f 340 | 
LX. Comparative Analysis of the Gum Resins. By H.Bra- 
connor, Professor of Natural History, &c. &c.* 
ANALYSIS OF CAMBOGE. 
gl. I; is generally understood that this gum is"proeured 
by incision from the bark of the camboge, a large tree in 
India, the top of which is extremely woody, and the trunk 
ten or twelve fect in circuinference. This tree, which Linnzus 
designates by the name of Camlogia gutta, requires the 
greatest heat of our hot-houses when we wish to produce 
it in Europe by means of its seeds, which are contained 
in a pulpy acid fruit, of the size of an orange. 
Camboge is brought in different-sized rolls from the 
kingdom of Siam, China, and the island of Ceylon; and 
was scarcely known in Europe until the, commencement of 
the 16th century. The authors who haye mentioned it do 
not agree respecting its most remarkable physical properties. 
Thus, while they allow it to be of an orange-yellow colour 
without smell, some assign to it a slight acrid taste, and 
others on the contrary assert that this taste is, very, strong : 
for my own part, (and I have examined ‘a, great number of 
specimens of the best quality,) I found that all of them had 
an almost insipid taste, 
A like difference of opinion has preyatled respecting the 
analytical results which have been given of the substance 
in question. According to Cartheuser, it contains more 
extractive than resinous parts: he Sha Th however, only 
as a conjecture, and thinks it very difficult to separate these 
two principles. Geoffroy is of a contrary. opinion : for he 
says, in his Materia’ Medica, that, cam ,oge contains five- 
sixths of resinous sats and one-sixth only of extrac- 
tive parts soluble in water. But we shall presently see that 
it contains no eXttacrive ar all atito 
§ Il. If wee Oe Carhbose to the flame of a candle, it 
swells and takes fite Tike resinous matter: on heating it in 
a cup it exhales’a’ particular smell, softens, and will be de- 
composed rather than enter into fusion. 
Fifty granimes when distilled praduced —Ist, A brown 
water in which was empyreumatic acetous acid.—ed, A 
small quantity of light oil.—3d, There afterwards passed 
ever in considerable quantity another heavy thick oil of a 
brown colour. There remained in the retort a light coal 
* Annales de Chimie, tome lxviii. p. 93. 
of 
