Am.  Jour.  Pharm.\ 
Jan..  1891.  I 
Benzoin. 
37 
facts  tending  to  confirm  this  suggestion.  The  specimen  of  benzoin 
sent  by  Dr.  Treub  has  the  same  odor  as  the  Palembang  and  the 
ordinary  Sumatra  benzoin. 
The  odor  of  the  Penang  benzoin  is  so  characteristic  and  so 
strongly  resembles  storax,  that  I  cannot  doubt  it  is  produced  by  a 
different  species.  It  is  pointed  out  in  the  Pharmacographia  that 
Styrax  subdcnticulatum,  Miq.,  occurs  in  W.  Sumatra,  and  therefore 
in  the  province  in  which  Penang  is  situated,  and  that  this  tree  bears 
the  same  native  name  "  kajoe  kemingan,"  as  S.  Benzoin,  as  if  it 
yielded  a  benzoin.  There  is  also  a  fragmentary  specimen  of  another 
species  from  Penang  in  the  Society's  Herbarium,  viz:  S.  Portcrianum 
but  I  have  no  evidence  to  offer  that  either  of  that  yield  Penang  ben- 
zoin. The  subject  needs  further  investigation,  and  I  hope  that  Mr. 
H.  M.  Ridley  of  the  Singapore  Botanic  Gardens,  with  whom  I  have 
also  been  in  correspondence  on  the  subject,  may  be  able  ultimately 
to  clear  up  the  matter. 
Attached  to  the  Java  specimen  are  some  very  curious  galls  of  a 
cornucopia  shape,  developed  at  the  expense  of  the  flowers.  These 
galls  are  produced  in  Java  in  such  numbers  that  the  production  of 
fruit  is  much  lessened  thereby,  and  consequently  the  spreading  of 
the  tree  is  considerably  diminished.  The  insect  producing  the  galls 
has  been  quite  recently  described  as  a  new  species  of  aphis  by  Dr. 
A.  Tschirch  (Ber.  der  deutsch.  Bot.  Ges.y  1890,  p.  48)  under  the  name 
of  Astegopteryx  styracophila,  Tschirch.  The  interesting  account  he 
gives  of  these  galls  is  accompanied  by  illustrations,  both  of  the 
insect  and  of  the  structure  of  the  galls  (taf.  iv.). 
The  specimen  of  the  stem  in  section  showing  the  gum  resin  exud- 
ing, does  not  bear  evidence  of  the  application  of  heat,  although  it 
has  been  stated  that  it  is  formed  under  the  stimulant  action  of 
applied  heat,  benzoic  acid  not  existing  naturally  in  the  bark. 
Neither  in  this  specimen  nor  in  that  of  the  Siam  benzoin  tree,  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Jamie  seven  years  ago,  is  there  any  evidence  of  treat- 
ment beyond  the  application  of  an  axe  or  adze  to  gash  the  bark. 
I  may  here  take  the  opportunity  of  pointing  out  that  the  Siam 
benzoin,  which  has  a  distinct  vanilla  odor,  is  also  the  product  of  a 
different  species  of  styrax.  The  leaves,  examined  in  section  by  Mr. 
Shenstone,  of  Colchester,  some  years  ago,  showed  sufficient  differ- 
ence from  those  of  S.  Benzoin  to  indicate  that  they  probably  belong 
to  a  different  species,  whilst  the  drawing  by  Dr.  Pierre  in  the  Her- 
