98 



a diversity of situations, but none appear to have pierced the more solid parts of the 

 exo-skelelon." 



Mr. Smith exhibited some specimens of a small species of Trigona, from Moul- 

 mein, with a portion of the nest of this species, and read the following communica- 

 tion : — 



" In April, 1857, Sir Archibald Bogle, Commissioner of the Tenasserim Provinces, 

 forwarded to the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India a specimen of a sub- 

 stance called ' Pwai-nyet,' procurable at about one anna (l^rf.) per pound in those 

 Provinces. Sir Archibald states that this material has only to be moistened with earth- 

 oil till of the consistence of paint, and then spread with the fingers on a bit of cloth 

 on the cracks of the roof of a house, to make it quite waterproof and to stop all leak- 

 age whatever ; and it dries in an hour or two. Sir Archibald adds that, having found 

 it most valuable, he thinks it very desirable to bring it to the notice of the Society. 



"Sir Archibald having left India for Europe shortly after the receipt of the above 

 specimen, the Society preferred a request to another member resident in the Tenasse- 

 rim Provinces, the Rev. C. S. Parish, for further information as to the nature of the 

 material in question, whether vegetable or mineral, and for any additional particulars 

 he could afford. In reply Mr. Parish has been kind enough to supply the following 

 interesting information, in a letter dated from Moulmein, May 20: — 



" ' The substance about which you seek information is, as Sir A. Bogle stated, 

 commonly procurable in the Moulmein Bazaar. It is not a vegetable substance, 

 but is the result of the labours of a small bee (probably, however, it is the mixture of 

 various gums and resins gathered by the bee). Fortunately, since receiving your let- 

 ter I have met with a small colony of the Dammer bee at work in a hole of an old 

 teak post. I have the pleasure to send you by this mail a small piece of the substance, 

 for identification, taken out on the point of a knife; also two specimens of the indus- 

 trious little creature itself, enclosed in a glass cell. I am not an entomologist, but shall 

 be glad to know the name of the species. If any of your entomological friends think 

 the species of interest, I will try to catch them some more, as I believe it has no sting. 

 I have not, indeed, submitted them to the microscope, but, though numbers settled on 

 me and Hew round me, as I disturbed them in their work, I felt no evil consequence. 

 The bee makes her nest of this substance, which is at first soft and plastic to the fingers 

 and extremely glutinous, but afterwards, on exposure to the air, becomes dry, hard and 

 brittle. The nest, I believe, is made indifferently in a hollow tree, in a hole in the 

 ground, or, as in the present instance, in that of an old post. When bought it is com- 

 monly in a large irregularly shaped lump, rudely honey-combed, mixed with much ex- 

 traneous matter. It is soluble in oil; any oil, I fancy, — at least I find that olive-oil 

 answers the purpose of detaching it from the fingers as well as wood-oil. 



"It is a well-known and commonly used substance here; but, though frequently 

 noticed, mistakes as to its true nature have often been made, chiefly owing to the fact 

 that the name of ' Dammer' is given to it in the Bazaar by the natives of India, who 

 sell it, in common with many other resins and gums, which in appearance and quality 

 it resembles. It is not ' Dammer,' though, if you ask for Dammer in the Bazaar, it is 

 as likely that you will have this substance offered as any other. The Burmese know 

 it only as ' Pwai-nyet.' They use it for caulking generally, mixing it with wood-oil 

 over a tire; and it answers its purpose admirably in the case of wood-work, but 

 whether of Pucka or Chunum work also, I cannot say-" 



