Gutta-shea.—

Shea butter is a vegetable fat, extracted by crushing and boiling from the seeds of Butyrospermum Parkii, a member of the family Sapotaccæ. Since 1851 it has been brought to this country from Western Africa in gradually increasing quantities, and the annual import is now said to amount to from 300 to 500 tons. It is principally used for soap-making. It does not make a very good detergent soap, but it makes an excessively hard one, and is therefore useful for mixing with other kinds in manufacturing soaps for domestic purposes.

Mr. W. Henderson, of Glasgow, has sent to the Kew Museum a specimen of a substance which has attracted some attention, and to which he has given the name of Gutta-shea. It is present in Shea butter to the amount of .5 to .75 per cent. It appears to resemble in many respects gutta-percha, but is more brittle. It is insoluble in alcohol, a mixture of alcohol and ether, acids, and alkalies. It is slightly soluble in pure ether and ordinary animal and vegetable oils and fats. From the extremely small proportion in which it is present in Shea butter, its extraction would not be profitable. And regarded as a bye-product, it does not appear to be suitable for any purpose to which gutta-percha itself is applied. The Kew Museum possesses a specimen of a substance akin to the latter in its properties which is yielded by the Shea butter tree. It is possible that the so-called Gutta-shea, which is present along with fatty matter in the seeds, may have some connexion with this.