312 
Gambler  of  Johore. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1885. 
THE  GAMBIER  OF  JOHORE.^ 
By  Peter  Macewax, 
Secretarij  in  Scotland  to  the  Pharmaceutical  Sooietij. 
(Iijcluding  Notes  by  Mr.  Robert  Jamie,  late  of  Singapore.) 
In  the  Edinburgh  Forestry  Exhibition,  tlie  Maharajah  of  Johore  exhib- 
ited an  iiiteresthig  collection  of  the  products  of  the  territory  which  he 
governs.  The  articles  of  pharmaceutical  interest  included  in  the  exhibit 
were  Gambler,  Baros  or  Borneo  camphor,  and  india-rubber,  and  these 
have  already  been  briefly  referred  to  in  the  "  Pharmaceutical  Journal  "  ([3], 
XV.,  266).  The  specimens  of  gambier  and  baros  camphor  were  presented  to 
the  Edinburgh  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,  the  director  of  which  (the 
lamented  Professor  Archer)  presented  two  sets  of  duplicates  to  the  Phar- 
maceutical Societ.N  . 
There  is  little  or  nothing  given  in  Pbarmaceutical  literature  regarding 
Johore  products,  and  for  this  reason  these  notes  may  not  be  devoid  of  inte- 
rest. Moreover,  the  State  is  likely  to  be  of  some  importiince  in  commerce, 
from  the  fact  that  in  recent  years  its  resources  have  beeu  greatly  developed 
by  the  encouraging  example  and  influence  of  the  enlightened  Maharajah. 
The  Johore  territory  is  some  twenty  thousand  square  miles  in  extent,  and 
it  is  for  the  most  part  covered  with  virgin  forest  which  has  been  only  par- 
tially explored.  The  population,  consisting  of  Malays  and  Chinese,  num- 
bers one  hundred  thousand.  Its  principal  exports  are,  in  addition  to  tim- 
l)er,  cutch,  lilack  pepper,  gambier,  dammar,  and  recently  india-rubber,  the 
l)roductiou  of  which  is  entirely  due  to  the  Maharajah.  The  Johore  Steam 
Mills  Company  has  done  much  to  oj^en  up  the  country,  and  the  Maharajah 
takes  full  advantage  of  European  influence  and  enterprise.  Mr.  J.  Mel- 
drum,  F.R.G  S.,  who  acted  as  his  commissioner  at  the  Forestry  Exhibition, 
is  clo^^ely  associated  with  him  in  the  development  of  trade. 
The  following  extract  from  a  letter  received  from  Mr.  Jamie  is  of  inte- 
rest :  "  About  Johore  and  its  forest  extent,  I  may  say  that  the  native  State 
of  Johore  is  almost  one  impenetrable  vast  forest,  extending  from  the  Brit- 
ish possession,  Malicca,  to  the  extreme  point  of  the  Malay  peninsula. 
Point  Roumania,  bounded  on  the  northeast  by  the  native  States  of  Pahany 
iind  Tringanan,  and  up  to  this  time  very  imperfectly  explored.  For  many 
years  the  Chinese  have  been  cultivating  various  vegetable  products,  such 
as  earth-nuts,  sweet  potatoes,  etc.  (sugar  cane  is  grown,  but  this  chiefly  for 
chewing  purposes) ;  but  what  has  cleared  most  of  the  forest  has  been  the 
cultivation  of  gaml)ier  and  j^epper,  which  is  principally  done  by  the  Chi- 
nese, and  verv  successfully,  too.  These  products  are  being  largely  increased 
-every  year,  in  fact,  they  may  be  said  to  be  the  principal  products  as  yet. 
Within  the  past  few  years  large  tracts  of  the  forest  have  been  cleared  out 
4ind  many  flne  and  very  valuable  timber  trees  destroyed  to  allow  of  cofl^*ee 
being  cultivated,  especially  the  Liberian  kind,  which  it  is  hoped  will  turn 
1  Read  at  an  Evening  Meeting  ot  the  Xorth  British  Branch  of  tlie  Pharmaceutical 
Society,  March  18, 1885. 
