71 
In response to this request the Superintendent of the cm 
Gardens, Singapore, in a letter dated the 6th December, 1904, s 
that the seeds of phe oblongifolium were extremely rare ; "bet 
n some occasions as much as a dollar for each seed had been offered 
without securing any vigna. iid that although during the last few 
years small quantities of the seeds had become available in the Straits 
E it was improbable that any had been used for the extrac- 
tion of fat 
Similarly the Director of Museums at Perak, in a letter dated the 
6th December, 1994, said that he could hold out no hopes of being 
able to obtain either the fat or the seeds of Palaquiwm oblongifolium 
i h 
to Palaquium oblongifolium, could be secured in small шаса and 
that he would send a sample of this material for examination 
The following information was given regarding Minyak Surin: 
"The Surin trees grow singly in the jungle, usually at wide 
intervals, so that the aeu of the seed is a matter of difficulty. 
e Malays on finding a tree shedding its seed gather them up and, 
after husking and sun-drying them, express the fat by means of a 
wedge press called “Apit Surin.” The fat does not come into the local 
market, but is used by the makers for cooking purposes. 
could not be obtained in quantities, nor at a price which would make 
it available for either soap or candle-makin 
The botanical name of the Surin tree was not ийре! and in a 
letter dated the 2nd March the Director of Museums was asked for 
further information as to the relationship of the Surin tree to 
Palaquium oblongifolium. 
The sample of “Minyak Surin” received weighed about two 
pounds, and consisted of cylindrical pieces of solid fat, which 
contained much dirt and foreign matter. The fat had a peculiar 
odour but was not raneid. 
CHEMICAL EXAMINATION. 
A portion of the sample was sent to Dr. J. Lewkowitsch, who had 
offered to investigate this material, and he has been good enough to 
supply w the Imperial Institute the following observations with 
regard to it: 
“The fat was very dirty and was filtered to remove insoluble 
impurities. The chemical examination gave the following results : 
Saponification value .. 179.5 milligrams of potash re- 
; quired to saponify one gram of 
fat 
Unsaponifiable matter |... 4.54 per cent. 
Free fatty acids | ... ...7 49.3 = 
Todine value E < Sl 5, 
. Reichert-Wollny value ..,. 0:55. 
