GUTTA-PERCHA 



pore, which is a sort of world's market for rubber. There 

 are a great many different varieties and substitutes of this 

 substance, but the best kinds come [from Malaysia, Singa- 

 pore, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. The uses of gutta-percha 

 and of vulcanite, which is manufactured from it, are very 

 varied. Thus, it is employed for the soles of boots, door- 

 handles, pipes, ear-trumpets, buckets, submarine cables, etc. 

 It is indestructible in sea-water, and does not conduct 

 electricity. 



A very extraordinary exception to the general rule that 

 latex is highly poisonous, is found in the famous Cow Tree of 

 Venezuela. This tall tree (it is often 100 feet high) is found 

 in large forests near Cariaco, on the coast of that country. 

 Its milk is said to closely resemble ordinary milk in taste, 

 and to be perfectly wholesome and nutritious, but it is 

 rather sticky. This tree was responsible for all sorts of 

 curious and extraordinary legends in the sixteenth and 

 seventeenth centuries. 



312 



