414 MR. W. T. T. DYER ON SOME NEW ECONOMIC 
* I am sending in a separate parcel a small specimen of wax 
prepared by Mr. Hart from one of our native trees, which may 
be of sufficient interest to have a place in your Museum. It has 
been prepared from the seeds of Myrica microcarpa, Benth., an 
amentaceous plant, growing abundantly on the hills of Jamaica at 
elevations of about 5000 feet. The seeds were simply boiled with 
water for about half an hour, and then allowed to cool, the wax 
forming (when cool) a cake on the surface of the water. This 
was melted again in an earthen vessel to allow the dross to settle 
to the bottom, after which the wax becomes clean and clear.” 
As the tree is very abundant in Jamaica, and is of no use 
except for fire-wood, it would be a very desirable thing if any 
commercial use could be found for the wax, as it can be prepared 
in such an exceedingly simple manner. 
7. Trapa verbanensis, De Notaris. 
During a recent visit to Italy I was shown, at Pallanza on the 
Lago Maggiore, bandsome rosaries made of the fruits of a Trapa. 
They undoubtedly belonged to the form of Trapa natans described 
by De Notaris* as Trapa verbanensis, the specific name being 
derived from the old name, Verbano, of the Lago Maggiore. Spe- 
cimens of the form have been distributed by Alessio Malin- 
verni in Benitz’s ‘Herbarium Europeum. This collector states 
that it is abundant in the Lago Maggiore, ripening its charac- 
teristic fruits by October. Sir George MacLeay, F.L.S., how- 
ever, informs me that the fruits (known locally as * frutti di lago o, 
used for the manufacture of the rosaries are obtained from the 
Lago di Varese. 
8. Ngai Camphor. 
In looking through the report by Mr. A. Frater, H.M. Consul 
at Kiungchow, on the trade of that port during 1881 (March 3, 
1882), I observed that mention was made of “ prepared Artemisia 
moxa (for the manufacture of Indian ink)” as a principal export 
from Chia-chik T. Mr. Frater was good enough, on application, 
to send us a specimen, and it turned out to be not, as we had 
expected, the plant in some dried state, but a camphor-like 
substance, which revealed nothing as to its origin. 
* Memoria letta alla Reale Accademia dei Lincei: Roma, 1876. 
+ ‘Commercial Reports by Her Majestys Consuls in China, 1881, pt. L 
p. 67. 
