( 3 ) 
DAMAR OR DIPTEROCARP RESINS. 
The name Damar has been restricted, in the 
European market, to the resins of the family 
Dipterocarpaceae, the group which contains the 
most important and abundant timber trees in 
Malayan forests. All the species contain resin in 
the bark and wood, though, in many species, the 
amount or quality of resin produced does not repay 
collection. There are quite a number of different 
kinds of Damar. Collectively, they differ from the 
resin of Agathis alba in that they are not completely 
soluble in chloral hydrate. They are also less hard, 
have a slightly lower melting point, and produce a 
softer surface in a varnish. 
Damar Mata Kuching. 
(Cat's Eye Damar). 
This has usually, until very recently, been con- 
sidered the best of the Damars. It may be that it 
really is the best, but it has been so incompletely 
known as to source that the quality is by no means 
always uniform. There is still doubt as to the bo- 
tanical origin of a number of. the plants producing 
this Damar. It is known that a number of different 
species produce it, but the species are very poorly 
understood. In the Malay Peninsula it is produced 
by the species Hopea intermedia King, H . globosa 
Brandis, H. micrantha Hook, f., and probably also 
by H . mengarawan Miq., and several other species 
of the same genus. Several of these species are 
known also by the name of Merawan. The Damar 
occurs as hard, clear, transparent drops or “ tears ” 
of 'resin on the bark or coming from injuries to 
the trunk of the tree. It can also be secured by 
pi- a . 
