764 ON THE VOLCANO OF TAAL, 



101. Barringtonia acutangula, Gsertn. Boton and Potat in 

 the Philippine dialects ; Bangung, Javanese ; Piya, Celebes ; 



Balung-bung, Sundanese ; Kaju-kendoon, Sundanese and Java- 

 nese ; Buton-laut, Malay. These splendid trees, with large 

 showy foliage, are seen on all the strands of the Indian Archi- 

 pelago, and extend to Australia. The large quadrangular fruits 

 strew the beach all along the north-east coast of Australia. It is 

 hardly common in the Philippines. It is said that the seed 

 mixed with bait stupefies the fish like Cocculus indicus. The 

 flowers form a ring of crimson stamens, long and drooping, but 

 falling off on the merest touch, in fact even by the heat of the 

 sun, so that after morning the ground near them is strewn with 

 ■the fallen blossoms. 



102. Melaleuca leucadendron, L. Kaju (wood) puti (white). 

 This species, which is the one from which the Cajeput oil is 

 ■produced, is very widely and abundantly diffused in the Indian 

 Archipelago and Malayan Peninsula, but is equally widely 

 distributed in Australia down as far as Sydney. The oil is one 



-of the principal articles of trade in Amboyna, but the best kind 

 comes from Burn, the island separated from Amboyna by only a 

 narrow strait. A Dutchman who carried on the trade at 

 Amboyna, told me that his operations were confined to the south 

 side of the island. The natives belonged to the tribe of Alfurus, 

 and it was very difficult to get them to approach the coast, as 

 they were excessively timid. My informant said that he always 

 had to order the oil that he wanted beforehand, which the 

 Alfurus used to say would be ready in one moon or two, as the 

 case might be, and on returning he would find the people at the 

 place appointed. The oil is obtained by boiling the leaves with 

 water in an iron vessel closed by a wooden lid. A long bamboo 

 tube conducts the steam into a covered cooler, where it is con- 

 densed, and the oil subsequently skimmed off. It is perfectly 

 transparent and as limpid as water. The smell is aromatic and 

 agreeable to some. The samples obtained by me were quite 

 difierent from that usually sold under that name by chemists. It 

 is more limpid, has a deeper and more decided green colour, and 



