156 Miscellaneous . 



the imperfection of his specimens, and his not being aware that the 

 lobes'of the stigma afford a sure indication of the number of cells 

 of the fruit." 



Another refers it to Garcinia cambogia, but Dr. Wight says that the 

 exudation of this tree is " wholly incapable of forming an emulsion 

 with the wet finger," a statement which the writer knows to be cor- 

 rect. The tree is very common in the Tenasserim Provinces, but 

 the bright yellow exudation it produces is certainly not gamboge. 



A third refers it to Stalagmitis camhogioides, but Dr. Wight re- 

 marks, " The juice of this tree differs so very widely in its qualities 

 from good gamboge, that it can never be expected to prove valuable 

 as a pigment." 



Dr. Graham has described a Ceylon tree under the name of Hehra- 

 dendron camhogioides, which is said to produce good gamboge ; but 

 no gamboge has ever been exported into the English market from 

 Ceylon. Thus it would appear, to use the language of Dr. Wight, 

 that " the tree, or trees, which produce the gamboge of commerce 

 is not yet known." 



Dr. Heifer, who was employed by Government as a scientific natu- 

 ralist, in these provinces, at an expense of thirteen hundred rupees per 

 month, reported, " The gamboge of this country dissolves very little 

 with water, and consequently does not yield that yellow emulsion as 

 the common guttifera. It will never serve as a colour, but promises 

 to give a very beautiful varnish." This statement was controverted 

 by a writer in our local periodical at the time, who said he had ob- 

 tained " fine gamboge of the very best description" from our jungles ; 

 in which he was no doubt correct, but he erred when he added that 

 it came from the " true Stalagmitis camhogioides,'' A very small 

 amount of botany would have served to preserve him from falling 

 into this error ; for that plant has a quinary arrangement of its flow- 

 ers, while the arrangement of the flowers in those that produce gam- 

 boge in these provinces is quaternary. 



The hills that bound the valley of the Tavoy river, on both sides, 

 from their bases to their summits, abound with a tree which produces 

 a fine gamboge. It is Roxburgh's Garcinia pictoria, which he knew 

 produced gamboge, but which he said was liable to fade. As soon 

 as I satisfied myself of the identity of the trees by an examination of 

 the inflorescence of our plant compared with Roxburgh's description, 

 I coloured a piece of paper, one band with this gamboge, and an- 

 other with the gamboge of commerce ; and subsequently exposed 

 both to the weather equally for more than twelve months, but with- 

 out being able to discover that one faded any more than the other. 

 South of the latitude of the mouth of Tavoy river, and throughout 

 the province of Mergni, there is found on the low plains at the foot 

 of the hills, and on the banks of the rivers, almost down to tide waters, 

 another species of Garcinia that also produces good gamboge. I have 

 no doubt but it is the tree from which Dr. Griffiths furnished Dr. Wight 

 with specimens, and which the latter says, " I refer doubtfully to 

 Wallich's G. elliptica." We will call it then G. elliptica, a species 

 which Dr. Wight has on his list of " species imperfectly known." 



