226  GUMS  AND  RESINS  OF  COMMERCE. 
in  the  tree  very  abundantly,  being  then  of  a  beautiful  bright  red 
color,  becoming  of  a  dark  shining  red,  and  hardening  by  expo- 
sure to  the  air. 
The  Angophora  laneeolata,  or  apple  tree  of  the  colonists,  (a 
genus  allied  to  that  of  Eucalyptus,)  also  yields  a  dark  and  as- 
tringent gum  from  its  trunk  and  branches.  A  gum  as  fine  as 
amber  exudes  from  the  stem  of  a  Macra  Zamia  in  Australia. 
The  Kowrie  Gum  of  commerce  is  the  produce  of  Dammaris 
Australia.  For  a  long  time  it  was  much  neglected,  and  the  ship- 
ments made  to  this  market  did  not  repay  the  cost  of  its  collection 
in  the  colony.  The  Americans,  however,  purchased  it  readily  at 
first  for  £16  to  .£20  the  ton,  and  it  was  used  by  them  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  copal  in  the  manufacture  of  varnish.  From  14  to  17 
tons  come  in  annually  to  Liverpool,  and  within  the  last  year  or 
two  it  has  been  in  greater  favor  in  the  London  market,  and  larger 
supplies  are  coming  forward.  In  1851,  16J  tons  were  shipped 
from  the  port  of  Auckland,  and  in  1852, 107  \  tons.  This  resin 
may  be  obtained  in  any  quantity  in  the  northern  districts  of  New 
Zealand,  ranging  from  twenty  miles  south  of  Auckland  to  the 
North  Cape. 
The  Kowrie  pine  grows  to  a  gigantic  size.  The  gum  resin 
exudes  from  it,  and  bears  some  resemblance  to  the  dripping  of  a 
wax  candle  in  the  wind.  It  is  now  in  demand  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  varnish  and  other  purposes,  and  it  is  found  in  masses  of 
several  pounds  weight.  The  Kowrie  gum,  though  clearly  the 
produce  of  this  tree,  is  dug  from  the  ground  in  quarters  where 
no  traces  of  trees  now  exist.  The  gum-diggers  probe  the  soil 
with  long  iron  spikes,  and  extract  the  gum  thus  indicated  from 
generally  a  couple  of  feet  below  the  surface.  These  pieces  of 
gum  are  probably  the  relics  of  primeval  forests,  which  have  dis- 
appeared long  ago.  The  resin  streams  copiously  from  the  stumps 
of  the  trees  which  have  been  felled,  covering  them  with  an  ap- 
pearance like  wax,  and  hardening  in  the  air. 
Botany  Bay  Gum  is  a  yellow  resinous  exudation  from  the 
Xanthorrhoea  hastilis,  and  other  species  of  the  grass  tree  of 
Australia,  which  were  generically  named  by  Swartz,  from  this 
peculiarity.  It  is  darker  than  gamboge,  and  less  uniform  in 
appearance,  and  not  entirely  soluble  in  alcohol.  It  has  been 
used  medicinally,  to  unite  the  edges  of  wounds,  and  in  the  form 
