118 | ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY. 
flame and odour of burning wood, and with a mere trace of earthy residue, and therefore ap- 
parently woody fibre, or lignin. The analysis of two samples gave results nearly concordant, 
as follows. One hundred grains were used, and all visible-fragments of wood <r excluded. 
= ‘irst. Second. ; 
Resin, dried in oil-bath at 400°. .......4-- ieee aa Oe 65.0 
Arabin, dried at 260° ..... 2. eee sence eeGres ce ES 19:7 
Fecula, dried at 212°.........+45. (oes as EOS 5.0 
Lignin, dried at 212°... ... sees ee ee eee eee eens 4.4 6.2 
Moistare. 3.56.50 <0: ibs b be a See RSE oh 4.0 4. 
Total c.4% 99.6) TOO:1 
7 The proportion between the gum and the resin is here identically the average proportion 
already mentioned as existing in Pipe gamboge; so that, on simply abstracting the ecula and 
. fibre, an article is constituted of precisely the same chemical composition. This cir- 
cumstance, coupled with the presence of the particular principle fecula, and the vesicular struc- 
ture of the cakes, renders it extremely probable, if not certain, that cake gamboge is not simply 
a natural production, but rather a manufactured substance—an adulteration For in the first 
place, it is the pure exudation plus so much impurity ; secondly, fecula is not known to be pro- 
duced from the tranks, branches, or leaves of plants belonging to that part of the botanical 
system in which the true Gamboge tree undoubtedly will be found to be properly placed, and it 
is therefore almost impossible that its presence depends on some mere variety in the period of 
colleetion or other circumstance in vegetation ; and thirdly, the vesicular texture, so different — 
from the compact, uniform texture of Pipe gamboge, is exactly what might be expected from 
the process of wetting the exuded juice, beating it up with other pulverulent substances, and 
then drying it. It might be objected that eleven per cent. of foreign matter is a small addition 
for an adulteration. But this amount may, after all, be quite equivalent to the grower’s profit 
from the pure article ; and it will presently be seen, that a larger proportion of adulteration 
may so dilute the yellow tint of the mixture as to render it almost unmarketable,” 
CuemicaL CoMPosiTION OF COARSE GAMBOGE, 
‘irst. Second. 
35.0 
** Resin, dried in the oil-bath at 380°. .........00. »- G4 
A PADIN, CTIE BEI Soo ie ks ik cceei caw Sedetk Wes okie 14.2 
BGGMA. CPI Ob 210s oo oak esac ocak ewes 7.8 19.0. 
Ramat, CyIOG OF ia, 6 oon) ce edeevnstsipbass 0G. Eee 
Moisture disengaged at 350°. .¢sseccecasey sane. 72 310.6 
«t 
| 
aa 
Total.... 101.4: “100.8” | | 
spe" 
ete 
4 
1 
eimens, evidently different in purity. ‘The quantity used was one hundred grains. © 
7 : i Seeond: ‘Third. ¢ =<! 
71.5 12: “ay 
Mine Mion 168. 194. 
Moisture. ae ° sie ees eee Ks ee eee e te Bee a te 4.6 " not ascertained. P 9 A 
Total.... 1009 96.0 96.6 — 
itetahiog saponin 
|e eee Moiatare nolteckoned, ce: | "|S 
__ Here it is evident that the proportion of gum and resin to one another is as nearly as pos-» 
sible the same, with their proportion in some specimens of fine Pipe gamboge.”” ets 
‘ : : ® i | 
| November 28th.—To the observations made above, on the external characters and com-" 
position of the different kinds of Gamboge, it may be well here to annex a brief notice of the So 
[ gambogioid juices obtained from two trees, which haye been at differeut times supposed by 
Ye gps to yield the genunie drug, namely, the Garcinia cambogia, and Xanthochymus pictortus. 
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