175 



the jangkar etc., (various species of Palaquium and Payena, some of 

 them producing good gutta percha) : the only reason assigned for their 

 neglect of these fruits is that the trees grow on dry land, away from 

 the mud, where the fruits when fallen are picked up by wild pigs ! 

 An oil much used amongst Sea Dyaks is that of the kapayang 

 (Pangium edule) a tree which is cultivated by natives throughout the 

 country. The oil is prepared in much the same way as that of 

 Engkabang but great care is taken to wash the seed well in water in 

 order dissolve out the poison. Thus prepared it looks very like coco- 

 nut oil and is used for purposes of cookery and of dyeing. 



According to Mr. C. T. Brooks the Land Dyaks utilise . for 

 cookery purposes the oil which they extract from the seed of an 

 Anacardiaceous tree, Pentaspadon Motley i. The fat is not used by 

 other natives probably because they are not satisfied with the quantity 

 obtainable from this source. It may be mentioned that another oil 

 which they extract from the pericarp and from the bark of the same 

 tree is considered a valuable remedy for skin diseases (kurap). The 

 native names for this tree are Emplanjau, Pladju or Empit. 



One of the most expensive native oils is the Balong. This is a 

 solid fat, crystalline in appearance, possessing a powerful and pleasing 

 odour like that of Methyl salicylate. It is produced from the seeds 

 of a tree belonging to the Laurineae (a Litsaea I think) of which I 

 have seen no specimens. It grows only in the upriver districts and is 

 well known on the Saribas river. To extract the fat the seeds are 

 treated in the same way as those of the Engkabang. 



Finally it may be stated that the seeds which are occasionally 

 employed for the extraction of fat are almost innumerable. The Dyaks 

 seem to be able to squeeze out an oil from the most unpromising 

 material. Amongst the better known of these we may mention various 

 species of Nephelium (Serait or seriut, and Mujou, and the Dabai 

 a Canarium. 



John Hewitt. 



CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF BRUCEA 

 SUMATRANA. 



We have received from Messrs. Burroughs and Welcome Labora- 

 tories two pamphlets by Drs. F. B. Power and A. W. Salway, 

 and Mr. W. Thomas, giving the results of chemical examination 

 of the barks of Brucea sumatrana and bark and fruits of B. ante- 

 dlysenterica, the latter plant being a native of Africa. 



The bark of B. sumatrana was analyzed by Mr. Thomas, who 

 writes, " A quantity of the bark of this species of Brucea was obtained 

 through the kindness of Mr. H. N. Ridley, Director of the Botanic 

 Gardens, of the Straits Settlements, Singapore. Its collection was 

 attended with considerable difficulty, for as stated in a communication 

 from Mr. Ridley to Messrs. Burroughs Welcome & Co., of London 

 the plant is a tender shrub the stems of which are barely an inch in 

 diameter and the bark not easily removed. It was also noted that 

 although the bark is distinctly less bitter it is much less so than the 



