686 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Isonandra gutta, of the order SapotacecB, which formerly abounded 

 at Singapore and in all Malaysia, but which now tends to disap- 

 pear under the ravages committed by gatherers. Gutta, in Malay, 

 signifies gum or lime; perclia signifies scrap. Incisions are made 

 in the bark, as on rubber trees, and the liquor flows of perfect 

 whiteness, darkening at contact of air. Coagulation takes place 

 spontaneously in a short time. Like rubber, the liquid forms a 

 film on top. This cream is removed, kneaded into a large lump 

 and plumped into boiling water. Under the action of a high tem- 

 perature it softens and forms the cake usually found in commerce. 

 Other trees in Malaysia and Farther India, in Cambodia and 

 Cochin China, produce good gutta. In Hindustan different 

 grades are mixed by the natives. Chinese merchants, in their 

 depots, mix and manipulate to give a good superficial appearance 

 to the product, as the price is constantly advancing. As the 

 gatherers also do not scruple to add vegetable debris, earth, or 

 sand, it has become difficult to secure a pure article. An inferior 

 quality is obtained from trees and climbers in Africa and Mada- 

 gascar, and, with the development of those countries, more may 

 be expected. For the present, the same ravaging system of gath- 

 ering seems bound to prevail in these countries as that which the 

 now indispensable gutta-percha and India-rubber growths are 

 suffering in other countries. The valuable discovery of enor- 

 mous supplies of gutta trees in the vast forests of Guiana 

 was made about 1860. As might be expected, the rich flora of 

 Brazil furnishes many varieties of the tree ; one of which, the 

 Mimusops elata, exudes a white liquid of an agreeable flavor, 

 which is often used with tea or coffee. Other countries to be 

 mentioned are Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Australia. (For the 

 botany of India rubber and gutta-percha, the reader is referred 

 to E. Chapel's comprehensive work, Le Caoutchouc et la Gutta- 

 percha.) Some growths produce caoutchouc gutteux, a substance 

 of inferior quality, having the character of gutta-percha and 

 India rubber. 



The largest quantities of gutta-percha come from the Sunda 

 Islands, Cochin China, Cambodia, and Hindustan. At first it 

 was exported exclusively from Singapore, but now some ship- 

 ments are made direct from the above-mentioned regions, from 

 the island of Celebes and the Philippines; some going to the 

 United States and the ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, but 

 the greatest portion to England. 



The different varieties in European markets are designated 

 after their place of origin, the best being the Macassar, Java, 

 Sumatra, Borneo, etc. The gutta-percha of the Orient is of vari- 

 ous colors. The best grades are white or grayish, slightly rose- 

 tinted, and generally contain very little foreign substance; in- 



