DRACAENA 



5) DENSICOMA, LINDEN & ANDRE. 

 ASPARAGINEAE. 



see 10. Hort. under plate 264. 



apice foliosus, annulatus, 3-4 met. altus ; folia petiolata, lanceolata, utrinque 



, atroviridia, l m 

 , bracteato; bracteae foliosae, infi ma 

 mis acutU: inhWscentia rami piimarii divaricata, alterni, remoti, ramulis 

 rhachi angulato solitarii, bibracteolah, bracteolis scanosis minutis , acutis , 

 rigmii albi vd rxtus lilacini tubas 6-fidus, infundibuliformis , 4-5 milhm'. 

 ..•xs..-rhi, aequilonga, tubo longitudine aequalia, filamentis 

 stramineis; stylus antheris longior, stigma punctiforme ; bacca rubra in 

 sulca. trilocularis; columna stylina filiformi persistente instructa : setnina 



prope locos dictos Noumea, sinus Duperre, Canala, etc. Leo-erunt 



cinis Xovae-Hollandke et Zelandiae, unde in hort. Lind. Gandav. allata? 



: in the Botanic 

 >ry closely allied 

 ng more strongly 



dccurrent down the petiole , and possibly also in the inflo- 

 rescence , which we have not seen. 



On looking through the New Caledonian herbarium at 

 Paris, containing the collections of Pancher, Vieillard 

 Balansa and others, we came upon our plant at once, though 

 unnamed ; and from these specimens , consisting of leaves 

 flowers and fruits, perfectly agreeing with those of our 

 plant, wc drew up the foregoing description. We believe 

 that C. densicoma must also be a native of the islands on 

 the coast of Australia whence it was introduced with other 

 plants. v A 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



CAOUTCHOUC TREES. 



furnishes the 

 Bulletin de la 

 >elong to three 

 and Siphonia , 

 honia elastica , 



ve of Central 



produces about 

 effected by the 

 aich cause it to 



solidify in soft brown masses having the odour of new cheese. 

 From 600 to 800 persons are employed at Greytown, Nica- 

 ragua, and 2000 near Panama, in the caoutchouc industry. 

 The caoutchouc of Guatemala is of inferior, that of Guaya- 

 quil of unequal quality. The Pernambuco caoutchouc, ex- 

 tracted from Hancornia, is very good. In Asia, Ficus elastica, 

 of India, Java and Sumatra, produces a superior kind of 

 caoutchouc, which is adulterated with Urcepla elastica, from 

 which the juice is extracted by heat applied to one end of 

 blocks of the wood. In France, an excellent caoutchouc from 

 Madagascar, is greatly used. Equatorial Africa produces trees 

 that yield a kind of caoutchouc, the preparation of which is 

 yet imperfectly understood. The working of this branch of 

 industry is carried on to so great an extent in various parts 

 of the world, and the caoutchouc yielding trees are sacrificed 

 bo carelessly that there is great danger of the supply of this 

 valuable substance being exhausted at no very remote period, 

 particularly if some wise precautions are not taken, and 

 new plantations formed. 



