'S8 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Skptember I, 1883 



Aljiig correspoiuleiice on the rubbers ami guttas of the 

 Strails Sottk'ments iippL-ared in the report ou the progress 

 and c audition of the Koyal Gardeus at Kew tUuiug the 

 year 18sl, and au extract taken from it will perhaps be 

 acce] liable to your readers interested in new tropical pro- 

 duct--' : — " Tin: tiutbti-i>crclia yielded by this species is known 

 in tl.r Straits Seltlenirnts as Gutta-Taban. Two varieties 

 are ■listinguihlicd, Gutta-taban Puteh (white) and Gutta- 

 tahi^ I Merah (rod). The trees prodnciug the former is 

 said by Dr. Deiiuys only to differ f roni th^i latter" in the 

 faci tluit its flowers are white instead of red. Gutta-taban, 

 of \\hiehevcr variety, produces the standard gutta-perclia 

 of lomnierce, and is therefore of most importance." All 

 aciMiunts agree in the general features of the localities 

 in whicli Gutta-percha producing trees are found to thrive. 

 Mr. Low describes them as growing iu the forests on the 

 si<! ■ of e\'ery hill and mountain in Perak ; adding, that they 

 do not Hourisli iu the plains. 



ilr. Murton states that the tree producing Gutta Taban 

 is most abundant on Gunougs Meeru and Sayong, and 

 ]'.ujong Malacca. A few large trees still exist on (runong 

 ]lul)0 and the Thaipuug range, while small plants from 

 3 to 8 feet are abinidant on the granite formations in 

 3'erak up to 3,500 feet elevation. (Tlie Malay meaning of 

 tluuong hubois : — Gunong, a mountain, and Bubo or boobu 

 its formation. I have asked several times of old Jlalay 

 colonists the meaning of the hitter word, aud some .say 

 it means a stamp or impression, others that the coast fisher- 

 men give it that name ; liowever, it is a large mountjiiu 

 5,620 feet about sea-level, and on its summit possesses a 

 peculiar sugarloaf cone rising to a sharp peak and pre- 

 sents a very picturescjue appearance from the deck of a 

 vessel crossing over from Penang to Perak. Our movmtain 

 Garden at Gapis a,600 feet is hidden by Gunong Bubo from 

 sea view. The Kesident was an.xious to cut a road to the 

 top of it, but lately altered his mind regarding the for- 

 mation of a sauatorium and cinchoua garden up there and 

 sen*, the writer to cut a road to Gunong Hejou instead 

 a large mountain facing Gonoug Bubo 4,400 feet only 

 lately I accompanied tlie Assistant Resident and the 

 Superintendent of P. W. D. to tlie very top of the peak, 

 breakfasting iu the jungle en route and we collected some 

 rare ferns, orchids, pitcher plants, anectacalus, begonias aud 

 other plants much in demand by new arrivals in Perak. 

 To return to the suljject, In SeLangor, Captain 

 Douglas described the trees as growing to a large size on 

 the slopes of low hills in dense primitive forests; they 

 prefer a rich yellowish loamy strong soil, and aspect appers 

 to be of little or no consequence. The young trees re- 

 (piire shade and good drainage, the one Ijeing afforded by 

 the tree from which they spring, and tlie other by the 

 sloping nature of the ground in which they grow. 



'• It does not appear that the iuice is collected at any 

 special period. Mr. Low states, however, that there is a 

 very marked dift'erence in the yield of the wet and dry 

 seasons ; at the former period an average tree will yield 

 some five catties (a catty ^= 1^ lb.) wdiile in the dry season 

 it will yield one. f 'oiisiderable difficulty, by the way, it 

 appears 10 cxi.st in ascertaining the actual yield perjtree, and 

 the difficulty will, owing to native habits of exaggeration, 

 continue until some trustworthy European himself watohes 

 the operation. Mr. Murton states that a native giitta 

 pereha merchant mentioned 40 Eatties as the yield of a 

 single tree, while he liimself from other information, puts 

 down the yield at from 5 to 15 cattle's per tree, and never 

 exceeding "20. [S.ay 27 lb. — not that bad.— 11. C] worth 

 about $20 or ii'U) per tree, at 3s. per lb. in London. In 

 view of the enormous number of trees which must have 

 been destroyed, if oven 10 eatties be taken as an average, 

 I should be inclined to accept the higher estimate. In 

 order to procure the juice, the Taban tree is felled and 

 the Ijark is then ringed in spaces a foot wide and about 15 to 

 18 inches apart. The upper end of the tree is u.sually cut 

 off, as this is said to <-ause it to bleed more freely, liuckets 

 made of wood, coconut shells, or leaves stitched together 

 are used to collect the juice, which is then poured into a 

 hollow bamboo. Thus far the process for all varieties is 

 the same ; but in Perak while the Taban merah is simply 

 boiled until it solidifies, the Taban puteh is Ijoiled with 

 watcn-. salt, and Kamak bark, the ingredients named being, 

 it is alleged, necessary to cause solidification. In .Selangor, 

 where possibly the second variety is not found, the juice 

 is said to be poured into liu irou pan gver a very slow iire 



until it assumes the cousiteucy of a very stiff paste when 

 it is moulded into eonveuient shapes for transport. The 

 destruction of trees involved in this process is so enormous 

 that it seems impossible for the supply to long continue. 

 It is computed that over 7,000 trees were cut down during 

 1877 in the neighbourhood of Klang, while 4,000 must have 

 perished near Selangore in a single month to furnish the 270 

 piculs (apicul=1333lbs.) returned asexported. The estimated 

 auu'jal export from the Straits .Settlements and the Pen- 

 insula was given as 10 millions of lb. in 1875, which at the 

 high average of 15 lb. to a single tree, woidd give GOO.OOO 

 trees. The demand seems always to exceed the supply. 

 The principal adulterant made use of seems to be gutta 

 jelutoug. Singapore and Penang are the chief collecting 

 depots for gutta pereha, and a failure in supply might 

 seriously injure trade of either port." 



Fancy more than half-a-million of trees destroyed 

 worth perhaps two millions of pounds when a moderate 

 supply might be obtained by periodically tajjping or shav- 

 ing the bark. One consolation remains — that millions fo 

 acres suitable to the growth of gutta trees are going beg- 

 ging ill the Peninsula, and if Goverument liked to jilaut 

 extensively there is nothing to prevent them doing so 

 without further loss of time and thereljy keep up the sup- 

 ply of au article becoming more in demand daily. Planters 

 iu Ceylon who are early in the field \vith rubber culture 

 will doubtless be rewardei-l by high [irices for their produce 

 should the supply fall much below the demand in Europe and 

 America. 



To resume the interesting subject of Guttas in the Malay 

 Peninsula a few more extracts will be uecessary from the 

 report on Kew Gardens, the Director of which, the leading 

 botanist of England takes so Uvely an interest, any inform- 

 ation reganliug new varieties will surely interest yoiu' 

 readers who are devoting heart aud soul to make their 

 plautatious pay : — 



" Gutta Suudek. — Although I have coustautly m-ged my 

 correspondents in the Malay Peninsula to send me .speci- 

 mens of the now well known tree producing tliis kind of 

 gutta, no material for its adequate botanical detennina- 

 tion has liitherto reached Kew. Dr. Beanvisage, of Paris, 

 obtained fruiting specimens from Mr. Low, British Kesident 

 at Perak, aud has identified the species. (Contributions a 

 letnde des origines bontaniques de la gutta-percha ; these 

 pour le doctorat eu medicine) with payend (Kefatephorns) 

 Leerii, Hassk. Mr. C. B. Clarke having, however, ex- 

 amined similar siJecimeus from Perak (conmiimieated by 

 Mr. Cautley, Superintendent of the Botanic Garden, Singa- 

 pore) wliile elaborating the Sapotaeeio for tlio Flora of 

 British IncUa, is of opiuion that the identiflcatiou of Beau- 

 visage is erroneous, aud that "without fuller m.aterial, this 

 tree cannot be safely referred to any genus.*' If does 

 not, however, seem to belong to Isonandi'a or Dichojisis. 

 Dr. Trimen, DuCctor of the Koyal Botanic G.irdens, Pera- 

 den.aya, states in his report for 1880: — " I have during the 

 year, through the kind exertions of Mr. Low, our Resident 

 at Perak, received a consignment of germinating seeds of 

 the second best variety of that country. Tliis is called 

 ' Gutali Suudek,' and Mr. Low informs me that it forms a 

 very large tree 120 feet high, but quick gi'oiviiig. From 

 specimens of the foliage and fruit sent with tlie seeds it 

 would .appear (so far as can be identified without flowers) 

 to be a species of Payena,. This is a valuable gift, as 'the 

 G.itah trees iu Perak sufficiently large to pioduce the gum 

 ai'e now very rare, .and very great difficulty arises in pro- 

 curing seeds or specimens.' 'The young plants are grow- 

 ing vigorously iu Perade»iya and Honratgoda." It is 

 as well to meutiou here iliat Mr. Low Her Majesty's 

 Resident of Perak, whose name has been so often quoted 

 as a contributor of seeds and plants of different gutta 

 trees, and whose opiuion on subjects connected with the 

 same in the Straits Settlements and Borneo has not been 

 forgotten by Her iMajesty the Queen for his long aud useful 

 services, numltering thirty-four years in the Straits, out 

 of which he told me himself he had only taken about- 14 

 months' leave to England and still works hard in shaping 

 the wilderness of Perak into a flourishing ])lace, paid 

 otf the Perak war debt, aud commenced a railway, 

 encouraged the mining enterprise — introduced at any cost 

 all tropical pUnts for trial in the country and is still 

 contemplating vast and costly improvements in the shai)e 

 of new roads, townships, public buildings, sanat- 

 oriums and hill gardens. You will be glad to hear that 



