292 
Supplefment to Hip " Trr^pical Agrimiturist.*' 
[Oct. 1, 1900. 
than the bark of the host ; but even in such a 
case if carefully applied and tied on, union will 
follow. If the weather be hot and dry the 
leafage above the graft may be left for shade, 
but should be ringbarked 6 or 8 inches above the 
graft. In two or three weeks' time the upper 
growth of the host may be removed by cutting 
at tlie point vihere it was ringbarked. If at 
the same time the buds on the graft are found to 
have started into growth, the binding may be 
removed. All young shoots except those on the 
graft must be rubbed off as soon as they ajipear. 
In favourable weather on the other hand the host 
could be deprived of its leaves and the majority 
of its branches. At this stage, the tree, being 
highly impregnatec^ with sap, will take kindly 
to the piece of foreign bark that is inserted into 
its own bark and bring about union without delay. 
^ 
MYRISTICA KINO. 
Agricultural Ledyer, No. 5, of 1900, deals with 
Kino obtained from the so-called wild nutmegs 
(Myristica, sp.) Kino, as obtained from the barks 
of trees, is of two kinds : Malabar Kino, which is 
the best, is got from Pterocarjms marsujiium. 
This tree, which is indigenous to Ceylon, is 
known by the Sinhalese as Gamalii, and in 
Tamil as Venkai. Trimen, in his Flora, records 
the fact that a red gum-resin exudes from the 
bark and is used medicinally, also that it affords 
a line timber, very hard and heavy, dark reddish 
brown, durable and containing a red resin. 
The other kind, culled Bengal Kino, is the product 
of Butea frondosa, also indigenous to the Island, 
and known in Sinhalese and Tamil respectively 
as Gaskela and Farasu. Dr. Trimen says of it : 
" A dark red astringent juice exudes from the 
bark, which hardens into a brittle ruby-coloured 
resinous-looking gum, the Bengal kino of 
commerce." The wood is described as t-oft, light, 
and not durable. 
These gums are used largely in medicine as 
astringents, the former having been for long an 
official drug in the British and American pharma- 
copoeias. 
Some four years ago Dr. Edward Schaer, 
Professor of Pharmacology in Strasburg wrote 
a paper on a new kino from Myristica, after 
examination of an extract handed to him by 
Dr. Warburg of Berlin who bad received it from 
the Director of Kew. The specimen was obtained 
from Myristica malabarica, and was like the 
official kino in appearance. 
Professor Schaer succeeded in obtaining from 
Biiitenzorg further specimens of products of 
other wild nutmeg trees. In each of these he 
found a crystalline deposit which distinguished 
them from the kino from otlier source?. This deposit 
was determined as Calcium tartrate — a conclusion 
of some interest in vegetable physiology as 
inorganic crystals peculiar to plants have hitherr,o 
been traced to Calcium oxalate, sulphate, phos- 
phate and carbonate. 
Dr. Schaer summed up the result of his 
investigation as follows: — The dried juice of 
several .Asiatic species of Myristica (e.^., M, 
malabariea, M. fmyrans) as regards appearance 
a)id physical qualities, show but little difference 
from Malabar Kino. 2. This substance which may 
be termed " Myristica l-tno" agrees in the 
chemical reactions due to their constituents in all 
important points, with the kino of Fterocarpus 
marsupium. It can therefore be stated that 
drugs of a very .similar character, and partly 
of close rc'-emblance to official kino, are to be 
found in the families Legumino.sie {Butea, 
Pterocarpus, Milletia), Saxaf ragaceie (Ceropeta- 
luin). Myrtacefe {Eucalyptus, AnyopJwra) and 
Myri-ticace.'e. 
0. Myristica Kino differs as far as can be 
observed, from the Pterocarpus kino, and pro- 
bably also from Butea and Eucalyptus kino, by 
containing in the crude state of the inspissated 
fresh juice, smaller or larger amounts of a dis- 
tinctly crystalline calcuim^ salt, viz., calcium 
tartrate, suspended in, and depositing from the 
liquid juice. By this characteristic admixture 
it can be easily distinguished from the official 
kino and probably also from other kinds of 
commerce." 
There is no doubt that the property of secreting 
this so-called "Kino" is possessed by nearly all 
species of Myristica ; indeed, Kurz in his " Forest 
Flora of British India,'' remarks that one of the 
features of this genus is that the bark "abounds 
in an acrid juice which is viscid and scains red." 
M. lonyifoha is said by Dr. Watt to exude a 
red lesin, while M. yibhosa and M. Kingii (both 
Indian trees) also yield gum resins which can be 
evaporated into a kiuo-like substance, particu- 
larly the former, of which it is said that the 
evaporation of the clear juice gave a kino which 
was almost indistinguishable from commercial 
specimens of Malabar kino. 
In Ceylon we have four indigenous species of 
Myristica. M. horsfieldia, the Sinhalese " Rak' 
is well-known for its wood which is used for boat- 
making (the flowers of which have the character- 
istic odour of sandalwood); M. irya, Sin. Irya ; 
M. zeylanioa, and M. laurifolia. 
This-last is the familiar " Malabodde" or " wild 
nutmeg" of Ceylon, the arilled fruits of which 
are very like the true spice fruit. The wood of 
this tree is light and sometimes used for tea-boxes, 
while Dr. Trimen mentions that an orange-red 
astringent gum exudes from the bark. Mr. T. F. 
Bourdillon, Conservator of Forests for Travancore 
also refers to M. laurifolia as secreting " a thin 
red juice" from its stem. 
The report on Myristica Kiao concludes thus : 
"If the fresh juice could be collected in any 
quantity from the wild nutmeg trees of India, 
and evaporated to dryness without much delay, 
the residue would be an admirable substitute for 
commercial kino." At pi'esent, however, there 
is no call for Kino from the new sources indi- 
cated, as there is enough of the commercial article 
produced by the forests of the west coast of India. 
Still it has been shown that such new supplies 
will be always available to be drawn upou 
whenever necessary, 
