ON KOKUM BUTTER. 
363 
being throughout of a deep purple color, even the pulpy aril of 
the seeds." 
In Graham's Catalogue of the Plants growing in Bombay and 
its vicinity (published at Bombay 1839) there is the following 
account of the tree and oil : — , 
" Garctnia purpurea, Rox. Flora, 2, p. 642. Wright's Illust., No. 8, p. 
125. Humph, Amb. 3, t 33. 
"The hokum. — Brindao of the Portuguese: a very elegant tree ; head 
generally of a conical form; branches drooping; leaves dark green, shining; 
fruit round and smooth, not furrowed ; size of a crab-apple ; when ripe, of 
a purple color throughout ; it has an agreeable acid flavor, and is eaten 
by the natives. Workers in iron use the acid juice as a mordaunt. A con- 
crete oil is obtained from the seeds, which is well known, and used at Goa 
for adulterating ghee {Bombay Courier, 13th June, 1830 ;) in gardens, 
Bombay ; pretty common in some parts of the Concan, in the ravines of 
Kandalla." 
In the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. ii., p. 592, 
for 1833, the mode of preparing the oil (which the writer calls Kct- 
kumb-ka-Tel, or Concrete Oil of Wild Mangosteen) is thus des- 
cribed : — 
" The oil is extracted from the seed by boiling. They are first exposed 
for some days in the sun to dry, and then pounded and boiled in water : 
the oil collects on the surface, and on cooling concretes into a solid cake. 
When purified from extraneous ^matter, the product is of a rather brittle 
quality ; of a pale yellowish hue, the shade inclining to green ; exceedingly 
mild and bland to the taste, melting in the mouth like butter, and impress- 
ing a sensation of cold on the tongue, not unlike what is experienced on al- 
lowing a particle of nitre to dissolve on the tongue. ****** 
" The quantity of the concrete oil that may be obtained from the seeds 
may be taken at about one-tenth. From half a pound avoirdupois, or 3,500 
grains of the seeds, I obtained 360 grains of the concrete oil in a moderate 
pure state. The above is somewhat more than one-tenth ; and with better 
management, the product might perhaps be greater. It requires, however, 
long-continued boiling to extract it, and it is still more tedious to purify it 
from the fibrous matter of the seeds." 
The same writer also observes that, 
"The concrete oil of the mangosteen might, I apprehend, be advantage- 
ously introduced into pharmaceutical preparations. It is used by the 
natives as a healing application. I have noticed among its sensible pro- 
perties, that it impresses a sensation of cold on the tongue ; from which it 
would appear that it powerfully absorbs heat, as several salts do in the act 
of dissolving. It is easy to conceive that this property may often be of 
