VEGETABLE-TALLOW. 427 



and also in cylindrical masses, which had assumed the 

 form of the bamboo joints into which it had been poured 

 when in a liquid state. A plant which grows in Java, 

 the Tetranthera Roxburgliii Nees, also has a fruit which 

 yields a kind of naturally-formed vegetable-tallow, out of 

 which the Chinese manufacture the candles with which 

 ships are sometimes supplied at Singapore and Hong- 

 Kong. To render these miserable apologies for candles 

 more stable, they cover them over with a thin coating of 

 wax. The principal advantage of the vegetable-tallow of 

 Borneo over that produced from animal fat is, that it re- 

 mains concrete under a tropical heat, whereas the other 

 becomes too soft to serve any useful purpose. 



The Natives likewise collect aromatic barks of which 

 we obtained samples. One specimen appeared to have been 

 obtained from the Cinnamomum Sintoc, as it differs from 

 the bark of C. Culilawan, in having a flavour likewise 

 of cloves. The specific name of the latter plant which 

 yields the clove-bark of commerce, is derived from Kulit- 

 lawan, the native name of the bark; the specific name of 

 the former is probably taken from the Javanese name for 

 the same bark "Sendok." The bark generally called 

 cinnamon in Borneo, is from a species of Cassia; the 

 true Cinnamon-tree (C. zeylanicum), although grown in 

 Java, is a native of Ceylon. 



One of the most remarkable botanical productions of 

 Borneo is the Tephrosia toxicaria, common at Kuching 

 and Serambo, the roots of which are used by the Malays 

 for the purpose of stupifying the fish of the rivers, and 

 which, by acting on the nervous system, causes them to 

 be more readily speared by the natives. This root might 

 serve as an excellent substitute for Digitalis. 



