5  o  Minutes  of  the  College.  { /kBU^\^m' 
the  best.  The  long,  scandent  stems  are  often  cut  down  to  procure  the  milk,  but  it 
is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  do  so,  except  to  render  the  operation  of  collecting 
the  gutta  easier.  The  stem  is  generally  ringed  at  intervals  of  ten  to  twelve  inches, 
and  the  milk  allowed  to  run  into  vessels  made  of  palm  or  other  leaves,  cocoanut 
shells  or  anything  available  for  the  purpose  5  it  continues  to  flow  for  some  time,  but 
after  flowing  for  ten  minutes  it  gets  very  watery  and  thin.  One  plant  will  yield 
from  five  to  ten  catties  of  the  coagulated  caoutchouc.  When  raw,  it  has  the 
appearance  of  sour  milk,  and  to  coagulate  it  the  natives  add  salt  or  salt  water. 
When  freshly  coagulated  it  is  quite  white,  but  gradually  changes  to  a  darker  color. 
It  retains  its  white  color  inside,  and,  upon  cutting,  it  is  found  to  be  porous,  the  pores 
or  cells  containing  water  and  salt,  which  have  become  enclosed  during  coagulation. 
In  texture  it  is  soft,  very  spongy  and  very  wet,  From  January  to  November,  1877, 
fifty-seven  picules  forty-five  catties  of  this  rubber  were  exported  from  Klang  alone. 
Gutta-putik,  or  gutta- sundek^  is  the  produce  of  a  species  of  Dichopsis,  the  leaves  of 
which  differ  from  those  of  D.  gutta  in  being  much  shorter,  broader  and  more  ovate 
in  general  outline.  The  gutta  is  obtained  and  prepared  in  th'e  same  manner  as 
gutta-taban,  and  trees  are  frequently  met  with  on  the  Sayong  and  Meeru  ranges. 
Of  this  variety  484  piculs  56  catties  were  exported  from  Klang  alone  from  January 
to  November,  1877.  It  1S  much  whiter  and  more  spongy  than  gutta-taban,  and  is 
worth  only  15  dols.  per  picul  as  against  50  dols.  for  gutta-taban.  In  concluding 
this  interesting  report,  Mr.  Murton  says:  "  When  crossing  the  Meeru  range  from 
Kinta  to  Kwalla  Kangsa,  I  cut  off  some  leafy  branches  from  a  tree  which  had  been 
felled  and  ringed  a  few  days  before.  These  leaves  were  beautifully  yellow  on  the 
lower  surface,  caused  by  small  peltate  scales,  and  not  pilose  hairs,  as  in  the  Isonan- 
dras  (Dicbopjis);  but,  on  making  inquiries  from  men  about  Sayong,  they  pronounced 
them  to  be  the  foliage  of  some  non-gutta  yielding  tree,  which  is  certainly  wrong,  as 
I  saw  the  dry  gutta  adhering  to  the  bark  where  it  had  been  ringed.  A  kind  of 
gutta,  called  gutta-jalutong,  is  often  used  in  Perak  for  mixing  with  guttas  taban 
and  putih,  thus  rendering  them  very  brittle,  but  I  have  not  seen  the  gutta  nor  the 
tree  producing  it.  honandra  Motleyana  is  said  to  yield  a  gum  which,  in  Java  and 
Sumatra,  is  known  as  gutt-akolian,  and  is  used  only  for  adulterating  purposes. 
Various  species  of  fig  (Ficus)  yield  large  quantities  of  milk,  which  in  Perak  is  known 
as  gutta-burong,  as  the  only  use  to  which  it  is  put  is  for  bird-catching." 
From  the  foregoing  remarks,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  great  deal  yet  to  be 
learnt  about  the  sources  of  those  valuable  plants  and  trees  yielding  elastic  gums, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that,  with  an  extended  knowledge  of  the  plants  themselves, 
increased  supplies  may  also  find  their  way  into  commerce. —  Jour,  of  Appl.  Sci.,  Nov.  1. 
MINUTES  OF  THE  COLLEGE. 
Philadelphia,  December  30th,  1878. 
A  stated  meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy  was  held  this  day  at 
the  hall  of  the  College.    Dillwyn  Parrish,  President,  in  the  chair,-  seventeen  mem- 
bers present. 
