110 Dr Grahanrs Remarks on the preceding Paper. 



second point, and my opinion rests on the authority of Mrs 

 Walker ; — the authority of the mutilated trees which she saw; 

 — the authority of the Ceylon Doctor which she quotes, as 

 shewn in my extracts from her letters, published in the Com- 

 panion to the Botanical Magazine; — the authority of the gam- 

 boge which she sent to me from these trees, which proved to 

 be excellent gamboge, chemically, medicinally, and as a pig- 

 ment. With regard to the third point, there is a mistake, as 

 Dr Wight will immediately see upon reflection. I did not at- 

 tempt to invalidate his and Dr Arnott's position that the Xan- 

 thochymus ovalifblius is the only indigenous plant in Ceylon that 

 produces gamboge fit to be used in the arts, because they took 

 no such position ; but in the quotation which Dr Wight him- 

 self makes from their excellent Flora, they give it as their opi- 

 nion that it is the only plant in Ceylon that does so ; and this 

 opinion I shewed to be an error, by proving that another plant 

 does. I can go farther now, however, than I could do when 

 I wrote Dr Wight, and say, that Xanthochymus oval'ifolius 

 yields a juice which is not, chemically, medicinally, nor as a 

 pigment, good gamboge. As to the 4th point on which Dr 

 Wight thinks we differ, namely, as to whether my plant be a 

 native of Ceylon, he will find that I never have asserted that it 

 is, because in this country I can be no judge, and I have no 

 direct information upon the subject. Though, therefore, I 

 have no interest in this question in supportjof any thing I have 

 written, I may add, that Dr Wight thinks that if my plant 

 shall prove to be the Mangostana Morella of Gasrtner, it will 

 go far to establish the fact of its being a native of Ceylon. 

 Now, my opinion as to the identity of these plants is founded 

 upon the excellent figure of the fruit by Gaertner, and a care- 

 ful examination of synonyms by authors who were in situations 

 which enabled them to judge. With respect to the fact of the 

 plant being a native of Ceylon or not, however, I long since 

 wrote to Dr Wight, requesting he would make inquiry, and 

 knowing his activity, and confident in his accuracy and judg- 

 ment, I shall at once adopt the opinion which he shall form 

 after inquiry. I shall be surprised if he finds it as scarce as he 

 states it to be, in his observations in the Madras Journal ; be- 

 cause Mrs Walker informs me, that, after knowing it in one 



