GAMBIER, catechu, temt japoniat.
Piu-lan.kau, . . Cruet. Gambia, . . . MALAY.
Gambier is extracted from the leavesand shoots of the Uncaria gambler, in Sink, Malacca, and Bittang. As brought to the market, it resembles in appearance and consistency little square blocks of yellow mud. A gambier plantation has much the appearance of brushwood of three years' growth, with leaves of a dark green colour. The plant is seldom over 7 or 8 feet high. It is much culti vated at Singapore, and is planted 6 feet asunder. The cropping of the leaves may commence when about 18 months old, but the plant is at its full growth when twn years old, and its leaves and young branches may thus be cropped once in two months. The croppings are thrown into a large caldron of hot water, and boiled for 6 or 7 hours, till ttll the extract be inspissated into a thick, pasty fluid. This is now poured into shallow troughs a little more than an inch deep, and allowed to cool and dry, when it is cut up into little inch blocks, and is then ready for the market of Siam, Cochin-China China, and the Archi pelago, where, along with betel-nut in a lad of the piper betel (Siri), it is largely chewed as a masti catory. The average size of the Singapore plan tations were of 30 acres, and when in full bearing employed 8 men. A plantation becomes exhausted and woni out in 15 years from its commencement. Ati a preservative for tiinber, dissolve three parts of gambler in twelve of dammer oil, over a slow fire ; then stir in one part of lhne, sprinkling over the top ; to prevent its coagulating and set ting in a mass at the bottom, it must be well and quickly stirred. It should then be taken out of
the caldron and ground down like paint on a mailer till it is smooth, and afterwards returned to the pot and heated. A little oil should be added to make it tractable, and the composition can then be laid over the material with a common. brush. As a protection against the teredo, black varnish or tar is substituted for dantiner oil, omitting the grinding down, which would not answer with tar. It is largely imported into Britain ; from 1846 to 1850 the average quantity entered was 1200 tons, priced at .£13 to .t..14 the ton ; in 1870, 19,050 tons. It is duty free. It is used in tanning, is employed inedicinally as tut astringent, as a preservative of timber exposed to water, also for canvas; the gaiubier may be in solution, but if applied to a ship's bottom, it should be in the form of a composition of clamant, gambier, and daminer oil. It is also recommended to be applied in house-building to protect the beams from the white ants, and in shipbuilding as a composition on the butts, and on the outside of the timber previously to planking. Gambier may also presem timber from dry-rot. —Jour. Indian Archipelago, March 1850, p. Cleg horn's Panful, Report, 1859-60, p. 7 ; Statistic..? of Commerce.