254 THE TEAR-BOOK OF AGRICULTURE. 



New American Gum. 



DURING the past year attention has been called to a new gum, known synonymously as 

 Muckeet, Mezqueet, and Musquit, and first described by Dr. S. S. Shumard, U. S. Army. This 

 substance, which bids fair to become of great importance as a substitute for gum Arabic, is 

 the product of a tree flourishing extensively in the high and dry regions of the plains of 

 Western Texas, New Mexico, and the adjacent Indian Territory. It occurs in inexhaustible 

 quantities, and will no doubt in time prove a valuable source of revenue to the inhabitants 

 of Texas and New Mexico, besides affording employment to the different tribes of Indians 

 now roving upon the plains, many of whom would no doubt be glad to gather and deliver it 

 to the different frontier posts for a very small compensation. 



In relation to the tree from which this gum is obtained, Dr. Shumard says : The mezquite- 

 tree, from which this gum is obtained, is by far the most abundant tree of the plains, cover- 

 ing thousands of miles of the surface, and always flourishes most luxuriantly in elevated and 

 dry regions. The gum exudes spontaneously in a semifluid state from the bark of the trunk 

 and branches, and soon hardens by exposure to the atmosphere, forming more or less rounded 

 and variously-colored masses, each weighing from a few grains to several ounces. These 

 soon bleach and whiten upon exposure to the light of the sun, finally becoming nearly color- 

 less, semi-transparent, and often filled with minute fissures. Specimens collected from the 

 trunks of the trees were generally found to be less pure and more highly colored than when 

 obtained from the branches. 



The gum may be collected during the months of July, August, and September ; but the 

 most favorable period for that purpose is in the latter part of August, when it may be ob- 

 tained in the greatest abundance and with but very little trouble. The quantity yielded by 

 each tree I found to vary from an ounce to three pounds ; but incisions in the bark not only 

 greatly facilitated its exudation, but caused the tree to yield a much greater amount. As it, 

 is, a good hand will probably be able to collect from ten to twenty pounds in a day. Were 

 incisions resorted to, probably double the amount may be obtained. 



The following is a report of the chemical examination of this gum, as made under the 

 direction of Mr. Morffit, of Baltimore. In a communication to Silliman's Journal, Mr. M. 

 says- 

 It is a spontaneous semifluid exudation, concreting by exposure into tears and lumps of va- 

 riable size and form. One sample, which was a part of that brought in by Dr. Shumard, and 

 obtained directly from the U. S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, consisted of small, irregular pieces 

 and rounded balls about the size of a hazlenut, semi-transparent, and shading in color from 

 a lemon white to dark amber. When broken, the fracture faces were brilliant ; and the gum 

 was easily reduced under the pestle to a dull, white powder. One of the balls was enveloped 

 with an outer pellicle of gum of about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness. 



These proportions approximate very closely to those obtained from gums Senegal and 

 Arabic by Guerin and Mulder. The general appearance, too, of the gum is similar to that 

 of gum Senegal, and the dark inferior qualities of gum Arabic. In chemical properties 

 also it is allied to them, being insoluble in absolute alcohol, partially soluble in common 

 alcohol, and readily forming with hot or cold water a very adhesive mucilage. It is, in fine, 

 a true gum ; and promises, in its physical and chemical behavior, much of the advantage 

 expected by its discoverer as an economical substitute for gum Arabic or Senegal. 



The specific gravity of the gum was 1 -5, but this determination may possibly admit of cor- 

 rection upon purer samples than were disposable for the experiment. 



Its proximate composition was found to be 



Water 11-640 



Foreign matters 0-236 



Bassorin 0-206 



Arabin 84-967 



Ash 3-000 



100-049 



Cerasin was also sought for, but not found. The ash was estimated by burning a given 

 quantity in an atmosphere of oxygen and weighing the residue. 



