262 



itjs Ti?oi*fdAt AQnicvLrvuiuf, 



(Oct, If i35f 



(iAMBOCxE OF BURMA. 



Although various varieties ol' jamboge-beariug trees 

 have for luauy years past bdea known to exist in 

 different parts of the provnice, notably iu the Ten- 

 asserim division, it was not until comparatively re- 

 cently that the subject was brought specially under 

 the notice of the local Goverameut. Writing more 

 thaai 30 years ago, Mr. Simaiouds, iu his work en- 

 titled Commercial Products of the I'eyetahle Kiaydom, 

 says: "The Garcinia dliptica of Tavoy and Moui- 

 mein affords gamboge and approaches very closely iu 

 its character to Graham's Hebrodendron;" and he adds 

 that it affords "a fine pigmeut." Dr. Mason also, 

 in his work on Burma, remarks that " the best gam- 

 boge is produced by Garcinia ellipttca but an inferior 

 article is produced by G. cornea, G. aaomala, U. cava, 

 G. kydia, G. fi'.ccifolia,G. Aunthochi/mi'.s, and G. {Heb- 

 rodendron) morcUa. Gorciuia Cambogia yields a plea- 

 sant fruit and a gamboge quite insoluble in w.iter, 

 and it is the complete solubility of the best gamboge 

 that distinguishes it from inferior sorts, but it is pro- 

 bable that, when fully investigated, these insoluble 

 gamboges will be found of service in the arts-'" 



Tu 1675 Mr. Whittall, of the Forest Department, 

 drew attention to three different species of trees, be- 

 longing to the genus Garcinia, growing in the dis- 

 tricts of Southern Tenasserim. These were known to 

 the natives as Taivmenyoot, Parawah, and Parajai/. 

 The two last named Mr. Witiali did not consider of 

 much account. The Faraivah yields an exudation 

 of a white colour, which changes to a reddish yellow 

 on exposure to the atmosphere, and is scarcely at all 

 soluble in water, but yields to alcohol. The Parajai/ 

 yields a rather copious exudation which when dis- 

 solved in spirits of turpentine, affords a beautiful, 

 permanent, yellow varnish for metallic surfaces, and 

 on this account has been called the gamboge tree as 

 well as the yellow varnish tree ; but its exudation 

 does not form an emulsion with water, and, for this 

 and other reasons, Mr. Whittall considered it had no 

 claim to be considered a real gamboge tree. The 

 Taumengoot was, in Mr. Wittall's opinion, the gam- 

 boge tree of the South Tenasserim forests. He says : 

 *' The gum resin is larger in quantity and darker and 

 of a more glossy colour than the others : neither wet 

 nor dry is it so sticky, and so readily does it form 

 an emulsion with water that the exudation on the 

 outer bark is completely washed away by the rains." 

 This tree he believed to be the same as that which 

 Dr. Mason calls Thanataiv (Garcinia eUiptica) [G. hete- 

 randra']. and he adds that it was supposed to be the 

 same as that which yields the gum resin exported 

 from Siam. But Mr. Hill, Ofiiciatiug Conservator of 

 Forests, Pegu Circle, thinks the Tavniengoot is pro- 

 bably the G. morella or pictura, or gutta, the true 

 gamboge tree, which does not grow all over Burma 

 like G. ellipttca or G. cowa, which latter are common 

 trees throughout the province. 



In May 1884 the Commissioner of Tenasserim, drew 

 the attention of District Officers to the trees called 

 Thauiigthaleh {G. ki/dia) and Thanataw (G. rllij>tica', 

 found growing iu the tropical forests of Martabau 

 and Tenasserim with the view, if possible, of devel- 

 oping a new industry for the people. Of the former 

 Mr. Hill says: "It yields a yellow substance of a 

 bright colour, but paler than the gamboge of Siam. 

 It is scarcely soluble in water, but dissolves in spirits 

 of turpentine and affords a beautiful, permanent, 

 yellow varnish for metallic surfaces. As the substance 

 is very resinous and will not dissolve in water, it is 

 valueless as a pigment." Of the latter he remarks: 

 " The product known as Thanataio is obtained from 

 G. eUiptica or heterandra. It is called a superior gam- 

 boge, but in all probability merits the name almost 

 as little as Thaunythaleh owing to its only partial 

 solubility in water. It is found throughout the pro- 

 vince and is darker in colour than Thaungthalth." A 

 sample of Thanataw obtained from Tavoy was found 

 upon analysis to contain — 



Resin, .. 765 



Gum, 23-5 



This sample was sent to Calcutta for valuation, where 

 it nab Ueclareil to h> gamboge, but unsalable iu au 



mmmm^tmtme 



unrefined state. In August of the same year samples 

 of gum produced from two other kinds of trees called 

 Falagiji and Tammtiigoot were also obtained and sub- 

 mitted for analysis. They were found to contain — 



Falagyi. Tawmengoot? 



Resin, 58 82 53-2() 



Gum, 9o4 20-30 



Water, 32-66 2560 



In his report on these samples Dr. Komanis, the 

 Chemical Examiner, says the yellow kind {Taumengoot) 

 makes a very fair paint, but the other is of no u.se. 

 If the gum is extracted it makes a spirit varnish, 

 but when warm it melts and gets sticky. 



According to the broker's report, to whom the sample 

 of Thanataw referred to above was submitted for 

 valuation, gamboge in its refined state sells in the 

 Calcutta Market at from R2 to R2-8 per seer. It ar- 

 rives there freely from June to August, usually packed 

 in cases of from three to four mauuds, and it is 

 chiefly used in French polish and paint. In Burma 

 the cost of collection alone is estimated by the deputy 

 Commissioner, Tavoy, at R25 per visa (3-6o lbs). That 

 is to say, the cost of colltctigu amounts to nearly 

 E7 per lb., v»-hile the market value of the product is 

 only Rl-4 per lb., and that too when it is in a refined 

 state. It does not appear why the cost of collection 

 is so great. In Ceylon the process of collection is 

 very simple. There the gamboge is usually collected 

 by cutting a thin .slice of the bark of the tree here 

 and there of the size of the palm of the hand. On 

 the flat space thus exposed the gum collects and is 

 scraped off when sufficiently dried. It may be pos- 

 sible perhaps to reduce the cost of collection. Un- 

 less it can be reduced very considerably, we cannot 

 hope to introduce the Burma product into the market. 

 From the enquiries made, then, it would appear that 

 the Tauinengoot alone yields good gamboge, and that 

 the only obstacle in the way of the gamboge succeed- 

 ing as a commercial product is the high cost of 

 collecting it. The products of the other trees men- 

 tioned are not promising because of their compar- 

 ative insolubility in water. — R. A. M.\ck, of the Agri- 

 cultural Department, Rangoon 22nd April, 1885. — 

 ladian Porrstcr. 



PSEUDO-GUTTA-PERCHAS, OR SUBSTANCES 

 SUPPLEMENTARY TO GUTTA-PERCHA. 



From time to time numerous substances have been 

 recommended ;is substitutes for, or supplementary 

 to, gutta-percha. That a substance answering these 

 purposes has not yet been introduced lies, I think, 

 more in the fact that these substances have not 

 yet been properly treated, or such a substauce has 

 yet to be discovered, than that such substance or 

 substances do not exist. As to the method of pre- 

 paration of these proposed substances, I have pointed 

 out, in an article on gutta-percha,* the rapid oxid- 

 ation of that substance if it be not prepared immedi- 

 ately after collection. This applies even more strongly 

 to subjects of the present article, Balata gum has 

 au assured value of its own, and with regard to the 

 rest they may yet be utilised if their rapid resin- 

 ification can be arrested. 



In the following remarks but a brief nt-ume is 

 given, and the subject geographically treated. In 

 view, too, of the various names which have been 

 given to these plants iu various botanical works I 

 also append the synonyms. 



I.— AMERICAN SOURCES OF SITPLY. 



(I) BALAT.\ GUM. (2) MIMUSOI'S BAT.AIA, G.KRTNER. 



(3) Natural Order— sapotace.k. 



SyNONYMS. — Sapota Mulleri, Bleekrod ; Mhmusops 

 Kanli, L : M. dissecta, Hooker ; M. Hookori, A.D.L., 

 jr.- Ma7iilkara, Don; JI. Ballota, Blunie; Achras 

 balata, Aublet ; Lucuma mammosa. De Yriese. 



Vernacular Names. — Paarden vleesh (Dutch), 

 Horse-flesh; liullet tree; Bolletrie aud Boerowe by 

 the Arrawak Indians. 



Geoge.sphical Dtstkiju'tion. — Deraerara ; Berbiro ; 

 British Guiana; Antilles; Jamaica and Surinam. 



~* Encj-clop, Britauu. ; Article " Gutta-percba/' 



