JiO PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1756. 



this is the varnish mentioned by Father D'Incarville in the Philosophical Trans- 

 actions, vol. 48, p. 254, called toeng-yeou ; so universally used in China for 

 preserving and ornamenting their furniture. 



Mr. E. confesses that he cannot find, after carefully considering and examin- 

 ing Mr. Miller's letter, that he has brought any proof to lessen the merit of the 

 Abbe Mazeas and the Abbe Sauvage's discoveries : and the use Mr. E. would 

 propose from the remarks he made, is, that as the Premium Society for the en- 

 couragement of Arts and Sciences have a scheme on foot to promote the growth 

 of many really useful vegetable productions, which are at present brought to us, 

 at a great expence, from Spain, France, Italy, the Levant, Africa, and the East 

 Indies ; he thinks this anacardium orientale, or avicennia of Linneus, claims a 

 place among the rest ; especially when we consider of what use and importance 

 it is in the two great empires of China and Japan, besides all the other parts of 

 India. The chief difficulty will be the preserving its vegetative quality during 2 

 so long voyages ; but by many contrivances he was persuaded it will at last be 

 effected ; however, the very attempt is laudable. 



After writing the above, he received a specimen of the gum of the cashew 

 nut-tree, and found it dissolves in the mouth like gum arabic. It is of the 

 colour of myrrh ; but very brittle, shining, and clear. He also procured a spe- 

 cimen of the varnish of China from Mr. Margas, a great dealer in China com- 

 modities, just as it was imported from thence ; this seems to answer the descrip- 

 tion of the Siam varnish. He made some experiments on it, and found it did 

 not dissoh^e by being put either into water or spirits of wine. And further. Dr. 

 Sibthorp, professor of botany at Oxford, informed him, that they have no spe- 

 cimen of the sitz, or true varnish-tree of Japan, in the Sherardian collection, as 

 mentioned by Dr. Dillenius ; but that they have one of the fasi-no-ki, or spu- 

 rious varnish-tree of Kaempfer, with the synonym, " toxicodendron foliis alatis 

 fructu rhomboide, Hort. Eltham :" inscribed under, " from Japan :" and that it 

 resembles much our American one. So that Mr. Miller's observations on his 

 toxicodendron, or poison ash, may be proper in the 6th edition of his Dictionary, 

 but not in his letter above-mentioned, where he makes the spurious varnish-tree 

 of Japan, or Fasi-no-ki, the same with the Nankin varnish-tree, of which the 

 Jesuits of China sent the seed over to the r. s. a few years ago : whereas they are 

 utterly unlike each other. Dr. Dillenius was perhaps led into this error by de- 

 pending on the report made to Dr. Kaempfer on the common people of Japan, 

 which was, that the true varnish-tree degenerated into the spurious one for want 

 of culture. But Mr. E. believes our knowledge in this science is so much im- 

 proved, that such doctrines are not easily admitted among our gardeners (what- 

 ever varieties may possibly arise from seed ;) and in this he was persuaded Mr. 

 Miller would agree with him, that the 2 sorts of varnish-trees, mentioned by Dr. 



