Notes  on  sonic  Gum  Samples. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       April,  1890. 
once  to  begin  again  with  a  small  quantity  of  fresh  mucilage,  to 
which  the  clotted  mass  should  be  carefully  added  by  degrees.  In 
this  way  only  can  the  emulsion  be  brought  back  to  its  proper  form. 
Fort  Warren,  Boston,  Mass. — Medical  News,  March  15,  1890,  p. 
283. 
NOTES  ON  SOME  GUM  SAMPLES.1 
By  Thomas  Maben. 
This  paper,  which  does  not  profess  to  be  exhaustive,  consisted  of 
a  series  of  notes — chemical,  pharmaceutical  and  commercial — on 
some  samples  of  acacia  and  other  gums.  For  information  and 
assistance,  the  author  expressed  his  indebtedness  to  Mr.  E.  M. 
Holmes,  Mr.  Jackson,  A.L.S.,  and  Mr.  Hillier,  of  Kew,  and  espe- 
cially to  Mr.  A.  C.  Meyjes,  of  TJie  Chemist  and  Druggist,  who  had 
supplied  most  of  the  samples,  as  well  as  valuable  commercial  notes 
regarding  them.  There  were  twenty-one  samples  in  all,  and  they 
comprised  Egyptian,  East  Indian,  West  African,  Cape,  Australian, 
and  Brazilian  gums.  •  Commencing  with  a  sample  of  picked  Kor- 
dofan  gum,  which  showed  the  characters  of  the  best  acacia  gum, 
Mr.  Maben  gave  a  short  historical  notice  of  the  course  of  trade  in 
this  commodity  during  the  past  few  years,  and  then  referred  briefly 
to  Geddah  gum,  Aden  gum  and  Gehzirah  and  Talca  gums.  Two 
samples  of  Senegal  gum  ("  gornme  du  Bas  du  Fleuve  "  and  "  gomme 
de  Galam  ")  were  shown  and  described,  and  an  account  was  given 
of  the  gum  trade  on  the  Senegal  river.  This  trade  is  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  French,  and  some  few  years  ago  the  Bordeaux  mer- 
chants formed  a  syndicate  for  the  control  of  the  article,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  forcing  up  the  price  from  525.  6d.  percwt.  in  January,  1885, 
to  125^,  in  April,  1888.  Since  that  time  there  has  been  a  gradually 
slackening  demand,  and  in  the  last  market  report  of  The  Chemist 
and  Druggist  (February  15),  it  was  stated  "that  there  has  been  a 
serious  decline  in  the  price  of  Senegal  gums,  both  varieties  being 
easily  obtainable  at  85^.  per  cwt."  Many  of  the  so-called  Arabic 
gums  now  met  with  were  said  to  consist  of  a  large  admixture  of 
Senegal  gum. 
1  Abstract  of  a  paper  read  before  the  North  British  Branch  of  the  Pharma- 
ceutical Society  of  Great  Britain,  Februar}-  19th  ;  reprinted  from  The  Chemist 
and  Druggist,  1S90,  p.  247. 
