Re: MtMan-List:gutta-percha

[Casapy123@aol.com]

Believe it or not, golf balls were made of gutta-percha as early as 1845.
Reverend Robert A. Patterson made the first one from a lump of brown, hand-
rolled gutta-percha and by 1848, these were rapidly replacing the golf balls
stuffed with feathers.  Gutta-percha is the coagulated juice or latex of
various Malaysian trees. (From Malay getah = gum + percha = the tree producing
it)  Gutta-percha was also used as a dental filling and to insulate early
telegraph wires in the 19th century. By 1852, the gum was sometimes simply
called "gutta."  (Flexner, Stuart B., "Listening to America; an Illustrated
History of Wods and Phrases From Our Lively and Splendid Past." Simon &
Schister, NY  1982. pg. 264)

Jim Hardee, AMM #1676
P.O. Box 1228
Quincy, CA  95971
(530)283-4566 (H)
(530)283-3330 (W)
(530)283-5171 FAX
Casapy123@aol.com