MELANORRIIYEA USITATISSIMA. IVall.
Theet-see, . . . BUM/. I Kheu of . . . DIANIPUR. Theet-see-yaing, . „ Lignum vita of . PEGU.
This black varnish tree or Burmese varnish tree grows from Manipur southward to Tavoy, thus extending from lat. 14° to 25° N. At Kubbu, an extensive valley elevated about 500 feet above the plains of Bengal, and 200 miles from the nearest seashore, it attains its greatest size, some of the trees having clear stems of 42 feet to the first branch, with a circumference near the ground of 13 feet. It forms extensive forests, and is associated with teak and sal, and also with the gigantic wood-oil tree, a species of Dipterocarpus. It is in full foliage during the rainy season, which lasts from the middle of May until the end of October. It is rare in the Irawadi valley, but common in the forests east of the Sitang river, particularly south-east of Siting town. It is very common above the parallel of Tounghoo, and grows there to a girth of six feet, and it is plentiful in the Tounghoo and Prome forests. Its wood is the lignum vita; of Pegn, and is of a dark red colour, or a dark brown, of dense structure, and of particularly fine close grain. It is very strong, durable, hard, and tough, and is used by the Burmese for tool helves and the stocks of their wooden anchors, etc., for the anchors of the Burmese boats are always of wood to which stones are lashed, the flakes being of Pyeng Khado, and the stocks of Theet-see or of some other heavy wood. Its great hardness and weight prevent its being employed in house-building, but it would answer for sheaves or block-pulleys, for railway sleepers, gun-stocks, rammer heads, and helves. It exudes a black oil, which is used by the Burmese as a varnish. The collecting season lasts from January to April. The oil is obtained by cutting a hole in the tree, about 3 feet from the ground, the cut being about 4 Or 5 inches deep into the trunk of the tree. The base is hollowed out to retain the oil. The
whole of the hollow is cleared with fire, after which the oil exudes, and is collected in the hollow at the base, and removed at intervals. The oil is thus extracted year after year, and sometimes there are two or three holes in the same tree. The oil is allowed to settle, on which the clear part separates from a thick portion, which is called the ' gand.' If a growing tree is cut down, and cut to pieces, the oil exudes and concretes on the stem and end of the pieces, very much resembling camphor, with an aromatic smell also. It is said that a tree yields from 3 to 5 maunds yearly, i.e. 240 to 400 lbs., value Its. 10 per maund, and the same tree will yield oil for several years. It is a good balsamic medicine, and very generally used as a substitute for copaiba. As a varnish it is a preservative to wood, to which it gives, with little trouble of application, a fine surface polish ; it becomes, however, white and milky if exposed to wet. In Manipur it is used for paying river craft and for varnishing vessels designed to contain liquids.. In Burma, almost every article of house hold furniture intended to contain either solid or liquid food is lacquered by means of it. The process consists in first coating the article with a layer of pounded calcined bones, after which the varnish is laid on thinly, either in its pure state or variously coloured. The most difficult part consists in the drying. It is also much employed in the process of gilding ; the surface, being first besmeared with this varnish, has then the gold leaf immediately applied to it. Finally, the beautiful Pali writing of the Burmese on ivory, palm leaves, or metal, is entirely done with this varnish in its pure state. — Artillery Records ; Voigt ; Drs. lVallich, Pl. As. Rar., M'Clelland, Mason, Boyle, Brandis; Cal. Cat. Er., 1862.