913) with Augustine Henry, as well as numerous articles, he left a collection of 30,000 butterfly specimens to the Natural History Museum, including 11,370 specimens of Palaearctic butterflies.Salmon, M. A. (2000). ''The Aurelian Legacy: British Butterflies and Their Collectors''. Harley Books, Colchester. Biography Henry John Elwes was the eldest son of John Henry Elwes of Colesbourne Park near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He was described as "a giant of a man, and a very dominating character"Riley, N. D. ''History of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lepcha People
The Lepcha (; also called Rongkup ( Lepcha: , ''Mútuncí Róngkup Rumkup'', "beloved children of the Róng and of God") and Rongpa ( Sikkimese: )) are among the indigenous peoples of the Indian state of Sikkim and Nepal, and number around 80,000. Many Lepcha are also found in western and southwestern Bhutan, Tibet, Darjeeling, the Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal, and in the hills of West Bengal. The Lepcha people are composed of four main distinct communities: the Renjóngmú of Sikkim; the Dámsángmú of Kalimpong, Kurseong, and Mirik; the ʔilámmú of Ilam District, Nepal; and the Promú of Samtse and Chukha in southwestern Bhutan. Origins The word Lepcha is considered to be the anglicised version of the Nepalese word ''lepche'' meaning "vile speakers" or "inarticulate speech". This was at first a derogatory nickname but is no longer seen as negative. The origin of the Lepcha is unknown. They may have originated in Myanmar or Tibet but the Lepcha people themselves fir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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