954 
up into balle. “A quantity of the milk is first dabbed on the fore arm 
* of the operator, and being peeled off forms a nucleus of the ball. 
* being t ith a sere? motion the coagulated milk is wou 
* like im from ac e coagulation takes place so rapidly cn 
* exposure to the air that not only is every particle cleanly removed 
* from the cuttings, but also a large quantity of semi-coagulated milk 
rubber appears in more or less oer masses of small cubes, 
Specimens of such rubber are shown in the Kew Museums under the 
ib., p. 
The quantity of rubber e exported annually from West Africa from 
British and other possessions is about 30,000 ewt. The value in 1885 
"was 265,61 
It appears ‘that in some distriets, sueh as the Gaboon, owing to the 
reckless erp of ee r vines the trade is becoming es "and less 
Attention has s al ally directed to ae pla: nts in the e 
of Gold Coast and Lagos, and owing in a great measure to the interest 
taken in the subject by Captain Moloney, the precum from these British 
possessions E risen from nothing in the year 1882 to a value in 
1885 of 69,9114 
There are doubtless other ie in West Afriea from which 
gh 
commercial rubber might be obtained. 'The Mbungu rubber plant is 
Landolphia florida, Bth. This i is s distributed o over the whole of ‘Contin 
Tropical Africa. There are also several spec f Ficus, the original 
genus yielding commercial rubber which deserve jio be investigated. 
We are glad to fiud that following the enterprising example of the 
Governor of the Colony of Lagos, "Captain . C. Moloney, C.M.G., 
Mr. Alvan Millson, Commissioner of the Western District residing at 
agry, has pm d given attention to the preparation of comm mercial 
rubbers from the latex of the trees generally known there as “ Abba” 
8 
served in British Honduras, where he had become acquainted with the 
preparation of what is known in commerce as Nicaragua or Central 
American rubber, the produce of Castilloa elastica. A contribution on 
this latter subject from Mr. Millson n be found in the Kew Bulletin 
for the month of December 1887, p. 1 
he investigations under taken by Mr. Millson in West Africa are 
described in the following notes which have been poe to this 
establishment by the Secretary of State for the Coloni 
Badagry, 15th — 1888. 
In nearly all the native villages in the western district e bus Colony 
of La and, I believe, throughout the colony and interior, aro to be 
found large spreading trees, which have been planted for Bladi in the 
the fig 
market places, streets pounds. These trees are of 
family, and are called X ee natives Abba 
I have measured a of this species of the age of 13 years, and 
found its girth, at 3 feet | ‘rots the ground, to be 6 feet 4 inches, and its 
