PRODUCTS AT THE ROYAL GARDENS, KEW. 413 
fine old trees (which will sell for from 5 to 6 yen) are fast dis- 
appearing "' (p. 5). 
I wrote to Mr. Quin asking him to be so good as to add to his 
other services that of procuring for the Kew Museum specimens 
of the wax alluded to in the foregoing extract from his report. 
These he obtained for us, and he also sent, through the Foreign 
Office, the following additional information about the substance 
itself (Tokio, March 22, 1883) :— 
“ I have also procured wax made from the berries of the Rhus 
vernicifera, in the prefecture of Awomori, and some made in the 
district of Aidzu, together with candles made from it. The wax 
being used locally has not been refined; but I am assured that 
the quality of the wax is equal, if not superior, to that made from 
the berries of the Rhus succedanea. In the N. part of the main 
island the Rhus succedanea does not thrive, though the severe 
climate does not appear to affect the lacquer-tree where it abounds 
in the province of Tsugaru. 
* As stated in my report on the laequer industry of Japan of 
last year, the production of wax from the berries of the Rhus 
. vernicifera, owing to the introduction of kerosine oil and the gra- 
dual destruction of the old trees, has greatly decreased, and doubt- 
less in a few years will have almost ceased. Even at the present 
time the wax produced in the N. does not suffice for the local 
consumption, the deficiency being supplied by wax from the S. 
Provinces, made from the berries of the Rhus succedanea." 
6. Myrica-wax from Jamaica. 
Various species of Myrica yield a wax in different parts of the 
world. The berries are simply boiled, and the wax rising to the 
surface is skimmed off and moulded into cakes. Mixed with 
tallow, the wax of Myrica cordifolia, E., is used at the Cape in 
candle-making. M. cerifera, L., yields a similar product in N. 
America, and a variety of species are utilized in a similar way in 
Central America. 
The Kew Museum possesses a candle of Myrica-wax from the 
“ W. Indies," presented by Professor Ansted, and a moulded 
block of what is probably a similar material from St. Domingo. 
For the first authentic sample from these islands we are, how- 
ever, indebted to D. Morris, Esq., F.L.S., Director of Public 
Gardens and Plantations, Jamaica. The following particulars 
respecting it were contained in a letter dated March 15, 1883 :— 
LINN. JOURN.—BOTANY, VOL, XX. 2L 
