Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1888, 
Notes  on  Gambier. 
261  - 
I^OTES  ON  GAMBIER.* 
The  shrub  TJncaria  Gambier  was  first  described  by  Kumphius,  but 
attention  to  its  practical  application  originated  with  Dr.  Campbell, 
one  of  the  earliest  medical  officers  stationed  at  Bencoolen.  This  gen- 
tleman made  a  study  of  the  useful  plants  of  his  district,  and  was  very 
anxious  that  a  trial  of  the  tanning  powers  of  gambier  should  be 
made.  After  mentioning  that  gambier  was  chewed  by  the  Malays 
with  pinang  and  siren,  Dr.  Campbell  thus  describes  the  methods  of 
preparing  it  for  consumption.  "  The  young  shoots  and  leaves  are 
shred  and  bruised  in  water  for  some  hours  until  a  feculum  is  deposited  ; 
this  is  inspissated  in  the  sun  to  the  consistence  of  a  paste,  is  thrown 
into  moulds  of  a  circular  form,  and  it  is  in  this  state  the  gambier  is 
brought  to  market."  Substitute  boiling  in  an  iron  pan  for  inspissa- 
tion  in  the  sun,  and  there  is  not  any  really  great  difference  between 
the  primitive  principle  described  by  Dr.  Campbell,  and  that  of  to-day; 
by  means  of  which  gambier  is  turned  out  in  thousands  of  tons  for 
shipment  to  Europe  and  America. 
Before  going  into  the  question  of  manufacture,  however,  a  few  lines 
should  be  devoted  to  the  growth  and  cultivation  of  gambier.  The 
main  points  in  gambier  planting  which  are  so  attractive  to  Chinamen, 
are  the  great  rapidity  with  which  they  get  a  crop  out  of  the  ground, 
and  the  small  original  outlay  which  is  required.  The  history  of  the 
majority  of  these  plantations  will  show  that  pepper  has  been  planted 
out  of  gambier  profits.  Of  course  pepper  is  a  great  hit  when  all  goes 
well,  but  it  wants  a  considerable  capital  to  start  with,  and  it  takes 
some  years  before  it  gets  into  anything  like  full  bearing.  It  is  alto- 
gether a  plant  of  slower  growth  and  longer  life  than  gambier  as  it  is  now 
cropped.  The  leaf  of  the  young  gambier  plant  is  thick  and  fleshy,and  yields 
a  large  quantity  of  extract ;  but  as  the  shrnb  ages  the  leaves  become 
thinner  and  more  fibrous  in  texture  and  lose  their  characteristic  fleshi- 
ness. In  a  little  over  ten  years  a  plantation  is  almost  valueless,  and  • 
as  a  general  rule  is  abandoned  within  fifteen  years.  This  result  is  cer- 
tainly due  to  the  savage  treatment  to  which  the  shrub  is  subjected. 
The  Chinaman  commences  cropping  his  gambier  about  eighteen  months 
after  he  has  put  it  into  the  ground,  after  which  he  will  go  on  cropping 
it  two,  three,  or  even  four  times  a  year,  being  guided  more  by  financial 
*From  the  Straits  Times.  Reprinted  from  the  Phar.  Journ.  and  Trans.,  April 
14,  1888,  p.  369. 
