GUMMI ACACIA. 237 



every other respect, whether chemical or optical, we tind^ Senegal gum 

 and Kordofan gum to be identical ; and the two, notwithstanding their 

 different appearance, are produced V»y one and the same species of 

 Acacia, namely Acacia Senegal. 



2. Sitakiti Gum, Taka or Talha Ckim, yielded by Acacia steno- 

 carpa, and by A. Seyal var. Fistula, is remarkable for its brittleness, 

 which occasions much of it to arrive in the market in a semi-pulveru- 

 lent state. It is a mixture of nearly colourless and of brownish gum, 

 with here and there pieces of a deep reddish-brown. Large tears have 

 a dull opaque look, by reason of the innumerable minute fissures which 

 penetrate the rather bubbly mass. It is imported from Alexandria. 



3. Alorocco, Mogador or Brown Barbary 6^«rw— consists of tears 

 of moderate size, often vermiform, and of a rather uniform, light, dusky 

 brown tint. The tears which are internally glassy become cracked on 

 the surface and brittle if kept in a warm room ; they are perfectly 

 soluble in water. The above mentioned Acacia mlotica is supposed to 

 be the source of the gum exported from Morocco, and also from Fezzan. 



Gums of various kinds, including the resin Sandrac, were exported 

 fi'om Morocco in the year 1872 to the extent of 5110 cwt., a quantity 

 much below the average.^ 



4. Caj)e Gum — This gum, which is uniformly of an amber brown, 

 is produced in plenty in the Cape Colony, as a spontaneous exudation 

 of Acacia horrida Willd. (A. Karroo Hayne, A. capensis Burch.), 

 a large tree, the Dooi^hoom, Wittedooi'n or Karrodoom of the Cape 

 colonists, the commonest tree of the lonely deserts of South Africa. 

 The Blue Book of the Cape Colony, published in 1873, states the export 

 of gum in 1872 as 101,241 lb. 



5. East India Gum — The best qualities consist of tears of various 

 sizes, sometimes as large as an egg, internally transparent and vitreous, 

 of a pale amber or pinkish hue, completely soluble in water. This gum 

 is largely shipped from Bombay, but is almost wholly the produce of 

 Africa ; the imports into Bombay from the Red Sea ports, Aden and 

 the Afiican Coast in the year 1872-73, were 14,352 cwt. During the 

 same year the shipments from Bombay to the United Kingdom 

 amounted to 4,561 cwt.^ 



6. Australian Gum, Wattle Gum — This occurs in large hard 

 globular tears and lumps, occasionally of a pale yellow, yet more often 

 of an amber or of a reddish-brown hue. It is transparent and entirely 

 soluble in water ; the mucUage is strongly adhesive, and said to be less 

 liable to crack when dry than that of some other gums. The solution, 

 especially that of the darker and inferior kinds, contains a little tannin, 

 evidently derived from the very astringent bark which is often attached 

 to the gum. 



A. jyycnantha Benth. ; A. decurrens Willd. {A. mollissima Willd., 

 A. dealbata Link), Black or Green Wattle-tree of the colonists, and A. 

 horrudophylla A. Cunn., are the trees which furnish the gum arable of 

 Australia.* 



^ Flilckiger, in the Jahresbericht of Wig- of the Presidency of Bombay for 1872-73, 



gers and Husemaun, 18G9. 149. pt. ii. 34. 77. 



- Consular Reports, August, 1873. 917. * P. von Miiller, Select Plants for indus- 



^ Statement of the Trade and Navigation trial culture in Victoria. 1876 ; 2. 4. 



