*240 
GUTTA PERCHA. 
may be lost. The other part of the seed is ground ; 
and pressed for oil. 
The tallow now resembles coarse linseed meal, 
but with more white spots in it, and derives its 
brown color from the thin covering over the seed 
(betvreen it and the tallow), which is separated by 
the pounding and sifting. In this state, it is put 
between circles of twisted straw, five or six of 
which are laid upon each other, and thus forming 
a hollow cylinder for its reception. When this 
straw cylinder (if I may so call it), has been filled, 
it is carried away and placed in the press, which is 
a very rude and simple contrivance, but which, like 
everything Chinese answers the purpose remarka¬ 
bly well. The press consists of longitudinal beams 
of considerable thickness, placed about a foot and 
a half, or two feet, asunder, with a thick plank at 
the bottom, forming a kind of trough, and the 
whole is bound together with iron. The tallow is 
pressed out by means of wedges driven in very 
tightly with stone mallets, and passes through a 
hole in the bottom of the press into a tub, which is 
sunk there to receive it. It is now freed from all 
impurities, and is a semi-fluid of a beautiful white 
color, but soon gets solid, and in cold weather is very 
brittle. The inside of the tubs, which collect the 
tallow, is sprinkled or dusted over, with a fine 
red earth, well dried, which prevents the tallow 
from adhering to their sides. It is thus easily re¬ 
removed in a solid state from the tubs, and in this 
condition the cakes are exposed for sale in the mar¬ 
ket. As the candles made from this vegetable tal¬ 
low have a tendency to get soft and melt in hot 
weather, they are commonly dipped in wax of va¬ 
rious colors, as red, green, and yellow. Those 
which are intended for religious purposes are ge¬ 
nerally very large, and finely ornamented with 
golden characters. 
The cake, or refuse, which remains after the tal¬ 
low has been pressed out of it, is used for fuel, or 
to manure the land, and so is the refuse from the 
other part of the seeds from which oil is extracted. 
GUTTA PERCHA. 
Gutta Percha is a vegetable substance, which, 
though only known to us for a few years, is now 
extensively employed in the arts for various purpo¬ 
ses, as a substitute for India rubber. According to 
Sir W. J. Hooker, the tree from which it is obtain¬ 
ed belongs to the natural order Sapotacege, found in 
abundance in the island of Singapore, and in some 
dense forests at the extremity of the Malayan pen¬ 
insula. Mr. Brooke states that the tree is called 
niato by the Sarawak people, on the island of Bor¬ 
neo, and that it attains a considerable size, even as 
large as six feet in diameter. The timber, how¬ 
ever, is said to be too loose and open for the pur¬ 
poses of building, but the tree bears a fruit which 
yields a concrete oil used by the natives as food. 
The name “ gutta percha” (pronounced in Eng¬ 
lish, gut-ta per-tsha), is a Malay term and signifies 
ragged gum. It is contained in the-sap and milky 
juice of the tree and quickly coagulates on expo¬ 
sure to the air : from twenty'to thirty pounds being 
the average produce of each tree. For collecting 
the sap, the trees are felled, barked, and left dry and 
useless. The gutta, or gum, in its crude state, is j 
received in scraps, blocks, or in rolls of thin layers. I 
I It is first freed from impurities by deviling, or 
kneading in hot water, when it is left soft and plas¬ 
tic, of about the consistency of putty. 
When thus prepared, the gutta has many curious 
properties. If placed in water of a temperature of 
110° F., no effect is produced upon it; but when 
the temperature is raised to 145° or upwards, it 
gradually becomes soft and pliant, as to capability 
of being moulded into any form, or of being rolled 
out into flat plates. When in the soft state, it be¬ 
comes somewhat elastic, but as it cools, it gradually 
regains its original hardness and rigidity, and ap¬ 
pears, when cut, or broken, like horn. It may be 
softened and hardened any number of times with¬ 
out injury to the material. When cooled, unlike 
India rubber, it has little elasticity; but it has such 
strength and tenacity, that a slip, one eight of an 
inch in diameter, has sustained the weight of 42 
pounds. 
Gutta percha, like India rubber, is soluble in 
coal naptha, oil of turpentine, ether, or in caout- 
choucine ; but it is not acted upon either by alco¬ 
hol or water. In solution, it is also applied like 
India rubber for rendering cloth water proof. It is 
likewise employed for numerous purposes for which 
leather is used, such as belting for machinery, har¬ 
nesses, bridles, straps, clasps, belts, clock springs, 
soles of shoes, &c. The material is also applica¬ 
ble to the manufacture of numerous other articles 
of use and ornament, as surgical instruments, en¬ 
gine hose, water pipes, door handles, walking sticks, 
chess men, picture frames, book covers, handles of 
knives and swords, buttons, combs, flutes, &c., &c. 
In short, it promises to become quite, if not a more im¬ 
portant article in commerce and in the arts, than 
India rubber itself. 
It is stated, on good authority that there are two 
kinds of gutta percha—one light and the other dark- 
colored. Specimens of young trees, from which 
this substance is obtained, are now flourishing in 
the Royal Botanic Garden, at Kew, near London; 
but whether they are sufficiently hardy to with¬ 
stand the climate of any part of the United States, 
we have not means of knowing. 
Utility of the Bloom on the Surface of 
Fruit and Leaves.— On the cuticle of the plum 
and some other fruits, as well as on the surface of 
the leaves of some plants, we find a bluish, dry 
powder commonly known by the name of “bloomy 
which is merely a resinous exudation, and which it 
is difficult to wet by means of rain or dew. As the 
water falls, or collects on them, it trickles or slides 
off, in large drops, without causing injury or rot. 
Benefit of Adding Clay or Marl to Sandy 
Land. —Fifteen bushels of clay, or marl, spread uni¬ 
formly upon every square rod of land, plowed un¬ 
der and well incorporated with the soil, would 
change its nature to such a degree that it might be 
called a sandy loam, which is the second or third 
best earth for general crops. 
Permanent Cutting Teeth in Colts.— A 
colt has no permanent incisor teeth till he is two 
{ and a half years old, and then only the two front or 
1 centre ones. 
