Am  Jour.  Pharm. 
Nov.,  1885. 
Balata  Industry  in  Guiana. 
563 
ations.  The  seeds  are  used  for  destroying  body  lice ;  after  boiling  and 
subsequent  maceration  in  cold  water,  or  after  being  roasted  they  are 
liarmless  and  are  used  as  a  condiment.  A  fixed  oil  is  obtained  from 
them  which  has  a  nutty  flavor  and  is  used  like  olive  oil  in  preparing 
aliments,  but  has  a  purgative  action  upon  those  not  accustomed  to  its 
use. 
Pangium  is  botanically  related  to  Gynocardia  (chaulmugra)  and 
Hydnocarpus. 
THE  BALATA  INDUSTRY  IN  BRITISH  GUIANA. 
A  very  interesting  and  detailed  report  on  this  subject  has  been  fur- 
nished to  the  Government  by  Mr.  G.  S.  Jenman,  Government  Botanist, 
and  Superintendent  of  the  Botanic  Gardens,  Demerara.  The  report 
is  especially  valuable,  as  it  ir  deals  with  a  substance  which  has  attracted 
a  considerable  amount  of  attention  at  different  times  for  several  years 
past,  but  has  never  found  its  way  into  commerce  in  any  considerable 
quantity,  though  balata  has  always  been  highly  spoken  of,  as  Mr.  Jen- 
man  reminds  us,  as  intermediate  in  character  between  india  rubber  and 
gutta-percha,  combining  the  properties  of  both,  and  for  certain  pur- 
poses is  better  adapted  than  any  other  of  the  natural  caoutchouc  sub- 
stances. "  Its  strength  also  is  very  great,  and,  as  it  does  not  stretch 
under  tension,  for  special  appliances,  such  as  bands  for  machinery,  it 
is  unequaled.  It  has  recently  been  pronounced  by  an  American  firm 
of  manufacturers  as  the  '  best  giun  in  the  world,^  and  that  it  has  not 
had  a  greater  success  is  due  more  to  the  hitherto  limited  supply  than 
to  any  defect  of  quality  intrinsically  in  itself."  This  opinion  is  fully 
borne  out  in  a  report  by  Dr.  Hugo  Muller,  F.R.S. 
Balata,  as  many  of  our  readers  will  already  know,  is  the  concrete 
milky  juice  of  Mimusops  globosa,  Gaertner.  A  large,  hard -wooded  forest 
tree,  sometimes  reaching  a  height  of  120  feet,  and  ranging  from 
Jamaica  and  Trinidad  to  Venezuela  and  French  Guiana.  The  intro- 
ductory part  of  Mr.  Jenman's  report  is  devoted  to  a  sketch  of  the 
balata  tree  in  Berbice,  with  notes  on  the  characteristic  vegetation. 
Speakiiag  of  the  savannah  region,  he  writes  as  follows :  "  The  flora  I 
found  naturally  very  largely  identical  with  that  of  the  Corentyne 
savannah,  which,  though  remote,  are  part  of  the  same  region.  It  pre- 
sents great  variety,  is  generally  rich  in  color,  and  very  interesting. 
Flowers  are  not  plentiful  <enough,  though  abundant,  and  in  many 
