GUTTA PERCH A. 107 



eoanut shells, palm leaves or any thiii£ available, and then boiled 

 for an hour, otherwise it becomes brittle and useless. Its average 

 price per pikul (1 33 lbs) is from §4*5 to §550, according to quality. 

 The only other Gutta Percha that I have seen is Gutta Putek 

 the product of I. macropkyllaj the tree differs from I. Gatta in the 

 shape and colour of its leaves, and is readily recognized at a dis- 

 tance b} the Perak collectors. 



This Gutta is obtained in the same way as the former, but 

 is worth only about $15 per pikul. It differs in appearance from 

 G. taban in being" white, more spongy and less plastic; but it 

 is often found adulterated with G. jelutong, which causes it to 

 be brittle and almost useless. The trees of each species yield 

 about 23 catties of Gutta each. They appear to be very slow- 

 growing trees, and one 3 ft. in circumference at 3 ft. from the 

 ground would doubtless prove on minute examination to be 30" 

 years old. Sides of hills, on granite formations, in well drained 

 spots, appear best suited to their requirements ; and if their cul- 

 tivation is attempted the best plan to adopt is certainly to 

 procure ripe seeds and sow them singly in pots, made of a joint 

 and one internode of a bamboo, and when ready for planting in 

 permanent plantations, the bamboo should be split down on two 

 sides and planted also ; thus preventing any injury to the tap- 

 root, of which they are very impatient. Large quantities of 

 small plants are met with in the jungle, but they require very 

 careful lifting on account of their long tap-root ; an}* injur}" to 

 which, even if they survive, they take a long time to recover. 

 Of the Indiar Rubbers, or Caoutchoucs, I have met with two 

 varieties in the Straits, viz, Gutta Rambong and Gutta Singgarip. 



In my report to the local Government, I mentioned mj belief 

 that G. Rambong 1 was procured from Ficuselast'tca and since then 

 Mr. Low has written to me that I was correct in the supposition, 

 as he had seen branches and young trees of the species in question ; 

 so that nothing more need be said here about G. Rambong, but 

 the origin of Gutta-Singgarip is still uncertain. A large plant 

 has been found in the jungle bordering the Botanical Gardens 

 which yields Gutta exactly alike G. Singgarip, but both Dr. 

 Beccari and myself failed to find a perfect flower as they had 

 all been punctured by a minute insect, which in its attempts 

 to get at the nectar destroyed the reproductive organs. Mr. 

 Strettell of the Forest Dept. of British Burmah has discovered a 

 new Caoutchouc producing tree in Pegu, which yields a product 

 equal to the best Borneo Rubber and which Mr. Kurx determined 

 to be Chavanessla (Urceola) esculenia. 



G. Jelutong, which is often used to adulterate Gutta Tabaw 

 and G. Puteh, is obtained from a species of Alyxia. 



