152 Miscellaneous . 



heard of them at Fritton in East Suffolk, where I am informed that 

 they are frequently observed in summer to swim across a lake from a 

 quarter to half a mile in breadth*. — John Henry Gurney. 



Easton, Norfolk, July 5, 1852. 



Uses of the Stillingia sebifera, or Tallow Tree, with a notice of the 

 Pe-la, an Insect-wax of China f. By J. D. Macgowan, M.D. 



The botanical characters of this member of the Euphorbiacese are 

 too well known to require description ; but hitherto no accurate 

 account has been published of its varied uses, and although it has 

 become a common tree in some parts of India and America, its value 

 is appreciated only in China, where alone its products are properly 

 elaborated. In the American Encyclopaedia it is stated that this tree 

 is almost naturalized in the maritime parts of South Carolina, and 

 that its capsules and seeds are crushed together and boiled, the fatty 

 matter being skimmed as it rises, hardening when cool. 



Dr. Roxburgh in his excellent * Flora Indica,' says : — " It is now 

 very common about Calcutta, where, in the course of a few years, it 

 has become one of the most common trees. It is in flower and fruit 

 most parts of the year. In Bengal, it is considered only an orna- 

 mental tree ; the sebaceous produce of its seeds is not sufficient in 

 quantity, nor its qualities so valuable, as to render it an object worthy 

 of cultivation. It is only in very cold weather that this substance 

 becomes firm ; at all other times it is in a thick brownish fluid state, 

 and soon becomes rancid : such is my opinion of the famous vegetable 

 tallow of China." 



Dr. Roxburgh was evidently misled in his experiments by pursuing 

 a course similar to that which is described in the 'Encyclopaedia 

 Americana ' (and in many other works), or he would have formed a 

 very different opinion of this curious material. 



Analytical chemistry shows animal tallow to consist of two proxi- 

 mate principles — stearine and elaine. Now what renders the fruit 

 of this tree peculiarly interesting is the fact that both these principles 

 exist in it separately, in nearly a pure state. By the above-named 

 process, stearine and elaine are obtained in a mixed state, and conse- 

 quently the mass presents the appearance described by Dr. Roxburgh. 



Nor is the tree prized merely for the stearine and elaine it yields, 

 though these products constitute its chief value : its leaves are em- 

 ployed as a black dye ; its wood being hard and durable may be easily 

 used for printing-blocks and various other articles ; and finally, the 

 refuse of the nut is employed as fuel and manure. 



The Stillingia sebifera is chiefly cultivated in the provinces of 

 Kiangsi, Kougnam, and Chehkiang. In one district, near Haugchan, 

 the inhabitants defray all their taxes with its produce. It grows alike 

 on low alluvial plains and on granite hills, on the rich mould at the 



* Two other friends have made the same correction of Mr. F. Edwards'* 

 observations. — J. E. Gray. 



t Drawn up for the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India. 



