1 86 NEW SGUTH WALES. 



is is not tliorouglily ascertained, and inquiries are being made at tlxe 

 present time concerning it. Meantime, residents in the pine districts 

 are recommended to collect tlie better qualities wlienever tliey can 

 conveniently do so. 



Astringent Gums or Kinos. 



Tliese are natural astringent extracts wliicli some of our gum- 

 trees in certain seasons and certain districts exude very freely. They 

 vary somewhat in composition, and therefore it is necessary that the 

 products of different kinds of trees should be kept separate, to be 

 afterwards classified by experts. I believe that if tanners could 

 obtain these gums (Kinos) in quantity at a cheap rate they would 

 replace some of the extracts at present in use. Although the demand 

 for the officinal kino as an astringent medicine is far less than what it 

 used to be, I am of opinion that some of our kinos can replace the 

 kino of the Pharmacopoeia, and the introduction of kinos of known 

 composition, and comparatively low in price, might result in an 

 increased demand for astringent medicines of this class. The only 

 kino in regular Australian demand at present is that of the Murray 

 red gum {Eucalyptus rostrata), and we have several species of 

 Eucalyptus yielding exudations of similar composition, but our local 

 market might be readily over supplied. 



Miscellaneous. 



Some Australian vegetable products are in demand for research 

 work, or for the medicinal principles they contain, in this and other 

 countries. The leaves of the corkwood (Duhoisia myoporoides) and the 

 bark of the bitter-tree [Alston ia constricta), may be quoted as examples. 

 Seeds and fruits of Australian plants, or the plants themselves, noted 

 either for the beauty or peculiarity of their flowers, leaves, &c., and 

 pressed specimens of our rarer plants are often merchantable commo- 

 dities. From time to time I have known quite a number of men who 

 have supplemented their incomes by miscellaneous collecting of this 

 kind, which, of course, can only be undertaken by those who have 

 studied the plants of their district. By correspondence, advertisement, 

 and various means, the collector discovers the demand for the articles 

 he is able to supply. So much depends on the individual collector 

 that it is quite impossible to speak even approximately as to the remu- 

 neration to be expected from this source. 



Gradinrj. 



In conclusion, a few words on grading may not be out of place. 

 This is an important matter, but one too often lost sight of. In a 

 mixed parcel of any pi-oduct, the value tends to that of the most 

 inferior portion of it. The sorting- of a product and division into 

 various qualities always pays, as the buyer can readily see what is 

 offered to him. In wattle-gum, for instance, separate the large, pale- 

 coloured pieces from the dai-k-coloured ones, and these again from the 

 fragments and those admixed with accidental impurities. The extra 

 labour involved is more than re^Daid by the extra pi'ice a well-graded 

 product realises. 



