424 DR MACLAGAN ON THE BEBEERU TREE OF BRITISH GUIANA. 



SCHOMBURGH ; but I have been unable to trace any reference to such a plant in 

 his catalogues of British Guiana Plants, hitherto published in the Botanical Ma- 

 gazine. 



The timber of the tree is well known to wood merchants by the name of 

 Greenheart ; and I find that several loads of it are imported annually into the 

 Clyde, for the use of carpenters and shipbuilders. There can be no doubt, that 

 this timber is the produce of the tree yielding the bebeeru bark ; for 1 have re- 

 ceived from Greenock specimens of the wood with the bark attached, and find the 

 latter identical in characters with that sent to me directly from Demerara. The 

 appearance of the wood justifies the English name. It is of a pale yellowish- 

 green colour, very hard, and heavier than water, its density, when its pores 

 are full of air, being 1080. It polishes readily ; is said to be durable, and an- 

 swers well for shipbuilding, and for making dock-gates, &c. ; but it is difficult to 

 work, and apt to split in driving bolts through it. 



The plant appears, both from its use as timber and from the appearance of 

 its bark, to be a large tree. Mr RODIE describes it as a " magnificent variety of 

 laurel ;" but beyond this, I possess no information as to its botanical history. I 

 sent specimens of the fruit to Sir WILLIAM HOOKER and Dr LINDLEY, both of whom 

 considered it to be a lauraceous plant, the latter regarding it as allied to the genus 

 Ocotea. SCHOMBURGH, who saw a decayed flower of it, also referred it to the Lau- 

 rinese, and he considered it as having some affinity to the genus Persea. I must 

 own, however, notwithstanding these authorities, that I have in vain searched 

 through NEES VON ESENBECK'S Systema Laurinarum for any genus, or even sub- 

 order of Lauraceae, at all corresponding in character with this fruit. 



The bebeeru bark has been made the subject of chemical experiment by the 

 original discoverer of its properties, Mr RODIE. He prepared from it a solution of 

 the sulphate of its alkali, some of which was sent to me, but it is obviously mixed 

 with impurities. He does not state what process he followed in preparing it. Mr 

 RODIE had likewise put samples of the bark into the hands of some of the manu- 

 facturing chemists of London, including Messrs HERRING and Mr BATTLEY ; and 

 more lately, Dr BLAIR, of the Seaman's Hospital, Georgetown, Demerara, had 

 operated upon the seeds, following the London Pharmacopoeia process for Sul- 

 phate of Quinine. None of these trials, however, seem to have led to any very 

 satisfactory result as to its chemical history. Most of the experimenters seem to 

 have directed their attention too exclusively towards procuring a crystallizable 

 salt of the alkali, which, as the sequel will shew, is not attainable. I received 

 from Dr BLAIR specimens of crystalline matter, which he obtained in his expe- 

 riments ; but these I find to be only sulphate of lime, with a little adhering orga- 

 nic matter. I soon satisfied myself, that any attempt to procure crystalline 

 salts was out of the question, neither the alkaline matter, nor any of its com- 

 pounds with acids, evincing any tendency to assume the form of crystals. It is 



