7. Australian or Wattle.—Several Australian species of Acacia furnish gums bearing more or less general resemblance to the commercial gum arabic. Principal among them is the black or green wattle-tree (A. decurrcns dealhatap; next in importance are A. pycnant',a, and A.
homalophylla, besides A. harpophylla and A. Bawllli. The Australian species are of rnuch more rapid growth than the African, and the supply of gum might be rendered abundant. It has been exported for cotton-printing, adhesive, and other applications. It occurs in large hard tears, sticks, and lumps, of pale-yellow, amber, or reddish-brown colour, and transparent ; it is quite solnble in water, forming a strongly-adhesive mucilage, which is less liable to crack when dry than that of some other kinds.
The trade in gums of the arable family has no mean importance. The annual export of Senegal gum amounts to about 3,000,000 kilo. (of 2.21b.). Of Suakin gum, some thousands of hales reached Suez in 1879. Cape Colony exported 101,241 lb. in 1872. Morocco exported 5110 owt. of gums of various kinds (including sandarach) in 1872, a quantity much below the average. The exports of unenumerated gum from Alexandretta in 1379 vrere :-14 tons, value 2240/., to England ; 20 taus, 3200/., to France ; 7 tons, 1120/., to Italy ; 9 tons, 1440/., to Austrit ; 18 tons 1450/., to Turkey ; 22 tons, 1760/., to Egypt; total, 90 tons, 11,210/. Bagdad, in 1878, exparted 21 cwt. guru arabic, value 10/., to India and Europe. The imports of gum arabic into the Bombay Presidency in 1872-3 were :-18 ewt. from Turkey, 136 from the African coast, 13,106 from the Red Sea, 927 from Aden, 165 from the Persian Gulf; total, 14,352 cwt. ; the exports were:-4561 ewt. to the United Kingdom, 60 to France, 3 to Trieste, and 1 to tho African coast ; total, 4625 cwt. Tlieste has ion beon a most important centre of the gum arable trade. The imports here were 2,695,100 kilo. (of 2.2 11-1.) in 1877, 2,726,300 in 1878, and 4,638,400 in 1879 ; the exports in the same years were 2,707,600, 2,796,400, and 3,080,900 kilo. respectively. The shipments to England alone in 1879 were 1586 tons. All the gum received at Trieste is classified into the following 32 grades :— The imports of gum arabio into the United Kingdom were 49,305 cwt., 133,980r., in 1876;
54,014 owt., 167,503/., in 1877; 59,147 cwt., 179,118i., in 1878; 88,957 cwt., 256,677/., in 1879 ; 75,397 owt., 216,072/., in 1880. The imports for 1880 were contributed as follows :—Froin E.4ypt, 51,543 cwt., 149,021/. ; Austrian territories, 6555 owt., 20,519/. ; Aden, 5017 cwt., 14,669/. ; Aus tralia, 4657 owt., 89621.; other countries, 7625 cwt., 22,901/.; total, 75,397 cwt., 216,0721. Our imports from Austrian territories have been :-6502 cwt. in 1876, 5720 in 1877, 4411 in 1878 ; 6964 in 1879 ; from Egypt: 31,981 owt. in 1876, 35,924 in 1877, 42,205 in 1878, 65,024 in 1879 ; from Morocco : 4893 cwt. in 1876, 4869 in 1877, 1459 in 1878, 2810 in 1879, 2401 in 1880; from the Cape: 3 cwt. in 1876, 26 in 1877, 45 in 187S, 32 in 1879, 23 in 1880 ; from S. Australia : 373 cwt. in 1876, 748 in 1877, 1172 in 1878, 4442 in 1879, 3908 in 1880. Our re-exports of gum arable in 1880 were : 5725 owt., 20,923/., to the United States ; 4689 cwt., 12,168/., to Germany ; 3793 cwt., 10,361/., to Holland ; 2562 cwt., 7373/., to Australia ; 2379 cwt., 5739/., to Belgium ; 2316 cwt., 5355/., to Russia ; 1991 cwt., 5719/., to France ; 3253 cwt., 9046/., to other countries ; total, 26,708 ewt., 76,684/.
The approximate London market values of the various kinds of gum included under "arabic " are as follows:—E. India: pale, fine, 2/.-3/. 10s. a cwt.; sorts, middling to fiue, 1/. 15s.-2/. 15s. ; garblings and siftings, 1/. 5s.-2l. Tnrkey : picked good to fine, 6/. 10s.-10/. ; second and inferior, 2/. 103 -5/. 10s. ; in sorts, 1/. 10s.-3/. 5s. Jedda and Taloa : 1/. 4s.-2l, Barbary : brown, 2l.-3l. 5s. Austmlia: 1/. 5s.-2I. 10s. Senegal: 2/. 10s.-3/.
Assafeetida (FR , Asafoetida ; GER., ASctfil'etti t, Asant, Stinkasant, Teufelsdreck).—There are at least 3 distinct kinds of asafcetida :—(1) Hingra in local nomenclature, produced by Narthex Asafoetida Verula Narthex], and constituting the drug of European commerce ; (2) Kandahari-hing, also obtained from Narthex Asafoetida, but only in minute quantity, and unknown outsido of India ; (3) Hirt3, nffordod by Ferula alliacea [Asafoetida], and officinal in India, though scarcely known beyond it.