Am'iprii;S9o.rm-}        Notes  on  some  Gum  Samples.  185 
There  were  shown  three  samples  of  Barbary  or  Mogadore  gum. 
White  Barbary,  the  best  variety  of  the  three,  is  not  unlike  Turkey 
sorts,  but  is  rather  dirtier.  It  is  perfectly  soluble  in  water,  gives  a 
bright  transparent  mucilage,  free  from  odor,  and  keeping  well.  This 
white  gum  is  an  import  of  rather  recent  date,  and  is  thought  by 
some  to  be  a  Soudan  gum,  which  now  finds  its  way  by  a  diverted 
route  to  the  Northwest  instead  of  the  Northeast  of  Africa.  Five 
samples  of  East  Indian  Amrad  gums  were  shown.  These  have 
already  been  described  by  Mander,  and  were  only  briefly  referred 
to.  Special  attention  was  drawn  to  Cape  gum,  of  which  three  sam- 
ples were  shown.  Two  varieties  of  this  gum  are  imported — one  the 
hard  brown  Cape,  which  is  obtained  from  Acacia  horrida.  This  has 
been  known  for  many  years,  and  is  described  in  Pharmacographia , 
but  more  recently,  since  the  closing  of  the  Soudan,  another  variety 
has  been  regularly  consigned  to  the  London  markets.  .  This  is  "  soft 
white  Cape,"  which  is  supposed  to  be  gathered  in  the  northern  parts 
of  Cape  Colony,  beyond  the  Orange  river.  A  sample  of  fine  picked 
white  Cape  showed  as  fine  an  appearance  as  any  Kordofan  gum,  and 
so  like  is  this  to  the  old  Turkey  gums  that  it  is  thought  by  some 
that  the  white  Cape  is  simply  what  we  formerly  received  from  the 
Soudan,  and  which  is  now  brought  by  Arab  traders  right  across 
Africa.  This  is  a  doubtful  hypothesis,  however,  for  if  gums  found 
their  way  so  far  south  we  would  surely  receive  some  by  way  of  Zan- 
zibar. Australian  gum  was  next  touched  upon.  This  gum  gives  a 
thin  mucilage,  which,  on  standing,  separates,  a  brownish  deposit 
settling  down  with  a  pale,  clear  supernatant  mucilage.  The  pure 
gum  contains  no  tannin,  but  associated  with  it  are  pieces  of  wood, 
which  impart  a  trace  of  tannin  unless  they  are  removed.  The  mar- 
ket for  Australian  gum  is  limited  in  this  country,  but  it  is  said  to  be 
employed  to  a  considerable  extent  in  Russia  and  Sweden.  Three 
samples  of  Brazilian  gum  were  shown,  one  of  which  was  sent  to  Mr. 
Maben  by  Mr.  E.  M.  Holmes,  from  the  museum  at  Bloomsbury 
Square.  This  gum  occurs  in  large  dark-amber  or  dark-brown 
glassy  drops,  and  is  soluble  in  water.  The  mucilage  made  from  it 
is  thick,  tut  only  moderately  adhesive.  Ghatti  gum  was  described, 
and  Mr.  Mander  and  Mr.  Prebble  were  quoted  for  information  regard- 
ing it.  The  author  did  not  regard  Ghatti  gum  with  so  much  favor 
as  Mr.  Mander,  chiefly  owing  to  the  disagreeable  mawkish  flavor, 
which  he  thought  would  prove  an  obstacle  to  its  general  employ- 
