GUMS  AND  RESINS  OF  COMMERCE. 
229 
remarkably  tenacious,  that  when  used  to  varnish  ornamental 
work  it  resists  the  application  of  boiling  water,  or  even  acids, 
for  which  reason  tables,  cabinets,  &c,  made  by  the  Indians,  and 
lacquered  with  it,  are  highly  valued  at  Quito. 
At  Copiapo  a  resinous  gum  is  obtained  from  the  branches  and 
berries  of  a  shrub,  with  a  leaf  like  the  rosemary.  It  is  made 
into  cakes  of  two  feet  long,  by  one  foot  thick,  and  is  used  for 
paying  of  ships,  glazing  the  earthen  jars  of  the  country,  &c  
(Freziers  Voyage.} 
Thenethea,  the  produce  of  an  undescribed  plant,  is  used  by 
the  Burmese  as  a  coating  for  umbrellas  and  as  a  varnish. 
The  resins  of  Algiers  are  those  from  the  terebinthe  cedar, 
juniper,  Pinus  halepensis,  of  which  there  are  large  forests,  Thuya 
articulata,  and  lentiscus,  alk  or  lek,  sanderic,  mastic,  and  pitch 
and  tar. 
In  1853,  France  imported  over  3  millions  kilogrammes  of  re- 
sinous substances,  valued  at  1,844,337  francs. 
Sandarac  is  obtained  from  the  Gallitris  quadrivalvis,  Rich., 
the  Thuya  artieulata,  Whal.  This  tree  furnishes  the  highly 
prized  citrus  wood  of  the  ancient  Romans  ;  and  the  Thuya  wood 
of  Algeria  has  recently  again  come  into  high  repute  among  the 
French  cabinet-makers.  Experiments  for  cultivating  it  on  a  large 
scale  are  now  being  carried  out  in  the  French  African  provinces. 
It  should  be  remarked  that  under  the  generic  name  of  Thuya, 
various  coniferous  trees  furnishing  resin  are  confounded  in  Al- 
geria. Sandarac  is  used  in  the  preparation  of  varnish,  and  also 
for  making  pounce. 
At  the  Paris  Exhibition  a  light  and  transparent  hard  resin, 
from  Coorg,  was  shown,  of  which  I  have  a  specimen  on  the  table. 
It  is  said  to  be  soluble  in  spirit,  and  suited  for  coach  varnish, 
but  Mr.  Wallis  does  not  speak  well  of  it.  The  piney  varnish  of 
the  Vateria  Indica,  is  a  kind  of  dammer,  which  is  too  soft  for 
general  purposes.  An  Assam  resin,  unnamed,  is  also  a  species 
of  dammer,  on  which  spirits  of  wine  has  little  or  no  action. 
The  Gaub  tree  resin  from  Beerpoor  is  a  very  dark  amber 
color,  which  melts  lighter  in  color  by  heat,  and  mixes  with  oil. 
There  is  also  a  more  transparent  lighter  variety  shown  from 
Calcutta. 
According  to  my  correspondent,  Mr.  Ondaatje,  a  black  resin 
