6 4 



by Mr. J. S. GOODENOUGH , from Selangor, under the name of 

 Kumus bears a close resemblance to that sent by Mr. MOORHOUSK 

 and is undoubtedly the same tree. There is a band of sapwood 

 round it little more than J, inch thick and the centre about \ ineh 

 is softer and pithier wood. The rest of the specimen is strong hard 

 dense timber. The rings are rather more conspicuous, about 19 in 

 number, and rather more regular. This tree was probably about 20 

 years old, to judge by the rings. It would square to four inches. 

 The timber of this tree may well be reckoned as among the first 

 class timbers of the Peninsula. It seems for its class to be of rapid 

 growth, and is good all through. It closely resembles a timber 

 known now in Singapore as Poonah, which is much in request. 



The plant appears to be identical with the Shorea ciliata, King. 



The twigs in Mr. MoORHOUSE's specimen are slender and black 

 when dry ; leaves young ovate with a distinct blunt point, 2 to 4 

 inches long, i n ch wide, coriaceous pale above when dry, with 



about 14 pairs of nerves very inconspicuous above, beneath more 

 conspicuous, and the whole of the underside of the leaf covered with 

 a thin white scurf easily rubbed off, which makes the leaf beneath 

 appear whitish petiole slender, little over \ an inch long. Older 

 leaves seem to be narrower, lanceolate, acuminate, the nerves more 

 conspicuous, and the white scurf absent; panicles short, 1 to 1^ 

 inch long, peduncles and especially the upper branches of the 

 panicle flexuous, covered with a white scurfy wool; flowers short- 

 ly pedicelled, \ inch long, narrow oblong, from a broader base, 

 pubescent, \ inch long ; " Stamens 30 in fascicles of 3 unequal, the 

 connective produced into an apical process crowned with 3 to 5 

 cilia. " Calyx lobes in fruit, three long narrow blunt, covered with 

 stillate pubescence, two short. 



This plant was first collected by Mr. Curtis in Penang, No. 

 1578 of his collection, and though Mr. MOORHOUSE'S specimens 

 differ in some respects, I have little doubt as to the correctness of 

 the identification. There are no flowers on the latter. The Penang 

 specimens in flower and fruit have very distinctly reticulate nerved 

 leaves ; these of the Seremban specimens have not, but where by in- 

 jury the leaves have lost the epidermis the reticulations are very 

 conspicuous, and are traceable too in the old leaves. 



The foliage of Shoreas varies very much at different times of the 

 year, and at different ages and different forms or states of the leaves 

 properly correlated with tho?e of adult trees, have not yet been 

 collected ; many such indeed, as Shorea ciliata, have been collected 

 but once. Flowers and fruit are seldom to be met with, and often 

 the trees are inaccessible on account of their great size, so that the 

 study of these most important timber trees is very difficult. — Editor. 



FIBRES. — Continued. 



Coco-nut Fibre. — Coir. — This is the fibre of the husk of the coco- 

 nut beaten out. Although there are extensive coco-nut estates all 

 over the Peninsula and an abundance of husks, there is hardly any 



