72 Dr Wallich's Account of the new genus Melanorrhcea 



Carey, who resided several years in the Burma empire* 

 Among the people who accompanied me to Ava, both Hindus 

 and Mahomedans, no accident happened, although they fre- 

 quently touched the varnish, except in a slight degree to one 

 of my assistants, whose hand swelled and continued painful 

 ■during two days. Dr Brewster informs me that, after resist- 

 ing its effects for a long time, it at length attacked him in the 

 wrist with such violence that the pain was almost intolerable. 

 It was more acute than that of a severe burn, and the Doctor 

 was obliged to sleep several nights with his hand immersed in 

 the coldest water. He considers it as a very dangerous drug 

 to handle. One of his servants was twice nearly killed by it. 



In the neighbourhood of Prome a considerable quantity of 

 varnish is extracted from the tree ; but very little is obtained 

 at Martaban, owing, as I was told, to the poverty of the soil, 

 and partly also to the circumstance of there being none of the 

 people in that part whose business it is to perform the process. 

 This latter is very simple : short joints of a thin sort of bam- 

 boo, sharpened at one end like a writing-pen, and shut up at 

 the other, are inserted in a slanting direction into wounds, 

 made through the bark of the trunk and principal boughs, 

 and left there for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, after which 

 they are removed, and their contents, which rarely exceed a 

 quarter of an ounce, emptied into a basket made of bamboo 

 or rattan previously varnished over. As many as a hundred 

 bamboos are sometimes seen sticking into a single trunk dur- 

 ing the collecting season, which lasts as long as the tree is 

 destitute of leaves, namely, from January until April ; and 

 they are renewed as long as the juice will flow. A good tree 

 is reckoned to produce from \\ to 2, 3, and even 4 Viss an- 

 nually, a Viss being equal to about 3Jlbs. avoirdupois. In 

 its pure state it is sold at Prome at the rate of one Tical, or 

 2«. Qd. the Viss. At Martaban, where every thing was dear 

 when I was there, the drug was retailed at ^ Madras rupees 

 per Viss ; it was of an inferior quality, and mixed with sesa- 

 mum oil ; an adulteration which is often practised. 



The extensive use to which this varnish is applied, indicates 

 that it must be a very cheap commodity. Almost every ar- 

 ticle of household furniture destined to contain either solid or 



