PTEROCARPUS 



MARSUPIUM 



INDIAN KINO 



Chief Supply. 



Method of 

 Collection. 



mein, Amherst and Tavoy. This is the species hitherto supposed to be the 

 source or a source of the wood known generally as padouk of Burma, and with 

 which the previous species, JP. anibergioitien, was, till Prain studied these trees, 

 commonly confused. The circumstances that led up to this are fully discussed 

 by him (2nd. For., I.e. 6). It seems certain that the name padouk is not applied 

 to f. indicua, and possibly that JP. indices is not an indigenous species anywhere 

 in Burma. [Cf. Greshoff, in Nutt. 2nd. PL, in Kolon. Mus., Amsterdam, Extra 

 Bull., 1896, 107.] 



Burma P- maerocarpus, Kurz. Burma padouk or simply padouk. A deciduous tree 



Padouk. f * ne eng and upper mixed forests of Burma ; Shan, Chin and Karen hills of 

 Upper Burma, Pegu and Martaban. According to Prain, this species alone is 

 entitled to the name Burma padouk. Gamble states that the wood is harder and 

 heavier than that of JP. ii6er0ioicfe, but, though a fine handsome wood, is 

 probably not used outside Burma. 



Gum-kino. ^ Marsupium, Roxb. / Hooper, in Agri. Ledg., 1901, No. 11. The Indian Kino 



Tree, bija, bijasal, piasdl, hitun, murga, pedei, radat bera, dhorbeula, bibla, 

 huni, houne, dsan, vengai, pedegu, peddagi, benga, karinthagara, etc. ; the gum = 

 hird-dokhi, ndt-kd-dammul-akhvain, kdnddmiruga-mirattam, vennap pasha, etc. 

 A large deciduous tree of Central and South India and Ceylon, extending 

 northwards as far as the hills of Bihar, Binda and the Kumaon Terai. 



This species yields the gum-kino of European Materia Medica. To E. M. Holmes 

 is due the credit of having originated the modern interest taken in Indian kino. 

 In a letter, September 23, 1895, he drew my attention to the high prices then 

 ruling in Europe for the extract. He recommended that the Indian production 

 should be investigated and an improved supply cautiously introduced. In con- 

 sequence an inquiry was instituted all over India, and the information thus 

 brought together was published by Hooper. The manufacture of kino from 

 the juice of F. nfarsupium is conducted in the district of North Malabar. 

 The best season for collecting is the dry weather during February and March, 

 when the trees are in blossom. The right to tap the trees is put up to auction. 

 In other cases, the tapping is conducted by rangers under the supervision 

 of the district forest officers; The following is the method of collecting 

 adopted a few years ago by Mr. J. G. F. Marshall, the District Forest Officer. 

 A longitudinal cut is made with an axe or knife (mocha katti) through the 

 bark of the tree down to the cambium, about 1 j feet long, and side cuts 

 are made to lead into this. A bamboo tube is then fixed at the bottom of 

 the main incision to catch the juice. In about twenty-four hours the flow of 

 gum ceases and the bamboo is taken down. When several of these bamboo 

 tubes are nearly full, they are carried to headquarters and emptied into a large 



Boiling. cauldron and boiled. During the boiling, the impurities which rise to the surface 



are skimmed off. When sufficiently concentrated it is exposed to the sun in 

 shallow vessels till dry enough to crumble to pieces. It is then weighed and 

 packed away in boxes. Another method, more recently adopted in North 



Drying in Shade. Malabar, is to dry the juice in shallow trays in the shade. The trays are arranged 

 on tiers or shelves in a shelter constructed of bamboo, and the dust excluded by 

 muslin-covered doors. The gum is poured into the trays in layers about one- 

 eighth of an inch thick, and takes about seven or eight days to dry, producing 



Yield. a dark ruby kino of great purity. Marshall found the yield to be about 1 Ib. 



of juice per tree, equivalent to f Ib. of the dried gum, ready for medicinal 

 purposes. The yield of dry kino from the liquid exudation depends on the con- 

 sistence at the time of collection, but is usually 50 per cent. E. White has recently 

 pointed out that the peculiar insolubility of Malabar kino in alcoholic and aqueous 



Enzymic Action, solutions is due to the action of an enzyme. From this Hooper infers that 

 commercial kino is improved by boiling before evaporation to dryness (Rept. 

 Labor. Ind. Mus., 1903-4, 31). 



Production. In North Malabar alone, it is stated that about 2,000 pounds of kino can be 



procured annually, at the price of 3 to 4 annas a pound, but there is scarcely any 

 demand for the article in India except by the Medical Store Departments of Cal- 



Trade. cutta, Madras and Bombay. In addition to its medicinal use it is said that 



kino is also employed at a certain stage in the preparation of some wines. The 

 drug collected in Malabar finds an outlet in the ports of Calicut and Tellicherry. 

 The Native State of Travancore exports its produce through Cochin and Alleppy, 

 while gum collected in South Kanara is despatched from Mangalore. Much 



Cochin Grain. of the kino is known as Cochin grain, probably because Cochin is the principal 

 port of call. Gamble says " there is a considerable demand for kino gum 



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