Am,jJu°iy,;,i89h7?rm'}     Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  371 
CUTCH  EXTRACTION. 
When  commercial  cutch  enters  the  domain  of  pharmacy  it  be- 
comes catechu  ;  but  whether  cutch  or  catechu,  it  is  a  substance  of 
rather  uncertain  origin  and  of  very  variable  composition.  The  fol- 
lowing, from  the  Indian  Pharmacologist,  2,  7,  January  I,  1897,  indi- 
cates that  there  is  still  much  to  be  learned  about  this  substance- 
"  One  of  the  most  recent  issues  of  the  Agricultural  Ledger  series 
contains  a  brief  account  of  the  examination  of  a  sample  of  Burma 
cutch  received  by  a  Glasgow  firm  through  Dr.  Watt.  It  is  interest- 
ing if  only  for  the  fact  that  it  brings  out  strongly  the  divergence 
that  sometimes  exists  between  chemical  analysis  and  commercial 
opinion.  Dr.  Watt  suggested  that  cutch  should  be  manufactured  in 
India  by  the  superior  European  method  of  extracting  dyes  from 
timber.  Twenty  tons  of  the  Acacia  Catechu  timber  were  procured 
here  and  shipped  to  Glasgow.  Dr.  Watt  saw  the  timber  before  it 
was  shipped  and  considered  it  to  be  of  average  quality.  The  tim- 
ber was  treated  by  the  vacuum  process,  and  the  resulting  product 
was  described  by  Dr.  Watt  as  a  cutch  of  great  purity  and  very  good 
appearance.  A  chemical  analysis  by  Dr.  Leather  showed  that  the 
cutch  thus  produced  contained  6-58  per  cent,  of  crude  catechin  and 
78  20  per  cent,  of  catechu  tannin.  At  the  same  time  a  sample  was 
submitted  to  the  Calcutta  Chamber  of  Commerce  for  professional 
opinion,  and  this  was  completely  opposed  to  the  conclusion  of  the 
chemist.  Commercial  opinion  described  it  as  '  very  inferior  to  that 
imported  from  Rangoon.'  The  sample  was  described  as  overboiled* 
and  would  fetch  only  Rs.  3  a  maund  as  against  Rs.  8  for  the  best 
brands  of  Burma  cutch.  Clearly  the  commercial  expert  who  re- 
ported on  the  sample  made  a  mistake  in  his  identification  of  it,  for 
he  reported  that  it  was  shipped  to  the  Calcutta  market  in  2-ounce 
tins  for  mixing  with  paints,  '  and  in  this  form  it  has  a  special  value, 
but  for  medicinal  purposes,  or  for  bazaar  use,  that  is,  for  mixing  with 
pan,  it  has  no  sale.' 
"  Dr.  Watt,  in  a  brief  note  on  this  curious  divergence  of  opinion, 
says  that  the  only  explanation  is  that  trade  opinions  are  based 
mainly  upon  external  appearances.  The  sample  is  unlike  the  ordi- 
nary article  met  with  in  the  market,  and  probably  bears  some  resem- 
blance to  an  inferior  grade  known  to  dealers.  '  As  a  general  rule, 
the  commercial  expert  is  lost  if  carried  out  of  the  field  of  compara- 
tive valuations.    He  knows  little  or  nothing  of  chemistry.'  That 
