GUTTA-PRODUCING TREES. 209 



ever, very common on the ranges of mountains near to the Straits 

 of Malacca and on the lands bordering the sea-coasts, where 

 the climate is much more moist and the soil is a stiff clayey loam 

 resting upon granite, while the lighter soils of Upper Perak are on 

 slates, schists and other metamorphic rocks. 



8. As the more economical mode of dealing with the product of 

 the " gutta " trees brought to notice by Mr. Wray — collecting the 

 bark instead of the gum — will be of great importance to such States 

 as still have a supply, I would recommend that Mr. Wray's 

 Eeport be published in the Straits Settlements Government Gazette 

 or in the Straits Branch of the Asiatic Society's Journal, so that, 

 what there seems no reason to doubt, is a valuable economic dis- 

 covery, which it is quite likely may be equally applicable to other 

 gums or India Eubber-bearing trees, may be made known as widely 

 as possible. It might even, with advantage to the commerce of 

 the Straits Settlements, be translated into Malay. 



HUGH LOW, 



Resident, Perak. 



Mr. L. Wray, Jr., to Sir Hugh Lorn, Resident of Perali, dated the 

 25th September, 1S83. 



Sir, — I have the honour to inform you, that in pursuance of the 

 request you made some months ago, 1 turned my attention to the 

 study of those trees from which the Gutta Percha of commerce is 

 procured ; and I now beg to present to you my Eeport, embodying 

 the result of those studies up to the present time; and solicit 

 your special attention to that portion which relates to my dis- 

 covery of the large quantity of Gutta Percha that may be extracted 

 from the bark, which is now entirely wasted. 



I have sent botanical specimens, and, in most cases, samples of 

 gutta and wood, of nearly all the trees I have mentioned, to the 

 Eoyal Gardens at Kew, and also to the Eoyal Botanic Gardens, 

 Calcutta, and the Eoyal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon ; so that when 

 the eminent botanists at those establishments have examined and 

 compared the several specimens, the mystery in which their botani- 



