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collecting for three months quite comfortably. Should the samples 
prove of high commercial value, it will be an easy matter to collect 
many thousand of seeds and seedlings of this species from Hini- 
doon alone.’ 1 This is so far very satisfactory ; and should the 
gutta turn out to be equal in value to that produced by the Malayan 
species, it will be an interesting fact to record that a product so 
valuable should have remained unknown or at least unworked for 
so long in an Island like Ceylon. The Report of the Chemists 
will be of very great interest. 
A New Cure for Dysentery. 
Numerous applications from various parts of the world have 
been received for seeds of a plant known as Brucea sumatrana the 
seeds of which are said to be a specific for the cure of dysentery. 
It is a shrub with large leaves, with numerous leaflets ; and is dis- 
tributed over Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Philippines, S. China and Aus- 
tralia — We have specimens recorded from Perak and Pahang only. 
The plant is being propagated from seeds and it is hoped that in a 
few months seedlings will be ready for distribution. 
The New Chief Forest Officer. 
Mr. A. M. Burn-Murdock of the Indian Forest Department, who 
has been appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies as 
Chief Forest Officer for the Colony and the Federated Malay 
States reported his arrival on the 1st. inst. He began his four of 
the variousReserves by inspecting the gutta percha plantations in 
the Bukit Timah Reserve, Singapore, and expressed his pleasure at 
what he saw. 
Mr. Murdock has just come from Burmah in the lower part of 
which the Forests are what are known as (Fvergreen tropical) like 
our Malayan Woods — and approach them somewhat in the nature 
of their contents. 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
The following correspondence has been courteously supplied by 
the Secretary to the Chamber of Commerce, Singapore.— 
H. M. Consulate — Para. 
September iith } 1901. 
Sir, — I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th 
of July last requesting information on the subject of Para Rubber. 
Twenty-seven thousand seven hundred tons of Rubber were 
exported from the Amazon Valley during the year ended June 30th, 
1901, of which 8,700 tons came from the State of Para. During 
the year ended 31st December, igoo, this port shipped * 15,000 
tons, the rest was shipped from Manaos and Iquitos. 
Islands Rubber comes from distances] varying from 50 to 300 
miles. Other Rubber comes from places 500 miles away. 
