John R. Jackson

Vegetable Products at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition

IN passing through the various courts of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition the prevailing natural resources of each colony are apparent even to the most unobservant, for while the riches of some countries are to be found chiefly in their vegetable products, the wealth of another is in its mineral resources, and of another in its animals.

The Colonial and Indian Exhibition

CONTINUING our review of the most noteworthy or interesting vegetable products now being exhibited at South Kensington, we find in close contiguity to those from British Guiana, described in NATURE, July 15, p. 242, the exhibits from

New Zealand Forest Trees

IN the last number of NATURE is a paragraph relating to some New Zealand woods, which the writer observes are “deserving of a better fate than to be cut down wholesale and used as firewood.” Five timber trees are mentioned, of which the native names only are given.

India-Rubber and Gutta-Percha, and their Sources

THE question of the supply of india-rubber to meet the present enormous demands caused by the progress of electrical science, and the rapid development of the application of the substance for cycle and carriage tyres, is one that has been much discussed of late, and continues to increase in interest. For some time past it has been well known that the trees which supply the best rubber known in commerce, namely, Para rubber, have been more and more difficult to get at, in consequence of the collectors having to proceed further into the forests in search of the trees (Hevea brasiliensis) which yield the valuable juice. But though greater distances have to be traversed in order to collect the rubber, there seems but little fear of the absolute failure of the rubber supply generally, or of this one particular kind. Though the quality of this rubber is of a very superior nature, we are fortunately not dependent alone upon it for the supplies of our markets, for from the East and West Coasts, as well as from Central Africa, and also from India and the Far East, we obtain very respectable quantities; indeed, the resources from tropical Africa in this respect have of late so much increased, that they promise to compensate for any loss of the American supplies, and the experiences of the past year or so, when a new source of rubber has been discovered at Lagos, is even more reassuring as to the future supplies, for other plants may yet be found capable of assisting in furnishing a substance that will probably, in the future, be in still greater demand than it is even now. So that it has become necessary for every one interested in this peculiar industry to take every precaution to prevent waste of material, both in the processes of collecting the milky juices and in the preservation of the plants yielding them.

The Tears of the Heliades; or, Amber as a Gem

THAT the classical account of the origin of amber has not been sufficiently practical to satisfy modern inquirers, is proved by the interest that has always been attached to the subject, and more especially in recent years. The wide geographical range over which this fossil resin is now found, and the different conditions of the several deposits, has increased the interest and speculation with regard to the number and character of the trees or plants from which the resin exuded in long past ages; but speculation has of late been largely converted into fact by the systematic study of a mass of material that has been carefully examined by Dr. H. R. Goeppert and A. Menge, and more recently by Dr. H. Conwentz.The Tears of the Heliades; or, Amber as a Gem.By W. Arnold Buffam. Pp. 98, 8vo; with illustrations. (London: Sampson Low, Marston, and Co., Ltd., 1896.)

Eucalyptus Globulus in Mauritius

THE subject of the introduction of the Eucalyptus as a sanitary agency in fever-stricken countries has of late been so much talked about that some authoritative preliminary inquiries have been made with the view of planting Eucalyptus globulus on a large scale in the Mauritius. From these inquiries, directed chiefly as to the possible success of the plant in the island, it appears that it does not thrive in any part, and still less in the warmer parts. The tree, moreover, is unsuited to resist the violent winds or hurricanes with which the Mauritius is so frequently visited. In 1865 twelve plants were planted in the Botanic Gardens at Parnpelmousses, and though they were secured to strong stakes, eleven of them were destroyed in the hurricane of 1868; the remaining one also was blown over, but met with some support by falling into the branches of another tree, where it still remains.