170 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



heavy surf prevents their being landed; for it 

 is obvious that such a hose may pass through 

 the sea, without the possibility of the fresh water 

 it conducts t>eing tainted by the salt. It is 

 also well adapted to tilts for waggons and hay- 

 ricks ; it would make admirable military tents ; 

 and you may imagine what a comfort waterproof 

 bags must have been in Captain Franklin's ex- 

 pedition to the Polar Sea, in keeping the men's 

 clothes dry, notwithstanding the dismal weather 

 to which they were so often exposed. 



" There is only one more use which I will 

 now mention. Any substance that is care- 

 fully coated with this gum is as impervious to 

 air as to water : bags therefore made in the 

 shape of cushions or pillows, which can be folded 

 up and carried in the pocket, may be in a few 

 moments inflated with the breath, by means of a 

 small pipe ; and even beds, which when empty 

 would occupy but little room in a portmanteau, 

 would often preserve the health, and greatly add 

 to the comfort of travellers in certain countries, 

 where a dry, clean, and soft bed is an unattain- 

 able luxury.' 5 



Miss Perceval told us tliat in some of the 

 forests of Guiana, a substance, called dapicho 

 by the Indians, is found in large masses under 

 ground ; and which, having all the properties 

 of the recent gum, was long known by the 

 name of fossil caoutchouc. But the indefati- 



