ACACIA. I 149
habitation of the- larv* of some insect; from whence he concludestl at this substance is the work of an insect.
. 4. East India Gum (Gummi indicum seu ostindicum ).—This variety is^Ported principally from Bombay. In 1839, duty (6s. per cwt.) wasPaid on 7,869 cwts. It is probably the produce of various species,i., any pieces agree in their physical and chemical characters withUrkey and Arabic gum, and are probably the produce of Acacia arabica,0r some allied species {yellow E. I. gum). Others, however, are larger,(5 d ° r b £? wll > and more difficult to pulverize than Turkey or Arabic gum
tit
own E. I. gum). Are these the produce of Feronia Elephantum?
■ have received from Bombay three varieties of gum: one, markedj^ ac ulla best gum Arabic, very similar to gum Galam ; a second, markedS an ^ ^ ar ^ ar H gum, in large, reddish-coloured, rough tears; and all ' denominated Surat inferior gum Arabic, in smaller dark-coloured
te.
ars.
Cape Gum {Gummi Capense)
This is imported from the Cape of„ , Hope. In 1829 there was exported from the Cape 16,943 lbs.ti/ *‘' V ° cases °f gum (M c Culloch, Diet, of Comm.) In 1830 the quan-q} imported into the United Kingdom was only lewt. 3qrs. 14 lbs.|) Ret .); but since then the importation has greatly increased. Mr.is i ell {Travels in the Inter, of South Africa , 1822-4) says, Cape gumaffined from a species of Acacia (which he has figured in vol. i. pp.U h25), closely resembling A. vera, and which he calls A. capensisl v r ° 0 ’ Ha y ne If i s raost abundant on the banks of the Gariep,th e '4 Weeu the Cape and the Gariep. Notwithstanding that he assertsc 0 n 3 Ua % °f Cape gum as in no way inferior to that of A. vera, it iss ulered by our dealers as a very interior kind.
iri^^es the preceding gums, there are several others described by continental phar-“ffists, but which are unknown in English commerce. Such are the following :—
" Vh *~* Um I‘ assora - Gummi Toridonnense. —This gum occurs in variable sized pieces,dis So j ;ire whitish or yellowish, and opaque. When put into water it swells up, butUiib,. Ves °nly in part. The insoluble portion has been called bassorin. Its origin isha,.,°' Vn - Virey thinks that it is produced by a Mesembryanthemum; Desvaux and
Gum Kuteera. —Considered by Guibourt as identical with the preceding ; but thee S*ven me by Professor Royle is very distinct. It has considerable resemblance(^L/ flak A tragacanth (p. 1139), for wbicb it has been attempted to be substitutedbei ‘fan's Journal , vii. 301). It is, probably, the produce of Sterculia mens, a plant
(c frl" to d )e family Byttneriacem (Roxburgh, FI. Indica , iii. 146).
''Hch ^ !l, kr the name of Hog gum I have met with, in commerce, an unsaleable gum,kU'catly resembles a sample sent me by Professor Guibourt, as gommepseudo-fffiow or t/omme de Sassa (see his Hist, des Drog. ii.477, 3 me ed.) It is in reddish-
’. s °raewbat transparent masses, many of which are twisted like a snail orHist Rhus Metopium yields a substance called Hog gum (see Brown’s Nat.
, p. 177), but I know not whether it be identical with the gum above
b 4 DD p LTERA T I0N .—The inferior and cheaper kinds of gum (as the Bar-^° r th no* ^ n ^ an > an( f Senegal gums) are not unfrequently substituted(°r s , I uikey or Arabic gum, especially in the form of powder. FlourAyqil rc - 1 ) is sometimes mixed with powdered gum : the adulteration istioq f ec pgnized by the blue colour produced on the addition of a solu-(j 0 l0( ^ nc to the cold mucilage of suspected gum.
position.—S everal ultimate analyses of gum have been made.°st important are those of Berzelius {Ann. de Chim. xcv. 77),