Class TV.

GUMS AND RESINS EXHIBITED BY EAST INDIA COMPANY.

73

Name.

Plant which yield:

Whence Imported. 1849 I860

Lac, lump - - - ~ -;

Lac, seed - — - - —.

Lac, plate - - - - - {

line, liver plate - - -

Lac, garnet - - — - -

Lac, livery orange - - -

Lac, orange - - - - —

Mastic ------

Myrrh ------

Myrrh ------

Olibanum - - — - —

Peru balsam -----

Kosin, American - - - —

Iiosin, American , pale - —

Sandarach, or Juniper ~ -

Scammony, Virgin - -

Turpentine - - - - -

Turpentine, common - - -

Turpentine. 2nd quality - -

Yellow gum - - - - -

Coccus lacca - - - -

i? ♦> — — — —

5) ?> ~ _ _ “

5> >1 “ “ “ “

:> _ — — —

» :j — — — —

Pistacia lentiscus and atlanticaBalsamodendron myrrha — —

Boswellia thurifera - - -

Myrospermum peruiferum —Abies sp. and Piuus sp. - -

Callitris quadrivalvis — —

Convolvulus scammonia — —

Pinus palustris — — — —

» ?? — — — —

Xanthorhcea liastilis - - -

Calcutta —

_

Tons.

90

Ton*. Cwt*

440 0

5J

-

-

10

16

0

r> ~~

—

—

—

—

» —

—

-,

-

—

ji *“

—

-

-

-

•> —

—

-

—

-

—

—

—

_

_

Constantinople

-

-

-

0

12

Persian Gulf

—

—

0 30

Turkey -

-

-

-

-

East Indies —

-

-

-

5

0

Lima - —

-

-

—

0

o

United States

-

-

GOO

500

0

Mogadore -

—

—

—

—

-

-

-

-

Smyrna —

—

—

—

—

—

—

-

-

0

12

United States

-

-

100

120

0

„

-

-

300

175

0

5 )

—

-

100

100

0

Swan Kiver

-

-

_

-

In the collection of imports, exhibited by the Hill,Committee, there are samples of common turpentine andof rosin from the United States ; of the former, about30,000 barrels, and of the latter, about 2,000 barrels areannually imported into Hull. Turpentiue is separatedby distillation into oil or spirit of turpentine, sometimescalled camphine, and resin or colophony. In its raw stateturpentine is of very little use ; it is chiefly important asyielding those substances.

The collection of gums and resins exhibited by theEast India Company (pp. 376, 377) is very extensiveand interesting, and forms an important division of thegreat collection of the raw produce of the Indian em-pire, for which the Jury have recommended the award ofa Council Medal. The series is so numerous, and manyof the substances which it contains are so little knownin Europe , that it would hardly be possible, at present,to give any detailed report on the individual samples. Inthe following remarks, therefore, only a few of the morestriking substances are noticed, whilst a great number ofsubstances are necessarily reserved, for future study andinvestigation. Even a slight examination of the naturalraw produce of India shows the immense resources ofthe country; and when we remember the varied andabundant productions which may be had in almost unli-mited quantities, and at very little more trouble than themere cost of collection (for in such a soil and climatenature needs but little artificial aid), it is not saying toomuch to assert that no portion of the globe is more highlyfavoured by nature, or more able to supply those sub-stances which minister to the wants and luxuries of man-kind. With a fertile soil and a generous climate, vegeta-tion of all sorts is rapid and luxuriant; and as labour ischeap and abundant, everything seems most favourable toagriculture and the growth of all vegetable products.There are, however, several great obstacles which haveever retarded the increasing prosperity of India , andwhich present the most serious difficulties in the way ofits commercial development; especially the inert, care-less, and indifferent habits of the natives, confirmed andkept up by religious peculiarities and long-establishedprejudices. Not only are the natives of India whollyignorant of the value of many of the natural productionsof the empire, and therefore quite indifferent to theirvery existence, but at the same time, also, the manufac-turers of Europe being unacquainted with many of thesesubstances, or being ignorant that they may be had inalmost unlimited quantities from our eastern possessions,do not avail themselves of the advantages which are infact within their reach. Many of the natural produc-tions of India will unquestionably become importantarticles of trade to this country, when their value is betterknown ; and this result, whilst advantageous to our owncountry, will, at the same time greatly benefit India , andwill lead to the construction of good roads, or othermodes of transit, by means of which, internal traffic,

and the speedy, cheap, and safe carriage of merchan-dize may be effected. The continued and perseveringefforts of European skill and capital, will no doubt intime, to a great extent, remove or diminish these ob-stacles ; but, in the mean time, the evil effect whichthey produce on the natural advantages of the Indian empire is enormous.

Among the East Indian resins there are some interest-ing specimens of lac; the sample of shell-lac in large,thin orange sheets is of Very superior excellence, and isaltogether far above any met with in commerce.

The specimens of lac from Singapore , which is statedto be abundant in the jungles of the Peninsula , but hasnot hitherto been collected as an article of commerce,though not first-rate, are 6till highly commendable, andworthy of encouragement. The Jury deem them de-serving of Honourable Mention.

Good samples of lac are also contributed from Bombay ;from Ganjam, by A. P. Onslow ; by G. G. Nicol, fromSiam ; from Nepal , by His Highness the Maharajah ofNepal; from Beerbhoom, specimens of the two varietiescalled bala and chanch ; and from the Kajpootana States,samples of bur-lac, or lac produced on the Ficus indica ,also lac from the Ficus religiosa , Zizyphus jujuba , andth e Acacia concinna or Mimosa abstergens. An interestingseries of samples from Assam , illustrating the formation,collection, and uses of lac, is contributed by Dr. C. Huff-nagle. For this series, together with several othersmall collections of raw produce shown in illustration ofthe native manufactures of India , the Jury awarded aPrize Medal to Dr. Huffhagle.

The samples of gutta percha from Joliore, Malay penin-sula, contributed by W. Kerr, of Singapore , togetherwith the illustrations of the native modes of working thesubstance, and the purposes to which it is applied, are in-teresting and important. It is to be regretted that thesame careless and wasteful mode of collecting this valua-ble substance, is, for the most part, still employed, as wasoriginally the case when it was first introduced into Eu-rope eight years since by Dr. Montgomerie, of Singa-pore ; namely, recklessly cutting down the large treesfor the sake of a few pounds of the substance ; from this,it naturally follows that the tree gradually becomes lessabundant, and, Consequently, ere long the price of thearticle will probably increase so much as to preclude italtogether from being used for many purposes. TheJury awarded a Prize Medal for this series. Some of thefirst samples of gutta percha ( Isonamlra girt(a), sent overto the East India Company by Dr. Montgomerie, and forthe introduction of which he received the Gold Medal ofthe Society for the Encouragement of Arts and Manufac-tures, in 1843, are exhibited by Col. Bonner of the EastIndia House.

The specimen of gutta trap from Singapore , a sub-stance evidently allied to gutta percha and caoutchouc,and employed there in the manufacture of bird-lime, is