48  Put  tar-producing  Plants.  { AmjlnUri8P78arm" 
THE  GUTTA-PRODUCING  PLANTS  OF  THE  MALAY 
PENINSULA. 
In  an  appendix  to  a  report  of  an  expedition  to  Perak,  recently  made  by  Mr. 
Murton,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Botanical  Gardens,  Singapore,  a  good  deal  of 
information  is  given  regarding  the  sources  of  the  different  kinds  of  gutta  produced 
in  the  Malay  Peninsula.  Five  varieties  are  enumerated,  and  their  respective  values 
in  Perak  and  Salangor  given  as  follows  : 
Price  per  Picul. 
In  Perak.  In  Salangor. 
1.  Gutta-soosoo,  50  to  52  dols.,  not  known. 
2.  Gutta-taban,  45  to  50    "  50  dols. 
3.  Gutta-rambong,  32  to  35    "  not  known. 
4.  Gutta  singgarip,  17  to  20    "  20  dols. 
5.  Gutta-putih -sundek,  15  to  30   "  15  dols. 
Of  the  first,  gutta-soosoo,  Mr.  Murton  was  unable  to  obtain  any  samples  of  the 
tree  producing  it,  and  the  only  information  he  could  gather  concerning  it  was,  that 
the  tree  is  entirely  destroyed,  except  in  the  interior  of  Perak  ,•  that  the  gutta  is 
firmer  in  texture  than  gutta-taban,  and  contains  a  little  oil.  This  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  gutta-soosoo  of  Borneo,  which  is  a  caoutchouc  or  rubber. 
The  second,  or  gutta-taban,  is  the  gutta-percha  of  commerce,  and  the  product  of 
a  tree  described  so  far  back  as  1837,  by  Sir  William  Hooker,  under  the  name  of 
Isonandra  gutta,  but  now  known  to  botanists  as  Dichopsis  gutta,  Bth.  It  appears 
that  in  Perak  there  are  two  sorts,  alike  in  foliage  and  general  appearance,  and  differ- 
ing only  in  the  color  of  the  flowers,  one  being  white  and  the  other  red.  They  are 
known  to  Malays  by  the  names  of  Ngiato  putih  and  Ngiato  merah,  but  the  products 
of  both  trees  are  called  gutta-taban.  Dichopsis  gutta  is  most  abundant  on  Gunongs 
Meeru  and  Sayong,  and  Bujong,  Malacca.  A  few  large  trees  still  exist  on  Gunong 
Babo  and  the  Thaipeng  range.  Small  plants,  from  one  to  eight  feet,  are  abundant 
on  the  granite  formations  in  Perak  up  to  3,500  feet  elevation. 
To  procure  the  milk,  the  tree  is  cut  down  at  five  or  six  feet  from  the  ground,  and 
the  top  cut  off  immediately,  when  it  becomes  too  small  for  ringing.  This,  the 
natives  say,  causes  the  tree  to  yield  a  much  larger  quantity.  The  bark  is  then  ringed 
with  knives,  called  "  golos,"  at  intervals  of  from  five  to  fifteen  inches.  The  milk 
continues  to  flow  for  about  an  hour,  and  is  collected  in  vessels  made  of  palm-leaves 
or  cocoanut  shells,  and  then  boiled  for  about  an  hour,  otherwise  it  becomes  brittle 
and  useless.  Regarding  the  quantity  of  gutta  each  tree  is  capable  of  producing, 
no  trustworthy  information  seems  to  have  been  obtained.  One  of  the  principal 
merchants  of  Perak  informed  a  member  of  the  expedition  that  a  large  tree  would 
yield  forty  catties  of  gutta,  but  Mr.  Murton  regards  this  as  an  exaggeration,  for 
from  numerous  inquiries  among  the  men  in  the  jungles  he  was  told  that  from  five 
to  fifteen  catties  is  about. the  average  quantity  obtained,  and  never  more  than  twenty 
catties.  No  particular  season  seems  to  be  recognized  in  Perak  for  collecting  the 
gutta,  and  Mr.  Murton  was  unable  to  glean  any  information  as  to  whether  or  not  the 
trees  yield  more  in  one  season  than  in  another.  He  considers,  however,  that  in  the 
wet  seasons  the  gutta  contains  more  water,  and  consequently  would  require  more 
