Sept. if 



ISS6.} 



THfi TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



197 



noticed here, since they are represented more fully 

 in the North Borneo Court. Of the birds' nests 

 three varieties are shown. The first and best are 

 quite white and are said to be those which have 

 been collected after thsy have been finished by the 

 birds, but before the eggs are laid; the second quality 

 appears to consist of the nests which have been used 

 but in which young biras have not been raised ; and 

 the third contains adhering feathers. The two former 

 are known as white and the last as black birds' 

 nests. These appear to be made by different birds, 

 for, as pointed out by Mr. Lowder, the feathers do 

 not merely adhere but are imbedded in the salivary 

 layers of which the nests are formed ; portions of 

 dried seaweea or lichens are also incorporated. The 

 binis inhabit caverns near the sea or sometimes in- 

 land, as in I'pper Perak, and the limestone caverns 

 of Mount Gormanton, in Borneo, and the sandstone 

 ones at Sandakan head.* They are collected, at great 

 risk to life and Hmb, twice a year, in various parts of 

 the Eastern Archipelago. There appears to be some 

 doubt as to the exact species which build these 

 uesis. CoUocaiia Liiichi, Horsf. being given in the 

 Straits Settlements' Catalogue as the species. Mason, 

 however, states that this bird makes a brown nest of 

 moss glued together, while Collocalm eaculenta makes 

 its nest of repeated layers of glutinous salivary 

 matter alone. The latter bird is called the -'lawet" 

 in Java, while the name '• linchi " is applied to the 

 smaller species named Colloculia Lincki. Possibly 

 the white nests are the product of C escidenta and 

 the black ones of C Linchi. Two other species, 

 however, appear to produce edible nests and these 

 are known respectively as C. »pod<yx>y(jla Peale,t and 

 ('. fuciph'.uja Horsf.,* which occur in the Amlaman 

 Islands, the latter also in Tenasserim. 



The nests are often brown or discoloured at the 

 parts where they are attached to the rocks, and 

 have to bo cleaned for the Penaug market. The 

 white nests are used by the wealthy Chines as an 

 ingredient in soups, 120 grams being used for the 

 litre of soup. The dirty nests are said to be employed 

 to make a particular kind of glue. The first ijuality 

 is valued at 2,-500 dollars per picul, the second at 

 1,500 dollars, and the third at 1,000 dollars. It is cal- 

 culated that as much as 242,400 lb. of these nests are 

 annually exported to China from the Indian Archi- 

 pel.igo. In some parts of China as much as £9 has 

 been paid for a catty (about IJlb.) ot these nests. 

 At one time it was supposed that the substance of 

 which they are composed was seaweed collected by 

 the birds, and some discussion has taken place in 

 XaUire on this subject.^ It appears now to be de- 

 finitely settled that it consists of a salivary secre- 

 tion similar to that used by the swallows in this 

 country in binding together the clay of which their 

 nests are made. Like another article highly prized 

 by the Chinese, it appears to be considered a tonic 

 and invigorating remedy, and is also used as a restor- 

 ative by opium smokers; it is prescribed in consump- 

 tion, aiid for convalescents after protracted ilut.ss. A 

 detaded and interesting account of the commerce in 

 these nests may be found in .Simmond's ' Animal 

 Food llesoiu-ces,' p. 141. 



Borneo camphor does not appear to have received 

 the attention it deserves in this country. So astute 

 a people as the Chinese have doubtless some good 

 reason for their preference of this camphor to that 

 which can be procured at one-twelfth of the price 

 in Formosa and .Japan. It does not appear to have 

 been noticed that although the odour of the Borneo 

 camphor is not altogether agreeable, the taste is 

 by no means so disagreeable as that of Foimosa 

 camphor. Its physiolog.cal properties also cannot be 

 sai I to have been fairly tested. For this purpose well 

 dtfioed crystals only should be used, since it is pro- 

 bable that the smaller crystals are frequently adult- 

 erated vv'ith crude Formosa camphor, because the 



* Burbidge, ' Gardens of the Sun,' p. 237. 



t Masou, ' Burinah,' i., p. 35S. 



X Linn. 2Va7ts., xiii., p. 142. 



§ Nature, May 27, p. 86, to June 3, p. 101. 



large crystals do not appear to be volatile, while the 

 smaller ones frequently furnish a crystalline sublimate 

 at ordinary temperatures. 



The high price of the drug is in part due to the 

 fact that a large number of trees have to be ex- 

 amined before the collector can find one C'lntaiuing 

 the camphor in a crystalline state. Many of the 

 trees yield oil, but very few contain camphor. The 

 presence of the latter is ascertained by making a 

 hole in the tree with a native axe at about 14 or 

 18 feet from the ground, till near the heart, where a 

 deeper incision with a smaller aperture is made ; 

 if the oil is present it gushes out and is received in 

 bamboos or other vessels. Some hundreds of trees 

 may be thus examined before camphor is seen. "When 

 a tree containing camphor is found it is felled and 

 cut into pieces about 6 feet long, or less, and these 

 are .>^plit open, when the camphor is found in the 

 heart wood occupying a space about the size of a 

 man's fore-arm. The produce of n medium-sized tree, 

 i.e.. about 2h feet in diameter, is about 11 pounds, and 

 of a very large one, say G feet in diameter, about 

 double that quantity. Camphor found iu this way 

 is distinguished as "seaaniong," and that met with 

 in holes of trees that have been previously cut is 

 known as "oogar," the scrapings of the wood being 

 known as "belly and foot."* Trees less than two 

 feet in diameter rarely produce camphor, oil being 

 found in the younger trees, but sometimes a pitchy 

 or resinous looking substance is found in the cavities 

 in the trunk. 



Probably on account of the uncertainty of finding 

 camphor in the trees the natives and the Malays 

 have very superstitious ideas regarding its collection. 

 While searching for it they abstain from certain 

 kinds of food, eat a little earth, and use an artificial 

 language called the bussCi k^por, i.e., camphor lau- 

 guiige. It is beleived that if this language b*' not 

 used gnat difticulty will be experienced in finding 

 the trees, and when found the camphor will not 

 yield itseif.f There are some men who pretend to 

 a special intuition as to the trees whicti will yield 

 camphor. These are styled Toongoo Nyr Capoor. 

 FnlKr details concerning the commercial qualities 

 of this camphor may be found in a former number 

 of this Journal. I 



Some fine specimens of the camphor wood are 

 shown in this Court. The tree is a very large one, 

 and the wood is extensively employed for making 

 boxes, furniture, etc. It is said to be abundant in 

 the island called Polo Bai, in Sandakan Bay, and 

 in Padas district. 



Another exhibit worthy of a brief notice is a kind 

 of guano or manure, consisting of the excrements 

 of swallows and bats. This is found forming a deep 

 layer in caves, especially in East Borneo in the 

 neighbourhood of Gormanton ; it forms an important 

 but, as yet. almost untouched store of this valuable 

 material. 



Hong' Kong. 



The Hong Kong Exhibit comprises but few objects 

 of pharmaceutical interest, but these are well worthy 

 of notice. The first object that strikes the eye on 

 entering the Court from the upper end is a small 

 collection of native remedies shown by Messrs. A. S. 

 AS^atson and ('o., but which is not mentioned in the 

 General Catalogue. Several of the articles, such as 

 chaulmugra oil, will be familiar to pharmacists in 

 this country, but a few others, such as cypre.ss seed 

 and cypress oil, oil of coconut sh^-ll, bean oil (Soja 

 hispida), oil of Camellia odotijcra, wood oil (Jleurites 

 cordata), and oyster oil and oyster cake, left after 

 removal of the oil, strike one as articles hardly known 

 in Europe. 



The properties of the Chinese " wood oil " — which 

 is very different from the oleoresin known in English 

 commerce as wood oil or Gurgun balsam — have been 



* ' Asiatic Researches,' vol xii., p. 539. 



t Joimi. S. I. Archipelago, 1847, p. 368. 



I Pharm. Journ. [3], vol. xv., pp. 795, 796, 894. 



