(IAMBI R.

1027

a, 1( j ! s * 0r yellowish brown colour; their fracture is dull and porous,W^nully their colour is paler than that of their surface, being yel-iti<r cln uamon brown ; the fractured surface not un frequently present-' r hisT e ^ ar ^ er feebly shining stripes, extending from without inwards.Sllbs kl h ( l has no odour; its taste is powerfully astringent, bitter, butli e t e< J u ? n, dy becoming sweetish. It melts entirely in the mouth. WhenSvv ell ln a pTithmm crucible it undergoes a kind of semifusion, andp s . s U P; and when incinerated leaves a light white ash. Necs v.t))i s ,, )ec k ( Handb. d. med. pharm. Botan. i. 881) says twenty grains of''ate • ln ^ir leave only half a grain of ash. When digested in cold^ a ^ most wholly dissolves, lead ing behind a resinous substance,c ros e ln boiling water, and soluble in alcohol. Examined bv the mi-tfy ^°P e ) Gambir is found to consist in great part of myriads of minute

KCQ.i.Pf'huZn n/*nrl\ vurl un til O l*iml nf rnilI*rtlK tlCCllP

[catechuic acid) intermixed with a kind of mucous tissue.

l , r ft . ,

bir, s ’ . nnet t (Med. and Phys. Journ. lxvii.) has described three qualities of Gam

• ilr . Be

®0ci'»?' ec ' rnens of which are contained in the collection of the Medico-Botanical

CZ y ,K Lo «don.

1

es so r f’ •.i r .yuibourt.

To these I must add a fourth, which I have received from Pro-

? C|; Urs > ^ ia ^ Circular Stamped Gambir: Gambir of the first quality , Bennett.—Thislike t|' n Stt ! a11 round cakes, about the size of a small lozenge. Its form is somethingEfface • a plano-convex lens, slightly flattened on the convex side. One of its8 br.lii { g ls routu l> about half an inch in diameter; the other one is convex, with a4 ch a n. e l )atter n impressed on it. Its colour is pale pinkish yellowish white. It has

2. or _earthy feel, and is brittle.

'lie (• ar n‘ J ir of the second quality , Bennett.—This occurs in two forms : cubes (formingPieces *!k lr °1 English commerce, described in the text), and square prisms or oblonginch s ). ■* ae length of the prisms is two inches; the size of the terminal faces half an

3. p?. re ' In other respects, the oblong variety agrees with the square kind.

C ylit)(l y^drical Gambir: Gambir of third quality, Bennett.—This occurs in shortHil e r . ICa ' pieces, the length of the cylinder being only about one-third of an inch,pit), o Us diameter is one inch and a quarter. One of the round surfaces is marked* s Pale 6 ,^* )res of a cloth, on which the cakes have been dried. The colour internallyI'Ofouj’ da H> pinkish yellow, externally being a shade darker. Its fracture is dull andlee], j is easily scraped to powder with the nail, and in this state has a chalky,e et|, !? taste is astringent, but less so than the other kinds; it is gritty under the?taa lier V S ' nks in water - The samples in the Medico Botanical Society are somewhat'"’Purit" an I* 1086 which I have found in commerce. This kind

contains many

$*ce s Cubical Amylaceous Gambir. — It is in cubes, which swim in water, and whose. a rk er re about half an inch square. Externally these cubes are dark brown, beingrental] ° Ur ?d than the kind just described. Its fracture is dull and porous, its colourk Ns 0 f y r bein S P a ^ e cinnamon brown. It is readily distinguished from all otherl ° *he f r Gambir, by the black colour produced when the tincture of iodine is appliedactured surface. When digested in water it is resolved into two parts—

flatter soluble in water. 45

"latter insoluble in water, principally amylaceous. 55

The an, i

£ n yiaceous matter is probably sago. 100

v. ^Position. —Gambir (the cubical variety) was analyzed by Neesto ^ eri beck {Pharm. Centr.-Blatt. fur 1830, 45), who found Tannin 36tr^ cent., Peculiar Matter (Catechuic Acid), Gum or Gummy Ex-ty 0o , e, P a nnic Deposit (similar to red cinchonic), and per cent, of

a y Fibre.

^ • T*

Tli at Acid .—The properties of this acid have been before (p. 735), described.

C( ’lou r t .. r , a , ctet * bom Gambir is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, and gives a green

•T,

1 °Uf i

2. pJJ 1 ‘ e falts of iron.

atf, fcid; Tanninyensdure. Buchner; Resinous Tannin, Nees; Catechin,

Wh,

etl Gambir is treated with cold water, an insoluble residuum is left: this is