It appears that _percha_ (of which the pronunciation is _pertsha_, not _perka_ or _persha_) is the Malayan name for the tree which produces the gum; while _gutta_ is a general name for any gum which exudes from a tree. The tree belongs, of course, to the group in which botanists place _sapotaceous_ or gum-exuding genera. The wood of the tree, being soft and spongy, is applied to many useful purposes. The fruit yields a thick oil, which is used by the natives with their food; and either from this or some other parts of the tree an ardent spirit is capable of being distilled. But it is the sap which forms the most valuable product of the tree. It circulates in small vessels which run up between the bark and the wood. Thrifty methods are teachable to rude islanders, as to more civilised men, when the advantages have been once made apparent. The natives around Singapore, when they first found a market for the solidified gum, proceeded ruthlessly to work; they killed the bird which laid the golden eggs, by cutting down the trees in order to obtain the gum. But they have now been taught better; it is shown to them how, by tapping or cutting notches in the branches at certain intervals of time, the sap may be made to flow, without endangering the life of the tree. Experiments are now being made to determine whether the gutta-percha tree can be planted so as to maintain a continuous and inexhaustible store of gum or sap; should these attempts succeed, the supply would equal any imaginable demand. The gutta-percha is sold at Singapore by weight, according to the apparent quality of each lump; but, when the consignment reaches England, it is not unfrequently found that a large stone or a piece of heavy wood is imbedded in the heart of it, to increase the weight. It would entail a serious loss of time to cut open each lump at the time of purchase; so that at present Oriental honesty is rather an important element in the commercial value of this article. There is, too, a great amount of difference in the quantity of bark, leaves, and dirt, which become accidentally mixed up with the gum. The crude gum is imported to the extent of about two millions of pounds annually. GUTTA-PERCHA IN THE FACTORY.