496 TANNING SUBSTANCES. 



parts of the East Indies, of which it is a native, and is also now 

 common in Jamaica. It bears whitish or pale yellow flowers. 



The catechu obtained from this tree in Pegu, is celebrated 

 throughout India, and fetches 4 to 5 more per ton than gam- 

 bier and other astringent extracts. When of good quality, catechu 

 is more' powerful as an astringent than kino. Of all the astrin- 

 gent substances we know, catechu appears to contain the largest 

 proportion of tannin, and Mr. Purkis found that one pound was 

 equivalent to seven or eight of oak bark for tanning leather. 



The term catechu, observes Dr. Pereira, is applied to various 

 astringent extracts imported from India and the neighbouring 

 countries. A few years ago the terms catechu, terra japonica, 

 and cutch were employed synonymously ; they are now, however, 

 for the most part used in trade somewhat distinctively, though not 

 uniformly in the same sense. The manufacture of catechu from the 

 Acacia catechu as practised in Canara and Behar,has been described 

 by Mr. Kerr (" Med. Obs. and Inquiries," vol. v.), and Dr. 

 Hamilton (" Journey through Mysore," &c., vol. iii.), while Pro- 

 fessor Eoyle has explained the process followed in Northern India. 

 According to the last-mentioned gentleman, " the kutt manu- 

 facturers move to different parts of the country in different 

 seasons, erect temporary huts in the jungles, and selecting trees 

 fit for their purpose, cut the inner wood into small chips. These 

 they put into small earthen pots, which are arranged in a double 

 row. along a fireplace built of mud; water is then poured in 

 until the whole are covered ; after a considerable portion has boiled 

 away, the clear liquor is strained into one of the neighbouring 

 pots, and a fresh supply of the material is put into the first, and 

 the operation repeated until the extract in the general receiver is 

 of sufficient consistence to be poured into clay moulds, which, in 

 the Kheree Pass and Doon, where I have seen the process, are 

 generally of a quadrangular form. This catechu is usually of a 

 pale red color, and is considered there to be of the best quality. 

 By the manufacturers it is conveyed to Saharunpore and Morada- 

 bad, whence it follows the course of commerce down the Ganges, 

 and meets that from Nepaul, so that both may be exported from 

 Calcutta." 



GAMBIEE. 



THE Gambier plant ( Uncaria Gamlier, Roxburgh, Nauclea Gam- 

 bir, Hunter), has been described by Eumphius under the name of 

 Funis uncatus. It is a stout, scandent, evergreen shrub, which 

 strongly resembles the myrtle. It is generally cultivated in the 

 same plantation with pepper, as the leaves and shoots, after under- 

 going the process by which their juice is extracted, to furnish a 

 kind of catechu, are found to be an excellent manure for the pep- 

 per vines. The leaves and young shoots of the gambler plant 



