detected. This gives an opportunity for various 
kinds of manipulation in the preparation of the 
gutta for export, and some of the Chinese in Singa- 
pore have become very adept in mixing high grade 
and low grade material so that the resulting product 
will have a higher price than that of the low 
grade product. The places and processes used in 
“ purifying ” the gutta are very jealously guarded, 
and strangers are not permitted to see the work 
done. Heyne has given the following note under 
getah taban merah : — “ The getah appearing on the 
market is seldom unmixed getah of Palaquium 
oblongif olium, and if so, only in small quantities. 
Sometimes a single piece is found in mixtures of 
good quality. The trade, especially the Chinese 
trade, knows as getah merah mixtures of this one 
with inferior guttas, and the adulteration sometimes 
goes so far that the lots are only called getah merah 
because of the colour In an absolutely pure 
condition the colour is reddish grey, sometimes 
copper coloured; the getah forms a very compact 
hard mass, of which it is not easy to tear a piece 
against the grain. A piece thrown on a stone or 
wooden floor rebounds, and when two pieces are 
rubbed together they make a crackling noise. A 
piece cut obliquely shows clearly the different layers 
of which it is composed. These characteristics are 
also found, but in a lesser degree, in getah merah ; 
in the most inferior mixtures they have totally 
disappeared. Mixed with bits of wood, it often gets 
a red or dark brown, in Payena Leerii a grey colour, 
while additions of other guttas cause different 
shades from grey to brown Inferior qualities 
are often boiled again once or several times, through 
which a more thorough mixing takes place, and a 
product is obtained which looks really good, and 
