172 TlMEHRI. 
beyond into Venezuela. Between the Pomeroon and the 
latter river, it is scattered in more or less abundance, and 
in places reefs are found. Mr. IM Thurn informs me, 
however, that immense numbers of trees have been cut 
down in this region, surreptitiously of course, for their 
balata. The ground of the Mazaruni and upper part of 
the Essequibo is too high for it, but between the lower 
Essequibo and the Demerara it is scattered through the 
general forest in places abundantly. From this to the 
Berbice it appears to be plentiful, especially about the 
banks of the Mahaicony. From the east bank of the 
Berbice river to the Corentyn is the region of its greatest 
plentifulness in the colony, but its distribution extends 
still eastward beyond the Corentyn into Dutch Guiana, 
where a grant of several hundred thousand acres has 
recently been acquired by an American firm for collecting 
balata. 
The trees are more plentiful in this region in the depths 
of the forest than near the rivers, hence the creeks form 
arteries to the balata grounds. Several of the creeks on 
both banks of the Canje are instances of this. The wood- 
cutters of this district regard the bullet-tree as inex- 
haustible; in the interior of the forest it exists in profu- 
sion, and abundance lies beyond the reach of the balata 
collectors as they at present conduct their operations. 
As the trees near at hand become exhausted they will no 
doubt alter their habits, and make clearings as drying 
places in the heart of the forest, but now thev are under 
the obligation of returning to the settlements on the 
creeks with the milk they have collected to dry. Under 
this necessity they can at most onlv penetrate about two 
days' journey, but so far as they have explored they 
