NOTES ON ECONOMIC PLANTS. 299 



BEN Oil TREE (Morlnga pterogysperma) is everywhere 

 cultivated in the Straits for its leaves and roots, which are used 

 as vegetables, but apparently no attempt has been made to 

 manufacture oil from the tree. 



KAYU PUTEH Oil (Melaleuca leucodendron) . — Whole for- 

 ests of this tree exist in Malacca, but little attention seems to 

 be given to the manufacture of oil from the plant as is done 

 elsewhere. The tree yields many useful produce, but oil may 

 be looked upon as the most valuable, and it could, no doubt, 

 be extracted from it at a rate which would give a good 

 margin of profit. 



GlNGELLY Oil (Sesa?num indicum) grows wild all over the 

 country, and bears abundance of seed from which oil might 

 be profitably extracted. The seed contains 50% of oil, and 

 some three crops a year may be had. The oil is used for 

 soap-making, in perfumery, and to adulterate almond oil, 

 which it much resembles. In India one million acres is said 

 to be under cultivation of Sesamum. 



WOOD Oil (Dipterocarpus spp.J. — At present wood oil in 

 paying quantity is obtained only from primeval forest. I would 

 however suggest that indigenous trees yielding wood oil and 

 gutta percha be planted for pepper supports. The time they 

 will require to make supports will be about seven years, at 

 which date the temoorary supports ( Dadup or deadwood) 

 could be removed. Acting on this principle, a time would 

 arrive when the supports would become a source of consider- 

 able revenue, probably greater that the pepper crop, whereas 

 at present they are generally a source of trouble and expense. 



FRUITS. 



Peach (Amygdalus persica) . — The successful acclimatiza- 

 tion of the peach tree in the Straits is a work of the Forest 

 Department which has already borne fruit, and very excellent 

 fruit too ; the trees have now borne three crops in succession, 

 which shews that they are in earnest, and it is net too much 

 to hope that, when the tree gets widely distributed among 

 Chinese cultivators, peaches will become a common fruit in 

 the bazaars of the colony. 



