#X STARCH. 439 



A species of gum designated Kuteera was in 1802, 

 and during a few previous years, imported in large 

 quantities from India into Europe, under the mis- 

 taken opinion that it was gum tragacanth, which it so 

 much resembled as to deceive many dealers. It was, 

 however, at length ascertained that the kuteera was the 

 product of the Sterculia urens, a tree abounding in 

 several parts of Oude and the adjacent countries, but 

 of quite a different species to the thorny bush which 

 yields tragacanth. 



It is found that this substance does riot possess all 

 the characteristics of gum, it being very imperfectly 

 soluble and possessing little of a glutinous nature ; it 

 is therefore inapplicable to the purposes for which 

 tragacanth is used. On this dissimilarity being dis- 

 covered, of course this new gum was supposed to be 

 valueless, and many tons were for a long time lying 

 at the East-India Company's warehouse totally un- 

 saleable. It might, however, be usefully applied 

 to some other purpose. The natives of India make 

 many uses of it besides giving it to their horses as a 

 medicine. 



A patent has been recently taken out in London 

 for applying the mucilage extracted from the seed of 

 the Carob tree, commonly called St. John's bread. 

 This is of so strong a gummy consistency that one 

 pound of this is said to produce an equal effect with 

 eight pounds of gum Senegal and nine or ten pounds 

 of gum arabic. 



The seeds after being divested of their skins by the 

 agency of sulphuric acid are dried and then ground 

 in a mill, and the powder thus obtained is the muci- 

 laginous matter. 



STARCH. 



STARCH is much used in what is called the dressing 

 of some descriptions of goods after weaving, whereby 



