GAMBIER. 



Gumbier is the Malay name for an astringent, earthy-looking substance, used principally in tan- 

 ning and dyeing under that name, and also in much use under the name of Catechu pallidum, pale 

 Catechu. 



The botanical name of the plant from which it is obtained is Uncaria Gambier. the Generic name 

 being derived from uncus, hooked, in reference to the stalk of the flower-buds, which, as* soon as the 

 seed-vessels have ripened and fallen, curve downwards and harden into strong hooks. By means of 

 these hooks the plant, with its slender weak stem, is enabled to cling to other plants and grow upward 

 towards the light, and also away from the parent root, so that the falling seeds scatter On fresh soil. 

 Uncaria belongs to the same orders as Coffee and Cinchona, — Rubiacew, in which the petals 



are 



united, and the leaves are opposite and connected by small leafy processes. The leaves are ovate, 3 or 

 4 inches long. The pinkish corolla of the flower consists of a slender tube half an inch long, expand- 

 ing into a shallow cup with 5 segments, from which the long pistil protrudes. The narrow tubular 

 corolla implies cross-fertilisation by a butterfly or other insect with a tongue of such a length as to 

 enable it to reach the honey at the bottom of the tube ; and this fertilisation of one flower with the pollen 

 from another is the more readily effected by the flowers being clustered into globular heads at the end 

 of stalks an mch long. About the middle of the stalk there is a joint marked by a whorl of tiny leaf- 

 lets, and it is at this point that the head of ripened seed-vessels falls away, leaving the lower part to 

 grow into a thick curved hook. In cultivation the plant is allowed to grow 8 to 10 feet high, and each 

 plant is stripped of its leaves three or four times a year. An average plantation containing 70,000 or 

 80,000 shrubs can be worked by 5 labourers, and is said to yield "daily" 55 to 651bs. of gambier easily. 

 The plant will grow where Cacao aud Bananas flourish. 



Gambier is the extract prepared from a decoction of the leaves and young shoots of the plant. 

 After boiling for about an hour the leaves are placed on a trough sloping into the pan in which they 

 were boiled, and are squeezed so that all the liquor runs back. The liquor is evaporated to a syrup, 

 and is then agitated by means of a stick placed in a slanling direction and woiked with an up 

 and down motion. The whole gradually thickens into a clay-like mass of alight yellowish-brown 

 colour. It is then put into shallow boxes, and when hard enough, it is cut into cubes of an inch, and 

 dried in the shade. This is the account given by Jagcr in his " Singapore, Malacca und Java" Berlin 

 1860; but it appears that now most of the Gambier is prepaied by means of pressure into blocks. 



From its earth-like appearance, and the supposition formerly that it came from Japan, it used to 

 be known as terra japonica, but in fact it is a native of countries bordering the Straits of Malacca. As 

 it appears to be exceedingly difficult to cultivate it except in the neighbourhood of Singapore, the plan- 

 ters there have at present a monopoly of it. Havinj applied both to Singapore and to Kew some two 

 or thice years ago for plants, the Department has at length just received two cases from Kew, and it 

 now remains to be seen whether Gambier can be cultivated in Jamaica. 



Gambier, in medicine, is said to be valuable, combined with opiates and chalk mixture, in chronic 

 diarfhoBd and djsentery ; it is also a remedy for relaxed conditions of the uvula and palate. 



It is very much more largely used for tanning and dyeing. It contains about 40 per cent, of tannin. 



The following letter was leceived from Mr. Moriis, Assistant Director, with the cases of plants: — 



Koyal Gardens, Kew, 8th November, 1890. 



Dear Sir, 



We are forwarding to your address by this mail a consignment of plants of the Gambier — Uncaria Gam- 

 bier, lioxb., a full account of which is given in the Kew Bulletin for October, 1889, p. 247. 



2. These plants have been obtained at Kew after many years of persistent effort and they are probably 

 the most valuable of any economic plants distributed from this establ^hment in recent years. 



3. We have taken great care in packing and the shipment, of these plants. They will come out under 

 my personal care as far as Barbados, and we hope they will reach you in good order. 



4. It may be mentioned that the Gambier has always proved difficult to stnd in Wardan cases and several 

 attempts to get it from the Straits Settlements have hitherto failed. The present lot of plants was raised 

 from seed, but seed according to Mr. Ridley cannot as a rule be depended upon and hence the succesj at Kew 

 in the pi-esent instance is exceptional and may not be capable of being repeated. It is important, therefore 

 to do all that is possible to secure the safety of the present plants. 



5. Mr. Watson gives the following account of the treatment of the Gambier ut Kew. " This plant has 

 proved somewhat delicate under artificial cultivation. We find it thrives best when grown in a moist tropical 

 atmosphere and shaded from bright sunshine. It likes a moderate amount of moisture at the roots, hut any- 

 thing approaching constant saturation causes the leaves to turn yellow and fall off. The soil we have found 

 most suitable for it is a mixture of 2 parts turfy loam to 1 part leaf mould and 1 part silver sand. Sudden 

 changes of temperature or atmospheric moisture are hurtful to it." 



6. It is recommended to plunge the pots containing the plants in soil or fibre after being unpacked in the 

 West Indies and to keep them in the shade for some little time ; alter planting out they should be watered 

 very sparingly until they are quite established. 



I am, Dear Sir, 



Very sincerely yours, 



D. Morris, Assistant Directo*-. 



EXPERIMENTS IN THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES. 



English Vegetables have been grown in Jamaica for many years, and with great success, But the 

 cultivation has been on a very small scale, and the experience gained by the individual has been lost to 



