644 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[March i, 1884. 



a chisel-like axe, a "parang,'* or long knife with a sword- 

 hladp, 12 to 14 inches long, or an axe perfectly wedge-shaped. 

 The last is used by Chinese, the two former by Malays; 

 they are all of the native mannfacture. As soon as the tree 

 is felled, the g -eatest haste is made to lop ott' all the branches, 

 otherwise the gutta-percha ascends to the leaves and is thus 

 lost. Narrow strips of bark, 1 inch broad, and six inches 

 apart, are next cut out around the tree, except the part 

 of thp trunk buried in tbe ground, the contained gutta of 

 which, about 25 per cent, is lost. The bark is then beaten 

 ■with mallets, and the gutta flows slowly, changing from a 

 yellowish white to a reddish tinge, and rapidly concreting. 

 Bamboos, pieces of bark, &c., receive the juice as it flows. 

 This 'M-aw" or gutta-muntah, is collecte<l together and 

 pressed into a ball or slab, a hole being made in it for 

 facility of carriage. It often reaches our market in this 

 raw state. For the preparation of good gutta, these balls 

 are boiled in a shallow iron pan, called a "quali," kneaded 

 into bails or fanciful shapes, and then the result is ready 

 for expoi tation. This boiling is most important if the good 

 qualitii^s of the gutta are to be preserved. 



There is a further process which the gutta-percha has 

 often to undergo at the port of shipment, that of "roboiling." 

 This consists of classif jdng and assorting the numerous parcels, 

 of all sizes, shapes, colours, and qualities, into certain classes. 

 These y»arcels are often adulterated to an alarming extent. 

 The Chinese are great adepts at this classification, and the 

 custom is to mix together small parcels of different varieties, 

 so as to produce a "standard sample." This is done by 

 slicing the gutta, boiling in large shallow iron pans, and 

 constantly stirring. Sometimes the juice of the lime fruit 

 or cocoa-nut oil is added during the boiling, the former 

 to hasten coalescence, and the latter to give a better appearance 

 to the product. When sufficiently boiled, the gutta is taken 

 out of the pans, pressed into large moulds, and packed 

 for shipment. 



At various pei'iods during the last 15 years, the subject 

 of gutta-percha and its supply for commercial jnirposes has 

 eugigied my attention, and a brief resiimt of the results 

 of these inquiries may not prove out of place. In these remarks 

 1 may have to repeat a little of what I have stated with 

 rt^gjird to pseudo-guttas, but this I do for sake of com- 

 pleteness. 



As will be seen, there are numerous varieties of gutta- 

 pcL-cha, and these differ most materially in character and 

 - v;due. These varieties are often mixed by natives, and 

 gi-iiat harm is done thereby to a good gutta. But the 

 g (".atest harm in this direction is done by the Chinese and 

 cithers, at the port of shipment, by the process of "reboiling." 

 'Pracels of different varieties, particularly if of low or in- 

 ferior quality, are mixed together, and a certain quantity 

 of best gutta added to give "tone" to the parcel, and allow 

 of its passing muster. Sometimes this "tone" only con- 

 sists of a skin of good gutta over a core of bad. Now, 

 some of these "low varietit;s" have no right to be classed 

 as ''gutta-percha," unless, indeed, we extend or "expand" 

 the significance of the term so as to include such sub- 

 stances as kowrie gum, gambler, and cutch. This indis- 

 criminate mixing, to a manufacture, is a serious matter, 

 and I believe that, in some cases, where a ''fault" occurs 

 in a cable, it arises from the fraudulent admixture in the 

 gutta of some such resinous substance and its subsequent 

 crystallising out. It must be borne in mind that a small 

 percentage of such an admixture naay render a cable utterly 

 useless at a most critical moment. That such a reprehensiiile 

 practice of admixture does take place, I have had personal 

 opportunities of observing. There are many varieties of 

 gutta-percha which are valuable, but the mixing of these 

 different varieties should be left to the manufacturer at 

 home, as he alone can best judge of the mixturu or blend- 

 ing most adapted for the purpose he has in contemplation. 

 That there is a necessity for boiling gutta-percha before 

 sending it home seems to me conclusive, and if not pro- 

 perly performed by the natives it should be done by the 

 merchants before shipment, and for the following reasons: — 

 Pure gutta-percha, as it flows from the tree, is a, viscid 

 fluid, acquiring milkiness and concreteness on exposure to 

 the atmosphere. By the absorption of oxygen it splits up 

 in time into two resins, known us aHnue a,nd fluctvile. This 

 pioneuess to resiuification in gutta-percha I have often 

 noticed and experimented upon, and that by boiling the 

 gutta-percha as soon as possible after collection this is 

 Eirreetod, I have proved both at liome and abroad. Xhus 



if a piece of '"raw," or gutta-muntah, be taken, and the 

 half be well boiled and pressed, it will retain its good 

 qualities, wliereas the other will become a resinous mass. 

 Thus, through the gutta not being thoroughly well boiled 

 at first, what would otherwise be of good (luality becomes 

 deteriorated in quality, or absolutely useless.* 



In preparing gutta, therefore, for market, all large blocks 

 should be cut open, well boiled, and pressed in the form 

 of small thin slabs. This should also be doue with gutta- 

 muntah, and thus not on'v will freight be saved, but gross 

 adulteration and dtpieciation of value by chemical changes 

 will be reduced to a minimum. 



In my paper at tiie Society of Arts, on "India-rubber," 

 and my report on tlie same subject to the Secretary of 

 State for India, I gave the opinion that it was not necessary 

 to cut trees down to obtain the Indiarubber, and that trees, 

 after allowing a certain period of rest, could again be 

 "tapped." This, where carried out as I indicated, has not 

 only proved practicable, but also a great saving, and a much 

 more economical method of working a forest. 



The native evidence against "tapping" gutta-percha 

 trees is nearly overwhelming. They insist on the necessity 

 of cutting down the trees. This may arise from indolence, 

 a wish at one operation to obtain the greatest possible 

 quantity without a thought to future supply, or from the 

 want of sufficient aggregation of the trees within a resonable 

 distance, to obtain a sufficient quantity of gutta to repay 

 collection. Gutta-percha does not How so readily as Caout- 

 chouc does, and also more rapidly concretes. The yield 

 in the rainy season is nearly double that of the dry season, 

 due possibly to two reasons, first, that nature has not yet 

 been called upon to use up the gutta-percha for the elabor- 

 ation of new tissues, or, second, the greater amount of 

 moisture causing greater fluidity in the gutta-percha milk. 

 The Dutch Govermnent tried to induce the natives to 

 practice " tapping," but without success, and " boring," as 

 is practised with the sugar maple, met with a like result. 

 The question can only be set at rest in a well regulated 

 plantation. 



The many and various purposes to which gutta-percha 

 is now applied are legion, rendering an enormous and 

 regular supply absolutely necessary. For our commercial 

 supplies of any staple article, we canuot long depend on 

 the spontaneous products of the forest; a statement that, 

 to an economic botanist, has the full force of an axiom. 

 These products are collected in a mo.st reckless and destructive 

 manner, and then only when other and better, or, at least, 

 easier means of livelihood fail. The requirements of 

 civilisation and space for agricultural piu-suits, jungle fires, 

 kc.y are great destructive agents to the existence of forests. 

 Often have I seen a spot which had cost nature centuries 

 to fill with her wondrous handiwork, turned by recklessness 

 into a veritable charnel house. 



As to the number of gutta-percha trees which have been 

 destroyed. Dr. Oxley calculated that to supply the 6.918 

 piculs (1 picul equal ISli^ lb.) exported from Singapore, from 

 the fii'st January, 1845 to 1847, 69,180 trees were sacrificed ; 

 and, according to the .Snratrak Oiaette, 3,000,000 trees were 

 required to supply the !hi,000 piculs exported from this 

 district during 1854 to 1^74. These are only two instances, 

 the first, showing the trade in its infancy; and the second, 

 that of a limited and compai-atively small producing locality. 

 In fact, the gutta-percha tree has only been saved from 

 utter annihilation because trees under the age of 12 yeara 

 do not repay the trouble of cutting down. Still, it is clear 

 that the growth of young trees of the best varieties has 

 not kept pace with the destruction, but are becoming much' 

 scarcer, so that recourse now, more than ever, has to be 

 had to the products of very inferior varieties. 



At the present time there is a great difficulty in obtain- 

 ing sufficient supplies of the best varieties, especially for 

 telegraphic piu'poses. 



Onltivatio!! and acclimatisation is our only resource, and 

 the Government of the Straits Settlements have a splendid 

 opportunity for carrying this matter out, "We have now 

 a great amount of ^lower and influence in the Malayan 

 Peninsula, and could easily introduce a form of Forest 

 Conservancy. By letting or "farming" out these forests 

 for collecting gutta and other forest products, the working 

 expenses of conservancy would be secured, the native rajahs 



* J'itfe "■Remarks on Balata and other pReu<Io-Guttas," 

 Jour. Sof. Arts, Nov. 2'3, 1883, pages 15 and 1(5. 



