175 
the jangkar etc., (various species of Palaquium and Payena, some of 
them producing good gutta percka) : the only reason assigned for their 
neglect of these fruits is that the trees grow on dry land, away from 
the mud, w T here 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 Motleyi. 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 BRUCE A 
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 
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