nia likewise. Specimens from both I 
shall send you, and drawings! also. The 
natives in their curries; 
_ when quite ripe, is a very fine fruit, as large 
. as the Mangosteen, which it resembles in 
. smaller, very sweet when ripe, and by no 
means disagreeable in flavour. It is called 
not yet ascertained all the uses made here 
of Gamboge, but it is certainly employed 
as pigment by the native artists." Our 
servants say it is also used by native prac- 
titioners in medicine, and sometimes as a 
_ plaster, when first taken from the tree. It 
| does not appear to exude like a gum, but 
. an incision being made, it issues freely 
: through the pores of the bark, as I saw 
; Yesterday on cutting both the Stalagmitis 
Es loides and Garcinia Cambogia. 
a, have been trying it as a paint to-day, 
and find it as good as any I ever used.? 
-liquid when it issues from the pores of the 
tree 
on s lere next letter is dated Aug. 
, dete says, ** Your letter of Fe- 
833, in which you first mention 
tne Willa. ), of Garcinia Cambogia, B- (Moon), 
x "known plant alluded to, together with 
: : « the two first, but none of the last, which 
Seems es of Carallia. R. G. 
I s 
Maie Tecelved excellent drawings of Garcinia 
tad of ambogi 
à note 
I ever purchased, which was 
London colour-shops.”’ 
REMARKS ON THE GAMBOGE TREE OF CEYLON. 
195 
the subject of Gamboge, I received in June 
of the same year, and immediately inquired 
about the plant, which I found fo be in 
fruit. In that state I drew it to the best of 
my abilities, but put off sending it to you 
till I had an opportunity of forwarding also, 
a representation of the flower, which, as 
many plants here blossom twice in the 
year, I hoped I might not have long to 
wait for. However, I was mistaken in 
this; the tree did not blossom till March, 
1834. I drew it then, but have not since 
been able to send it home, not a single 
ship having sailed from hence to England 
during that long interval ; and, I fear, after 
all, that you will consider my drawing 
incomplete, as it is only the barren flower 
I have had the means of representing. 
So at least it seems to me, and I got quan- 
tities of the blossoms, and examined a 
great number, and found them all the 
same. I shall send you specimens for your 
own examination; but I am sorry to say, 
they look very shabby and poor. The 
flower, however, in its best state, is insig- 
nificant, and poor-looking. The tree does 
not grow abundantly nor luxuriantly in the 
and got quite into a forest of Stalagmitis 
cambogioides, and perceiving all the trees 
had their bark cut off in various places, 
concluded the people in the neighbourhood 
must be in the habit of collecting the gum, 
and determined to get all the information 
I could on the subject, for your edification. 
From a very intelligent native practitioner 
in medicine, I gained the following :—He 
told us that Gamboge from the Stalagmitis, 
called by the natives Gokatu, or Kana 
Goraka, is generally used by them, both 
as a pigment and medicinally. For the 
former purpose it is ground very fine with 
lime-juice,? and mixed with a pretty strong 
solution of the gum of the Wood le 
(Feronia Elephantum), called in Singha- 
lese, Diwul. With the addition of a lit- 
3 In a recent letter to Dr. Christison, Mrs. Walker 
says that she finds this to be a mistake. Asa yellow 
pigmént, the juice is used without any preparation ; 
the addition of lime juice injuring the colour—ap ob- 
servation which Dr. C. has confirmed by experiment. 
