28 
TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON. 
sembliiig oak, and others lighter and less durable. What 
most interested ns however were several large logs of the 
Masseranduba, or Milk-tree. On our way through the 
forest we had seen some trunks much notched by per- 
sons who had been extracting the milk. It is one of the 
noblest trees of the forest, rising with a straight stem to 
an enormous height. The timber is very hard, fine- 
grained, and durable, and is valuable for works which 
are much exposed to the weather. The fruit is eatable 
and very good, the size of a small apple, and full of a 
rich and very juicy pulp. But strangest of all is the ve- 
getable milk, which exudes in abundance when the bark 
is cut : it has about the consistence of thick cream, and 
but for a very slight peculiar taste could scarcely be dis- 
tinguished from the genuine product of the cow. Mr. 
Leavens ordered a man to tap some logs that had lain 
nearly a month in the yard. He cut several notches in 
the bark with an axe, and in a minute the rich sap was 
running out in great quantities. It was collected in a 
basin, diluted with water, strained, and brought up at 
tea-time and at breakfast next morning. The peculiar 
flavour of the milk seemed rather to improve the quality 
of the tea, and gave it as good a colour as rich cream ; 
in coffee it is equally good. Mr. Leavens informed us 
that he had made a custard of it, and that, though it had 
a curious dark colour, it was very well tasted. The milk 
is also used for glue, and is said to be as durable as that 
made use of by carpenters. As a specimen of its capa- 
bilities in this line, Mr. Leavens showed us a violin he 
had made, the belly-board of which, formed of two pieces, 
he had glued together with it applied fresh from the tree 
