THK  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[April  r,  1897. 
69S 
INDIAN  PATENTS. 
No  81  of  1897. — Ameuded  application.  See  No.  6 
of  1897.  Specilications  of  the  luidermentioued  inven- 
tions have  been  tiled  under  the  provisions  of  the  In- 
ventions a’ d Designs  Act  of  1888  : — 
Improvements  in  apparatus  for  drying  tea. — No. 
315  of  189G. — William  Alfred  (jibbs,  gentleman,  of 
Gilwell  park,  Chingford,  England,  and  Gilbert 
William  Sutton,  Civil  Engineer,  of  liothmans. 
Great  Baddow,  Chelmsford,  England,  for  improve- 
ments in  apparatus  for  drying  tea  and  other  sub- 
stances. (Specification  filed  17th  February  1897.) 
Machine  for  Drying  Tea  and  analogous  Sub- 
stances.— No.  390  of  1890  : — Henry  George  Hills, 
Tea  Planter,  Silcoorie  Tea  Estate,  Cachar,  for  a 
machine  for  drying  tea  and  analogous  substances. 
(Specification  filed  22nd  February  1897.) — Indian 
and  Eastern  Engineer,  March  13. 
GUTTA  PEKCHA  IN  DUTCH  GUIANA. 
The  Foreign  Office  has  recently  issued  a Keport 
by  Consul  Churchill  on  the  Halata  industry  of  the 
colony  of  Netherlands  Guiana,  which  is  of  interest  to 
Forest  officers  in  India,  as  it  shows  that  the  list  of 
trees  which  yield  gutta-percha  or  indiarubber  is  by  no 
means  complete. 
Halata  is  a kind  of  gutta-percha  obtained  from  the 
milky  juice  of  the  bark  of  the  bully  or  bullet-tree, 
Mimusogs  Halata,  a large  forest  tree  belonging  to  the 
order  Hapolacew,  which  ranges  from  Jamaica,  and  Trini- 
dad to  Venezuela  and  French  Guiana.  Although  the 
tree  has  been  known  for  years  past,  audits  wood,  which 
is  very  hard,  largely  used  for  sugar-mill  rollers,  machin- 
ery and  building  purposes,  the  collection  of  the  juice  fer 
the  manufacture  of  guttapercha  is  of  quite  recent 
origin,  and  it  is  to  tliis  point  that  wo  wish  to  draw 
attention,  as  there  are  probably  a number  of  trees 
indigenous  to  India  which  are  capable  of  yielding 
gutta-percha  in  paying  quantities.  The  matter  is 
worth  the  attentioii  of  Forest  officers,  especially  of 
them  in  charge  of  evergreen  forests  in  ti.e  South- 
ern Provinces.  In  connection  with  this,  we  would 
invite  a reference  to  a letter  from  Mr.  Lushington, 
printed  in  this  month’s  i.ssue,  and  to  the  genera 
inentioned  by  him  w'ould  add  Isonandra,  which  also 
belongs  to  the  order  Bapolacew. 
We  reproduce  below  some  extracts  from  the  re- 
port in  question : — 
‘The  bullet-tree  is  found  in  (Netherlands  Guiana) 
in  greater  abundance  in  the  low-lying  zone  of  tiuvio- 
niariue  deposit.  It  is  also  found  in  the  higher  lands 
of  the  interior,  but  in  a less  abundant  and  more 
scattered  condition.  On  the  bullet-tree  bearing 
grounds  in  forest,  where  they  are  plentiful,  the  ob- 
server may  see  from  20  to  30  trees  of  a thickness 
of  12  to  30  inches  within  a radius  of  100  feet  around 
him  where  this  tree  is  less  plentiful,  the  observer 
will’  only  see  two  or  three  trees  within  the  same 
area.  The  bleeder  usually  looks  over  his  head 
and ' discovers  the  tree  by  its  foliage.  Ho 
also  knows  that  the  bullet-tree  must  be  near  when 
he  comes  upon  certain  kinds  of  bush.  A.bove  a trunk 
thickness  of  about  30  inches  the  tree  is  usually  not 
worth  bleeding.’ 
. 'pjje  tree  often  grows  in  zones  or  belts,  on  vvnich 
it  prevails  in  excess  of  all  other  trees.  The  limits 
of  these  zones  or  belts  being  crossed,  the  forest  may 
be  traversed  for  hours  without  a single  bullet-tree 
being  met  with,  after  which  perhaps  another  zone  is 
run  into.’  , , , , -,,r  t 
‘Ilegarding  the  character  of  balata,  Mr.  Jenman 
quotes  Dr.  Hugo  Miiller,i-.n.s.,  as  follows  ’;-- 
“ Although  my  own  opinion  about  balata,  derived 
from  personal  experience,  of  its  practical  application 
in  a few  instances  w’as  entirely  favourable,  I thought 
it  desirable  to  avail  myself  of  an  opportunity  of 
obtaining  further  opinion  direct  from  an  indiarubber 
manufacturer,  considering  that  this  would  be  much 
more  to  your  purpose  than  anything  I could  say  on 
my  own  account,  hence  the  delay  in  my  answering' 
your  letter. 
“ It  seems,  then,  that  balata  is  by  no  means 
neglected,  and,  in  fact,  it  wpuld  find  ready  purchasers 
if  more  of  it  came  to  the  market.  As  it  is,  the 
supply  is  very  limited,  and  generally  it  comes  only 
once  a year.  It  commands  a iiigher  price  than  gutta- 
percha, and  this  in  itself  is  a proof  of  its  usefulness. 
It  is  used  almost  in  all  cases  in  which  gutta-percha 
i.s  used,  but  on  account  of  its  higher  price  only  for 
superior  purposes. 
“It  seems  that  balata  is  treated  by  the  manufac- 
turers simply  as  a superior  kind  of  gutta-poicha,  and, 
therefore,  its  najne  disappears  when  manufactured.’’ 
‘Nevertheless,  balata  is  distinctly  different  from 
guttapercha,  and  this  is  esiiecially  manifested  in  some 
of  its  physical  characters,  lor  instance,  it  is  somewhat 
softer  at  ordinary  temperature,  and  not  so  rigid  in 
the  cold.’’ 
‘‘  The  chemical  composition,  however,  is  probably 
quite  identical  with  that  of  gutta-percha  and  of  caout- 
chouc.’’ 
“In  one  respect  balata  shows  a very  maiked  and 
important  difference  from  gutta-percha,  and  that  is  in 
its  behaviour  under  the  influenco  of  the  atmosphere, 
whilst  gutta-percb  when  exposed  to  light  and  air 
soon  becomes  altered  on  the  surface  and  charged 
into  a brittle  resinous  substance,  inlo  which  the  whole 
of  the  mass  is  gradually'  converted,  in  the  course  of 
time  balata,  on  tlic  other  hand,  is  but  slowly  acted 
upon  under  the  circumstances.” 
“I  inclose  a piece  of  balata  tissue  which 
has  now  been  in  my  possession  quite  six  years,  and 
although  it  shows  a peculiar  mealy  efflorescence  due 
to  chemical  change,  Jt  is  still  supple  and  coherent. 
A similar  tissue  of  gutta-percha  would  have  long 
before  now'  becone  emirely  converted  into  a brittle 
resin.” 
“The  electrical  insulating  quality'  of  balata  is 
said  to  be  quite  eqml  to  that  of  gutta-percha, 
and  altogether  there  seems  to  be  no  question 
about  the  valuable  properties  of  balata.  All 
that  is  wanted  is  a sufficient  and  constant 
supply  and  a somewhat  lower  price.  But 
even  at  its  present  price,  I think,  it  would  find  a ready 
market  if  it  came  in  large  quantities,  and  thus  enabled 
manufacturers  to  use  it  for  applications  on  a large 
scale.  As  far  as  I could  make  out,  it  is  used  by  itself 
and  not  mixed  with  gutta-percha.” 
‘ 'The  balata  indusiry  of  this  colony  is  in  its  infancy. 
In  Surinam  the  foiests  which  ha  ve  been  bled  are  aban- 
doned, and  new  lands  are  sought  for  and  exploited  up 
to  date.  Only  those  areas  where  an  abundance  of  trees 
is  to  be  found  have  been  selected.  On  areas  where  100 
trees  are  found  it  sometimes  happens  that  about  75  per 
cent  only'  give  milk  at  the  perticular  period  when  the 
bleeder  visits  them,  and  that  at  some  later  period  the 
I'emaining  trees  will  also  run  ; but  as  the  bleeders 
have  gone  beyond  that  particular  section,  it  is  not  pro- 
fitable to  come  back  and  bleed  the  remaining  trees 
just  at  the  special  time  when  they  are  ripe  for  it.’ 
‘ The  forests  are  all  the  property  of  the  Crown,  and 
are  leased  by  the  Colonial  Government  at  a rental  of 
10c  (Id)  per  hectare  per  annum  for  the  exploitation  of 
balata  only,  and  that  in  conformity  with  the  Balata 
Ordinance  of  the  colony.’ 
‘ There  is  no  export’  duty  whatever. 
‘The  bleeder  receives  advances  from  his  em- 
ployers -against  which  he  contracts  to  deliver 
balata.  For  his  balata  he  receives  from  50  to  55c. 
(lOd  to  lid)  per  lb.,  delivered  on  the  concession. 
An  average  bleeder  will  gather  about  four  gallons 
per  day.  A very  successful  bleeder  may  get  as  much 
as  10  gallons  during  the  same  period.  In  Surinam  a 
bleeder  will  gather  an  average  of  1 gallon  per  tree, 
bleeding  from  the  base  of  the  tree  up  to  a height  of 
20  feet  and  scarifying  the  back  to  half  its  circum- 
ference only,  fuither  sacrilication  being  illegal.  A 
gallon  of  milk  will  dry  to  about  -libs,  of  balata.” 
‘ The  bleeders  are  mostly  recruited  from  Berbice, 
in  British  Guiana,  and  about  1,000  men  arc  at  pre- 
sent empleyed  in  this  colony  in  the  industry.’ 
‘ The  hot  and  very  wet  seasons  are  not  good  for 
halata  bleeding.  'The  trues  blossom  in  August,  and 
the  seed  drops  about  the  month  of  November,  when 
the  new  loaf  shoots  out.  By  tho  oud  of  January  the 
