256 
COPAL  RESIN. 
with  the  resin  in  situ,  together  with  fruits  of  the  same  plant, 
and  various  specimens  of  collected  resin.  On  the  bark  the  resin 
is  thickly  formed  in  large  irregular  masses ;  the  external  ap- 
pearance is  of  a  dusky  grey,  but  its  fracture  is  of  a  clear  light 
shining  yellow.  The  tree  yielding  this  resin,  Col.  Playfair 
thinks,  is  the  true  Copal  of  the  mainland  of  Zanzibar ;  this  is 
an  announcement  of  some  importance,  in  support  of  which  we 
anxiously  look  for  further  confirmation.  Believing,  however, 
the  fruits  to  be  what  Colonel  Playfair  sends  them  for,  viz.,  the 
fruits  of  the  Zanzibar  Copal  tree,  there  seems  to  be  little  doubt, 
on  comparing  them  with  specimens  in  the  Kew  Herbarium, 
that  they  belong  to  Hymencea  mossambicensis,  Kl.  Col.  Playfair 
says  in  his  report  to  the  Foreign  Office,  in  answer  to  Earl  Kus- 
sel's  inquiries  respecting  the  supply  of  resin,  that  the  value  of 
copal  exported  from  Zanzibar  amounted  during  the  year  1863-4 
to  163,353  dollars,  the  average  price  being  about  six  pounds 
for  one  Austrian  dollar.  The  sums  were  made  up  as  fol- 
lows : — 
United  Kingdom  ....  $30,030 
British  India  .       .       ...       .  50,044 
Kertch   500 
United  States  5,000 
Hamburg   30,000 
Italy  2,339 
Total,  ....  $163,353 
If,  therefore,  a  revenue  like  this  is  derived  from  the  resin  of 
this  particular  plant  in  Zanzibar,  it  would  be  well  if  Madagas- 
car, where  the  plant  likewise  grows,  could  open  up  a  similar 
traffic  in  the  same  commodity. 
Captain  Burton  says  of  the  Zanzibar  Copal  tree,  that  out  of 
its  trunk  "  canoes  have  been  formed  60  feet  long,  and  that  a  , 
single  tree  has  sufficed  for  the  keelson  of  a  brig ;  the  average 
size,  however,  is  about  half  that  height,  with  from  5  to  6  feet 
girth  near  the  ground."  The  trunk  "  is  dotted  with  exudations 
of  raw  gum,  which  is  found  scattered  in  bits  about  the  base." 
The  resin  is  also  found  in  a  semi-fossil  state,  sometimes  in 
places  overflowed  by  the  high  tides,  or  when  sinking  piles  for 
huts,  etc. 
