BOTANY. 155 



M. Guibourt of Paris, to whom some of it had been sent, 

 states his opinion in his work on drugs, that it is the origi- 

 nal " kino which had entirely disappeared from commerce, 

 and was once so much valued, as to be sold for nearly a 

 guinea a pound." Amherst Province can furnish almost 

 any quantity of the article, the tree which produces it 

 being one of the most common denizens of our forests. 

 Butea frondosa. 



dragon's blood. 



There is a species of ratan in the forests, which the 

 natives call " Red ratan," that produces a red exudation 

 like dragon's blood. 



Calamus Draco ? 



LIQUID AMBER.* 



"Did you ever see in this country the tree which produces 

 the balsam of Tolii ? " a gentleman once asked me. 

 " No," I replied, " I never did." " I have one in my com- 

 pound," he continued ; but unfortunately his compound 

 was two hundred miles distant. Years passed away, and 

 I found myself beneath this tree in flower, and soon dis- 

 covered that it was not Myrospermum toluiferum, but 

 Liquidamhcr Altingia; and that it produced not balsam of 

 Tolu, but liquid storax. 



The tree is indigenous on the Coast, and in some sec- 

 tions is quite abundant. A considerable stream in the 

 province of Mergui derives its name from this tree, in 

 consequence of its growing so thick on its banks. It 

 seems to have escaped the notice of Dr. Heifer, for, if I 

 recollect right, it is not once alluded to in any of his re- 

 ports, nor has it ever been brought to notice by any one ; 

 if we except a Catholic priest, a resident of Rangoon, 

 who has introduced it in a little Burmese medical treatise, 

 that was lithographed a few years ago by Col. Bumey, 

 who took a lithographic press with him into Burmah. 



• Extracted from an article communicated by the author, in the Journal of the 

 Asiatic Society for Tune 1848. 



