466 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [December 14, 1&72 
Commissioner of Chanda considers that 100 tons could 
easily he raised in his district, and put down at the 
Wurdha railway stations for 120 rupees a ton. But the 
valuable timber of the Beejasal would suffer by the pro¬ 
cess of tapping that is necessary for the production of the 
resin. The Salai tree [Bos we Ilia thurifera ), from which 
gunda fereza is produced, is as abundant as any tree in 
the Central Provinces. At present but little of the gum 
is brought into market, and that for local use, but very 
large quantities could be readily supplied.. The tree 
yields the gum abundantly. The value of its timber is 
very little, nor is it injuriously affected by tapping. 
From the Chanda district, it is estimated that 10,000 tons 
could be put down yearly at the Wurdha railway station 
for 100 rupees a ton. In the Narbada valley, it could 
be brought to the railway for 160 rupees (£16). Of. the 
Dikamali resin (obtained from the Gardenia lucida) it is 
conjectured that 200 to 300 tons could be brought to the 
railway from the Chanda and Bhandara districts for 
about 100 rupees a ton. 
Some 4500 tons of the better kinds of gums could 
readily be supplied on the Great Indian Peninsula Rail¬ 
way at from 100 to 200 rupees per ton. The dho.uma 
(Shorea robusta) and babul ( Acacia arabica) are said to 
yield the best gum. Good gum is also procured from 
the char, her, palas ( Butea frondosa ), saj, ain ( Diptero - 
carpus sp.), tendoo, khair ( Acacia Catechu ), etc. There 
are numberless other gum-yielding trees, the gum of 
most of which is not of any market value.. All these 
gums are readily procurable in most districts in large 
quantities. But the different kinds are brought to mar¬ 
ket so mixed up together that it is impossible to dis¬ 
tinguish between them, or to make a guess at the amounts 
of the different sorts that could be suppled. . Gums are 
generally collected for mere local consumption. Small 
quantities are, however, exported into the Bera.rs, from 
Sagar to the north, and from the Narbada division to¬ 
wards Bombay. During the last year or so, two Bom¬ 
bay European firms have sent agents into the interior of 
the Nimar district, to make arrangements for a perma¬ 
nent supply. They have not as yet been very, success¬ 
ful. In some parts the Gonds gain a livelihood by 
gathering gum, but the price is so low that in most dis¬ 
tricts men find the cutting of grass and sticks much more 
profitable. As a rule, women and children are employed 
on the work. In Nimar, their wages are the weight of 
the gum collected in wheat, or double its weight in 
jowari (sorghum). A large demand at higher prices than 
those now offered would not only greatly increase the out¬ 
turn, but bring into the market a far superior article. At 
present, as has been stated, all kinds are gathered pro¬ 
miscuously, and offered for sale as gum, not as the pro¬ 
duct of any particular tree, except, indeed, occasionally, 
when the gatherers are under contract to supply the 
dhouma or some other gum for medicine. But these 
pure gums are procurable in very small quantities. . Not 
only this, but the gum offered for sale always contains a 
quantity of sand, leaves, and bark. No attempt is made 
to keep it clean. It is gathered carelessly before it is 
sufficiently dry to come away of itself, and inconsequence 
pieces of bark are torn off with it. But it may well be 
questioned whether this industry would ever become a 
remunerative one in these provinces, so far removed from 
the sea. Gum-bearing trees grow as extensively on the 
sea-board, where facilities for export are much greater. 
A NEW FILTER. 
BY R. ROTHER. 
For most pharmaceutical purposes the ordinary plaited 
filtermeets all requirements. But for analytical operations 
the plaited filter carnot be successfully applied. . The 
numerous folds, while favouring the rapid transmission 
of liquids, expose too much surface for the convenient 
collection of precipitates, and at the same time greatly 
and seriously interfere with their washing. The plain 
filter is the only practical form for analytical uses, but 
as it exposes only half as much surface as the plaited 
filter, the passage of the liquid will naturally be slower; 
but a very fatal objection to the plain filter is the super¬ 
fluous fold which in two thicknesses lies under one-half 
the extended surface of the filter. The interposition of 
these two extra layers compels the liquid to pass through 
three thicknesses of paper on the half side of the ex¬ 
tended filter, whilst the other half side presents only a 
single thickness. It is evident that the two hidden 
layers are a very appreciable impediment to the current, 
aside from the more important fact that the liquid will 
traverse this side less rapidly than the other, and thus 
occasion an imperfect washing of the precipitate, or. at 
least prolong the operation beyond reasonable limits. 
The writer, recognizing the force of this objectionable 
feature, resorted to a very simple modification of the 
plain filter, which, whilst saving 50 per cent, of the 
paper, removed all the deleterious defects of the old 
form. This new filter practically presents but. a single 
thickness of paper to penetrate, at the same time pre¬ 
serving an even surface, equal in all other advantages to 
the plain filter. The strength and general security of 
the new filter has been thoroughly tested, and has not 
failed in a single instance. The filtrations are more 
rapid than wdth the usual form, and the absence of the 
superfluous half sheet admits of a more rapid drying, 
which is an additional gain of the new filter. The most 
gelatinous, as well as the most compact and heavy pre¬ 
cipitates were collected with it from strongly corrosive 
liquids with the greatest ease. Its particular advantages 
for analytical operations are unsurpassed. 
To make the new filter, cut the circular disc of fil¬ 
tering paper in two through the line of its. diameter, 
take either half disc and fold it across the line of the 
radius, then turn down the double edge of the cut side 
and fold it over several times—finally, rim a hard, 
smooth surface along the seam thus produced, to com¬ 
press it, and spread the finished filter into an appropriate 
funnel, first moistening it with water before the liquid to 
be filtered is poured in.— Chicago Pharmacist. 
SUNDERLAND CHEMISTS’ ASSOCIATION. 
The annual dinner of the Sunderland Chemists’ Asso¬ 
ciation was held on Wednesday, December 4th, in the 
Palatine Hotel; Alderman Thompson, the President of 
the Association, occupied the chair. The usual loyal and 
complimentary toasts were drunk, that of the “ House 
of Commons ” being coupled with the name of Mr. 
Candlish, M.P., who was present and replied. 
Mr. Nicholson (hon. sec.), in responding to the toast 
of “The Sunderland Chemists’ Association,” said the 
members of the society had but one object in view, and 
that was to advance the position of the chemists, which 
was best done by the formation of local associations. 
In reply to the toast of “ The Medical Profession,” pro¬ 
posed by the Vice-president, Dr. Yeld said he thought 
that the medical profession should not infringe upon the 
rights of chemists, and he hoped that few years would 
elapse before medical men gave up the practice of dis¬ 
pensing. When they did that, however, he hoped the 
chemists would then give up the practice of prescribing. 
He hoped that a Sunderland chemist would be appointed 
to the office of analyst. He had been charged with 
having stated that there was not a chemist in Sunderland 
qualified for the position, but he denied that he ever 
said anything of the kind, as he knew there were gentle¬ 
men well able to do the work. 
The Chairman, in reply to “ The President and Officers 
of the Association,” said it was degrading to medical 
men that they should have to compound drugs when 
there was a branch of the medical profession in waiting 
night and day to do the work. In conclusion, he recom¬ 
mended the members of the trade to unite together for 
the protection of their interests. 
