Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 September 1896 — The Chone Tree. [ARTICLE]

The Chone Tree.

Chone is the name given by the Kanakas to a tree which flourishes in New Caledonia. It reaches a height of forty feet, and puts forth beautiful flowers, having a perfume like that of Jasmine. The chone is the Cerbera manghas of the botanist, and belongs to the family of the Apocynaceae. It yields a milky juice, like the india-rubber tree, which, when evaporated, leaves a black gum, that softens in boiling water like guttapercha, but has the advantage of dissolving in petroleum. The solution painted or floated on wood and evaporated leaves a thin layer of the gum, impervious to water. Leather impregnated with the gum can remain in water for hours without becoming moist. Moreover, according to Dr. Prat-Flottes, a French naval surgeon, it makes an excellent waterproof varnish for boots when it is dissolved in “ssence of turpentine.