THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July i, 1882. 



disappointment — large clearings laid bare by canker, 

 or excess of moisture, or unsuitable soil, or, in some 

 cases, from a cause mysterious enough to defy de- 

 tection so far. Ninety per cent failui'es is a com- 

 mon experience iu clearings, and the appearance of 

 canker among the best trees after two, three, or 

 four years is most discouraging. A West Haputale 

 correspondent reports drainage as sufficient to check 

 the dying-down of an officinalis clearing ; but that 

 will not do in all cases. The alternation of belts 

 of blue gums, or tea-bushet, is likely to do better, 

 and there can be no doubt that, as lime rolls on, 

 experience will render the cinchona industry far more 

 satisfactory and stable than it is at present. In 

 this connection it may be added that Mr. J. T. Eae's 

 little peeling machine — the latest of several inven- 

 tions — is described by those who have seen and used 

 it as by far the cheapest (E25 to E30) and best 

 yet made. At present, we believe Messrs. Walker & 

 Greig of Dimbula and Dikoya cannot overtake the 

 orders coming in for their Mr. Rae's invention. So 

 it will be, we have no doubt, in respect of other 

 products — in cultivation, harvesting and preparation, 

 Ceylon men will be sure to improve steadily and 

 to lead the rest of the tropical planting world. 



GUTTA PEECHA (GUTTA TABAN, &o.). 

 fFrom the Encyclopedia Britminica, vol. xi.^ 



This name* is applied to the concreted or inspis- 

 sated juice of various plants belonging to the natural 

 order Sapotacece, growing in the Malay Peninsula. To 

 what particular tree the name "gutta percha" properly 

 belongs, there is no evidence to show ; but it has 

 been generally given to Dichopsis Gutta (Bentley and 

 Trimen) or Isonandra Gutta (Hooker), the vernacular 

 name of which is " taban. "f 



The Dichopsis Gutta attains a height of 60 to 

 80 feet, with a diameter of 2 to 4 feet. The leaves 

 are obovate-oblong and entire, pale green on the upper 

 side, and covered beneath with short red^lish-brown 

 shining down. The flowers are arranged iu clusters 

 of 3 or 4 in the axils of the leaves. The fruit, 

 about an inch long, is of an ovoid shape, and is 

 eaten by the Malays. In SiAk (Sumatra) a vegetable 

 butter is prepared from the seeds. The wood is soft, 

 fibrous, spongy, of a pale clour, and marked with 

 black lines, these being reservoirs of gutta percha.J 

 The aulta, as it Hows from the tree, is of greyish 

 hue, occ.isionally wiih somewhat roseate tinge, probably, 

 arising from the colour vessels of the bark becoming 

 ruptured through surcharge, and their contents mixing 



* Gutta, or as it is variously written gutsh, gatta, 

 gittAh, gatta, is the Malayan term for gum, ?nd Percha 

 (pronounced as in perch, not hard as perka), accent- 

 uated variously as parcba, ^ertja, perchi'i, is tlie name 

 of the tree ; hence the term m.ay be translated "gum 

 of the perciia iree." The old name of Sumatra was 

 Pulo or Pulau Percha, i.e., "island (Pulau) of the 

 percha tree." 



+ Tubar-, tiiban, tibin, is the name of the tree, 

 and, aCL-drding to Logan, a new word has been added 

 to the Malny language, viz., Met dbaii (Meu[l]:!ban), 

 i.e., to collect gutta taban. The greater number of 

 Mal.iy nouns admit of conversion into verbs hy a 

 prelix. 



J For figures and botanical descriptions see Land. 

 Journ. But.. 1848; De Virese, De Handel in G flak- 

 Percha ; and Bmitley and Trimen's Medicinal Plants, 

 P .rt 35, p. 16 (1878). 



with the gutta. This species does not furnish all the 

 gutta percha of commerce; indeed there are other 

 trees which yield larger quantities. In all there are 

 about thirty varieties known; but some of the vernacular 

 names in dift'erent districts may prove mere synonvms. 



The geographical distribution of the trees producing 

 gutta percha is very restricted. Giitzlafif defines the 

 limits as 6° N. and S. lat. and 100° to 1-0° E. long.; 

 whilst Captain Lingird (who has great personal 

 experience on the subject) gives the limits as 4° N. 

 and 3° S. lat., still further restricting the finer varieties 

 to .3° 50' N. and 1° S., with a temperature ranging 

 between 6ti° and 90° Falir., and a very moist atmosphere. 

 These limits are well within the isotherm of S0° Fahr. 

 Many of the best varieties are found only on the 

 hill slopes at a distance from the sea-coast, each 

 variety forming a separate grove of from 200 to 500 

 trees, with high forest trees above them. They grow 

 best in a rich light loam, with a rocky subsoil. 



The collection of gutta percha generally takes place 

 directly alter the rainy season, as in the dry season 

 the gutta does not flow so readily, while during the 

 rains ague and jungle fever are most prevalent, and 

 the gutta is liable to be washed away from the 

 felled trees. The yield of a wellgrown Iree of the 

 best variety is from 2 to 3 lb. of gutta percha, 

 such a tree being about thirty years old, 30 to 40 

 I'ect high, and IJ to 3 feet in circumferenc A full- 

 grown tree sometimes measures 100 to 140 feet to 

 its first branches, with a girth of 20 feet at a distance 

 of 14 feet from the base, and nay yield 50 to 601b. 

 of gutta percha, which loses in six months about 

 35 per cent, of its weight in drying. 



The methods of extracting the gutta percha are 

 much the same amongst the Malays, Cliinese, and 

 Dyaks. The trees are cut down just above the 

 buttresses, or hanees, as they are called ; and for this 

 purpose a staging about 14 to 16 feet high is erected. 

 The tools used in felling are either "billiongs" or 

 "parangs." A billiong is kind of axe used by the 

 Malays in felling, building, &c. The blade is of 

 ohisei-like form and the tang is secured at right 

 angles to a handle by means of a lashing of "ratan" 

 or cane. The Chinese sometimes use an axe perfectly 

 wedge-shaped. The parang looks more like a sword- 

 bavonet, and in the hands of a Malay is a box of 

 tools in itself, as with it he can cut up his food, 

 fell a tree, build a house, or defend himself. 



When the tree is felled the branches are speedilj' 

 lopped off, to prevent the ascent of the gutta to 

 the leaves. Narrow strios of bark, about an inch 

 broad and 6 inchci apart, are then removed, but 

 not all round the tree, as its underpart iu its fall 

 becomes buried in the soft earth, much sap being 

 thus lost. Some natves beat the bark with mallets 

 to accelerate the flow of milk or gutta. The milk 

 flows slowly (changing colour the while) and rapidly 

 concretes, and, according to its source, may vary from 

 yellowish-white to reddish or even brownish in hue. 

 The gutta as it flows is received into hollow bamboos, 

 doubled up leaves, spa'hes of palms, pieces of bark, 

 e icoa-nnt shells, or in holes scraped in the ground. 

 If the quantity olitain>>d is small, it is prepared on 

 the spot by rubbing it together in the h.ands into 

 a block, in one end of which a hole is made to 

 carry it hy. In this state it is known in the mar- 

 ket as "rawgutla" or "gutta muntah." If water 

 gets mixed with the juice, the gutta becouse stringy 

 and is considered deteriirated, but after boiling 

 appears quite as good. Sometimes the gutta is kept 

 in a raw state for a month or two, and then under- 

 goes the next step in the preparation, that is, boil- 

 ing. The boiling is generally conducted in a "kwali" 

 or pan of cast or hammered iron, of about 15 inches 

 in diameter and 6 inches deep. The boiling is either 

 simply with water, or with the addition of lime juice 



