i88 



^ 



i- 



roiis, capillary, and furnifhed with roundifh yellow anthers : the 

 rmen is conical, and fupports a llender ftyle, crowned with a fimple 



the fruit is a long pod, refemhling that of the Lupin, and 



ftifrma 



contains many flattiih brown feeds. It is a native of Arabia and 

 Egypt, and flowers in July/ 



Diofcorides was certainly well acquainted with this tree, as he not 

 only mentions the gum which it produces, but alfo the renowned 

 \Acad<^ vercsfuccus^ obtained from its pods ; fince his time, however, 

 it has been thought that gum arabic is not the produdion of the 



Ac 



Alpinus, and thofe of fubfequent naturalifts, leave no doubt upon 



this fubjed." ., 



Althoueh the Mimofa nilotica grows in great abundance over the 



-cia or Mimofa, as it is now called ; but the accounts given 



ct 



vaft extent of Africa, yet gum arabic is produced chiefly by thofe 



s 



/ 



trees, which 



are fituated 



near 



the equatorial regions; 



and 



we are 



told that in Lower Egypt the folar heat is never fufficiently intenfe 



for this purpofe. 



d 



The 



um exudes in a liquid ftate from the bark 



of the trunk and branches of the tree, in a fimilar manner to the gum 

 which is often produced upon the cherry trees, &c. in this country; 

 and by expofare to the air it foon acquires folidity and hardnefs. In 

 Senegal the gum begins to flow when the tree firft opens its flowers,' 

 and continues during 'the rainy feafon till the month of December. 



when it is colleded for the firft time. Another colledion of the eum 



is 



ma 



de 



m the month of March, from incifions in the bark, which 

 the extreme drynefs of the air at that time is faid to render necefl^ary.^ 



> 



a The M. nilotica was cultivated in England by Evelyn In 1664. Kalend. h. p. 75 



A plant of this fpecies Is now m the Royal Garden at Kev/, about four feet in height: 

 and in Dr. Lettfom's 



b 



rden at Grove Hill, where it flowers annually. 

 The pod, and nianher of preparing the juice, are thus mentioned by Murray: " Ex 



fmStn elicltur, qui ipfe le 



- . _umen eft complanatum viridi brunum, quatuor vel quinque 



poijices longurn et ofties vel decies anguftius, compofitum ex fex vel decern partibus vel 

 articuhs difcoldeis et intra utranique cuticulam parenchyma gummofum rubicundum 



continens. 



r 



notatum. 



In quovis articulo latet femen ellipticum fulco 'ulrlnque pariter eliiptico 

 Succus exprimitur ex frudlu '- — -- ■ --'- ^— -'--'^- -*■ --^ 



immaturo in mortario contufo, et calore in 



7 



vgL 



it. p. ^12 



fpiffitudinem.extraai denfatur/' &c. Fuie Jpp. Mea 



" HaiTelquift. Adanfon, Sparrman, and others. «> Niebuhr Reifebefch. Arab. i. B. 



« Adanfon Mem. de I'Ac. d Sc. d, Paris, 1773. p. 8. ^ Demanet Nouvelle 



p. 143 



Hiil. de I'Afrique Fran'^oife, t, 



i. p. 56. 



Gum 



") 



