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On (he Gamboge of the Tenasserim Provinces. By the 

 Rev. F. Mason, A.M. 



In conversation with a distinguished medical officer, and 

 member of the Asiatic Society, I found that he was not at all 

 aware that the Tenasserim provinces produce gamboge. It 

 has, therefore, occurred to me that a brief notice of the gam- 

 boge of these provinces might not be unacceptable to the 

 readers of the Journal, and would contribute its influence to 

 draw attention to a most interesting portion of the British 

 provinces in the east ; one that is exceeded by few in the rich- 

 ness and variety of its natural productions. 



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 diifercnt plant still. One re- 

 fers it to Camhogia gutta, a plant which, as described by Lin- 

 naeus, has probably no existence. He described a Ceylon 

 plant, and it is now quite evident, says Dr "Wight, " that 

 the chai'acter of the flower and ovary is taken from one spe- 

 cimen, and that of the fruit from a different 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 camhogia ; but Dr Wight 

 says that the exudation of this tree is " wholly incapable of 

 forming an emulsion with the wet finger ;" a statement which 

 the writer knoAvs to be correct. The tree is very common 

 in the Tenasserim provinces, but the bright yellow exuda- 

 tion it produces is certainly not gamboge. 



A third refers to Stalagmitis camhogioides ; but Dr Wight 

 remarks, " the ju'cc of this tree differs so widely in its qua- 

 lities 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 Hehradendron camhogioides, Avhich 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 



