36 
HISTOLOGY OF VEGETABLES. 
unlike other vessels in plants, are commonly subdivided 
or branched. The Dandelion contains a large quantity 
of this juice ; Indian-rubber, or caoutchouc, is the con- 
crete milky juice of the Ficus elastica , and many species 
of this genus secrete a similar milky fluid. 
Gutta-percha resembles caoutchouc in its origin, but 
the milky-juice that yields it, contains a more consider- 
able amount of starch. As this material is now coming 
into such general use, it may not be out of place to 
give you the derivation of its name, as I have never yet 
seen it correctly stated in books. On referring to a 
map of Asia, you may observe that the Island of 
Sumatra presents a ragged outline. The Malay name 
for this island is Pulo-Percha, “ pulo ” signifying 
“ island,” and “ percha,” “ ragged.” “ Gutta ” is the 
Malay term for gum, hence this substance received the 
name of “ gutta pulo percha.” or gum from the ragged 
island. It has, however, become the custom of late 
years to omit the word “ pulo,” as in the case of Penang, 
which was formerly called Pulo Penang, and thus this 
substance has received the name of gutta-percha. The 
above information was communicated to me by a friend 
residing in Penang. 
Our countryman, Nehemiah Grew, was not only 
aware of the presence of milks in plants, but, in his 
anatomy, speaks of many which “ bleed a lympha.” 
He even gives drawings of the vessels which contain it, 
but does not appear to have been cognizant of their 
