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ON THE -OCCURRENCGCE, OF SCHEEGEL’S GAVIAL
(LOMISTOVA SS CALEGE LT Enea ener

ON THE

OCCURRENCE OF SCHLEGELS GAVIAL

(TOMISTOMA SCHLEGELI)

IN THE MALAY PENINSULAR,

BY
G. A. BOULENGER, F-R:s:

TOGETHER WITH PAPERS
ON THE CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK—TIN
MINING IN PERAK, CHAPTER IV—TEETH BLACKING
AMONGST THE MALAYS—GUTTA CULTIVATION— EXPOSED
FOUNDATIONS AT PERAK MUSEUM—THE “‘ RICE
SAPPER’’—BEETLE PEST ON GAPIS ESTATE—
REPORT ON PERAK MUSEUM.

BY
Be. WHR ce UNS

M.I.E.E., F.Z.S. COR. MEM. P.S., ETC.

Taiping :
PERAK GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

_—_

1897.

CONTENTS.

On the Occurrence of Schlegel’s Gavial (Tomistoma schlegeli)
in the Malay Peninsula, with remarks on the atlas and
axis of the Crocodilians, by G. A. Boulenger, F.R.s.

The Cave Dwellers of Perak, by L. Wray, Jun.

Some Account of the Tin Mines and the Mining Industries
of Perak, Chapter IV., by L. Wray, Jun.

Teeth Blacking amongst the Malays, by L. Wray, Jun.

On the Possibility of cultivating Gutta Percha producing
trees, by L. Wray, Jun. ...

On some Foundations exposed in altering the Perak
Museum, by L. Wray, Jun.

On the occurrence of the “ Rice Sapper” in Perak, by L.
Wray, Jun.

On a Green Beetle at Gapis Coffee Estate, by L. Wray,
JUN. : bof aes 565 sce wee ond

Annual Report on the Perak Museum for 1895

List of the principal additions to the Museum Collections
during the year ending the 30th December, 1895

PAGE

ig

30

40

56

60

61

69

73

ON THE OCCURRENCE OF SCHLEGEL’S GAVIAL
(TOMISTOMA SCHLEGELI) IN THE MALAY PEN-
INSULA, WITH REMARKS ON THE ATLAS AND
AXIS OF THE CROCODILIANS.

By G. A. BouLENGER, F.R.S.*

A Gharial-like Crocodile, Tomistoma schlegeli, described by
Salomon Miller in 1838, was, until lately, believed to be peculiar
to Borneo. In 1890, however, its occurrence in Sumatra was
recorded by Max Weber (Zool. Ergebn., p. 176). The Malay
Peninsula may now be added to its habitat.

A few months ago the British Museum received from Mr.
L. Wray, Curator of the Perak Government Museum, a fine
half-grown specimen, with the following remarks :—

“The specimen was caught at Pulau Tiga, in the Perak
river, in June, 1895, and I kept it m a pond until the end of
December, when it was killed. For months it would eat nothing
but a few small fish, but during the latter portion of the time it
would eat freely of any meat or fish given to it. It also became
quite tame and would remain at the surface of the water with
its head on the bank while people stood near it.

“So far as I have been able to ascertain no Crocodile
belonging to the Gavial group has ever been recorded from the
Malayan Peninsula, so that the following particulars will be of
interest.

“T first heard of the occurrence of a Gavial in the State of
Perak in 1889, and in the same year Mr. Cecil Wray, the then
Acting Superintendent of Lower Perak, obtained a skull from
the Perak river, and sent it to the Perak Museum,—the animal
was seven feet long. A second was caught in the Kinta river,
near Batu Gajah, in 1893 or 1894. It was secured by Captain
H. C. Metcalfe, of the Perak Sikhs, and the skin is now in his
possession. It measures 6 feet 8 inches, but the tail is very
short, having probably been injured when young, the head
measures 18 inches, the upper jaw 30 inches, and the lower jaw

* From the proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, the 16th June, 1896,

2 SCHLEGEL’S GAVIAL.

23 inches, a third was taken from the Batang Padang river near
Tapah, and was seen by Mr. Page, the Inspector of Police at
Tapah. It was stated to have been a small one, only measuring
about four feet long, and unfortunately it was not preserved.

“Mr. J. P. Rodger informed me that when he was British
Resident in Pahang he had seen the skull of one belonging to
the late Mr. E. A. Wise, that had been caught in the upper part
of the Pahang river. The fifth was trapped in the Perak river
at Pulau Tiga, some 64 miles from the mouth. This animal
measured 8 feet 9 inches, and is the largest yet seen.

“‘T was informed some years ago that one was taken to the
police station at Teluk Anson for the reward, measuring 19 feet
in length. The Police Inspector shewed me where it was buried,
but I failed to find it. Four skeletons were dug out, but they all
proved to be common Salt - water Crocodiles (Crocodilus porosus).
There is therefore considerable doubt about the accuracy of this
information, and probably the animal was only a rather narrow-
headed common Crocodile, and not a Gavial at all.

“These are all the instances of its occurrence that I have
been able to collect, and so far the evidence would go to shew
that it is confined to the Perak and Pahang rivers and some of
their larger tributaries, though it is probable that it will here-
after also be found in the Kelantan and possibly in the Telubin
river.

“Tt is called by the Malays “ Buaya jinjulong,” or the Long-
snouted Crocodile, but from its rarity there are only a very few
who have either seen or heard of it. There are two other
crocodiles frequenting the coasts and rivers of the Peninsula,
viz., the Salt- water Crocodile (Crocodilus porosus, Schn.) and the
Marsh Crocodile (C. palustris, Less.). These are called respec-
tively, “ Buaya” and “ Buaya katak,” or the Frog Crocodile, by
the Malays. ‘“ Buaya tembaga,” that is the Brass Crocodile, is
a name often heard, but it only has reference to the colour,
being indifferently applied to all yellowish tinted ones without
regard to their species.

“The Malayan Gavial would appear to be essentially a fresh
water animal, and it is said by the natives to often frequent the
swamps and marshy lands on the banks of the rivers. If this is
really the case it differs somewhat in its habits from the Gavialis
gangeticus, which is much more aquatic than the Crocodile. In
the ordinary way, so far as my observations have gone, only the
upper part of the end of the nose and the two eyes are above the
water. On the approach of anyone the eyes slowly and quietly

SCHLEGEL’S GAVIAL. 3

sink beneath the surface, and nothing but a small portion of the
nose remains ; on a nearer approach this also quietly disappears.
This doubtless accounts for the fact that the animal is so very
rarely seen.

“The irides are yellowish brown and the pupils vertical.
The upper surface is pale, dull olive-green, finely and closely
spotted with dark brown. The ground colour becomes lighter
on the sides, and is nearly white beneath. The tail has six dark
bands, formed by the spotting of the scales on the sides and lower
surface with dark brown. In the living animal the upper jaw
projects nearly an inch beyond the under j jaw.

“Tt is possibly referable to Tomistoma schlegeli, the Bornean
Gavial, but the very meagre description of that species in my
possession 1s insufficient to identify it.”

The specimen sent by Mr. Wray has been stuffed, and is
now exhibited in the Reptile Gallery of the Natural History
Museum. As the bones were sent with the skin, I am able to
add some remarks on the osteological characters, of which we
know nothing, except of the skull, which has been well de-
scribed and figured.

There are 24 presacral, 2 sacral, and 35 caudal vertebra
The hypapophyses on the cervical and anterior thoracic vertebre
are less developed than in the other recent Crocodilians, and are
not directed forwards; they are not developed beyond the
eleventh vertebre (twelfth or thirteenth in the others). The
chevron-bones are all open dorsally. The first pair of ribs are
inserted on the sides of the proatlanto - atlantic hypapophysis, or
lower part of the atlas-ring, and separated from each other at
the base by a wide interspace. The second rib differs from that
of all Crocodilians I have hitherto examined (including the
Gavial, of which I have examined the bone on a young specimen
in spirit, and also the atlas and axis preserved in the Museum of
the Royal College of Surgeons,— the Gavial-skeleton still being
a desideratum in the British Museum collection), Geicnlenis
excepted ; it is attached to the centrum of the atlas (odontoid
bone), near its suture with the axis, by the capitulum only, the
tuberculum being merely indicated by a small upward process at
a distance from the base of the bone, and without any connection
with the vertebre.

It is well known that in Ichthyosaurus the atlas bears a
forked rib, the same as the axis and the other vertebree behind
it. It seems that one Crocodilian at least presents an approx-
imating feature. The late Mr. Hulke has first pointed out in

2

4 SCHLEGEL’S GAVIAL.

Metriorhynchus (P.Z.S. 1888, p. 419) the presence on the
“lateral pieces” (newrapophysis) of the atlas of the tubercle
situated in the level of the diapophysis on the epistropheus, and
he concludes that this tubercle should rank as an upper atlantal
transverse process or diapophysis. I have been able to verify
the correctness of this statement on several well preserved
atlases of Metriorhynchus still undescribed, from the Leeds
Collection, which my colleague, Mr. Andrews, has kindly shewn
me in the Geological Department of the British Museum; and I
quite agree with Hulke that “the position of this little process
in serial line with the upper transverse process of the other
cervical vertebre speaks distinctly in favour of its diapophysial
character.’ We are, in consequence, justified in assuming that
although, as we know from one specimen, the first rib is not
forked, it must have been connected with the diapophysis by
ligament, its head being attached to the side of the hypapophysis
(‘basilar piece”) of the atlas, or rather between the latter and
the centrum (odontoid bone); and such a condition may be
regarded as the most primitive known among Crocodilians, and
as one from which, as Hulke has shewn, the abnormal position
of the first rib of recent forms may be derived and explained.

The second rib in Metriorhynchus was attached by its
capitulum to the anterior border of the lower surface of the
centrum of the axis, or between the latter and the centrum of
the atlas, and by its tuberculum to a process (diapophysis) of
the neurapophysis of the axis.

As regards recent Crocodilians the information to be derived
from books appears contradictory, principally from the fact that
the various authors have dealt with different genera, and have
in some cases generalised their observations to the whole group.

Cuvier (Ossem. Foss.) describes and figures the second rib
in Crocodilus porosus as single-headed and attached to the
odontoid bone. Owen (Osteol. Cat. Mus. Coll. Surg.) ascribes
to the same rib, in Gavialis gangeticus, a forked head attached
to two transverse processes of the odontoid bone, According to
Stannius (Zoot. Amph., p. 26) the rib is forked, and the two
branches are attached on the limit between the odontoid bone
and the centrum of the axis. Brith] (Skel. Crocod.) figures, in
Caiman palelbrosus, the rib as forked, with capitulum and tuber-
culum on the odontoid bone, near its suture with the axis. In
Huxley’s “ Anatomy of Vertebrated Animals” it is described in
crocodilians generally as attached to the os odontoideum and
to the second centrum by distinct capitular and tubercular
processes. Baur (Amer. Nat. 1886, p. 228) was the first in
attempting to shew what, if any, differences exist between the

SCHLEGEL’S GAVIAL. 5

genera with regard to the shape of the second rib and its
attachment to the vertebre. Iam not able to confirm his state-
ments regarding Gavialis and Alligator. In the case of the
latter, the more forward position assigned by him to the costal
capitulum may be due to individual variation, but I cannot
help thinking the author is mistaken in attributing a rudi-
mentary diapophysis to the neural arch of Gavialis. In the
specimens I have examined two very distinct processes are
present on the axis centrum, and [ have satisfied myself on a
specimen in spirit that the ligamentous capitulum is attached
to the upper of these processes, which is widely separated from
the supposed diapophysis figured by Dr. Baur.

I have examined the atlas and axis in Gavialis gangeticus,
Tomistoma schlegeli, Crocodili niloticus, americanus and porosus,
Osteolemus tetraspis, Alligator mississippiensis, Caiman sclerops
and C. latirostris, and find important differences which are de-
serving of notice.

In Alligator the first rib is attached to the lower surface of
the hypapophysis and in contact with, or narrowly separated
from, its fellow at the base; the second rib, in the adult, is
deeply forked, and attached by its capitulum to the centrum of
the atlas, by its tuberculum, to the anterior part of the centrum
of the axis, which, however, does not develop any tubercle or
transverse process. In a new born specimen I find both capit-
ulum and tuberculum inserted on the axis, shewing the rib to
shift forward with age, a further confirmation of the view that
this rib, usually attached to the first vertebra, really pertains to
the second.

In Caiman the first rib is as in the preceding, but the
second, deeply forked, is entirely on the centrum of the atlas,
without the latter bearing processes for its attachment.

In Crocodilus the first rib is more on the side of the
hypapophysis, and widely separated from its fellow; the second
is but feebly notched in its proximal portion, and the somewhat
ill defined capitulum and tuberculum join two strong knob-like
processes on the centrum of the atlas.

In Gavialis the first rib conforms to the preceding type, but
the second is deeply bifurcate, the tuberculum ligamentous, and
attached to two processes on the centrum of the atlas.

Tomistoma has been noticed above, Osteolemus curiously
agrees with it.

SCHLEGEL’S GAVIAL.

fer)

We thus see that Metriorhynchus represents the most
ceneralised condition, and that the recent Crocodilians, each
departing its own way from the primitive type, cannot be
arranged in a continuous series in this any more than in several
other parts of their structure. Whilst more generalised in
respect to the second rib* than the true Crocodiles, the Alligator
is more specialised in the more aberrant position of the first rib,
and with the Alligator and Caiman in the strong bifurcation of
the second; ‘and Tomistoma and Osteolemus present the highest
specialisation in the condition of the second rib with rudimentary
tuberculum.

P.S. (June 18, 1896).—Two days after the reading of my
paper I received Dr. Gadow’s “ Memoir on the Vertebral Column
of Amphibia and Amniota” (Phil. Trans. elxxxvil. B., pp. 1-57).
In this he gives an account and a diagrammatic figure of the
atlas and axis of Metriorhynchus, which differ entirely from what
IT have observed. I at once re-examined the specimens, and
particularly that described by Hulke and figured by Dr. Gadow,
and find the latter statement to be erroneous. What is figured
as the first centrum is a portion of the first neural arch, the
posterior portion of which has passed on the figure into the
second vertebra; the tubercle (t), to which allusion is made, is
on the neural arch.

* Another character in which the Alligator is more generalised than Cazman_and
Crocodilus exists in the proatlas, the arches of whichare distinct, or shew at least
a trace of separation which is not to be found in the other genera, even in quite
young specimens,

THE CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK.*

By L. Wray, Jun.

As far as the writer has been able to ascertain the only
published account of explorations of cave deposits in Malaya
is that describing those carried out by Mr. A. Hart Everett
in Sarawak, Borneo, between the years 1878 and 1879. The
Royal Society and the British Association voted £50 each, and
£200 was contributed from private sources towards the expenses
of the investigation, which was carried on under the auspices of
a committee ‘appointed by the British Association, consisting
of Mr. John Evans, Sir John Lubbock, Major-General Lane-
Fox, Mr. George Busk, Professor W. Boyd Dawkins, Mr.
Pengelly and Mr. A. W. Franks.

Mr. Everett examined some twenty caves in all, but the
results obtained were stated to be of ‘‘no special interest either
from an anthropological or a geological point of view. The
animal remains discovered were all of recent species, the
human bones are probably of no very great antiquity, and none
of the few objects of human manufacture which have been
found can be regarded as of palaeolithic age.” One small V-
shaped fragment of stone, seemingly artificial, was found, and
a few chips of quartz which might have been produced by
human hands. There would appear to be little evidence that
the caves examined were ever inhabited for long periods by
human beings. The top layers seem in some caves to have
contained remains of recent date but the lower layers appear to
have been very barren.

The limestone hills in which these caves are situated are
stated by Mr. Everett to be substantially imdentical with
those of the Malay Peninsula, and the caves which he ex-
cavated were regular caves in the ordinary sense of the term.
Now it has been found in Perak that the deposits in similar
caverns are also practically free of evidences of human habit-
ation, but that the caves known as “rock shelters,” that is
shelters formed by an overhanging rocky cliff, are full of vast
accumulations of shells, bones, Fitarcoalt ‘burnt earth, and other

* This paper was read before the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and
Ireland on the 14th April, 1896, and published in Vol. XX VI, No, 1 of the Journal!
of the Institute,

8 CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK.

remains, clearly pointing to prolonged human occupation. It is
quite possible that the “rock shelters”? of Borneo have also
served as dwellings in prehistoric times, for as far as can be
gathered from the published reports of the investigations this
class of cave was not examined.

To come now to the cave dwellings of Perak. As has
already been said, the caves which have been inhabited are
those which are formed by the overhanging of the cliffs, and
not those caverns which are hollowed out in the rock. The
same class of cave was inhabited by many of the cave dwellers
of Europe, and have yielded rich stores of archaeological speci-
mens. Rock shelters were also inhabited by the early New
Zealanders. It was in some of these caves that the remains
of the extinct gigantic wingless bird—the Moa—were dis-
covered with those of man.

In places the way in which these overhanging cliffs have
been formed is apparent, and they are even now being hollowed
out by the action of the rivers. In Upper Perak a very
interesting example is to be seen at the base of Gunong Sonah.
The Perak river has eaten into the hill to the extent of some
twenty feet or more, and when the river is not in flood a boat
can be taken right along under the overhanging base of the
almost per pendicular side of the hill, When the river shifts its
course a little as in the natural sequence of events it is sure to
do, this large cave will form an excellent camping ground for
a large number of persons. This is the history of ‘almost: all
these caves. Another very good example is to be seen on the
face of the limestone hills between Ipoh and Sungei Raiah,
in Kinta. The floor of it is now some twenty feet above the
present level of the ground, and it extends ‘for a length of
over half a mile. At the time when the stream was sculpturing
this terraced cave out of the rock-face of the hill the level
of the valley must have been some thirty feet higher than it now
is. This lowering of the valley represents, in a wide valley lke
the Kinta, a period of very many thousands of years. Some
of the cave dwellings are at considerably higher levels than
this, and are consequently of greater antiquity.

The first time the writer noticed evidences of the ancient
human habitation of these caves was in the year 1880, in the
western end of the limestone hill at Gapis, called Gunong
Pondok. Here shell and bone stalagmites were found of
considerable thickness. Since then similar signs have been
found in nearly every limestone hill that has been carefully
examined.

CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK, 9

In 1886 a cave in a limestone hill near Ipoh, in Kinta,
known as Gunong Cheroh, was visited. This cave is some forty
feet above the level of the Kinta river, which passes close by
the foot of it. The cave is a rock shelter, evidently cut out
by the action of the river in past times. Near by are some
large caverns which are now well known and often visited.
Some pits were sunk in these large caves and except on the
surface, where there was some recent Malayan pottery, ashes,
etc., nothing was found but a few small bones of bats and
birds. The earth was mostly a stiff yellow clay. In the rock
shelters, however, were found vast quantities of fresh water
shells, both univalves and bivalves. Land shells were also
present in considerable numbers. Nearly all the univalves had
had their points broken off so that the animal might be easily
extracted. Amongst the shells were numbers of bones, all the
larger of which had been broken to get at the marrow, and
many of them were more or less burnt. Pieces of burnt earth
and charcoal were also of frequent occurrence throughout. the
material composing the floor of the cave. The most striking
feature, however, was the extraordinary number of shells. In
places they formed a layer over twelve feet in thickness. Por-
tions of this layer were composed of beds of stalagmite, that
is to say the shells and bones cemented together with carbonate
of lime. Some of these layers of conglomerate are as much
as five feet in thickness. The present floor of this cave is some
six to eight feet lower than it has been at a previous period.
This is clearly shewn by some masses of shell and bone con-
glomerate sticking on to the back wall of the shelter at that
height above the present level.

In one place a curious thing is to be seen, an immense
stalactite hangs from the roof, and at a height of some eight
feet from the ground is a large flat mass “of the shell con-
glomerate attached to and suspended in mid air by it. The
floor level having fallen the stalactite has gone on forming
again below the layer of conglomerate.

About eighteen inches beneath the existing surface of the
floor there was found a portion of a mealing stone, and a
short way from it the stone that had been used as the muller.
The former is of granite, about eight and a half inches in
diameter and two and a quarter inches thick. It is undressed,
having probably been found in the bed of a river. The muller is
three and three-quarter inches long and two and five-eighth
inches in diameter. It is also of hard granite, and has joes
originally obtained from a river bed. The mealing stone has
been used on both sides, and is worn quite thin in the middle,

10 CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK.

being reduced to one inch in thickness. A second mealing
stone was found in December, 1895, in an adjoining cave, at
a depth of about two and a half feet from the surface. This
is also worn on both sides to a very considerable extent, but
is much thicker than the previously found one, and is quite
perfect. The name gives rather a wrong impression of the
purposes to which such things are applied i in the East. This
implement is not used for grinding grain, and its presence does
not imply agriculture in any form. The Malay equivalent is
made of a flat slab of wood, with a grinder of coconut shell,
and is called “sankalan.” It is used for grinding up chillis,
ginger, turmeric and other things, preparatory to cooking or
eating them raw. Stone ones are used in India, and are the
common curry-stones of our kitchens in the East. The Sakais
also use rude wooden ‘“sankalans”; not unfrequently part of
the joint of a bamboo is used for the purpose when they
are travelling in the jungle. In this they grind up their salt,
chillies and other flavourimg to eat with their rice, which
they boil in a joint of bamboo. Pounding stones, mostly of
hard quartz, and more or less round or egg-shaped, have been
found in several of the caves. These bear marks on them
clearly shewing the use to which they have been put.

In the year 1891 further excavations were made in this cave,
and two human skeletons were dug up. They were of adults,
and were lying close together. The positions were similar, both
skeletons being on their sides with the legs drawn up, but not
so close to the body as to suggest their having been bound
in that position. The teeth were not filed or ar tificially ground
down, and some Malays who were present when they were
exhumed said that they could not have been Malayan. The
inference was drawn from this interment that the bodies had
been allowed to remain in the positions in which they had died,
and that they had been simply covered over with the earth of
the cave without any grave having been dug. Probably it was
a case of epidemic disease — cholera, small -pox, or something of
that kind—which would account for two almost simultaneous
deaths.

The bones were very soft and much broken up, but still in
their proper anatomical positions. The crushing of the bones
was undoubtedly due to the trampling of elephants, as this cave
has been much frequented by them for a long series of years.
Parts of the roof and sides are perfectly polished by these
animals having been accustomed to rub themselves against the
marble rock. The bones were decidedly small, but they were in
such a friable condition that it was impossible to dig them

CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK. 1l

out in an unbroken state so, unfortunately, not much more can
be told about them. Some short way above these skeletons was
a well defined hearth and over all had, at a previous time, been
a bed of about four feet of hard shell and bone stalagmite.
A careful search was made for implements near the bodies but
nothing was found.

The other bones found in the cave were of many different
animals and fish, wild pig and deer being the most common.
No bones bearing traces of human workmanship were found in
this or any other cave, but all the larger bones had been
broken, and many of them more or less burned. One bone
bears teeth marks on it, apparently having been gnawed by a
dog, and it may perhaps have been the work of a domesticated
animal. The shells were all of recent species, belonging to the
following genera:— Unio, Paludina, Ampularia, Hybocistis,
Cyclophorus, Bulimus, ete.

There were also found in this cave three valves of a marine
bivalve—a species of Cyrena,* which is very common in the
mangrove swamps of the sea coast. Mr. Cecil Wray sent to
the Perak Museum a piece of stalagmite containing another
valve of the same species of mollusc, which had been obtained
by the late Mr. William Cameron from a cave in a hill near
Kapayong in Kinta, while another sea shell of a different species
was found at Gunong Pondok, near Gapis.

The presence of these sea shells is evidence that there was
intercourse of some sort between the dwellers in the cave and the
inhabitants of the sea coast; or, what is more probable when
the conditions of savage life are taken into account, the cave
dwellers were themselves in the habit of making periodical visits
to the coast, and on their return brought back a few sea shells.
This latter view of the case receives considerable support from
the occurrence of so called “kitchen middens” near the coast.
Mention is made of one of these by Dr. J. G. Koenig in his
journal of a voyage from India to Siam and Malacca in 1779,
though it is evident he had no idea of the modern interpretation
of these deposits of shells. He says, when describing his visit to
the harbour of Kedah :—‘“ The country is very low everywhere,
and consists of a very muddy soil, intersected by yet muddier
canals . . . I could see that the soil underneath the mud
consists only of cardia . . . A few steps further on I
saw some Christian graves near the path. I could see from the
thrown up earth that the soil consisted only of cardia, and
was little intermixed with clay.” From which it would appear

* Since identified at the British Museum as Cyvena sumatrensis, Lour,

Leis)

2 CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK.

that the small village he saw at the mouth of the Kedah
river had been built on the site of an old “ kitchen midden.”

Newbold in “The Straits of Malacca,” published in 1889,
gives some interesting and more definite information on this point.
He says:—“ That singular mass of limestone, the elephant rock,
in the Kedah territory . . was visited by Dr. Ward,

at the foot of a detached piece of the limestone rock he
found, elevated about eight or ten feet above the level of the
surrounding plain, a quantity of shells, chiefly cockles, oysters,
and a large kind of mussel, which he describes to have been
cemented together in one compact mass by calcareous matter,
the interstices being filled with soft earth contaiming numerous
smaller shells. The mass was of irregular shape, between three
and four feet square and about the same in thickness, perfectly
superficial and not connected in any way with the rock near it.
No appearance of shelly strata was discovered in the neighbour-
hood. The rock itself is an insulated mass of limestone,
close-grained, and of a dark, smoky grey colour, perforated
by stalactitic caverns of considerable size. It is situated about
six miles from the coast, in an immense plain bounded to
the east by a small ridge of hills about sixteen miles inland
supposed to be composed of a fine-grained sandstone. The soil
of the plain is a whitish clay mixed with sand. From its
general appearance, the low nature of the surrounding country,
the existence of the shells in the breccia, and local tradition,
Dr. Ward thinks that it was at one time surrounded by the sea,
and at no very distant period. The nature of the fossils, when
discovered, must determine this point. It does not appear that
the stalagmitic flooring of the caves was broken up by
Dr. Ward ; this should be done in order to get at the silt, sand,
gravel or mud in which organic remains have been usually
found in the ossiferous caverns of Europe.”

The detached mass of shell conglomerate mentioned here is
evidently similar to that found in the caves of the inland hills,
excepting that the shells are marine instead of fresh water.
Probably it was formed at the time when the sea washed the
foot of the hill, and was then detached and left in the place
where it was found by Dr. Ward by the action of the waves.

Further information is given by Mr. W. E. Maxwell in a
short note on the “ Antiquities of Province Wellesley,” in the first
number of the “Journal of the Straits Royal Asiatic Society.”
He says:—‘ Singular mounds of shells are to be met with
in the north of Province Wellesley not far from the Muda river,
They are composed of sea-shells of the kind called ‘kepah’ and
‘karang’ (cockles) by the Malays, though they are situated at

CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK. 13

some distance from the sea. No other shells of the kind are to
be found near the place, I believe. I have been told by Malays
in Province Wellesley that one of these mounds was opened
and explored by Colonel Low. If the others, left perfect by
him, have escaped destruction at the hands of Chinese lime
burners, they will probably be worth examination and descrip-
tion. ‘Goa kepah’ (shell-cave), a place in the neighbourhood,
no doubt takes its name from these mounds.” Unfortunately
Colonel James Low, the then Lieutenant-Governor of Penang,
does not seem to have left any record of his investigation,
and no one else would appear to have made an examination
of these interesting relics.

It may be objected that these shell-mounds were made by
the ichthyophagi or sea gypsies, who may in former times have
frequented the coasts of this part of the Peninsula. Their
position, some way from the present coast line, points to their
having been formed long ago, when the sea coast was in a
different position and, given a considerable antiquity, there would
be no difficulty in reconciling the two suppositions. The sea
gypsies are Negritoes, and it is by no means improbable that
they in past times took to a sea life while other portions of
the tribes moved inland when the Malays or some other superior
race invaded and occupied the litoral and river lands of this
part of the Peninsula. This view of the case is supported
by local tradition, as the following extract from Newbold’s
“Straits of Malacca” proves :—‘ The Rayet Laut (subjects of
the sea) or Orang Akkye, are unquestionably from the same
stock as the Jakuns. The two tribes, it is true, differ from
each other in localities, habits, and slightly in personal
appearance, yet both generally admit the fact of a common
origin. The following tradition, however is current
amongst the Malays . . . ‘Dattu Klambu, a man of power
in former days, employed a number of Jakuns in the building
of an astana or palace. He had an only daughter, a young
and beautiful damsel who, once upon a time, observing the
primitive costume of one of her father’s workmen, was seized
with an uncontrollable fit of merriment. Whereupon, the
irritated Jakuns commenced the incantation ‘Chinderwye,’
and pursued their way to the forest, followed by the spell-
bound princess. Dattu Klambu despatched messengers to
bring back his daughter, but she refused to return, and even-
tually became the spouse of one of the Jakun chiefs. Dattu
Klambu on receiving intelligence of this occurrence dissembled
his resentment, and invited the whole tribe to a sumptuous
entertainment, on pretence of celebrating the nuptials. In the
midst of the feast he fired the palace in which the revels

14 CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK.

were carried on, and the whole of the Jakuns except a man
and a woman perished in the flames. These two Jakuns
fled to Rawang, a marsh near the sea shore, and from them
sprang the Rayet Laut, sometimes termed Orang Rawang or
Akkye, who, not daring to return into the interior, have ever
since confined fhemeciae to the coasts and islets.’ ”

This is naturally a more or less fanciful account, but it
is not at all improbable that it has a foundation of fact, and
that it was raids by Malays on some of the wild tribes that
drove some of them inland and others into the protection of
the mangrove swamps of the coast to escape from their per-
secutions. Had they been in the habit of visiting the coast
before this and were consequently acquainted with the arts
of sea fishing and collecting shell fish, this would have been
a most probable course for “them. to adopt.

Returning now to the Ipoh cave. There were found in it,
mixed with the deposits of shells and bones, numerous lumps of
red hematite. The same mineral was also found in two other
caves in Perak. This ore has been discoverd in the old cave
dwellings in Europe, and it is conjectured that it was used as
a pigment for painting the faces and bodies of the inhabitants
of the caves. The occurrence of this substance, associated with
similar remains in so widely separated localities, is very mterest-
ing. When first noticed the idea was formed that possibly the
mineral had been collected and brought into the caves on
account of its weight and bright metallic appearance, much as
children will collect any similar stones, or as the Chinese miners
at the present time gather up all pretty or curious shaped stones
they may find in the workings and place them on the small
altars they form in the mines, or that medicinal or magical pro-
perties were attributed to it. The hypothisis of European
archeologists may, however, be the true explanation of its pre-
sence, for it is only necessary to grind up some of the hematite
between two stones to form, with a little water or some ue
expressed from a seed like the “prah” or the “ kapayong,”
very excellent red paint for personal adornment.

The three colours used by the modern Sakais for painting
their persons are charcoal, a vegetable red, and white china clay.
These are mixed with oil, and the faces and sometimes the
breasts of the women, and occasionally the men, are painted with
patterns in lines and dots. It is only done on occasions when
they wish to add to their personal charms.

No implements but the pounding and grinding stones
already mentioned have been so far discovered in any of the

CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK. 15

caves, though it has been somewhat rashly taken for granted
that the cave dwellers were the makers of the stone implements
that have been so abundantly found in Perak and in the neigh-
bouring States. But the least reflection would serve to shew
that these implements indicate a much higher intelligence than
would be compatable with the evidences afforded by the remains
discovered in the caves.

All the stone implements are axe or chisel pointed, not one
single spear pointed implement has ever been found. The
second division of the stone age is divided from the first by the
introduction of axe pointed implements and all the important
advances that are indicaced by the use of this type of tool. If
the cave people had been acquainted with the use of stone, they
would almost certainly have employed spear pointed implements
of the rudest kind; as when they advanced as far as the
making of chisel and axe pointed tools they would have been
able to build houses and be independent of the shelter of caves,
and have been in a position to cultivate the soil and raise food,
instead of having to subsist on shell- fish and the animals of the
jungle. The multiplicity of the types of stone implements
found in Perak shews that the users of them must have been
comparatively in a high state of civilization. The remarkable
absence of all palaeolithic patterns may be explained by
supposing that there never was a period in this part when the
ruder implements were in use, but that the people, whoever they
were who employed them, were settlers from some other locality,
who on arrival had reached the second stage of the stone age.
There is, of necessity, no means of fixing even in the most ap-
proximate manner the date of the introduction of the use of
stone in Perak, but the similarity of the types of the implements
is quite sufficient to indicate that it was a continuation of the
same wave of progress which led to the evolution of these tools
in other countries. This is, of course, far from saying that the
stone age in Malaya was contemporaneous with that of Europe.
The number of the stone implements is, however, as striking
here as in other parts of the world, pointing indubitably to the
long continuance of the use of these lithic tools.

The finding of a few implements in the cave deposits
would by no means prove that the inhabitants were the makers
of them, but only that they were of the same age. For it would
be quite likely that were two races of different degrees of
advancement living in the country at the same time that the
lower might acquire, either by barter or other means, the
weapons of the higher race, in the same as the wild tribes now
use iron axes, pottery, clothes and other things bought from the

16 CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK.

Malays, and the Malays themselves use articles of European
manufacture.

So far pottery has not been found, except some fragments
of coarse earthenware in the superficial layers of the earth of
some of the caves, and this is undoubtedly of, comparativly
speaking, recent Malay origin. At the present time the Malays
are acquainted with the potter’s art, but the wild tribes are not.
They use bamboos for cooking rice and other grains when they
cannot get Malay cooking pots.

The burial customs of the cave dwellers would appear, from
the only interment which has been discovered, to have been
of the most primative kind, that is the bodies were left
where they fell, with possibly a slight covering of earth, and
the family or tribe, as the case might be, left the place. This
same custom is still followed by” both the Sakais and the
Semangs. Not only the house in which the death takes place,
but the clearings, often of some acres in extent, planted up with
crops, are also abandoned. If anything was wanted to prove the
recent date when the cultivation of the land was adopted by the
wild tribes a custom such as this is sufficient. It is meon-
ceivable that such a habit could long survive in a community
which depended for its sustenance on the produce of the soil.
At the present time it is dying out in places, and as the
cultivation of the land increases it must ultimately fall into
disuetude. The Malays bury their dead in amongst their
“kampongs,” and this custom seems to shew a close connection
between the wild tribes and them in this respect. It is really
only a step. In fact what is now taking place amongst the
Sakais in the less remote places will supply instances of all
the phases between the two customs. From shutting up the
body in the house, leaving the body in the house but covering it
with earth, to making a grave in the garden near the house.

There would appear to be no available data by which
even the merest approximation to the age of these cave remains
can be made, but it must be very considerable, as in some
of the caves at least twelve feet of a mixture of shells, bones
and earth has been accumulated, and subsequently removed
again in the floors of the caves. In places two and three
layers of solid stalagmite have been formed and removed, some
of these layers having been five feet in thickness. Portions
of these layers are to be seen sticking on to the walls of the
caves or on to the ends of the stalactites hanging from the roof.
As already mentioned the level of the caves is, as a rule,
very much higher than the present level of the valleys in which
the hills stand, thongh there 1s nothing to shew what

CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK. ily;

time elapsed between their formation and occupation by human
beings. In the case of the caves at Ipoh, the human deposits
rest on a bed of coarse river sand, and there does not appear to
be any earth in between the two deposits. A fact to be taken
into account is that the caves could not have been occupied for
long at a time, for the supply of food would soon run short,
and the people would have to shift to another cave, and leave
that again as soon as the supply of food became exhatisted in
its vicinity. Thus the occupation must have been only inter-
mittent with, often, comparatively long intervals intervening.

Of the habits and customs of the cave dwellers not much
can be gleaned, but some idea of them can be formed. From
the extraordinary quantity of shells in these caves it is evident
that fresh water and land mollusc must have been their staple
food, supplemented by such animals as they could snare or kill
with their rude weapons, the fish they could catch, and the fruits
leaves and roots of the jungle. The absence of any implements
except those already mentioned indicates an extremely low state
of intelligence, though it is quite possible that they may have
been able to fashion weapons out of bamboo, with knives made
of the same material hardened by the application of fire, and
probably supplemented by the use of sharp fragments of stone.
In this way it would be quite possible to make bamboo pointed
spears, blow pipes, darts, and bows and arrows. With these and
the knowledge of the means of extracting the poison from some
of the plants of the jungle, they would be able to kill the
animals whose bones are so plentiful in the caves. That they
used fire is abundantly evident, and this in the hands of some
savages is made into a most effective means of shaping wooden
objects. The use of fire in cooking was probably confined to
roasting their food, for without tools it is, in a country like
Perak, impossible for any cultivation of grain to be carried on,
and therefore the necessity for boiling would not have arisen.
The presence of pig bones shews that the cave dwellers were
not Muhammadans. The nature of their food and the indi-
cation of a custom of leaving their dead would shew that they
were continuosly shifting from cave to cave, and the presence
of sea shells far inland, that they may at times have extended
their wanderings as far as the sea coast im search of a change

of diet.

This is about all the evidence we have of their habits and
customs. It is meagre, though apparently sufficient to enable
an idea to be formed of who these cave dwellers were. In the
southern part of the Malayan Peninsula there are three races
of people without counting the Chinese and other modern intro-

18 CAVE DWELLERS OF PERAK.

ductions. These are the Semangs, the Sakais and other nearly
allied tribes, and the Malays. The former are nearly pure
Negritoes, while the Sakais are a mixed race, apparently a
cross between the former and the race that has been called
Indonesian.

The Negritoes are probably the true aborigines, as they are
met with even now in comparative purity, while the Indonesians
are only to be traced by their admixture. From this point of
view the earliest cave dwellers were, therefore, most likely Negri-
toes. Looked at from the other aspect the habits of the
modern wild tribes are so similar to those of the people under
consideration that if they were to be deprived of the iron tools
that they now obtain from the Malays they would be to all
intents and purposes in the same position as the ancient cave
men. Probably at a subsequent date the mixed race also
occupied the caves in some parts of the country. The habit
in all likelihood continued until the introduction of tools, by
the Malay or some other race in an equally advanced state, en-
abled them to fell the jungle and build houses for themselves.

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE TIN MINES AND THE
MINING INDUSTRIES OF PERAK.

By L. Wray, Jun.

CHAPTER IV.

AURIFEROUS ALLUVIAL TIN MINING.

In several countries alluvial tin is associated with gold,
and the same thing occurs in Perak. The gold districts are
Upper Perak, the northern portion of Kuala Kangsar, the upper
part of the Plus valley, and parts of Batang Padang. In all
these places the gold is mixed with the tin, but it would appear
that the source of the two minerals is not the same in most
eases. The tin having been derived from the granitic rocks and
the gold from the older schistose beds. In part of Kuala Kang-
sar, near Sungei Cherakoh, the gold may have come from the
granite, and in other localities part of the tin may have come
from the stratified rocks, but broadly speaking the sources
are distinct. At the present time it cannot be said with any
degree of certainty from which of the schistose beds the gold
is derived, that is to say not the position of the auriferous
formations in the series. It would appear that it is the older
beds, but even this is open to doubt in certain localities. Near
Kamuning for instance it would appear that the top beds, and
near Bukit Mas the bottom beds of the series are those which
yield the gold.

The occurrence of the gold within an auriferous area is very
capricious. In one valley there may be an abundance, and in
the next, with only perhaps a watershed of twenty feet or so
high to divide them, there may not be a trace of gold, while
the tin sand in both may be of the same character and from
undoubtedly the same source.

At the present time there is hardly any gold- working to
speak of except in the district of Batang Padang. In this
district there is now and has been for many years past a con-
siderable amount of gold won from the alluvial deposits. It
does not pay any duty and there is no account kept of the
export, so that it cannot be stated how much is really raised per
annum. It is mostly bought by Chinese shop-keepers from the
miners, and sent direct by them to China. It is of very good
quality and commands a fair price locally.

4

20 TIN MINING IN PERAK.

As a rule the working of alluvial tin and tin and gold is
precisely the same, excepting for some slight differences in the
final separation of the two materials. Near Tapah, however,
there is a variety of ground sluicing which does not seem to be
practised in any other part of the State, and as most of it is
carried on for the extraction of auriferous tin-sand it may be
conveniently described here.

The land which is worked in this way is hill land which has
no water supply. The method of procedure is to cut a system of
ditches on the face and top of the hill. The upper ditches are
close together, often not more than four feet apart, and a very
curious feature is that the earth between the ditches is formed
into beds and sweet potatoes and other vegetables are planted
and grown on them until such times as the sub-soil is reached
and they will no longer thrive. This gives the upper portion of
these mines the appearance of market gardens. The gardening
is carried on in the usual Chinese fashion, and the surface soil
rapidly disappears, as it does on all their gardens; but it differs
in that after the top layer of earth has gone it is not abandoned,
for the second harvest then begins, the tin and gold beginning to
make their appearance in the ditches as the vegetables fail.

The miners dig in between the ditches with “changkols”
and so loosen the earth on the face of the hill, and when the rain
comes the loosened soil is carried down into the horizontal
channels and from them into the large ditch, and so down the
hill. When the rain begins the miners put on their Chinese
water-proof coats and go to work in the ditches, opening them
up where they get choked, breaking down the sides, digging the
bottoms and stirring up the mixture of earth and water in them.
Unlike other forms of mining the men work hardest when the
rain is falling, as they say “it rains tin.”

After each shower the surface of the ground is all dug over,
and loose earth is thrown into the lower parts of the deeper
ditches. The bottoms of the ditches themselves being also dug
up from time to time so that they may sink at the same rate as
the ground in between them.

At suitable spots small reservoirs are constructed on the
upper parts of the mine, each one being provided with a small
system of ditches to collect sufficient rain water to fill it. This
store of water can be used to clean up the ditches by letting
it slowly run out while the men work in them with “ changkols,”
and it is also used in what is called “booming.” This is nearly
filling the ditches with loose earth and then letting the whole of

TIN MINING IN PERAK. 21

the water from one or more of the reservoirs rush down them.
It makes a great noise as it tears down the hill taking a large
quantity of earth with it, but it would appear to lead to a
considerable waste of both tin and gold as the rush is so
great that only the larger particles have any chance of settling
in the tail race.

The tail race is a long ditch cut at the foot of the hill into
which the main ditch or ditches discharge. It is generally
cut simply in the earth, though sometimes it is more or less
lined with rough planks. When these are used stops are put in
at intervals to arrest the tin and gold, but when it is formed in
the earth they are not employed as the inequalities of the
earthen floor serve the purpose of “ riffles.”

If it is possible it is arranged that a small stream of water
may be made to flow through the tail race, so that it can be
cleaned up when the rain has stopped. The cleaning up is
carried out by beginning from the top of the ditch and stirrmg
up the sand in it so that the lighter parts may be carried away
by the stream of water, leaving the tin in a more or less
pure state in the bottom of the ditch. This is then scraped out
with tin plate scoops and put into tubs, and afterwards either
washed in a “lanchut” or in “dulangs” to further clean it.
The tailings always contain a large amount of tin as the race is
very defective, and is never half long enough to disintegrate the
earth which travels down it. The earth tends to form itself into
balls, from the size of a cricket ball down to that of a pea.
Having once taken this form the clay balls simply roll along
the ditches without breaking up, and the worst part of it
is that at the lower part of the race, where the tin is most
abundant, they pick up the grains of tin-sand after the manner
of a snowball, and they may often be found completely
coated with tin-sand far below the bottom of the tail race.
They cause loss, therefore, by the tin that is inside them, and
by that they have collected in their descent of the ditches.
Could these mines be worked with properly constructed sluices
much of this loss would be prevented, and undoubtedly the
proportionate yield of gold would be much increased, as the
“riffles,” even when used at all, are most inefficient in stopping
the finer portions of the precious metal.

The great recommendation of this form of mining to the
Chinese miners is that it requires no capital and is a uice sleepy
way of making a livelihood. A very few men can keep a large
area of land in work, and the land will last for a number of
years, some of the mines now in operation have been in work

D2, TIN MINING IN PERAK.

for over ten years. The drawback is that when there is a long
spell of dry weather no mining can be done, and consequently
no tin can be got for sale to pay for the food of the men
employed on the mine.

As the entire surface of the land is washed away, in places
to a depth of twenty feet or more, the amount of siltings
produced is very considerable. The only thing is that the work
is spread over a number of years so the silt has time to extend
far over the valleys into which the tailings are discharged.
Taking an average depth of ten feet of earth there would be
16, 133 cubic yar ds of material removed per acre of land worked,
or say 24,200 tons. When it is considered that all this amount
of work is done by the action of the rain and the labour of a
few coolies it is rather astonishing, but it must be remembered
that with our large rainfall the quantity of water is very
considerable. In an average year in Batang Padang there falls
enough rain water to cover the ground to a depth of about
twelve feet, or upwards of three ‘million and a quarter gallons
per acre of land.

The wash dirt, except in ground sluicing and in workings
such as have just been described, is raised and cleaned in the
ordinary way in a wash box with a stream of water, but the tin-
sand is not freed from all the sand and “ amang,” as this would
lead to a great loss of gold. The partly cleaned ore is taken out
of the head of the wash box and reserved for subsequent treat-
ment. This second washing is effected by hand in large
“dulangs,”’ and is not carr ied very far, that is to say eae
“amang”’ is not separated to any great extent. The tin- sand is
then ready to undergo the next process, and is put into tubs or
bins until such time as it is convenient to carry it out. The
separation of the gold is performed as follows. A large shallow
tub some three feet in diameter and one foot deep is taken and
either placed on the ground or on pieces of wood a foot or so in
height. The tub is partly filled with water and then some fresh
leaves are taken and crushed up in the hand with some water in
a coconut shell, and the water and leaf juice poured into the
tub. Sometimes the leaves are crushed up directly in the tub,
but the other method seems to be the better plan as it is easier
to prevent fragments of leaf from getting into the water and
interfering with the subsequent operations. The leaf juice
prevents the gold dust from floating on the surface of the water
in a most remarkable way, and is a very important item in the
success of the process. The two kinds of leaves that are in use
are those of Melastoma malabathricum and Ficus cunia. The
former is a very common pink flowered shrub known locally as

TIN MINING IN PERAK. 23

Penang strawberry, and the latter is a small rough leaved fig tree
of rather rare occurrence and is said to be not so effective as the
first mentioned plant. It would appear that the action of these
leaves in preventing the floating of the gold dust is due to their
containing a substance having the property of soap, which
counteracts the oil which is always present in the water to an
extent sufficient to cause a very large amount of float gold.
The “dulang” used is about eighteen or twenty inches
in diameter and only very slightly concave. From one half
to three-quarters of an inch is the amount of concavity
generally found to be best. It is important that it has a
true figure, a smooth surface and a nearly black colour. The
operator sits down in front of the tub and grasps the “ dulang”
in both hands by its opposite edges and, having dipped it into
the water, places in the centre of it about half a “kati” of the
tin- sand which has been previously wetted if it has been allowed
to become dry, this is then shaken up so as to get the gold into
the centre, and by alternately dipping it into and raising it
out of the water the tin-sand is washed off into the tub,
always flowmg away from the washer. If there is coarse
gold in the sample being treated a great deal of this will flow
off with the tin to the outer edge of the “dulang.” The
washer, whenever he sees a grain going away, rests the
“dulang”’ on the edge of the tub and with the finger of one
hand brings it to the part of the “dulang” next to himself,
adroitly separates it from any tin-sand by flowing a few drops
of water over it and picks it up with the tip of his finger and
places it in a small copper or brass basin partly filled with
water which he has by his side for the purpose.

The shaking and flowing off of the water and tin-sand are
continued until the greater part of the ore has gone into the tub,
when more is put on to the “dulang” and the process continued.
When it is seen that there is a considerable amount of gold in
the “dulang,” the cleaning is pushed as far as possible in the
manner already described. What is left on the dish is then
brought into the centre and carefully shaken up with a little
water to which some more fresh leaf juice has been added. The
gold having been brought by this process rather to the imner
side of the centre of the dish, the tin-sand is then washed
as much as possible to the far side and separated from the gold
by making the water repeatedly flow over it. The dish is then
inclined so that the water flows towards the operator, and just as
it passes over the edging of gold the inclination of the dish
is altered so that it flows back again, and at the same time a
sudden jerk is given to the dish which has the effect of making

24, TIN MINING IN PERAK.

the gold dust advance like the lne of seaweed on a beach
towards the washer, and the tin-sand recede from him. The
same action is repeated several times, and the gold dust forms in
distinct semicircular ridges on the “dulang” at the side next
to the washer while the tin-sand remains in the centre of
the “dulang.” The water is then carefully drained off the
dish and the now fairly clean gold dust washed with a little
water taken up by the hand into a brass basin.

More tin-sand is added to the residue in the “dulang”’
and the same process followed until all the ore has been gone
through. The gold dust which has been collected in the basins
is then placed in the “dulang” and re- washed with water and
leaf juice as clean as it is “possible to make it. It is then
returned to the basin or basins and heated over a fire to
drive off the water. When dry it is put into a piece of thin
fine Chinese writing paper, which has been creased down the
middle and then has had one end folded back. The paper
forms a V-shaped trough closed at one end by the folding
of the paper. The gold dust is placed near the open or
lower end and the paper is held up and gently tapped with
the fingers of one hand while a stream of air is blown up
it from the mouth. The object is to make the lighter parts
go up the trough towards the closed end and the heavier
parts fall to or remain at the lower end. When this has
been effected the now pure gold dust at the lower end of
the paper is lifted off with a feather and put by itself, and
the remainder blown again as many times as gold can be
separated out from it. Should the sample contain fragments
of quartz imbedded in the gold it is customary to crush it
with a hammer and wash or blow out the powdered quartz.

The blowing operation is one demanding much practice, but
when skilfully done is very effective though the residue always
contais a considerable per-centage of finely divided gold. In
one sample examined ten per cent of gold was recovered. This
was separated very easily with a little mercury ; but the Chinese
do not seem to be acquainted with any method of saving it.
When the gold dust is taken for sale the buyer puts it through
the blowing process and returns the residue to the seller. This
he re-washes and blows, thus extracting a small portion of
the contaimed gold, and the residue is then thrown away.

Three parcels of blowings from Klian Bharu mine, near
Tapah, when subjected to amalgamation yielded 17°205, 15:03, and
13°63 per cent of smelted gold. The process in this case is very
simple as the tin-sand, ‘““amang” and other impurities are very

»

TIN MINING IN PERAK. 25

fine in grain and are not difficult to separate from the mercury
at the termination of the process if the following directions are
observed. Take the sand and put it into an ordinary white wine
bottle, then add some water and common washing soda and
shake it up well, pour off the water and add more, and repeat.
Now add mercury, to which, if possible, a little sodium amalgam
has been added, in the proporation of three or four ounces for
each ounce of gold in the sample. Partly fill up with water and
shake well, but not too violently, so as to avoid flouring the
mercury, that is reducing it to the state of very fine globules, for
when in this state it is difficult to get them to reunite into a
mass again, and much of the mercury may be lost in conse-
quence. After about ten minutes shaking turn out the whole
contents of the bottle into a washing dish and shake up in
water so as to induce all the mercury to sink to the bottom
of the dish and then carefully wash off the tin, “amang,” etc.
This will have to be repeated at least once to ensure getting
back all the mercury. It will be found advisable from time to
time during the progress of the washing to run off the mercury
into another dish, or it becomes unmanagable. The mercury
having all been collected is put into a piece of wash-leather and
bound up tight with string. It is then squeezed through the
pores of the leather into a dish. The gold in the form of
amalgam will remain in the wash-leather as a pasty mass, which
is to be put into an iron retort and heated till the mercury is
driven off and the mass regains its gold colour. This retorted
gold, which is spongy in texture, is then to be melted up with a
little borax in a plumbago crucible and cast into an ingot in an
iron mould.

“Blowing” is also employed by European miners in
Australia and on other gold fields to free alluvial gold dust
from heavy iron-sand, ete. It is effected in an instrument
called a “blower.” This is a shallow scoop of tin-plate open
at one end. The whole operation is very similar to that just
described. The gold dust is placed in the blower which is
gently shaken while the operator blows with his mouth along
the surface of the contained gold dust so as to separate the
impurities from the precious metal.

Tt is usual to wash the tin-sand over two, three or even
more times in the manner described before it is sold to the
smelter or exporter. It would be thought that the coarsest
gold would be separated out first, but such is not by any means
the case. In fact after it leaves the hands of the last washer,
quite large sized grains may often be detected in it. In one

26 TIN MINING IN PERAK.

sample examined coarse gold to the extent of 10 grains per
pikul could be picked out by hand with quite a casual search,
this equals 7 dwts. per ton. Besides this there is a considerable
amount of very fine gold dust. After repeated careful washings
when nothing further can be detected by a close examination
with a magnifyi ing glass, there still remains a very appreciable
quantity of excessively finely divided gold, whose presence can
only be demonstrated by chemical means.

In one valley in Batang Padang matters are considerably
complicated by the presence of fine crystalline native copper
mixed with the auriferous tin-sand. This is extremely difficult
to separate from the gold by any process of washing or blowing,
and when finished with a sample on analysis was found to have
the following composition :—

Copper ... = _ sae ... 70°30 per cent.

Tin ay ae we wae ved L650
Gold... oon er ae a “O09 2
Silicious sand ... oes — a Lo
Oxygen combined with the tin ch Bits ee
Loss... sate 2°61 es

100:00

The gold was at the rate of 29 ozs. 8 dwts. per ton, or over 1
tahil 6 chi per pikul of sand.

In a sample of the residue of alluvial gold from Jelai, in
Pahang, another mineral was present which by reason of its
yellow colour and high specific gravity also caused great trouble
in separation. This mineral is known as Kampylite. It is an
arsenate and chloride of lead, is of a golden yellow colour and
has a specific gravity of 75. The sample was found to contain
22°13 per cent of gold. The Malay chief who brought the
sample concluded from its resemblance to the precious metal
that it was a species of gold that only required proper treatment
to reduce it to its normal form. Mere traces of this mineral
remaining in the gold dust render the metal brittle and quite
unworkable by the hammer when it comes to be melted.
Prolonged fusion in a current of air is required to eliminate
the arsenic and make the gold ductile.

In most cases the residue left after washing out the gold
is fine grained tin-sand more or less mixed with “amang.”

TIN MINING IN PERAK. 27

Sometimes there is a considerable quantity of a heavy pinkish-
coloured mineral which has not yet been indentified.

In the Plus district the “ dulang” used for separating the
gold is more concave, and it has a small circular hole in the centre
of it about the size of a cent piece. It is used differently to the
flat one, the object bemg to make the tin-sand flow off while
the gold dust remains in the circular recess in the centre of
the dish.

In Upper Perak the same implement is used but it has
a rather larger hole in the centre. Another form of ‘ dulang”’
is also in use in Upper Perak for gold washing. It is conical
in form. An example in the Perak Museum measures sixteen
and a half inches in diameter at the top, one inch in diameter at
the bottom, with an inside depth of four inches. These conical
dishes are used with a circular movement, and when in skilful
hands appear to be very effective.

The amount of gold is reckoned amongst the miners as
being so many “chi” or “tahil” per pikul of tin-sand. The
gold dust is weighed with a small bone steel- yard, similar to that
used in weighing opium. The weights employed are the Chinese,
which have been adopted as the legal weights in Perak. These
small scales are, however, not stamped, or supplied by the
Government like the larger ones. The weights are as fol-
lows :—

CHINESE GOLDSMITHS’ WEIGHTS.

i pd bs ae ie ... equals ‘58 Grains, Troy.
10 Ti ... equals 1 Hun ... 3 5°83 Md _
LOPE jack. eye = Clin seas J; 5833, ¥
ORCI cece ism © Sarre alle ese 583°33 ,, ¥
Gy Mahila 5, - lj Kata <2: 2 ,5))) dsoorom ee 7

The tahil is equal to 1 oz. 4 dwts. 74 grains, Troy, and
16°80 pikuls equal 1 ton. The tahil represents in the pikul
1-1600th, and the chi 1-16000th. One chi to the pikul would
equal 2 ozs. 20 grs., and one tahil to the pikul 20 ozs. 8 dwts.
8 ers. to the ton of ore respectively.

As a rule the richer the gold the poorer the tin-sand, that
is to say more “amang” and other impurity is mixed with it.
In a few places it is really “amang” and gold that is obtained,
the tin being so small in quantity that it is a not worth
taking into account. There is also, in much of the ore, a
large proportion of iron pyrites.

5

28 TIN MINING IN PERAK.

The following are a few samples of auriferous tin-sand
from Batang Padang of which assays have been made :—

Per ton. Per pikul.

(Sa be r= =f
ozs. dwts. grs. tahil. chi. hun.
Sungei Chuchu, near Tapah ... 3.14 0O 1 812
Do. do. skis GF ib ui0 3. 6°85
Sungei Klian Mas _... ae? all enor ones 9276-00
Klan Sembiliang 12 14 18 6 2°38
Junka vr mae ee 7 ho 6°66
Osi. | 88 ae ee aie 6 4 383 3. 40
Sungei Jong... sais Le aie Aa 3 6 9:68
Do. ; ce za (2000 ie, 8 2 4 668
Do. ay se re 1 oe 8) 2°79
Klian Bharu_... as i ooo, 30> 20 16. 4 072d
Do. ae aay ag 6 18 23 3 2°80

There is no way of arriving at the average proportion of
gold in the tin-sand, for it differs in every mine, and also
very largely in different parts of the same mine. As a rule
it is more abundant in the bottom layer of wash-dirt, and
richest in this again in those parts which fill the gutters or
lowest channels of the “kong” or bed rock. In some mines
it is fairly regular in its distribution throughout the wash - dirt,
and there are places where it is possible to wash gold out of
the earth clinging to the roots of the grass and weeds growing
on the surface.

As already mentioned the quality of the gold dust is
generally very good, but in a few places there is much silver
mixed with it. This is the case in the gold from the Bukit
Mas valley and from the upper part of the Kelindai valley. The
gold in these places is light brass-coloured and the grains are
little rounded. The explanation is, of course, that the gold is
quite near its matrix and has not undergone the refining action
which always takes place when re-deposited in the alluvium.
The lode gold from Bukit Mas mine in Batang Padang contains
on an average 20 per cent of silver, and is consequently quite
pale in colour. An assay of some of this gold shewed the
foliowing results :—

Fine gold ... oh one 78:14
Silver ae ioe es 21°86

100-00

TIN MINING IN PERAK. 29

A second made at another time of the produce of the
same mine gave :—

Fine gold ... ose ase 80:00
Silver eee oy a 20°00

100-00

Taking the mean of these two determinations or 791 fine,
which is almost nineteen carats, the gold value of this lode
bullion would be £3 7s. 2d. per Troy ounce.

A sample of the alluvial gold dust, as it is cleaned for sale
by the Chinese miners from a mine at Sungei Jong near Tapah,
gave these results on assay :—

Fine gold ... ae en 93°45
Silver eet ha 7 5°33
Sand, tin, ‘“amang,” etc... oD,

100-00

This gives the proportion of the two precious metal as :—

Fine gold .., asd ae 94°61
Silver as $8 ote 5°39

100-00

This may be taken as a fair example of the Batang Padang
alluval gold dust, both as regards its composition and its ad-
mixture of impurities, The dust would be worth £3 19s. 4d.
per ounce, and when melted £4 0s. 4d. The latter would be
222 carat gold. This sample of gold dust was bought in Tapah
recently for $40 per tahil, which at 2s. 2d. per dollar (the then
rate of exchange) would equal a sterling price of £3 Ils. 3d.
per ounce, Troy.

Other parcels of gold dust from Batang Padang have given
the under mentioned results on smelting :—

Grs.
Weight of gold dust... 6,310
Weight of smelted gold 5,927

MOSSiuecs. 383 equal to 6:06 per cent.

30 TIN MINING IN PERAK.

Grs.
Weight of gold dust... 1,704
Weight of smelted gold 1,556}

Loss ©... 1473 equal to 8°65 per cent.

Grs.
Weight of gold dust .... 10,044
Weight of smelted gold 9,936

Loss... 108 equal to 1:07 per cent.

The composition of the smelted bullion in this last lot

was :—
Fine gold... re ae) | D2IBO

Silver ae re ass Gia7
Other metals oe ace 1:28
100:00

The dust is mostly very fine grained, but in a few places it
is coarser, though to find grains as large as split peas is very
rare, and nothing over the size or weight. of half a sovereign has
been recorded. In the upper parts of some of the valleys
the grains are mixed with quartz and are more or less spongy in
texture. The Chinese say that as a rule the finer the grain the
better the quality of the gold dust and experiment bears “this out,
for the coarser grains shew, on examination, that they contain
more silver than those of smaller size.

In very dry weather quite a quantity of auriferous tin- sand
is washed from the coarse gravel and stones in the bed of the
Batang Padang river at Tapah just above the bridge. The gold
dust separated from it differs from that of other localities in
containing grains of a nearly white colour. This is apparently
due to the presence of one or more of the platinum group of
metals, possibly to rohodium. With this exception none of
these valuable metals have been noticed in the alluvial deposits
of Perak.

At a mine at Changkat Mamot, near Klian Bharu, in
Batang Padang, Mr. C. B. Cerruti has found some native
amalgam. It is composed of gold and mercury, and is found
distributed in grains through the wash-dirt. It occurs in the
lowest part of the “ karang” next to the bedrock on some rising

TIN MINING IN PERAK. ol

land at the side of the valley. It would appear that this
“karang” is a portion of an old river terrace, and that it will
be found not to extend into the alluvium of the present valley.
The source of the mercury is so far unknown. In Upper Perak
a few globules were noticed some years ago in some auriferous
wash-dirt, but the gold was not combined with the mercury.

The poimts which seem to be deserving of attention in
respect to alluvial auriferous tin mining as carried out in the
State, are, firstly, that great improvements could be made in
washing the “‘karang”’ hy employing longer sluice boxes with less
grade and less head of water, so as to effect the saving of the
finer particles of gold. The box in use in most of the mines is
the “lanchut kichil,”’ which is a form that is so defective that it
should not be allowed to be used at all in any mine. The “long
tom,” or “lanchut besar”’ as it is called here, is much better, but
even this has long been superseded on the gold fields of the more
advanced countries by the regular gold sluice. Only one of
these sluices has been fitted up in the State as yet, and the
experiment will be watched with great interest by all those
connected with mining. It is unfortunately unlikely that the
Chinese could be induced to adopt it even if 1t proves a complete
success, as they are in Australia and California the only miners
who still cling to the “long tom,” cradle, and other obsolete
forms of washing boxes although they have the opportunity of
copying the better forms used by the white miners working on
the same fields.

The second point is the separation of the gold from the
tin-sand in a cheaper and more effective manner, and the
saving of the very considerable amount of gold which is now
always left in the sand, and goes into the smelting furnace,
where it is utterly lost. The plans which suggest themselves
are amalgamation, chlorination, and the cyanide process.

The former appears at the first blush to be an excessively
simple matter, but in reality there are many serious dr awbacks
to the carrying out of any of the ordinary plans of effecting
amalgamation. The principal of these arise from the high
specific gravity and the comparatively large size of the grains of
the tin-sand. The weight of the tin makes it difficult to ensure
that the gold finds its way down to the mercury, and also
prevents any mercury which in the form of small globules gets
mixed with the tin-sand during the process from ‘falling down
through it and re-uniting with “the bulk of the mercury at the
termination of the process. There is a double loss in conse-
quence, firstly by unamalgamated gold and secondly by mecha-

32 TIN MINING IN PERAK.

nically suspended mercury containing, of course, a certain
proportion of gold, remaining in the tin-sand after treatment.
These difficulties could be got over in a great measure by
crushing the tin-sand down to an uniform powder, but this
would cost money for the milling and would lead to a very
serious loss of tin by its sliming. As already mentioned, there
is always iron pyrites present in the auriferous tin-ore, and
unless it is roasted this would sicken and flour the mercury and
consequently increase both sources of loss.

One method of amalgamation was tried at Khan Bharu by
Mr. W. H. Wellington some two years ago, but no details of the
experiment seem to have been made known. In this process the
tin-sand, water and mercury were put into a barrel, which was
revolved for a certain time, then the contents were turned out
and sent with a stream of water through a sluice box furnished
with “riffles” and mercury traps. The best chance of succeeding
with this class of ore would appear to be to present the mercury
to the gold on plates of copper, so as to endeavour to minimise
the loss of mercury due to mixing with the heavy grains of
tin-sand.

The chlorination is effective in a smali way in the labor-
atory. It is carried out by damping the ore and then passing
chlorine gas through the mass, or circulating chlorine water
through it. The chlorine dissolves the gold which is afterwards
deposited from the solution by sulphate of iron, or by passing it
through charcoal filters. The results are very satisfactory, but
the tin-sand has to be roasted in a very perfect way or the
iron in it dissolves and then precipitates the gold as fast as
it is brought into solution by the chlorine. The roasting and
the trouble in preparing and handling the chlorine gas would
appear to render this process unsuitable for the purpose of
treating the auriferous tin - sand.

The third alternative, that is the cyanide process, appeared
to meet the requirements of the case in a most satisfactory
manner. As applied to this class of ore the process is as follows.
The ore is put dry into vats furnished with filter beds. A weak
solution of one per cent or less of cyanide of potassium is used.
It is run on and allowed to soak, and at intervals it is drawn
off and pumped up on to the top of the vat again. The leaching
is continued until such time as it has been found by experience
that the largest grains of gold are dissolved. The solution is
then run through a box containing fine zinc shavings, on which
the gold deposits. A second charge of a weaker solution is then
run through the tin-sand and the zine box and afterwards
plain water washes follow as long as gold deposits in the

TIN MINING IN PERAK. 333°

zinc box. The ore, altered in no respect except that the gold
has been extracted from it, could then be dried and bagged
for the local smelting furnaces or for export.

This process seemed so promising that a trial of it was
undertaken by the writer. Ten pikuls of the auriferous tin-ore,
after being rendered alkaline by caustic lime and then dried, was
put into an iron drum and covered with cyanide solution of a
streneth of 0°8 per cent. The solution was run off periodically,
and put back again into the vat. At first, as shewn by the
assays, the solution of the gold was rapid, it then became slower
and slower, and at the time when the experiment had to be
terminated there was still gold remaining in the ore, which was
slowly dissolving. The larger lumps of gold, particularly in the
lower part of the vat, were those which took so long to dissolve.
The results of the assays, on being plotted on a diagram, gave
a solution-curve of a very regular nature. When the cyanide
attained a certain gold strength it was run through the zinc box,
and this was repeated several times during the continuance of
the experiment, but it had little or no effect on the regularity of
the curve.

The extraction at the end of the experiment was equal to
82°14 per cent of the gold contents of the ore and, had it been
possible to continue it, the whole of the gold might have been
extracted; but the time occupied was so great that the process
seems to be impracticable. The ore contained 155 grains of
gold per pikul, of which 127} grains were extracted. The total
time occupied in leaching was seventy-seven days, but it is to
be observed that fifty per cent of the whole gold contents of
the ore was dissolved in the first fourteen days of treatment.

The hastening of the solvent action of the cyanide could be
effected by aeration of the cyanide solution by one of the many
forms of agitation apparatus; but the cost of keeping a large
mass of a heavy, coarse-grained substance like tin-sand in
motion for a period of a couple of weeks would be prohibitive.
The use of many chemical substances has been advocated for
quickening the action of the cyanide of potassium on the gold,
though few, if any of them, are in actual use. Amongst
these may be mentioned ferricyanide of potassium or other
ferricyanide, bromine, iodine, permanganate of potash, oxide and
cyanide of mercury. Whether any of these accelerators could
be employed with advantage in the case in point remains to be
proved.

With a clean, free ore like tin- sand the process (except for
the slowness due to the size of the grains of gold) worked

€

34, TIN MINING IN PERAK.

in a most satisfactory manner, and the gold was deposited
for the most part on the zine shavings as bright metallic films
instead of as a black-or brown powder as is usually the case
when dealing with ordinary ores. This part of the process with
ore of this description leaves little to be desired as there is
so little oxide and cyanide of zine formed that the smelting
offers no difficulties, and bullion of excellent quality can be
turned out. The precipitants which can be used in cyanide
processes are, zinc in the form of plates or scraps (Simpson’s
process), zinc in the form of shavings (MacArthur- Forest’s
process), potassium or sodium as an amalgam (Molloy’s process),
charcoal (Johnston’s process), and aluminium (Moldenhauer’s
process). Electricity is also used in many of the processes that
have been brought out as the precipitant of the gold and
silver from the cyanide solution.

For the large mine owner the advantages of this or
some other means of extracting the gold is of some importance,
as by the present system of hand washing the gold it is quite
impossible to prevent theft of a part of it. It cannot be
expected that men who perhaps get a dollar a day wages
will resist the temptation of stealing when a considerable and
unknown quantity of a valuable, portable and easily saleable
thing like gold dust daily passes through their hands. It is
customary in other countries on gold, silver, diamond and
gem mines to make the workmen disrobe when they come to the
works, walk into another room, and there put on their miners
clothes, and do the reverse when they leave off work, but
nothing of the sort has been done here.

In some mines in Batang Padang the owners pay the
washers so much for each tahil of gold extracted, but of course
this is really no check on theft as the dust is much more
valuable than the price paid for washing it out. The price paid
varies with the amount of gold present in the sample. Some-
times as much as $20 per tahil is paid for poor grades of ore.
In the small mines the circumstances are different, as the tin is
washed by the owners themselves, or by one of their number in
the presence of some of the others. The small miners also often
sell the auriferous tin-sand to the Chinese buyers, who give so
much extra for it on account of the gold it contains. These
men take a small quantity of the sand, wash it, separate the gold,
clean it by blowing, and weigh it, and from this weight calculate
the price they are prepared to give for it. They employ washers
to separate the gold, and often pay them by the results. Other-
wise a good washer gets from a dollar to a dollar and a half a
day wages.

TEETH BLACKING AMONGST THE MALAYS.
By L. Wray, Jun.

The Malays have a curious, and to European ideas dis-
agreeable custom of filing and blacking the teeth.* The
substance employed for this latter purpose is called “ baja.”
Marsden says it is ‘‘a metallic and perhaps antimonial pre-
paration for giving a black colour to the teeth, for which
purpose an empyreumatic oil is chiefly used in Sumatra.”
Crawfurd says, ‘“ ‘Baja,’ an empyreumatic oil, obtained by
burning the husk and shell of the coconut, used for staining

5 ” “2p . . 5
the teeth black. Clifford and Swettenham, in their recently
published Dictionary, say, “ ‘Baja,’ a preparation used by Malays,
both men and women, to give a black and shinine appearance
to the teeth. Note: this preparation is made by burning the

; ues
hard shell of the coconut (‘tempurong’) and mixing the soot
. . . . 5 5 .
thus obtained with a little oil. In many parts of the Peninsula
the soot obtaimed by burning the leaves of the lime tree is
preferred.”

The first part of Marsden’s explanation would indicate
that some black metallic powder, mixed presumabiy with a
drying oil, was painted on to the teeth. The same method
is given by Chfford and Swettenham only that charcoal is
said to be the basis of the paint. According to Crawfurd’s
and the latter parts of Marsden’s description the substance
used is not a paint but a self coloured varnish.

There being so much doubt about the true nature of the
substance the subject seemed worth inquiring into, and with
this object an old Malay, a native of Larut, was induced to
shew the whole process of the preparation of the “ baja.”

There are two distinct sorts, known as “ baja tempurong”’
and “baja kayu.” The first being prepared from the shell of
the coconut, and the second from various kinds of wood.

* Note:—In the eighteenth century blacking the teeth was stiil
practised in Russia. An English woman, Mrs. Vigor, writing about
the year 1730, says, in describing a lady she saw, that ‘“‘she was
exceedingly handsome when her mouth is shut but as frightful when
it is open, her teeth being dyed black, and shining as if japanned. I
really fear that I started when she first opened her mouth.”

6

36 TEETH BLACKING AMONGST THE MALAYS.

The coconut shell “baja” is produced as follows. A fire is
made on the ground or the cooking place, and a piece of well
dried coconut shell laid on it, when this has become ignited it is
removed quickly from off the fire, placed on the ground and
rapidly covered over with the half of a coconut shell having a
hole in the bottom of it. This at once extinguishes the flame
and there issues from the orifice of the shell a Set of smoke. In
this jet is held, in a slanting position, a piece of cold iron, on
which the vapourous parts of the smoke condense into a black
fluid, which runs down the iron and drips off its lower end into
a shell or small cup placed to catch it. It is this fluid which is
the “baja” of the Malays. When the smoke stops, the piece of
coconut shell is again placed on the fire, ignited and the process
repeated three or four times, until the ‘whole of the shell is
reduced to charcoal. A fresh piece is then taken, and so on.
To produce about one half of a fluid ounce of “baja” ten to
twelve coconut shells are required.

The covering coconut shell and the cold iron form a
simple and ingenious still and condenser, and the products
of the destructive distillation of the shell are obtamed quite
easily.

To prepare “ baja” from wood is a more troublesome process,
though it is quite as primitive. Many sorts of wood are used,
and specimens of the following kinds are in the Museum
collection :—Mangis, the mangosteen (Garcinnia mangostana) ;
Langsat (Lansium domesticum) ; Poyan, a small tree; Perpara,
a small tree; Pekan Utan, a white flowered climber; Berasah, a
sort of orange; Dada Kurau, a small tree with large leaves
which grows in the padi fields; Serimgan, a bush, the leaves of
which are used to stuff pillows ; Derom, a small tree; IKadudu,
the Penang strawberry (Melustoma malabathricum); Rotan Seger
(Calamus sp.) 3 Jerun, a bush (Sida rhomboefolia) ; Perpulut, a
bush (Urena lobata.) ; Trong Bianda, a bush (Solanwm 2DiG
Limau Kuasit, a sort of orange; Sarapat, a bush.

There are said to be some hundred or more different kinds
of plants which can be used for this purpose. It would appear
that nearly any wood may be used, if it is fairly hard and has
pith in the centre of the young wood.

The sticks, which may be of any size, from half to one inch
diameter and two to three feet long, are stripped of their bark
and put on the “ para” or rack over the cooking place in a Malay
house, to dry. They are allowed to remain there until they are
quite dry, when they are ready for use.

TEETH BLACKING AMONGST THE MALAYS. 37

A fire is made up and the upper end of a stick is thrust
into the hot ashes and allowed to remain for a few minutes. It
is then drawn out and held in a slanting position with the
burning end downwards. An assistant holds a piece of cold
iron in a slanting position beneath the stick, so that the jet of
smoke which issues from the pith-hole impinges on it. Under
the lower point of the iron is placed a shell to catch the “baja”
as it runs down from the iron. From time to time as the stick
burns the charred lower end is broken off, and if it stops burning
properly it is again thrust into the fire. The yield of “baja” i
not nearly so great as with coconut shell, and it is difficult to keep
the sticks burning properly so that the jet of smoke does not
break out at the side, catch fire, and so become lost. When the
iron gets hot, as it soon does, it must be cooled by dipping into
water or otherwise, or it will not condense the smoke. The iron
used may be of any shape, but a piece fashioned something like
the blade of a “wali” or rattan knife mounted in a wooden
handle would appear to be the correct form. It should be thick
so as to be capable of absorbing a considerable amount of heat
before it is raised to such a temperature that it ceases to operate.

In burning any of the sticks which yield “baja” they must
be burned from the top end. If the butt end is burned first the
operator will meet with his death by being speared. This, at
least, is what the Malays say.

The fluid obtained by either of these processes is a fairly
liquid, heavy, black, or rather dark brown oil, smelling strongly
of creasote; in fact it is a wood-tar containing a considerable
amount of acetic acid. That obtaimed from the sticks is thicker
than the other, and is ready for use as soon as it is made. That
from the coconut shell on the other hand requires to be cooked
at a low heat over the fire until it is thicker in consistency,
when it is fit for application. The method of applyi ing it to the
teeth is to take a small quantity of the “baja” and put it on to a
cold iron plate, then add a little of the white ash of the nipah
leaf (Nipa fruticans). Well mix the two together until it is
quite smooth, then with the tip of the third finger of the right
hand it is to be rubbed on to the teeth. The third finger or
“Jari manis” only is to be used, though no reason is assigned
for this except that it is the custom. “It is usual to black the
teeth two or three days after they have been filed, or as soon as
the swelling and soreness of the gums has subsided. The teeth
are well cleaned by rubbing with water and the fingers, they are
then dried and the “baja” applied in the manner before men-
tioned. When it is dry the patient chews “ sirih,” which helps
the blackening process. From three to a dozen coats are put

38 TEETH BLACKING AMONGST THE MALAYS.

on before the operation is finished. When complete the teeth
should be quite black and have a fine glossy surface. It is
reported to last for years and to keep the teeth from decaying.
It must be very unpleasant as the “baja” is pungent and dis-
agreeable in taste and takes some considerable time to dry,
during all of which period the taste continues. The custom in
Perak is going out of fashion from some cause or other.

The “baja” is also used to varnish the caps made of
“resam” orfern fibre, and give them a fine, black, polished
appearance.

The primitive character of the above detailed process seems
to point to a very remote date for the inception of custom.
With the exception of the piece of iron used to condense the
smoke, which could almost as well be replaced by a piece of
stone, there is nothing in the process which is incompatable with
the appliances of the period before the discovery of the use of
metals and earthenware. If the custom had originated when
metals or earthenware were in use the whole process of the
production of “ baja” would almost certainly have been simplified
by enclosing the coconut shell or wood im an earthen or
metal vessel before subjecting it to the heat of the fire and thus
producing the wood-tar in much greater quantities with less
trouble and expenditure of time and material. The custom
having once originated, it is only to be expected, from what
is known of other customs, that the method of carrying it
out should remain practically unaltered although subsequent
advancements in the knowledge of the use of metal and earthen-
ware vessels opened a way for a much improved process.

Teeth filing and blacking is confined to the Malays, neither
the Sakais nor the Semangs practise it in Perak. It is
performed on both sexes, and though it may be done at any time
is most frequent at or about the age of maturity. No special
significance seems now to be attached to it, but it is more than
probable that it is the remnant of some initiatory ceremony of a
pre-Muhammadan period.

The following are some “baja” pantuns, which it appears
should be recited during the process of preparing the varnish.

Nod:
gral pals cohen « cls palS wil 2
ot cty csbtyt eshte ch Soy abla srw

TEETH BLACKING AMONGST THE MALAYS. 39
Nos 2:
AS yabanre Colt gals gSls 5 dprS
pes: carlo Crolyd Soh x lol pCi soya eb
No. 3.
Peet SH cee J SI syn
Erb tes lbe HE OU Spmeyeshypbn gs yeS gO U

ON THE POSSIBILITY OF CULTIVATING GUTTA
PERCHA PRODUCING TREES.

By L. Wray, Jon.

The plants which yield gutta percha are all trees belonging
to the order Sapotacee, and the genera Dichopsis and Payena.
Somewhat similar gums are produced by some species of Bassia
and Dyera. These, however, are much inferior in quality, and are
really only to be considered in the light of adultrants.

The names of the trees occurring in Perak are as follows :—

Getah Taban Merah .... Dichopsis gutta, Benth.
Do. Sutra... Do. Sp.
Do. Puteh ... Do. —polyantha.

Do. Chaier ... Do. — pustulata.
Do. Simpor ... Do. — maingayi.
Getah Sundeh ... . Payena leerii.

Some of the native names doubtless cover several species
which have the same range and general characteristics. All the
above trees are, or rather were, common in Perak, and I believe
are to be found generally throughout the southern portion of the
Peninsula. Their habitats may be defined as follows :—

(a). Getah Taban Merah, the tree which yields the best
quality of gum, grows in the valleys, and likes plenty of moisture,
being often found on the banks of rivers with its roots actually
in the water.

(b). Getah Taban Sutra lives in the ravines of the hills up
to 800 or 1,000 feet, and also likes to be near water. It would
appear to be a rare plant.

(c). Getah Taban Puteh is an alpine species, and is rarely
seen at less than 2,000 feet above sea level.

(d). Getah Taban Chaier is found on hilly ground,:prin-
cipally at the base of the higher ranges, up to nearly 2,000 feet.

(e). Getah Taban Simpor likes hilly ground, and has been
found up as high as 2,500 feet, but it is most common on the
low hills at the foot of the higher ranges.

(f). Getah Sundeh grows on the alluvial plains near the
sea coast.

GUTTA CULTIVATION. 41

Unless the above facts are taken into account the cultiva-
tion of these trees would probably not be an easy matter, for as
each sort has such well defined limits when growing in a wild
state presumably they would not thrive out of those limits in
cultivation. It would appear to be more a matter of climate
than of soil in most cases, for at certain elevations the chances
are largely in favour of finding plants of the variety you would
expect to meet with, quite irrespective of the nature of the soil.

Given the right species for the situation chosen, there would
seem to be no very great difficulty in establishing plantations.
It would be necessary either to plant the young trees close
together or to plant them in partly cleared land, as for the
purposes of producing a supply of gum they must have tall,
straight, branchless trunks. It is probable that the best plan
would be to clear only the undergrowth in a piece of forest land,
then plant the gutta trees, and one, or at the most two clearings,
at intervals of say a year, would be all that would be required.
At the end of that time they would be able to take care of them-
selves. Fair sized, secondary jungle would probably be better
than heavy forest land to plant up in this way. In the case of
cleared land, to save planting: very close, some quick, easy
growing tree, such as “dadap” (Hrythrina indica), might be
planted in between the guttas to give the requisite amount of
shade to the young trees.

One great obstacle in the way is the scarcity of seed. This
is only produced by old trees, and the trouble of collection is
therefore considerable. These large trees are every year becom-
ing more scarce and, at any rate in Perak, the day is not far
distant when all of these seed bearing trees will have been
destroyed. In certain parts of the jungle there are still numbers
of young trees, but they would, as far as I have been able to
ascertain, not bear transplanting, and all attempts at properga-
ting guttas from cuttings have been failures.

Up to the present time there would appear to be only one
method of obtaining the gutta percha from the trees, and that
is by felling and ringing the bark of the trunk, in the manner
practised by the the native collectors. This of course means the
destruction of the trees when they have attained a certain size,
and the wasting of a large proportion of the total gum contained
in them. I have found that a tree of getah taban merah
measuring two feet in diameter, at six feet from the ground, and
about one hundred feet high, gave only 2 lbs. 5 ozs. of gutta. A
section of the trunk of this tree shewed over one hundred
annular rings, and it was presumably over that number of years
old. It is quite possible, however, that these trees may have two

42 GUTTA CULTIVATION.

growing seasons in the year, and may put on two layers of wood
in that time in place of one, as all trees in countries further
removed from the equator do. Taking this latter view of the
case the tree in question was between fifty and sixty years of age.*
Now trees of this size could not be planted closer than 50 feet
apart, or 17 to the acre, and it appears obvious that a yield of
39 lbs. of gutta from an acre of land after the lapse of sixty
years would not be a profitable investment of capital. At five
shillings per pound it would only be worth £9 15s., or 3s. 3d.
per acre per year. It appears to me that this estimate,
which is based on actual experiment, disposes of any idea of
cultivating gutta trees if the present method of harvesting the
crop is adopted.

According to the experiments I made some years ago the
gutta obtained by the native way of collecting only amounts to
one-fortieth of the gum contained in the bark of the trunk of
the tree, without taking into account the gutta in the bark of
the branches and leaves. Now supposing that by any process it
were possible to extract, say three-fourths of this, or thirty times
the amount of gutta given above from the seventeen trees
already mentioned, the total value would be £292, or £4 17s.
Hes year per acre of land, an amount which would appear to

old out promise of a profitable return. The trees could be
planted much closer in the first instance, and crops obtained at
intervals by the thinning out of the trees as they became too
crowded, and it seems probable that this would at least give as
much gutta as that yielded by the main crop. It is perhaps
unnecessary to do more than point out that a plantation once
having been started would go on indefinitely if managed on the
ordinary principles of European forestry.

From what has been said it will be seen that the whole
question of the possibility of the cultivation of gutta trees lies
in the solution of the problem of the economic extraction of the
whole, or at least of the major portion of the gum contained in
the tissues of the trees. In the year 1883 I made suggestions
for effecting this object,t but it was found on a trial being

*Mr. N. Cantley in ‘‘ Notes on Economic Plants, being an Appendix to the Report
on the Forest Department of the Straits Settlements for the year, 1886.’’ Writes “gutta
percha (dichopsis gutta), from statistics afforded by plants growing in the nursery,
this plant, the best variety of gutta percha tree, seems a moderately fast grower. A
plant planted in 1879 is now twenty-five feet in height and twelve inches in circum-
ference at six feet above the ground. This gives an average yearly growth in height of
about three and a half feet, and an annual increase in circumference of about one and
one-fourth inchs,”

Taking this rate of growth and applying it to the two feet diameter tree above
mentioned it makes its age sixty years.

+Gutta Producing Trees, “Journal Straits Branch Royal Asiatie Society,’ No.
12, 1884,

GUTTA CULTIVATION, 43

made that if the bark was dried and sent to England for
treatment the gutta extracted from it was of very inferior
quality. In fact that it was in consistency much like gutta
percha which had been exposed to atmospheric action for some
considerable time and then worked up again. This is a result
which is to be looked for when it is considered that it exists in
the bark as a dried emulsion. The air, therefore, has an immense
surface to act on, and the gutta oxidises and passes into the
resinous state to a much greater extent than it would if sent
home in balls in the ordinary way. In the sap the globules of
eutta are so exceedingly small—rather less than one ten-
thousandth of an inch in diameter—that if the merest film on
their surfaces becomes resinised a marked and serious deterio-
ration of the quality of the gum would be apparent when it
came to be extracted and worked into a mass.

The following correspondence on this subject appeared at
page 237 of the “ Kew Bulletin” of 1891.

(The India Rubber, Gutta Percha & Telegraph Works
Company, Limited, to Royal Gardens, Kew.)

106 Cannon StrReEET, Lonpon, E.C.,

5th August, 1886.
S1R,—

Referring to your letter of the 11th June, which was acknowledged
on the 16th of the same month, I beg to send you enclosed a report from
our Analytical Chemist on experiments carried out by him with the gutta
percha bark which you forwarded to us. You will notice that we obtained
13°6 per cent of gutta and resin, which agrees fairly well with the analysis
of Mr. Wray, who gives the proportion as 11°4 per cent.

There is no doubt that there is a considerable quantity of resin in the
sample which I enclose. The presence of this resin diminishes the com-
mercial value of the gum to such an extent that there is, so far as we see,
no profitable outlet for it. I would also draw your attention to the
Chemist’s report where he says:—‘“‘It is very improbable whether its
recovery by means of solvents would be remunerative as the necessary
loss in treating such large quantities of accompanying useless matter
would be very great.” Our decision is therefore that the material is prac-
tically useless.

Regretting we cannot give a more favourable report.

Yours, etc.,
(Signed) Ropert Kaye Gray,
Engineer in Chief.
W T. THISELTON-DyYER, EsQ., C.M.G., F.R.S.,
Royan GARDENS, Kew.

I)

4A GUTTA CULTIVATION.

ENCLOSURE.

(Mr. Thos. T. P. Bruce Warren, Analytical Chemist to the India
Rubber, Gutta Percha & Telegraph Works Company, Limited.)

SILVERTON, E.,

4th August, 1886.
DEAR S1R,—

We have examined the bark of a tree referred to in letter from
W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, Esq., dated the 11th June,

Our examination has been principally directed to the following points,
viz., whether the extraction of gutta percha from the same could be made
remunerative as a commercial venture, and whether there is any prob-
ability of its meeting with a specific application which may give it a
commercial status.

As a source of gutta percha many points have to be considered, apart
from the quality of the gutta percha which may be obtained from it.

The most appropriate method for extracting the gutta percha from it
is in treating the crushed bark with a suitable solvent of a volatile nature,
so that the recovery of the soluble matter may be attended with little
chance of alteration in its physical properties.

The crushed bark thus treated yields 18°6 per cent to bisulphide of
carbon. On evaporating the solvent a residue is obtained, which hardens
on cooling, and softens in warm water; in fact, in these respects it
strongly comports itself to gutta percha; in colour and tenacity it is unlike
any description of ordinary good gutta percha.

It is very improbable whether its recovery by means of solvents
would be remunerative, as the necessary loss in treating such large
quantities of accompanying useless matter would be very great.

The want of tenacity in the product obtained is due to the presence
of a brittle resin, which also contributes to the facility of softening
at a low temperature. The difficulty of manipulating the same by any
ordinary appliance used in treating gutta percha or india rubber adds to
the difficulty of suggesting a probable field in which its properties would
be appreciated.

I am, etc.,

(Signed) Tuos, T. P. BRucE WARREN.
Ropert KAYE Gray, EsqQ.,

106 CANNON Street, H.C.

(Royal Gardens, Kew, to Colonial Office.)

Roya GARDENS, Kew,
6th August, 1886.
S1r,—

I have the honour to inform you that Mr. Leonard Wray, Junior,
Curator of the Perak Museum, addressed on the 25th September, 1883,

GUTTA CULTIVATION. AD

a very valuable report to Sir Hugh Low, k.c.M.c., Resident in that State,
upon the gutta percha yielding trees indigenous to it.

In this report he set out grounds for believing that no less than thirty
times the amount of gutta percha actually extracted by the process
of felling remained in the tree, and was thereby wasted.

Struck with this fact he was anxious to ascertain if any part of
this enormous residue could be extracted from the dried bark after
removal from the tree.

As will be seen from the accompanying correspondence, four barrels
of bark of one of the species were despatched to Kew for the purpose
of obtaining a report upon the question.

The India Rubber, Gutta Percha & Telegraph Works Company,
Limited, as in so many other cases, obligingly assisted this establishment
in the matter.

I regret to say that after a very careful study of the question they
find that though a large proportion of the gutta percha is undoubtedly
recoverable, it is so intermixed with a brittle resin that the resulting
product is commercially valueless,

Unfortunate as is this result it by no means diminishes the credit
due to Mr. Wray for his thoughtful suggestion.

As the question involved is one of the greatest interest, I venture to
hope that you will think it advisable to communicate copies of the
correspondence to the Government of the Straits Settlements, by whom
they will, no doubt, in turn, be transmitted to Sir Hugh Low.

I am, eic.,

(Signed) W. T. THIsELton - Dyer.
Tue Hon. R. H. MEADE, ©.B.,

CoLoNniIAL OFFIcs, DownINeé STREET, 8.W.

On receipt of this adverse report in 1886, I procured a
supply of bisulphide of carbon and tried extraction experiments
with it on comparatively speaking fresh dried material, obtain-
ing, as I anticipated from my previous experiments with other
solvents, a gum in every respect similar to that yielded by
the same kind of tree by the ordinary method of extraction.
Being precluded by my position from having any interest,
beyond a scientific one, in the success of the process nothing
further was done in the matter until 1887, when Monsieur
Eugene Serullas came to Perak to see me on the subject. I
then explained the whole question to him, shewed the series of
exhibits in the Museum exemplifying the processes of extraction,
gave him my report on the subject, a complete set of botanical
specimens of the different trees yielding gutta percha, and
accompanied him in the jungle to point them out to him and to
collect young gutta plants. The next phase of the subject is
best given in the following official correspondence.

46 GUTTA CULTIVATION.
(Colonial Office, to Royal Gardens, Kew.)

DOWNING STREET,

19th August, 1891.
Sir,—

I am directed by Lord Knutsford to enclose, for such observations
as you may have to offer, a copy of a despatch from the Governor of the
Straits Settlements on a new process for extracting gutta percha.

I am, eitc.,

Tur DIRECTOR, (Signed) KR. H. Mave.
Roya GARDENS, Kew.

(The Governor of the Straits Settlements, to Colonial Office.)

GOVERNMENT HovusE, SINGAPORE,
18th July, 1891.
My Lorp,—

IT have the honour to inform your Lordship that I witnessed yester-
day a process for extracting gutta percha from the twigs and leaves of
the gutta percha tree (Isonandra gutta). It is difficult to over estimate
the importance of the invention, and this will be readily understood when
I mention that the method hitherto and still in vogue for obtaining
gutta percha is to cut down the tree and collect the juice as it exudes
from the stem or trunk. This collecting of the juice of the gutta tree is
solely in the hands of the natives, who search the jungles for the purpose,
and I may add, as a curious detail in their proceedings, that they are
reported to consider it necessary to collect the juice from the cut down
trees in the dark.

2. Monsieur Eugene Serullas, a French savant of repute, is the
discoverer of the invention to which I refer. I will now describe his
process as best I can. The twigs and leaves of the gutta tree, which are
obtained by way, as it were, of ordinary pruning, having been brought
into the store in bundles, are finely chopped up. It is a matter of no
moment, apparently, whether the leaves, etc., are still fresh or dead. The
chopped up stuff is then treated with acid (which is the main secret of
the invention) until a reddish-brown liquor is produced. This is put into
an alembic, already supplied with a small quantity of water, to prevent
the gutta from sticking to the sides of the vessel, and steam is applied for
about twenty minutes or half-an-hour, during which the acid evaporates
and is drawn off.

3. In yesterday’s experiment, through a desire not to keep me wait-
ing too long, the alembic was opened rather too soon, and the gutta
therefore was not properly cooked. But there it was, rather more than
one pound of it, extracted from thirty pounds’ weight of the chopped up.
leaves and twigs. When the process has been perfected it is expected
that the proportion of two per cent at least of pure gutta will be obtained
from the raw material.

GUTTA CULTIVATION. 47

4. The demand for gutta has increased enormously since the intro-
duction of submarine telegraph cables. It is estimated that the trade
consumes 4,000,000 pounds a year. The article forms one of the principal
exports from this Colony, as much as 76,592 pikuls (10,212,2662 pounds)
having been exported last year, the value of which is given at $4,946,890,
or about £825,000. The greater portion by far of this quantity goes to the
United Kingdom, and has been imported here from Dutch India. From
the Protected Native States only a little is obtained, because, on finding
that the forests were being denuded of vutta trees through the destruc-
tive system adopted in procuring the sap, a stop was put for a time to
its collection.

5. A syndicate has been formed here to work out the process and to
establish a factory, and, so far as I can judge, there is every prospect of a
very valuable industry and most profitable concern being in their hands.

I have, etc.,

Tue Rieut Hon. (Signed) Cercit C, Smiru.

THE LorD KNUTSFORD, G.C.M.G.,

CononiaL OFFICE.

(Royal Gardens, Kew, to Colonial Office.)

RoyaL GARDENS, Kew,

24th August, 1891.
Sir,—-

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of August
19th, enclosing a copy of a despatch from the Governor of the Straits
Settlements on a new process for extracting gutta percha.

2. It has long been known that both in the case of india rubber
and of gutta percha the ordinary methods in use only yielded a portion of
the milk contained in the tree or vine operated upon. Where the method
of tapping was resorted to this was rather advantageous than otherwise,
as the tree was not exhausted by the process, and could at intervals be
repeatedly tapped again.

3. Where, however, the tree was felled in order to drain it of its
milk, as appears to be the case with gutta percha yielding trees,
there can be no doubt that the residual loss was very considerable,
and the corresponding irrecoverable waste very great.

4. This was carefully pointed out by Mr. Leonard Wray, Junior, the
Curator of the Perak State Museum, in a very important report presented
to Sir Hugh Low, G.c.M.c., then Her Britannic Majesty’s Resident, Perak,
September 25th, 1883. In this he states:—“The bark on the upper
part of the trunk and on the branches . . . . is just as rich in gutta
as the lower portion of the trunk. Eyen the leaves contain a notable
proportion.” He estimated that the wet bark contains fully 5°7 per
cent of gutta percha, and that “by simply pounding or rasping and
boiling the bark nearly all the gutta which it contained may be

48 GUTTA CULTIVATION.

extracted.” With these facts in view Mr. Wray sent to Kew, at the
end of 1885, a quantity of the dried bark, in order that it might be
ascertained whether the residual gutta could be extracted in this country.
The investigation was undertaken, as I informed you in my letter of
the 6th August, 1886, by the India Rubber, Gutta Percha & Telegraph
Works Company, Limited. I may quote the result:—‘ After a very
careful study of the question they find that though a large proportion
of the gutta percha is undoubtedly recoverable, it is so intermixed with
a brittle resin that the resulting product is commercially valueless.”

5. This result is, however, not incompatible with the more favour-

able results obtained by M. Eugene Serullas. It is quite possible that
by acting upon fresh material the gutta percha may be obtained free
from deterioration.

6. The idea, however, of obtaining the residual gutta is not alto-
gether a new one. The same problem presented itself in Demerara
in the case of gum balata. The late Sir William Holmes attempted,
by a method, apparently purely mechanical, to extract the balata
from the bark by means of a steam crushing mill. The process was,
however, I believe, abandoned, the product being too impure for com-
mercial purposes.

7. The method of extracting the caoutchouc or gutta percha by
means of a solvent is much more promising if it proves practicable, and
yields a product the essential properties of which are not impaired. It is
not, however, novel. In Geae, Mr. Sowerby, the Secretary of the Botanical
Society of London, appears to have suggested to Mr. Thomas Christy a
plan for growing the African rubber vines “in plantations and cutting
down the stems yearly.’ The stems were then to be crushed and
digested with bisulphide of carbon in which the rubber is soluble. The
subject was briefly referred to in the Kew Report for 1877 (p. 32). I
do not remember meeting with any account of the method being carried
out practically.

8. Gutta percha is a substance which is at present of first-rate
importance to civilisation. The trees which yield it are confined to a
very limited area on the earth’s surface; they are of slow growth, and I
believe, at present, no steps are being taken to plant them so as to
provide for the gutta percha supply of the future. The exhaustion of
this important product would seem to be within a measurable distance.
The experiments of M. Serullas, in as much as, if successful, they will
economise the yield, appear to me to deserve every encouragement.

I am, etc.,
(Signed) W. T..Tutseirton- DyeEr.
THe Hon. R. H. Means, c.s.,

CoLoNIAL OFFICE.

In the year 1892 Messrs. Rigole and Serullas took out
patents for the extraction of gutta percha from the leaves by
the bisulphide of carbon process, for the “acid which is the
main secret of the invention” mentioned by Sir Cecil C. Smith,

GUTTA CULTIVATION. 49

was, of course, nothing but that well known solvent of gutta
percha. Their processes appear to be covered by Dr. Thomas
Cattell’s patent for “treating and purifying gutta percha,”
dated 1859, and by various other published accounts of extract-
ing and purifying processes. However these gentlemen have, I
believe, proved that excellent quality gutta may be extracted
from the leaves and twigs, as I proved in 1883 that similar
good gum could be extracted from the bark.

M. Rigole’s process is to place the crushed leaves and
twigs in an iron cylinder, and dissolve out the gutta by passing
a fluid through it. The solvent used is bisulphide of carbon,
which is put ‘into a vaporizor and the vapour rising from it is
conducted by a pipe to the top of the iron cylinder, “where it is
condensed in a refrigerator and allowed to run through the
crushed leaves and back into the boiler. This process is con-
tinued until the leaves are exhausted of gutta. Then a jet
of steam is turned through the cylinder and the vaporizor, with
the effect of carrying all the bisulphide of carbon with it into a
condensing tank and leaving the gutta as a solid mass in the
vaporizor. The drawing accompanying the specification does
not shew a practicable apparatus, in fact it is merely a crude
diagram, but an apparatus on this system could easily be devised.
In this climate artificial cold would have to be employed to
condense the vapour of bisulphide of carbon, as it boils at a
temperature of 46° centigrade, and gives off vapour very freely
at much lower temper atures. Presumably a working apparatus
has been constructed as preparations are complete for the
treatment of large quantities of leaf; but no description of it
would appear to have been published.

It seems quite possible that by taking advantage of the
properties of this hquid solvent, the application of artificial heat
to the vaporizor, the introduction of the steam at the end of the
process, the condensing water tank, and the rifrigerators could
all be done away with. If this could be accomplished, and I
cannot see any reason why it should not, the extraction would be
much simplified, the process becoming continuous instead of
intermittent, the solvent would throughout the process be at
a lower temperature than the air, and the gutta would therefore
run no chance of deterioration while it, together with the spent
leaves, would be delivered free from water at the end of the
operation, and finally, and by no means the least important point,
the chances of an explosion would be very much reduced, This
suggested new process would be so different, both as regards
apparatus and principle, to that of M. Rigole that it would not
infringe his patent in any way.

50 GUTTA CULTIVATION.

In the Singapore Free Press of the 17th April, 1896
the following advertisement appeared :—

“ Messrs. Chasseriau Bros. having received fresh heavy orders for dry
gutta percha leaves want to buy a large quantity of same (up to 1,000
pikuls per month.) Apply to C. Favre & Co.” April 16th.

On application I was informed by Messrs. C. Favre & Co.
that they were ready to buy 1,000 pikuls or more per month, for
an unlimited time, of quite dry leaves, without branches, of
Dichopsis gutta (Getah taban merah or Getah taban sutra) at
$4 per pikul net, delivered at their store in Singapore.* The
price would appear to be quite as high as it is possible to pay,
but it does not seem to be sufficient to cover the expenses of
collection except where wages are low. It has to be borne in
mind that the trees only occur at rare and quite uncertain
intervals in the jungle, that the leaves are all at the top of the
tree, often at 80 to 100 feet above the ground, that one pikul of
dry leaf means the collection and transport out of the jungle of
at least three pikuls of fresh leaf, that green leaf will not stand
baling for more than a few hours, or it heats and becomes offen-
sive, that to dry a large quantity of leaves some sort of barbacue
and large drying sheds, in wet weather, would be necessary,
and that there would be great difficulty in preventing the
collectors from mixing the leaves of inferior kinds of guttas
with the bulk, and so spoiling the quality of the gum extracted
from them.t

It has been urged in the correspondence already quoted,
that it would not pay to separate the gutta because such a large
amount of useless material would have to be treated, but other
crops of which the same might be said are successfully dealt
with. Indigo and sugar are well known instances in point.
The yield of the former is|stated to be 4/10ths per cent, and of
the latter 12 per cent of the weight of the plants. In the case
of gutta the amount in fresh bark is about 6 per cent, and
in the leaves about 23 per cent. The bark from the trunk
of the trees was found, by a number of experiments, to lose
on an average 50 per cent of its weight in drying. The bark of

* In a subsequent letter, dated the 7th September, Messrs. Favre & Co. offer to buy
3,000 pikuls per month at $4.50 per pikul on board at Singapore.

+I hear, since this paper has been in the printer’s hands, on what appears to be good
authority, that the Agents in Singapore have stopped buying the leaf, the reason being
that there is no sale for the gutta percha extracted by the bisulphide of carbon process.
At first manufacturers bought it readily, but on attempting to work it up found it to be of
very inferior quality. This is doubtless due to the causes mentioned in the body of the
paper, i.e., conversion of part of the gutta percha into resin in the tissues of the leaves
during the time which elapses between collecting them and extraction in Europe. It is
also quite possible that the process itself may have a deleterious effect on the gum.

GUTTA CULTIVATION. 51

the twigs and small branches to lose 63 per cent, and the green
leaves 65 per cent.

The actual figures for these latter determinations are :—

Fresh twig and small branch bark ... 100:0
After drying in the sun me an, od 0
Loss in drying ... is as sary | 0 0)

LEAVES COLLECTED FROM A FAIRLY LARGE TREE,
IN NOVEMBER.

Green. Dry. Loss.
Sample Anaa) mre “LOO Mit eis oOt wan: ates COD
Sample Bice sul Sine hove nad OUlOmA eae OO
DAMP C ici aie 0 us peer eel (OALO uae, care (Ore
Sample ic. aah hs ale POOL ee ma OAS
EMI Hes. Gite ay eee ata (OO maga! “Ar OBsO
SUMS ews Moe cope tke eer Oe ate ey Oe

Means ... 100 34-184 65°816

Practically, therefore, it takes two parts of fresh trunk bark
to make one part of dry, and three parts of twig bark or green
leaves to make one of dry. The above s sample of twig and
small branch bark yielded 7-06 per cent of gutta percha, and
the leaves 8°52 per cent. The assays of the “trunk bark have
shewn that the amount of gutta varies from 10 to 14 per cent.

In any proposal to cultivate gutta yielding trees, the ex-
traction of the gum from every part of them should be con-
sidered, and that contained in the leaves and twigs and small
branches might be utilised, as well as that from the trunk and
large branches. It is also quite possible that trees might be
shaved or stripped of their bark in the same way as is the
practice with cinchona trees, and thus another source of supply
provided.

In this connection the following extracts from an article in
the “Pharmaceutical Journal” of June 29th, 1895, on the Annual
Report of the Botanical Gardens at Buitenzorg, gives some
useful information :—‘‘Some interesting experiments made on
the leaves of some gutta percha plants, viz., Palaquium borneenses
and P. gutta shewed that the young leaves yielded respectively
65 and 5-7 per cent of pure white gutta, the mature leaves

8

52 GUTTA CULTIVATION.

4°38 and 6°33 per cent, and fallen leaves 8 per cent and 8:24
per cent, shewing that the P. gutta is practically the richer
of the two. The larger per-centage in the fallen leaves is
attributed to the destructive action of the sun and rain upon
the tissues. The amount of gutta percha obtainable from 150
trees of P. gutta, nine years old, is estimated at 40 kilogrammes.
The gutta percha was obtained perfectly white by first treating
the leaves with boiling alcohol until it runs off colourless, and
then with gasoline, boiling at 60 to 80 degrees.” In the fore-
going extract dry leaves are evidently imtended. Forty kilo-
erammes equals 88 pounds, and at the same price as taken
above this weight of gutta would be worth £22. The amount
of land oceupied by the 150 trees is not given, but at seventeen

by seventeen feet, they would just cover one acre. Taking this
as the area on which the trees could be grown, the return would
be at the rate of £2 9s. per acre per year.

The questions which here arise are, will these gutta trees
stand coppicing, and at what age could they be “out down
without killing the stumps? I have often noticed trees in the
jungle that had been cut down and had sprouted again, up to
the size of three or four inches in diameter, but I cannot
remember having seen any larger ones which had ‘survived the
treatment. Actual experience, however, can only solve this point,
though it is most probable that close planting and early and
fre quent cutting would yield the largest amount of leaf from a
given area in a given time: the land being worked much as the
hop- pole coppices in the south of Eneland are managed. The
object of early cutting would be to vet several shoots: to spring
up from each. stump mail could be afterwards cut out one at a
time. There would then always be sufficient leaf left on each
plant to keep it in a healthy condition.*

A combination of the two systems here outlined might be
tried ; that is the land be closely planted up with gutta trees, a
certain number of which would be allowed to grow up, and
would be thinned out periodically as they became too crowded,

* Stooling of Gutta Percha.—The question whether the tree yielding gutta percha
(Dichopsis Gutta, Benth.) will produce shoots from the stump alter the tree has been
felled is of some practical importance, It appears now to have been disposed of in the
aflirmative :—

Extract from letter from Director, Gardens and Forest Department, Singapore,
dated July 3rd, 1897.

“Re Prof. Ramsay’s letter about stooling of ‘Gutta percha.’ The tree always
comes up again when cut down. It can be cut to within six inches of the ground,
and will then throw up shoots. “Were it not for this there would hardly be a single
specimen in this country. It grows slowly in this manner, but never fails to come up
again.

It is a very troublesome plant to propagate by cuttings, but this can be done, ”

GUTTA CULTIVATION. bays:

thus yielding a leaf and bark crop, while the intermediate plants
would be coppiced from time to time and yield a leaf crop.

The first steps to be taken in this matter are to procure a
rasping or other machine suitable for grinding up the bark and
leaves, and an extracting apparatus to separate the gutta. With
these it should be a comparatively easy matter to decide on the
possibility or otherwise of extracting commercially. This point
being settled the feasibility of the cultivation of gutta percha
would also be settled, for the one depends entirely on the
other.*

Supposing, for the sake of argument, that it is settled in the
affirmative, it would still be a question whether the cultivation
is one in which any private persons would care to invest capital,
as there is always the chance that some substitute for gutta
percha might be discovered before the plantations began to
make any returns. On the other hand, if no rival insulator is
found, then by the time the crop began to come in the value of
the gum would be very much higher than is here set down.

The other aspect of the question is that which I pointed out
years ago, viz., the improvement of the method of collection of
the gum from the wild trees, so that nearly the whole of the
gutta contents of the trees might be obtained in place of the
small per-centage at present extracted from them. This is a
portion of the subject which might well be taken up by private
individuals. The portion of the tree that contains the most

* Monsieur Fernand Vivier informs me that Mr. P. H. Ledeboer, of Singapore, has
been experimenting on a maceration process, and has met with very encouraging results.
Some samples of the gutta percha produced by the process certainly leave nothing
to be desired. As I understand the process it is that outlined in my paper of 1883,
that is, the material, bark or leaves, is ground up and then agitated in boiling water
until the gutta exudes and collects in flocks, which are removed and subsequently
cleaned by further kneeding in hot water.

The following extract from the ‘‘ Kew Bulletin”’ gives some additional details of the
process :—

* Retraction of Gutta Percha from Leaves.—The following communication sup-
plements the information already given in the ‘‘ Kew Bulletin ’”’ (1891, pp. 231-239).

“ Batract from letter from Director of Gardens and Forest Department, Straits
Settlements, to Royal Gardens, Kew, dated Botanic Gardens, Singapore, September
18th, 1896 :—

“‘T have just been down to inspect the little factory where Mr. Arnaud makes his
gutta percha, Serullas has gone back to Paris with endless patents of different kinds,
and Mr. Arnaud alone keeps up the business, ‘The leaves are imported in sacks, dry,
from Borneo and Johore. Most of the trees are over cut in Singapore, and there are no
more leaves left, I hear. The leaves and twigs cost $4.50 a pikul (133 Ibs.) They are
then put, damped with hot water, into a rolling machine, two rollers working against
each other, which grind them to powder. The powder is thrown into tanks of water
and shaken about. The gutta floats in the form of a green mealy - looking stuff, is lifted
out by fine copper gauze nets, put in warm water and pressed into moulds. I have
samples of the gutta as it comes out from the leaves, and the pressed out finished article.
It is really a very curious little manufactory. I do not know how long it will last, on
account of the difficulty of procuring leaves, which must, I think, sooner or later
stop the trade.”

54 GUTTA CULTIVATION.

gutta and which is easiest to handle and transport is the bark,
and it is this which would be the main source of supply though,
of course, others should not be neglected. In any enterprise of
this nature it is necessary to success that the works should be
local, so as to save the great expense of sending large quantities
of bulky and useless material to Europe, and also to be able to
deal with fresh bark and leaves and get them at first hand from
the collectors themselves. To attempt to set up works in Europe
as the French Company have done is to court failure.

A great point has been made in favour of collecting the
leaves only from wild trees, that the trees themselves would not
be hurt, but there is really nothing in it; for they will be felled
in all cases where they are large enough to repay the trouble of
tapping: that is from four inches in diameter upwards. Firstly,
becanse no Malay, after having found a tree, would leave it
standing in the jungle for the next man who came along to fell
and tap; and secondly, because felling would, except for mere
striplings, be the easiest way of obtaining the leaves.

Coming now to the supply of gutta percha. I have no
information of the state of things in other places, but as far
as Perak is concerned the supply is nearly exhausted. The
following are the reported returns for the last seven years.
Prior to 1889 the collection of the gum was prohibited and so
there was no export, or rather all that was exported was
smuggled out of the country. In these returns there is no
classification, and under the term gutta all rubbers and guttas
are included.

EXPORT OF GUTTA FROM THE STATE OF PERAK.

Date. Weight in Pikuls. Estimated value.
$ cts.
1889 vee ie 101:09 side ies 4,680 19
1890 Pe oe SES42 95. mee 3,554 138
1891 Roc sc Wii Goze. ais 9,051 22
1892 Or se 50048; ... wes D7, 172 46
1893 sin se 536564. ss 21,505 47
1894 ae sé 531°68 2 a 28,335 02
1895 ae ani 422°67 doc Sif 38,037 00

It will be noticed that the output of gutta and rubber has
very much increased in the last few years. This is owing to the
relaxation of the restrictions on collection which formerly existed.
At first only the natives were allowed to collect, but subsequently
a number of Dyak collectors came from Borneo, and they con-

GUTTA CULTIVATION. 55

siderably swelled the output. These foreign collectors have now
I believe, all gone, as the trees became, after a short time, so
scarce that they were unable any longer to make a living out of
the work. The export for the years 1894 and 1895 is given
in the returns as 568°774 and 452:16 pikuls, but as the standard
of weight in Perak was changed i in the beginning of 1894 I have
reduced them to the old Perak pikul so as to make all the
figures comparable with each other. The year 1893 shews the
greatest export, while the next year is only slightly less, but
1895 indicates the very large decrease of 109 pikuls, or roughly
one - fifth.

Besides the trees destroyed by the gutta collectors many
others are killed —(a) In making clearings for agricultural and
mining purposes, (b) By sawyers, (c) By charcoal burners, (d)
By firewood collectors for the mining and other engines, (e) For
timbering mines, and (f) For house building. The last involves
the destruction of a vast number of young “trees and striplings.
The palm leaf houses being almost entirely built of young trees
cut from the forest.

With all these influences at work it is not to be expected
that any great supply of gutta is to be looked for in the future
from this or any of the other Protected Malay States. It would
really seem, conside ring the immense intere sts that are at stake,
that those most concer ened that is the Cable Companies, should
give the matter serious attention before it is too late.

ON SOME FOUNDATIONS EXPOSED IN ALTERING
THE PERAK MUSEUM.

By L. Wray, JUN.

In some alterations and additions to the Museum made
in the year 1895 portions of the foundations were exposed, and
as an examination of them disclosed several interesting facts
which do not appear to be recognised, the following notes made
at the time on the subject may perhaps be quoted here with
advantage.

“Time concrete in the foundations of the work-shop built
in 1884 is now (1895) nothing but sand and stones, no trace of
lime being visible. The plaster on the outside of the brick walls
for a thickness of three quarters of an inch is hard, inside that
it is soft and powdery. It has evidently dried before the lime
had been changed into carbonate. It crushes at twelve pounds
per square inch. It is not alkaline to test paper.

“The foundations of the back part of the Museum, built in
1889, are also now devoid of lime. The only traces to be found
are a few pieces of sea shells and one or two small detached
lumps of carbonate of lime. The sand and stones are very loose
and soft. The wall on these foundations is in the same state as
that of the work-shop.

“The front wall of the eastern wing, built in 1888, is also
much in the same condition, and the mortar inside it is still
strongly alkaline to test paper and to the taste, never having set
at all. A piece of this mortar breaks up in the hand much
easier than most clods of earth. It crushes at a pressure of
twenty-four pounds per square inch.”

The following considerations will help us to understand
what has taken place in the foundations :—(qa) rich or fat limes,
that is lime made from marble, shells on other nearly pure car-
bonate have no power of setting under water, (b) seven hundred
and seventy-two parts of water dissolve, at the ordinary tem-
perature, one part of the weight of lime, formimg what is known
as lime water, (c) lime is converted into carbonate by absorbing
carbonic acid gas, either from the atmosphere or from its solution

lord

FOUNDATIONS EXPOSED, PERAK MUSEUM. 57

in water, (d) the foundations were practically all below water
level.

What has happened is evidently that the lme of the
concrete having no power of scfting beneath the water remained
as hydrated oxide and was then slowly dissolved and carried
away by the action of the water flowing through the soil. The
average annual rainfall in Taiping is one hundred and seventy-
three “inches, that is to say in a year a layer of water fourteen
feet five inches deep falls. This amount of water would weigh
about nine hundred pounds per square foot of surface, and
would be able to dissolve nearly one and a quarter pounds of
lime. There is, therefore, no difficulty in understanding that a
very few vears would suffice to remove all the hme from concrete
situated below the water level of the ground.

The result of this action is that the sand and stones are
left behind in a very loose state in consequence of the removal of
the lime from the interstices of what was originally concrete. It
follows that the richer the concrete is in lime to ‘begin with the
looser will it become in the course of a few years, and the more
hable will the superstructure raised on it be to dislocations due
to the subsidence of the concrete itself. The varying permi-
ability of the ground to the flow of subterraneous water will
cause the subsidence to take place unevenly. The action of
the water once begun will go on increasing us the loose sand and
stones remaining “of the concrete will form channels through
which the Se will flow freely, and so tend to hasten the
solution of that which is left.

Lime having once set, that is having absorbed carbonic acid
and become er ystalline carbonate of lime, is only slightly soluble
in water, but even then it is unsuitable for situations where it
is exposed to the constant action of a large body of water,
particularly in a place like Perak where, except in the lime-
stone districts, the water is nearly free from carbonate of lime,
and therefore in a fit state to dissolve a comparatively large
amount.

A curious feature of the alluvial deposits in this State
is the total absence of bones and the calcarious shells of
molluses. This can only be explained by their having been
dissolved by water, for it is impossible to suppose that there
were no animals in the country during the formation of the
modern alluvial beds. This has an evident bearing on the
subject in hand, as shewing that both the amount and the
quality of the water here differ very materially from what they
do in England, where we naturally take our ideas from. In

58 FOUNDATIONS EXPOSED, PERAK MUSEUM.

England, however, beds similar to the ones here would be
Ronn Gel with bones and shells, as all will know who have
ever done any geological work there.

The conclusions to be drawn from these foundations are
that all concrete used below the water line should be made with
hydraulic lime, which will set at once and which when set will
be much more soluble than pure carbonate of lime; also that
in some cases the subsidence of a building is due to the
foundations themselves and not to the soil on which they are
laid.

The condition of the walls above the foundations is in a
great measure due to the Chinese method of building. The
oan 18 generally mixed as it is wanted, and there is “usually
too much lime init. It is brought in buckets to the bricklayer,
who spreads it out on the top of the last layer of bricks. He
then takes dry bricks and arranges them on top of the mortar
for the next course, spreads another layer of mortar on top of
them, and soon. The great points, according to a Chinese brick-
layer, are to have dry bricks and the mortar of such a consistency
that when it is used the bricks will absorb all the surplus
moisture from it and render it fairly hard at once. Then as
soon as the wall is built it is coated inside and out with a thick
layer, of lime plaster. The Chinese method takes no account of
the requirements of the case. These may be briefly stated to be
that the proportion of lime to sand should be such that it fills
with a very thin film the spaces between the grains of sand.
Everything beyond this weakens the mortar, for sand is much
stronger than carbonate of lime, and the more lime the creater
amount of carbonic acid is necessary to set the toners The
lime should be slacked and mixed with the sand as soon as it
comes from the kiln, and should not be used for a long time
after it is made. The bricks should be used wet, and the mortar
put under and round each individually. A very considerable
time should be allowed to elapse before walls are plastered, so as
to allow the mortar of the wall itself to have time to set before
the supply of carbonic acid is cut off by the lime of the plaster,
and the wall should be well wetted before being plastered so as
to keep it damp for some considerable time after it is laid.

The setting of mortar is a chemical process depending on
carbonic acid gas permeating the wall and combining with the
lime to form a crystalline carbonate. For the success of the
reaction it is essential that the lime is wet, otherwise, although it
will become carbonised, it will not crystallise, and it is the crystal-
lization which constitutes setting. Dry lime exposed to air does
not harden, but remains a soft powder, though it soon changes

FOUNDATIONS EXPOSED, PERAK MUSEUM. 59

into a carbonate. In the Chinese method of building with dry
bricks the interior of a wall rapidly becomes too dry to allow of
the mortar setting and it remains, except for about a half to
three quarters of an inch from the surface, in a pulverent form.
The coating of plaster also has the effect of forming a filter
and stopping the entrance of the carbonic acid, but even here
only about half an inch of the outer layer sets in a satis-
factory way. In the interior of a thick wall lke the front wall
of the Museum, which was eighteen inches wide, the middle
twelve inches was so shielded from the action of the atmosphere
that after the lapse of seven years the mortar was in the same
condition as when it was built except that it had lost its water.
A lump of it when placed in water fell to pieces of its own
accord, and the crushing pressure of it when dry was, as
previously stated, only twenty-four pounds per square inch,
while that taken from the nine inch wall of the work-shop, the
lime of which had been converted after drying into carbonate,
crushed at twelve pounds per square inch.

In both these walls the mortar below the level of the
ground, where it had been kept moist and where the walls
were not covered with plaster was as hard and im as good a
condition as could be wished, having set throughout.

Another point of considerable interest was that in the in-
terior of the walls were found several white ants’ nests. The
insects had taken advantage of the cavities originally left between
the bricks by the Chinese way of brick laying, and had enlarged
them by carrying away the mortar, and formed holes as large as
a man’s fist in which to build their nests. The covered passages
leading from the nests were all constructed of mortar instead of
earth as is usually the case, and the nests themselves were
composed of the same material.

ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE “RICK SAPPER”
IN PERAK.

By L. Wray, JUN.

Mr. W. H. Tate handed me a short time back a number
of specimens of a long legged, slender bodied bug, reported
to be doing considerable damage to the “padi” in the Krian
district. He also gave me some ears of “ padi” which had been
attacked by the insects. These contained no grain, all the
husks being empty.

The specimens were, unfortunately, in a very bad state,
having simply been put into a bottle without any spirit to
preserve them. However, there can be little doubt that the
insect pest is Leptocorisa acuta, Thunb. The specimens sent are
all of the spotted variety known as L. maculiventris, Dallas.
There are two rows of four spots on the sides of the abdomen.

The insect is called the “Rice Sapper,’ and is most
destructive to “padi.’ It has a wide geographical range,
having been recorded from China, Philippines, Java, Australia,
Sumatra, Tranquebar, Bengal, Assam, Ceylon, South India,
Tinnevelly, Bombay, Kerachi, Behar, Sikkim and Calcutta.

In the Indian Museum Notes, Vol. IL, p. 166, it is
stated that “it sucks out the juices of the unripe grain and
seriously interferes with the yield of the crop. As much as
three quarters of the yield have been reported as sometimes
destroyed by it.” In another part of the same work it is said
that ‘the insect in the larval state is most destructive, sucking
out the juices from the halm, which withers and turns yellow,
but we know nothing of its life-history, how many broods
there are, where the eges are laid and apparently hibernate,
whether any attempts at destroying the pest have been made,
and with what results.”

Mr. Tate informed me that it attacked the rice in its
perfect state, but it is quite likely that it may spend both
the larval and imago period of its existence on the same food
plant.

CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORT ON A BEETLE
PEST ON THE GAPIS COFFEE ESTATE

EASTERN AND ORIENTAL HOTEL,

Prnane, January 1897.
Dear Mr. Brrcu,

Regarding ravages of beetles on coffee at Gapis which we
discussed at our meeting the other day. It is very certain that
if we do not get at the root of the pest on Gapis there is the
greatest danger that the beetles may spread to other estates and
prove at the least a very great discouragement to the extension
of coffee planting.

Having found the beetles were feeding on “ dadap” we des-
troyed all our “dadap” hedges, but there is a Malay garden in
jungle alongside of and near the junction of “ Lady Weld’s”
with the main road which is evidently one of the breeding
grounds of the pest. The whole of the surroundings require to
be carefully examined (with the view of getting at the bottom of
the mischief) and the Malay “ kampongs” in particular.

The Chinese should be made to keep their burying ground
(situated close to Lady Weld’s road) in better order, at present
it is all in “lalang” and jungle.

I am advising Sir Graeme having written you.
Yours very truly,
(Signed) D. Macway.
E. W. Brirca, Esq,
SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, TarpPiIne.

(Miscellaneous 427/97.)
British RESIDENT,

Perhaps you will speak with the Resident-General about
this to-morrow. This beetle pest has cost the owners of the
Gapis estate at least £1,000, and is a matter which will
seriously affect the future of coffee in Perak. Sir Graeme
Elphinstone has collected myriads of these beetles, and can
give a good deal of information.

22nd January, 1897. (Signed) E. W. Brrcu.

62 BEETLE PEST ON THE GAPIS ESTATE.

Curator, MusEvum,

Could you find time to make an exhaustive inquiry into
this matter. You would have to spend some time on the spot.

22nd January, 1897.
(Signed) EH. W. Brreu.

SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,

Yes, certainly. I have already worked out some of the
insect pests here.

23rd January, 1897. (Signed) L. Wray, Jun.

SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,—

IT shall be much obliged if Curator and State Geologist
would take this up. I was aware of his researches in this
direction in the past.

25th January, 1897. (Signed) W. H. TREACHER.

SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,

T now enclose a report on the life history of the pest. It is
not quite complete, but for the purpose is sufficient. A year
would probably not be enough time to work out all the details
as it is such a long lived insect.

2. A copy of the report might be sent to Sir Graeme
Elphinstone, and I then propose to print it in the number of
“Museum Notes” which is now in the Government Printer’s
hands.

27th July, 1897. (Signed) L. Wray, Jun.

REPORT.

The insect is a fairly common one in Perak and infests
many trees and plants. It would appear to be Astycus
lateralis of Fabr. In the Indian Musum Notes, Vol. I1., No. 6,
p. 151, it is mentioned, and stated to be “a small greenish
weevil, reported in the beetle stage as defoliating mulberry
(Morus) bushes in Rangoon. Also thought to be the species
which has been reported by Mr. Thomson as tunnelling into the

BEETLE PEST ON THE GAPIS ESTATE. 63

timber of Chir (Pinus longifolia) in the North-Western
Provinces ; in this case the injury is no doubt done by the
larvae.” arene in Vol. Iil., p. 127, “it has been reported
as attacking various plants in different parts of India.” This is
the whole of the information I was able to find respecting it and
its habits.

I visited the estate at Gapis on February 11th, 1897,
and stayed a few days at Lady Weld’s rest-house. Misled by
the above quoted notes I spent the first and part of the
second day in searching in the dead wood lying about amongst
the coffee for the larva of the beetle. Then finding that the
trees which were most attacked were situated in land which was
nearly free from timber, digging operations were begun, and
it was soon found that there were many small whitish erubs
a short distance below the surface of the ground. These grubs
were all of one species, and were undoubtedly the larva, of a
weevil. They were very pale yellowish white, footless grubs,
when adult nearly three quarters of an inch in length, active, and
with considerable powers of locomotion. They were in all stages
of growth from a quarter of an inch upwards. Several crysalids
were next found, and an examination of these left little doubt
as to the grubs being in reality the young of the coffee beetle.
This was ‘subsequently proved beyond question by breeding
experiments.

The portion of the estate most infested was that lying near
the village of Padang Rengas, but most of the coffee on the
lower parts of the estate shewed the presence of the insect.
The trees near the big Jungle seem the least affected of any,
and there is certainly no sign of the pieces of scrub land which
are enclosed in or abut on the fields having an injurious effect
on the adjacent coffee. It is that growing on the cleanest
and longest cleared parts of the estate which is most attacked.

The effect on the trees is very great, some of them are so
stunted by the continual defoliation that they are not an eighth
of the size of others of the same age which have escaped the
ravages of the beetles. The leaves are reduced to mere skele-
tons.

As already mentioned the results of digging shewed that
the grubs were most frequent in the cleanest land. I dug in
grass and weeds in many parts of the estate but could not find
one. The same result followed digging in scrub and “lalang”
land, and also under the hedges. The pepper garden and the
land near it appeared to be free as well, though the leaves
of the “dadap” on which the pepper vines grow were badly

64. BEETLE PEST ON THE GAPIS ESTATE.

eaten by some insect. Personally I did not see any of the coffee
beetles on the “dadap,” but I was informed by Sir Graeme
Elphinstone, and by Mr. Martin, that they had seen numbers
on that tree.

In the clear land, in one place, as many as six grubs were
found within an area of less than one square yard, but on an
average there are not more than one or two per square yard.
Of course the younger ones being very small undoubtedly escape
observation when turning over the soil. At one per square yard
we get 4,840 per acre, which is a sufficiently large total to account
for a very extensive destruction of foliage.

They are all found near the surface, never, as far as I saw,
at a greater depth than six inches. The chrysalids were found
from one and a half to two inches beneath the eround, in an
egg-shaped chamber with smooth walls. The chamber has its
ereatest diameter in a vertical position, and the head of the
insect is towards the surface of the soil and the cast skin of the
erub at the bottom of the hole. The chamber is about three
quarters of an inch high by half an inch in diameter. When
mature the beetle excavates a tunnel, starting from the top of
the chamber in a diagonal direction to the surface of the
ground. The tunnel is nearly round and just large enough
for the beetle to pass freely up it.

There are some wild plants and trees of which the beetles
seem especially fond, and which they much prefer to the coffee.
The wild silk cotton (Bombax insigne) being one. These plants,
when growing out in the clearings, are almost always denuded of
leaves, but it is a very noticeable fact that when the same plants
occur in grass or scrub land their leaves are almost untouched.
It would therefore appear that on coming out of the ground the
beetle does not fly far in search of food, and that alee when the
female wants to lay her eggs she lays them on the nearest piece
of open ground to her food. They would seem to be of very
weak flight, and to only fly on rare occasions. The sollectate
informed me that they never see them flying about, and that
when a tree is shaken any that are on it fall off on to the ground
and seldom fly away beyond a yard or two. The above confirms
the evidence obtained by digging, and makes it certain that coffee
beetles do not breed in scrub land.

The beetle feeds on a number of trees and shrubs, and
is by no means restricted to a limited diet like many other
pests. Amongst other plants the following may be men-
tioned as its food :—Coffee, Coffea liberica ; Dadap, Erythrina-

BEETLE PEST ON THE GAPIS ESTATE. 65

indica; Durian, Durio zibethinus; Guava, Psidium pyriferum ;
Hibiscus of various cultivated species; Lime, Citrus limetta ;
Mango, Mangifera indica; Matchang, Mangifera faetida;
Orange, Citrus aurantium; Shaddock, Citrus decumana; Wild
Silk-cotton, Bombax insigne var. larutensis.

This list, which could be extended to four or five times the
number of species, will probably be sufficient to shew how futile
any attempt to lessen the numbers of the pest by destroying its
food plants would prove.

The food of the grub would appear, from the situations in
which it is found, to be decayed fragments of roots, leaves and
other vegetable matter which occur in ordinary surface soil.
This was subsequently confirmed by experiments. They were
successfully reared in pots of earth with no growing plants in
them. It may therefore be confidently stated that they do not
eat living roots, and consequently do no harm to the crop
growing in the affected land. They do not like wet land, but
prefer bare, that is weedless soil of loose texture.

As previously mentioned I collected some beetles and grubs
on the 12th and 13th February, and took them to Taiping for
observation. The former were put into glass jars, covered with
netting and fed on lime, orange, matchang and mango leaves.
They always evinced a very decided preference for young grow-
ing leaves. These beetles lived till the 18th May, when the last
two of them died. Of course there was no knowing what age
they were when caught, but they lived in captivity for over three
months, and altogether consumed a very large amount of leaf
during that time.

The grubs were put into an earthernware chatty filled with
common garden mould, which was kept moist by watering
every few days, but no plants were allowed to grow in it.
Several escaped through the hole in the bottom of the pot before
it was noticed that they could do this, but afterwards the hole
was closed with wax and the remaining ones were thus confined.

On March 19th, one of the beetles came out of the pot of
earth in which the grubs had been put, and proved to be the
coffee pest. It was nearly black, but the green scales soon began
to shew, and in three or four days it assumed the colour and
appearance of the other beetles. It came out at night and was
noticed to begin eating on the second day (March 21st). On
April the 15th the beetle which came out on the 19th March,
and which was of the female sex, was found coupled with one of
the males. It would therefore appear that it takes twenty-eight

66 BEETLE PEST ON THE GAPIS ESTATE.

days for a female beetle to arrive at maturity after it leaves the
chrysalis.

On May the 29th the same beetle laid an egg. It was
deposited on the bottom of the glass jar in which the insects
were kept. This was seventy-two days after it had reached the
imago or perfect stage. There is no way of telling whether
these times are the same in a state of nature as in captivity,
but it would seem that it may be safely assumed that it is an
insect which has a long life, which does not begin to lay until
some weeks after arriving at the adult form, and that it lays
eges singly, with probably an interval of several days between
each.

I had to leave Taiping on the Ist June so was obliged to
kill this particular insect. This was unfortunate as the chance
of finding out how many eggs a female lays was thus lost.

My attempts at hatching the eggs were not successful,
though one was well advanced before it was accidentally
destroyed. The skin becomes excessively thin and tender after
a few days in damp earth, and the slightest touch is sufficient
to rupture it in this state. The egg is yellowish white, sym-
metrically oval in shape, and measures 0°07 by 0:04 inches. Its
surface is unsculptured and fairly smooth.

In captivity the beetles are restless at night and appear to
move about a great deal more than in the day time. It is only
reasonable to infer that the female leaves the plant on which it
feeds at nights and deposits her eggs on or, more probably, in the
ground. I was unable to prove this by actual experiment, but
all of them were laid at night, and the extreme thinness of the
integument of the eggs makes it most improbable that they can
be laid in an exposed situation. It is also at night that all
the beetles bred have come out of the earth.

Briefly stated the life history of the insect would appear
to be as follows :—The egg is laid in a small hole in the surface
of the ground. On hatching the grub burrows into the soil and
lives on the well rotted roots and other vegetable matter con-
tained in it. Having attained a size of about three-quarters of
an inch in length it forms for itself a chamber in the earth
about two inches below the surface in which it undergoes its
metamorphosis. The perfect insect burrows its way out of the
earth at night and flies, probably the next day, in search of food.
Having found a tree on which it can live it stays on it while
there is any leaf to eat, the females leaving the food plant
from time to time to deposit their eggs in the ground.

BEETLE PEST ON THE GAPIS ESTATE. 67

From the above it is evident that there is only one part of
its life when it does any harm to the planter, that is when
in the beetle stage; and that it is also only during the same
stage when it can be attacked with any prospect of destroying it
in useful numbers. To do this when they are on the bushes
there would appear to be only two methods of procedure; hand
picking and poisoning. The latter I venture to think would be
found both expensive and ineffectual. It is one of their habits
to drop off the trees as soon as disturbed, so that they would
escape the spray in the case of an oil emulsion and if poisonous
arsenical powders were used the rain here is too heavy and
frequent to permit them to remain on the foliage for a sufficient
time to have any practical effects on leaf feeding insects. Hand
picking, as inaugerated by Sir Graeme Elphinstone, therefore
appears to be the only method of destroying these pests which
it is possible to apply on an estate.

The fact that the female is some time before she begins
to lay, and also that she lays her eggs singly, makes it probable
that if picking is carried on systematically and uninterruptedly
it will finally eradicate the pest, or at any rate so keep down the
numbers of the insect that its presence will do little harm to the
crop.

There is one point which might be worth while to test
experimentally. It is the cultivation amongst the coffee of some
of the plants of which the pest is very fond to serve as bates,
and so lessen both the damage done to the coffee and also the
trouble of catching the insects. There are some few plants
which the beetle appears to much prefer to coffee, and it is these
which I would propose to either plant or let grow in the fields,
One of them is a small sized tree with blackish green, narrow
leaves which is very common about Gapis. The wild silk cotton
is another and, according to Mr. Mackay, the “dadap” is a third.
In all cases they should not be allowed to grow higher than the
reach of the beetle collectors, and should be visited at frequent
intervals.

The causes which have operated to spread the pest on the
estate are easily understood when its life history is studied.
The land around Padang Rengas for many years past has
been cleared and more or less cultivated by the villagers and
thus made suitable to the requirements of the grub, while there
have been a plentiful supply of both wild and cultivated food
plants for the beetle to feed on. The place was therefore just
what was required to favour the multiplication of the pest.
Then, I understand that for some considerable time after it was

10

68 BEETLE PEST ON THE GAPIS ESTATE.

planted with coffee nothing was done to check the increase of the
beetle, which naturally spread and developed to a great extent,
as the conditions were even more suited to it than before for it
had clear ground and a large supply of food growing regularly
all over the land.

In the Museum grounds, in Taiping, some few years ago the
pest was very common, but latterly it has quite disappeared.
The only reason that I can suggest for this is the turfing of the
ground. The beetles particularly affected a small eupborbiaceous
tree, limes, hibiscus and oranges. In some gardens they are a
serious pest on limes and oranges. Those at Kuala Kangsar
have in the past suffered severely. Some few years back I kept
a number of these beetles for some weeks, but was unsuccessful
in discovering where the grubs lived.

ANNUAL REPORT ON THE PERAK MUSEUM
FOR 1895.

By L. Wray, JUN.

BUILDING.

During the year the front wall of the eastern wing was
altered and made to correspond with that of the western wing.
A carriage porch was added to the front entrance, and a room
of 45 feet by 12 feet was built at the back. An uniform
valance board and gutter, with down pipes, was put up round
the eaves, and a brick drain round the new portions of the
building.

The alterations and additions were not completed until the
end of the year, and as a consequence part of the Museum had
to be closed for the greater portion of the year.

CASES.

Under this heading the sum of $640.75 was expended, and
the following cases were built:—An octagonal case for tin
specimens, a 20-feet by 43-feet table case, one 10-feet and one
8-feet long book-case, and four herbarium cabinets. The plate
glass for an 18-feet by 43-feet table case and for another built
the previous year was also procured.

FITTINGS.

Window blinds were fixed to the windows throughout the
building, and a dado was put to the uncased portions of the
walls in the three large rooms.

LABELS.

A Hammond’s typewriter was procured, and a large number
of the labels have been re-written with it. They are a great
improvement over the old manuscript ones, as they are nearly
as clear as printed tickets, and being written on poisoned paper
should last for some time without renewal. Over 3,500 have
been written and some hundreds have been pasted on to eyeleted
cards for attachment to the specimens.

7() ANNUAL REPORT ON THE PERAK MUSEUM FOR 1895.

STANDS.

Seven hundred and seventeen bird stands were made to
replace the rough ones formerly in use; and some of the animal
stands were also replaced by new ones. A stand for a large
elephant’s head, for a tiger and other specimens, were also

made.
ZOOLOGY.

A specimen of the Malayan gavial was obtained and kept
alive at the Museum for a period of six months. when it was
killed and sent to the British Museum for identification. This
is believed to be the first specimen sent to Europe of this rare
animal.

ETHNOGRAPHY.

Many additions have been made to this section. Some 60
pieces of Malay silver work were purchased and some fine
examples of Malay silk cloth: some being of local manufacture.

A small amount of excavating was done in some of the
caves of the limestone hills during “the year, and a paper on the
“Cave Dwellers of Perak’ was counmibuted to the Anthropolo-
gical Society.

An ancient grave was discovered by Mr. J. A. Legge,
Junior, at Changkat Mentri in Lower Perak, and pottery, beads
and some of the granite slabs of which it was formed have been
deposited in the Museum.

BOTANY.
Two more of the plants yielding arrow poisons have been
determined, viz.:—Prual, as Coptosapella flavescens, and lam-

pong, as Strycrnos maingayt. The tree yielding the beautiful
Malay varnish has been found to be a species of Garcinia,
apparently a new one.

Two hundred and fifty-nine mounted herbarium specimens
were received from the Royal Botanical Gardens, Calcutta.
The herbarium was installed in the new room at the back of
the Museum in a double range of ten cabinets.

A report on the possibility of the cultivation of gutta
percha producing trees was made at the request of the Eastern
Extension Telegraph Company.

LIBRARY.

This has been much augmented, and has at last found
a resting place in a range of well made cases. A new type-
written card catalogue has been partly completed.

ANNUAL REPORT ON THE PERAK MUSEUM FoR 1895. 71

GEOLOGY

The whole collection has been re-arranged, and a con-
siderable portion of it put out for the first time. An interesting
collection of minerals was obtained by exchange from the State
Mining Bureau of California. A few alluvial gold specimens
were purchased in Batang Padang, and other minerals were
presented and collected.

In the early part of the year prospecting was carried out
at Trong in the Matang district. The results obtained shewed
that beyond a little “lampan” working at the base of the hills
and in the gullies nothing is to be expected in the way of mining
in the district. Good samples of tin-sand can be easily procured,
and this has led fo many false hopes being raised in the past.
There are also the traces of numerous old workings, but it is
probable that these were done with forced or slave labour in the
old Malayan days, so that the question of paying expenses did
not enter into the matter. Prospecting was done amongst these
old workings, and it was proved that the amount of tin was quite
insufficient to cover the outlay necessary to raise it. The valley
beyond Kamunting was next prospected, but though it contains
tin throughout it is very doubtful if it would pay to work. One
small area’ of good land was, however, found, and this will be
worked.

Some prospecting for gold was done in Batang Padang,
around the Bukit Mas mine and in other places, but it is too
soon to be able to estimate what the results may be.

Acting on instructions received from Government I went
to Slim to inspect the coal reported to have been found there
by Mr. W. G. Maxwell. It turned out to be only the graphite
shale which has been noticed many times before by various
people. The formations in Perak, as far as known, are all
either too old or too new to be coal bearing.

Mr. T. H. Hill proposes to work for manure a deposit of
phosphate of lime at Naga Bisi, near Ipoh, which I discovered
when prospecting for a tin lode some years back. The deposit
is associated with ores of tin, copper, iron, arsenic and lead, so
that the opening up of it may be of some interest.

In a search for shell mounds in Lower Perak some interest-
ing facts bearing on the formation of the coast and the valley
of the Perak river were brought to light. At Pasir Panjang,
Laut, there are no less than seven lines of old beaches, and
between each there is a piece of low-lying land now used as
padi fields. The beaches themselves are long, low banks of shells

72. ANNUAL REPORT ON THE PERAK MUSEUM FOR 1895.

and sand some sixty to a hundred feet wide and eight to twelve
feet elevation above the general level of the land. These lines
of old beaches stretch between the Dindings and the estuary of
the Perak river. The land here, as in Larut, is only superficially
of marine origin. At quite a slight depth fresh water allu-
vium is met with containing a large amount of “amang” and
some coarse-grained tin-sand. It would be very interesting to
put down a few bores in this locality, and also to take careful
measurements of the old beaches. On the opposite side of the
mouth of the Perak river much the same thing is to be
observed. At Bagan Datoh, some two miles inland from the
light-house, is a wellmarked beach. Itis over a couple of miles
long by forty to sixty feet wide, and three feet in elevation.
It consists almost entirely of finely broken sea shells with very
little sand. Inside this is another line of beach, and as the
jungle becomes cleared doubtless many more will be found.
This series of beaches stretches, in a more or less connected
way, between the mouths of the Perak and the Bernam rivers.

In Pasir Panjang, on the Perak river, there is exposed in
the high bank of the river a layer of oyster and other shells.
It is covered by three feet of quite evenly bedded alluvial
earth. On digging into the layer numerous fragments of
Chinese and European pottery and glass were found mixed with
the shells. Raja Musa explained it by stating that when he
was a boy his father, the then Sultan of Perak, lived there and
the shells marked the site of the kitchen. This was at that
time about a hundred yards from the bank of the river, which
has since altered its course to that extent. The age can there-
fore be only about thirty years. And the depth. of the cov-
ering earth gives the very rapid rate of increase of the level of
the ‘valley at that place as one foot in ten years.

FINANCIAL.

The unexpended balances for the year amounted to
$2,304.95; and the revenue, under the heading of Assay and
Prospecting Fees, was $232.20, against an estimate of $125.

17th February, 1896.

LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL ADDITIONS
TO THE MUSEUM COLLECTIONS, BY PURCHASE,
COLLECTION AND DONATION, DURING THE
YEAR ENDING DECEMBER, 1895.

Lead -ore from Naga Bisi near Ipoh.
g Pp

Lode Tin-ore from near Selibing, Kinta. (Given by T. H.
D. Treloar, E'sq.)

Malay Silver Box.

Small do. Batil.

Large do. Batil.

Silver Bracelet.

Octagonal Silver Lime Box.

Two Silver Plates.

A Silver Batil.

Pair of Horns of Cervus equinus.

A Malay Walking Stick.

Forty-one Postage Stamps.

Five Photographs of Sakais.

Three Mat Bags.

A piece of Bamboo containing Opaline Silica.
A Counterfeit Coin. (Given by C. Wagner, Esq.)
Four Photographs of Sakais. (Given by D. Wise, Esq.)
A Silver Lime Box,

A pair of Silver Pillow Ends.

A Silver Pending.

A Cicada. (Given by Mrs. Harper.)

Malay Spinning Wheel.

A Bird Trap and a Sieve.

Five carved Coconut Shell Censers.

74, PRINCIPAL ADDITIONS TO COLLECTIONS.

Specimens of Bulo Reteh.

Sample of Metallic Tin and of Relau Semut Tin Slag from
Selama. (Given by H. A. W. Aylesbury, Esq.)

Two Pheasants.

Portrait of the ex-Sultan Abdullah of Perak.

Two Cocoons. (Given by P. J. Nelson, Esq.)

A Malayan Brass Dish.

Lode Tin-ore from near Ipoh. (Given by C. Plumbe, Esq.)

Specimen of Limestone from Selama. (liven by H. A. W.
Aylesbury, Esq.)

A Malay Silver Spoon.

A Silver-mounted Coconut Shell Drinking Cup.
A Silver-mounted Bottle Gourd.

Hight samples of Woods.

Sample of Getah Simpor.

A Head of the Kidjang.

An Eight-wave Kris.

Vanilla Pods. (Given by Cecil Wray, Esq.)
Blue Corundum from Naga Bisi, Kainta.

Intrusive Granite from the limestone hill called Gunong
Pondok.

A King Vulture.
A Wood- pecker and a Swift.

Two hundred and fifty-nine Sheets of Mounted Botanical
Specimens. (Given by the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Calcutta.)

A Swift.

A Snake. (Given by F. A. Swettenham, Esq.)

A Tringanu Silk Sarang.

Silver Tweezers, Tooth Picks, ete.

Malayan Pottery from Pulau Tiga.

A Malayan Gavial from the Perak river at Pulau Tiga.
Two new British Dollars.

Twenty - five Postage Stamps.

PRINCIPAL ADDITIONS TO COLLECTIONS. 75
Tridescent Oxide of Iron Jungja, Batang Padang. (Given
by J. Addis, Esq.)
A Silver Plate from Selangor.
A Silver Batil do.
A Musang. (Given by A. L. M. Scott, Esq.)
A Patani Kris.

A Red-borer from Stem of Guava Tree. (Given by G. A.
Lefroy, Esq.)

Hight Silver Finger Tips from Kedah.
Two Malay Lamps.

A Brass Stand.

A Silver Batil.

A Silver Chaping.

A Julus.

A Snake, (Dipsas dendrophila). (Given by H. C. Barnard.
Esq.)

A Spear and Arrow Head made of bottle glass, from
Western Australia. (Given by F. St. G. Caulfeild, Esq.)

Specimen of red Oxide of Iron from near Kamuning.
(Given by F. St. G. Caulfeild, Esq.)

A Centipede and Eggs. (Given by F. A. Stephens, Esq.)

Three samples of Castor Oil Seed. (Given by F. A.
Stephens, Esq.)

Five Water Bottles from Sayang.

A sample of Treloar’s lode at Selibing. (Given by J.
Addis, Esq.)

An old Bayonet dug up at the Hospital, Taipmg. (Given
by Dr. Wright.)

A Four-tailed Grey Moth. (Given by Dr. Wright.)

Specimen of a Wild Vanilla. (Given by A. B. Stephens, Esq.)

Samples of a small kind of Malacca Cane. (Given by
Cecil Wray, Esq.)

Model of a very large Stone nplement.

Pottery and Beads found in a Grave at Changkat Mentri,
by Mr. J. A. Legge, Jun. (Given by G A. Lefroy, Esq.)

ll

76 PRINCIPAL ADDITIONS TO COLLECTIONS.

A Toad from Maxwell’s Hill. (Given by A. L. M. Scott, Esq.)
A Set of new Perak Stamps.
A Branched Bamboo, (Buloh Minyak.)

A Biliong- shaped Stone Implement. (Given by F. A.
Swettenham, Esq.)

A Spider. (Given by F. A. Stephens, Esq.)

A Collection of 52 Mineral Specimens from California.
(Given by the Board of Trustees of the State Mining Bureau,
California.)

A Silk and Gold Cloth made at Setiawan, Lower Perak.

A Malay Loom. (Given by Penghulu Haji Muhammad
Ali of Setiawan.)

Two Granite Slabs and Pottery from the Grave at Chankat
Mentri. (Given by G. A. Lefroy, Esq.)

A Silver Buah Bharu.
A Silver Lime Box.
A Scaly Ant-eater.

Two Snakes, (Dipsas dendrophila and Bungarus fasciatus.)
(Given by F. A. Stephens, Esq.)

Two Sparrow Hawks. (Given by P. J. Nelson, Esq.)

Two Swallow Hawks. (Given by F. St. G. Caulfeild, Esq.)
A Stone Implement, Lower Perak.

An Earthen Jar found near the coast in Lower Perak.
Portions of other Jars from the same place.

Specimens of Echinoderms.

More Pottery from the grave at Changkat Mentri.

A Chinese Idol and Stamps for printing secret society
tickets, ete. (Given by the Inspector of Police, Lower Perak.)

Samples of Oxide of Iron. (Given by the District Magis-
trate, Kinta.)

Portrait of Mr. Birch, the first British Resident of Perak.
A Mat Bag.
Specimens of Sappan Tree.

Shells from the old Beaches in Lower Perak.

PRINCIPAL ADDITIONS TO COLLECTIONS. Ga

A Snake from Maxwell’s Hill. (Given by E. M. Baker, Esq.)

Eggs of Mantis, an Atlas Moth and Cocoon. (Given by P.
J. Nelson, Esq.)

An Instrument for Injecting Water into Meat. (Given by
the Superintendent Intelligence Department.)

A pair of Silver Pillow Ends.

Samples of Fibre and Sagu Bemban.

A Moth. (Given by Mr. J. B. Siriwardene.)

A Bamboo Rat.

A Peacock Pheasant. (Given by H. C. Barnard, Esq.)
Pig Traps and Ranjows.

Samples of Fibres, ete.

A common Vulture.

A Bamboo Rat.

Gold quartz from Sungei Merah, Batang Padang. (Given
by J. Addis, Esq.)

Stamps used formerly for Coining the Tin exported from
Larut. (Given by the State Treasurer.)

Five Samples of Cotton. (Given by L. Wray, Esq.)

An Undetermined Mineral from Bukit Mas. (Given by J.
Addis, Esq).

Samples of Gold Dust from Kelindai, Sungei Jong, Sembi-
lang and Sungei Rambai, Batang Padang.

Specimen of Chalcedony, Kinta.

A Mealing Stone, and Shells and Bones from a cave at
Ipoh.

Mimetite from Naga Bisi, Ipoh.

A Silver Pending.

A Silver Batil Bertutup.

A Small Silver Batil.

Snake’s Eggs and Young. (Given by A. T. Dew, Esq).
A Silver Pending.

A Kuku Kambing Rawah.

A Kuku Kambing Patani.
to)

78 PRINCIPAL ADDITIONS TO COLLECTIONS.

A Ranjau Karang and Champah.

Two Main Katak.

Specimens of Bark, Fibres and Bast.

Two Kedah Water Jars.

Ten samples of Woods.

A Malay Charm called Sa’tandok.

A Brass Candlestick.

Two Idar Binang, with String and Fibre.

A Coconut Shell Water Bottle.

A Specimen of Granite from the summit of Gunong Ulu,
Batang Padang. (Given by F. W. Irby, Esq).

LIBRARY.

The Straits Directory, 1895.

Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture for
1893-4, Brisbane. (Given by the Department of Agriculture.)

Materials for a Flora of the Malayan Peninsula, by Dr.
G. King. No. 7. (Given by the Author.)

Official Guide to the Museums of Economic Botany, No. 2.
(Given by the Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew.)

Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie Commercial de Paris.
(Given by the Society.)

Records of the Geological Survey of India, Vol. XXVIIT.,
Parts 2,3 and 4, 1895. (Given by the Director of the Geological
Survey of India.)

The British North Borneo Official Gazette. (Given by the
Government of British North Borneo.)

Catalogue of the Coins of the Indian Museum, Part IT.,
By C. J. Rodgers. (Given by the Trustees of the Indian
Museum.)

The British North Borneo Herald. (Given by the Govern-
ment of British North Borneo.)

Bulletin No. 5, Department of Agriculture, Brisbane,
Queensland. (Given by the Department of Agriculture, Queens-
land.)

The Kew Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information. (Given
by the Directoy of the Royal Gardens, Kew.)

PRINCIPAL ADDITIONS TO COLLECTIONS. 79

The Flora of British India. Vols. I., II., III. and Ws)

Annual Report of the Trustees of the Public Library of the
City of Boston, 1894.

Indian Museum Notes, Nos. 4 and 5, Vol. III. (Given by
the Trustees of the Indian Museum.)

The Wai Seng Lottery. (Bought.)
Malay Sketches. (Bought.)
Malay Dictionary, Part II. (Bought.)

Anales del Museo Nacional de Montevideo. (Given by the
Government of Montevideo.)

The Imperial Institute Journal. (Given by the Institute.)
The Louisiana Planter. (Given by the Editor.)

The Pinang Gazette.

The Perak Pioneer.

Three Tamil Books. (Given by the Taiping Press.)

Correspondence and Papers relating to the Malay woman,
Meh, by Sir P. S. Maxwell. (Given by Mr, B. Jalleh.)

List of Books presented by Lieut-Col. R. S. F. Walker, o.m.a.
Revue des Deux Mondes, 149 Nos.
Memoires Concernant les Chinois, 14 Vols.
Cours de Droit Diplomatique, by P. Praides- Fodere, 2 Vols.

Promenarde Autour du Monde, by Baron de Hubuer, 2
Vols.

Journal of the North China branch of the Royal Asiatic
Society, 4 Vols.

Im Fernen Often, 32 Nos.
Der Deutsch- Franzoische Krieg, 1870-79, 4 Vols.

Journal of the China branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,
1884-85-86.

Correspondence Ministerielle, du Comte J. H. E. Bernstorff,
ia) ~
o Vols.

Journal @une Mission en Coree, par Koilling.
Manual of the Foochow Dialect, by Rev. C. C. Baldwin,

Cursus Literaturae Sineae, Vol. TY,

80 PRINCIPAL ADDITIONS TO COLLECTIONS.

Mission Actuelle des Souvains, par L’un D’eux.
Die Namensofen, by Wilhelm Jensen.

The Manchus, or the Reigning Dynasty of China, by the Rev.
John Ross.

Correspondance Inedite du Prince de Talleyrand.
Alphabetie Dictionary in the Foochow Dialect.
Russisches Worterbrich, by F. A. E. Schmidt.
Chrestomatic, by Schastrenon.

Dictionnaire des Contemporains, by G. Vapereau.
Cours de Chinois, par Kleezkowski.

Dictionare Francais -Chinois, par Prosper Giquel.
Russisk Sproglaere till Praktisk Behov of Hans Blom.

Guide to the Tablets in a Temple of Confucius, by
F. Walters.

Curiosities of Street Literature in China, by W. H.
Medhurst.

Instructions to Her Majesty’s Consular Officers in China
by Sir Edmund Hornby.

Notes on Chinese Medieval Travellers to the West, by E.
Bretschneider.

Manual of Chinese Bibliography, by P. G. and O. F. Von
Mollendorff.

Historien on en Moder J. Femten Sprog.
Revue de L’extreme-Orient, Vol. I.

The Chinese Review, or Notes and Queries on the Far East.
January and February, 1888.

La Sericiculture au Japon, par Ernest de Bairer.
Imperial Maritine Customs, Silk, China.

Notes on Chinese Literature.

Chrestomathie Chinoise.

Correspondence respecting the attack on the Indian expedi-
tion to Western China and the murder of Mr. Morgary.

Further Correspondence on the same subject.
Historie des Mathematiques, by F. Hoefer.
Lateinifch- Deutfches Worterbuck.

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