220 GUTTA-PRODUCING TREES. 



there were, during that one year, no lees than three hundred mil- 

 lions of pounds, or putting the price at only 2s. Gd. per pound, 

 £37,500,000 sterling worth of Gutta Pereha thrown away, and 

 utterly lost ! 



To fully realize the importance of this subject it must be borne 

 in mind, that this vast destruction of these valuable trees (which 

 are of such very slow growth) and of this material, on which the 

 communication of the world may be said in a measure to depend, 

 is going on every year, without any cessation whatever. 



It will be noticed, that I have left out of my calculations, all the 

 bark on the upper part of the trunk, and on the brauches, which 

 however is just as rich in gutta, as the lower portion of the trunk: 

 even the leaves contain a notable proportion. I have tested, also, 

 other varieties of these trees, and have obtained almost identical 

 results, therefore I need not enter into further details. 



The question naturally arises, can the bark be broken from the 

 trees, and dealt with in the country, or can it be dried and sent to 

 Europe, to be ground up and treated in the manner I have des- 

 cribed, or in some other way sufficiently economical, as to be com- 

 mercially successful ? This question deserves the most anxious 

 attention, especially of those who are engaged in the working up 

 of this material; for if it can be successfully accomplished, then the 

 same supply could be furnished, with one-tliirtieth of the present 

 annual destruction of trees ! 



With the object of having this point so far tested, I have col- 

 lected some bark, and am sending it to the Royal Gardens at Kew, 

 with a request to have it sent to one of the large manufacturers, so 

 that a report may be obtained from them on the subject. 



The labour involved in stripping the trees, carrying out the wet 

 bark from the jungles (where no roads, or even paths, exist). 

 drying it, carrying it to a port, and thence to England, are items of 

 expense, which must not be overlooked. At the same time, it 

 must also be remembered, that some other jungle products, quite 

 as bulky, and not so valuable, are yet exported with profit. 



If the gutta contained in the bark can be profitably extracted. 

 the planting of those trees on waste lands, might possibly be under- 

 taken by Government, with every prospect of success. 



