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62 BOTANICAL NEWS. 
to Kew, in order that the generic characters may be completed. In a letter to 
Dr. J. A. Smith, Mr. Robb says : — *? I do not doubt that the plant described 
by Hooker is the same as this. It was at the Gaboon that the late Eev. John 
Baillie saw it. There he tasted the fruit, which the ladies of the American 
Mission preserved in sugar as a jam. He saw the trees near Creek Town, and 
was anxious to get the flower to send to Dr. Balfour. Gustav Mann was at 
the Gaboon, and no doubt he got the flowers there. The flower grows directly 
out of the stem, from near the root upwards, at intervals. The bunches of 
fruit are sometimes large. The flowering rachis is elongated to 2 or 3 feet, and 
covered with flowers. The plant is not common in Old Calabar. The natives 
have no name for it. At the Gaboon it is called balola." Another plant is a 
species of Sarcocephalus, and Professor Oliver, who is examining the West 
African flora, thinks it is Sarcocep7iahts esculentus Mr. Robb says that the 
colour of the styles is pure wax white, the most fairy-like things he ever saw. 
The smell of the flower is very fragrant. The tree grows in a curious articu- 
lated manner, like the bamboo. The mature fruit is of an apple shape and Ml of 
a pulpy substance, with numerous small seeds enclosed. It is edible, and called 
peach by the negroes. 3. Note on Vellozia elegans, from the Cape of Good 
Hope. By H. Fox Talbot, Esq. Communicated by Professor Balfour. Mr 
H. Fox Talbot transmitted to Dr. Balfour, some time ago, a flower and leaf of 
a plant which had been sent to him, which turns out to be a Vellozia, and 
Mr. Talbot proposed to have it ere long figured in the * Botanical Magazine ' 
under the name Vellozia elegans. Mr. Talbot has presented a living plant to 
the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden. 4. Remarks on a Substance called 
Puttoo Manga, found in the White Ant Nests in Travancore. By Dr. J. 
Shortt ; transmitted by Dr. Alexander Hunter, Madras. The author remarks : 
" Much interest has been excited of late about a substance found in the bur- 
rows of the white ant, and which is known by the Tamil name of Puttoo 
Manga, or white-ant mango. It is frequently found to exist among ant-hills 
in Travancore, the Western Coast, and Coimbatore. The first specimen sent 
home from this country was by Dr. Waring, who, on opening the centre room 
of his house at Travancore, for the purpose of building two wall3, and digging 
to the depth of three feet below the surface, found several holes scooped out in 
the earth, perfectly smooth and circular, and of a sufficient size to admit a man's 
hand, and observed hanging down from the sides of these cavities several 
clusters of dark-coloured fruit-like looking bodies of various sizes and shapes. 
On exhibiting them to native practitioners, they eagerly took possession of the 
greater number, calling them Puttoo Manga. It appears that these are found, 
though rarely, under the foundations of old buildings, and that they are be- 
lieved to be either formed or produced by white ants ; they are in high repute, 
and greatly sought after, as medicinal substances. Such was the account that 
accompanied the only three specimens that were in possession of the Pharma- 
ceutical Society of London, in 186< >, and contributed by Dr. Waring." These 
specimens were submitted to the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, who pronounced them 
to be of a fungoid nature. This has since been confirmed by Messrs. Currie 
and Hanbury. The substance is known to the natives by the name of Puttoo 
Rai, or Mail Manga. It is common in the Malabar and Coimbatore districts 
