60TANV. 149 



with the natives, as the root, bark, flower, and fruit of the 

 pomegranate, which have been famous for their medicinal 

 properties ever since the days of Celsiis. 



GAMIiOGE* 



Three works in my possession describe gamboge, each 

 as the product of a different tree ; a fourth represents all 

 to be wrong, and a fifth suggests a different plant still. 

 One refers it to Cambogia gutta, a plant which, as de- 

 scribed by Linnaeus, has probably no existence. He de- 

 scribed a Ceylon plant, " and it is now quite evident, 1 ' says 

 Dr. Wight, " that the character of the flower and ovary is 

 taken from one specimen, and that of the fruit from a dif- 

 ferent one, owing to the imperfection of his specimens, and 

 his not being aware, that the lobes of the stigma afford a 

 sure indication of the number of cells of the fruit.'' 



Another, refers it to Garcinia Cambogia, but Dr. Wight 

 says, that the exudation of this tree is ' ; wholly incapable 

 of forming an emulsion with the wet finger," a statement 

 known to be correct. The tree is very common in the 

 Tenasserim Provinces, but the bright yellow exudation it 

 produces, is certainly not gamboge. 



A third, refers it to Stalagmiiis Cambogioidcs. but Dr, 

 Wight remarks : " The juice of this tree differs so very 

 widely in its qualities from good gamboge, that it can 

 never be expected to prove valuable as a pigment.' : 



Dr. Graham has described a Ceylon tree under the 

 name of Hebradcndron Cambogioidcs , which is said to 

 produce good gamboge ; but no gamboge has ever been 

 exported into the English market from Ceylon. Thus it 

 would appear, to use the language of Dr. Wight, that 

 " the tree, or trees, which produce the gamboge of com- 

 merce, is not yet known." 



Dr. Heifer, who was employed by government as a sci- 

 entific naturalist in these Provinces, reported : " The 

 gamboge of this country dissolves very little with water, 

 and consequently does not yield a yellow emulsion a3 

 the common guttifcrce. It will never serve as a colour, 



• Extracted from an article communicated by the author, in the Journal of'th* 

 Asiatic Society for July 1347. 



O 



