BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS. 95 



or branches for 20 feet or so ; and the head then spreads into 

 small branches ; the bark dark grey, full of cracks ; fruit oblong, 

 covered with a thick brownish-grey rind, the flesh is yellow as a 

 carrot, with two stones like almonds, very fragrant. The taste is 

 relished exceedingly by the Malays ; but is like brown sugar. 

 When fresh gathered it is extremely acrid, and a white clammy 

 juice exudes from the broken skin. This is a true Gutta and very 

 adhesive. The fruit is then hard, but by being kept it becomes 

 soft and sweet like a medlar, losing its astringency, a process 

 hastened by burying in sand. The seeds are in the centre. The 

 Ohicos are highly esteemed throughout Malaysia. It is best 

 known in the Philippines where probably it was first introduced. 

 The species called the Naseberry has truit in shape and size like a 

 Bergamot Pear. This is Achras zapotilla, Achras being the name 

 of the wild Pear, and the specific name is from the Mexican 

 Zapotl. It is a wonder that Europeans have not introduced A. 

 mammosa, the Mammy Apple or American Marmalade, which is 

 so highly esteemed in the West Indies. It bears a large, oval, 

 brownish fruit, with a thick russet-coloured pulp called Natural 

 Marmalade, and very luscious to the taste. In Malacca it is said 

 that a Sapotilla tree is one of the most profitable grown, as one 

 will produce fruit of the value of £50 in a season. The order of 

 Sapotace^ has some indigenous representatives in Malaysia, in- 

 cluding species of Isonandra and Bassia, both of which are Guttas, 

 producing valuable varieties of gutta percha. Isonandra gutta, 

 Hook., Balam tambaga of the Malays, besides other species of that 

 genus and of Bassia, are met with in the Peninsula, Sumatra, 

 Borneo, &c. ; but the trees are being destroyed by the natives who 

 collect the juice in a most wasteful manner. 



Diospyros hahi, the Persimmon or Date-plum, the Caju Sawu 

 of Java, is a tree which grows abundantly on the southern coasts 

 of the island of Bali, and in the western and low lands of Java. 

 The Sawu loves a humid soil near the beach, and seems to grow 

 especially well in the islands of the Bay of Batavia, where the 

 trunk acquires considerable thickness ; but Bali and Java seem to 

 be the only parts of Malaysia where it thrives. 



