THE  GUMS  AND  RESINS  OF  COMMERCE. 
77 
red  gum  tree.  About  the  middle  of  December,  the  Moors 
encamp  on  the  border  of  the  forest,  and  the  harvest  lasts  six 
weeks. 
The  gum  is  packed  in  very  large  sacks  of  leather,  and  brought 
on  the  backs  of  bullocks  and  camels  to  certain  ports,  where  it  is 
sold  to  the  French  and  English  merchants.  It  is  highly  nutri- 
tious. During  the  time  of  harvest,  of  the  journey,  and  of  the 
fair,  the  Moors  of  the  desert  live  almost  entirely  upon  it,  and  ex- 
perience proves  that  six  ounces  of  gum  are  sufficient  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  man  twenty-four  hours. 
Gum  is  largely  collected  in  Central  Africa,  and  sent  to  the 
coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  oceans.  Gum  Arabic  and 
Senegal  to  the  value  of  ,£12,000  are  exported  ;  other  sorts  of 
gums  to  the  value  of  £12,000,  and  resins  and  varnishes  to  the 
value  of  <£6000.  From  Senegambia  the  quantity  of  gum  ex- 
ported is  given  at  25,000  quintals  or  cwt.,  of  which  9000  go  to 
France,  6000  come  to  this  country,  4000  go  to  Portugal  and  the 
United  States,  and  about  6000  are  sent  by  the  caravans  of 
Fezzan  and  Morocco  to  other  parts  of  Central  Africa. 
In  the  Indian  bazaars,  the  products  of  a  variety  of  trees  are 
mixed  and  indiscriminately  vended  as  gum  by  the  native  drug- 
gists. Among  them  are  gum  from  the  neem,  the  mango,  the 
babool,  (A.  arabica),  Cassia  auriculata,  cotton-tree,  and  several 
others.  They  are  much  inferior,  however,  to  the  gum  of  the 
Acacia  vera. 
A  large  quantity  of  excellent  gum  is  procured  in  the  East 
from  the  wood  apple  (Feronia  elephantum),  which  much  resem- 
bles gum  Arabic  in  chemical  and  serviceable  proportions,  and 
from  its  ready  solubility  it  gives  the  best  mucilage  for  making 
black  ink. 
Dr.  Wight  tells  us  that  good  gums  are  obtained  by  the  natives 
of  Coimbatore  from  the  following  plants : — Aegle  marmelos^ 
Prosopis  spicigera  and  Acacia  sundra  ;  and  very  fair  kinds  from 
Melia  azadirachta,  Acacia  odoratissima,  Conocarpus  latifolia, 
Soymeda  febrifuga,  Odina  wodier  and  some  others. 
The  bastard  ebony  tree  of  Central  India,  and  also  many  other 
of  the  forest  trees  which  abound  there,  yield  large  quantities  of 
rich  and  valuable  gums.  Dr.  Spry  collected  as  many  as  fifteen 
varieties  in  one  locality. 
