. . MARQUESAS. MRIRIRJR, . . Hilthi,SANDWICII ISLANDS.
Many of the synonyms for this wood have been derived from the Sanskrit, the letters ch of that ton,gue being converted into s and ts. Otte kind is the produce of a small tree, Santalutn album, growing in India and Ceylon, which gives its title to the natural order of plants called Santalaceto or sandal-worts. The sandal-wood of the Sand \viol] Wands is from two other species of the same familly, S. Freyeinctianum and S. paniculatum ; but S. Freyeinctianum has been AO reckleesly cut down in the islands of the South Seas that it haa ahnost diaappenred. The ltlyoporum tennifolium, or apurious sandal-wood tree, r,,,rown in t•levated situ:Worm, attaina to 15 or 20 feet in height and 3 or 4 feet in circumference. Its scented wood varies from vefiow to red, according to the age of the tree, and is used for planets. A white sandal wood, termed lava or lawn, is ported into Bombay from Zanzibar, and is applied to the same pur poses as Mysore sandal-wood.
Another spurions kind is front the Exocarptus latifolia of the Percy Wanda, Cape Upstart, the Palm Islands, Repulse Bay, etc., and in India the wood of the Plninieria alba is fraudulently mixed with the billets of the true sandal-wood. In the year 1881-82, the value of the exported sandal-wood from India was Rs. 3,98,284, and in 1882-83, Rs. 4,02,031.
Coorg sandal-wood sells at Rs. 180 to Rs. 425 the tots. That of Mysore is of excellent quality, and there the tree has been strictly conserved since the middle of the 19th century. Up to 1875-76, five sandal-wood phtntations had been formed in Mysore. The Mysore revenue from sandal-wood (1055 tons) in that year was lbs. 2,87,132. Good wood was sold at Ra. 372, and inferior wood at Rs. 144 per ton. The tree is cut down when about 9 inches in diameter ttt the root ; it is then cleared of its bark and cut into logs, which are buried for six weeks or two months in order that the white ants may clear off the outer wood; this they do most effectually, with out touching the heart of the tree, which is the only valuable part. Two kinds of this wood are, however, known in commerce,—the white and the yellow ; both are from the same tree, the former beim-, the outer layers of the wood.
'dm odour of sandal-wood is very strong, rose like, and enduring; its taste slightly bitter. The odour is due to the presence of an essential oil, heavier than water, readily congealed, and having a peculiar sweet smell. The deeper the colour, which is of a yellow - brown. and the nearer the root, the better is the perfume. The Chinese imported an amount of sandal-wood in 1838 worth about 150,000 dollars. From Timor and the Fiji islands China derives her chief supply. The natives of Yap, the Isle of Pines, and Maree traffic with ships for the sandal-wood. Timor is the only country in the Eastern Archipelago which producea it in any quantity. That of Bonin Island is of excellent quality.
The oil is employed by the European perfumers, and in India Is very extensively used for the zululteration of attar of roses. The wood in powder is given by tlse native physicians in ardent remitting fevers, and is supposed to be sedative and cooling ; with milk it is also prescribed in gonorrhcea. The Chinese consume it largely as a fancy wood, and by them it is often elegantly carved. By the Climese it is ground into powder and used as a cosmetic. The powder is rubbed on the skin to allay the irritation of znosquito bites, of prickly heat, aud other cutaneous dis orders. The wood is a preservative against insects, and is much us,a1 in making work-boxes, walking - sticks, pen - holders, and other smaEl articles of fine ornament. It is much aseck in India and China for burning in .temples, is ex tensively employed as a fuel in the funeral ceremonies of the Hindus. Its bark gives a most beautiful red or light claret-coloured dye, brit it fades almost immediately when used as a simple infusion. In the hands of the experienced dyer, it might, it is supposed, be very useful..—.G. Bennett, p. 419 ; Tomlinson; Tredgold ; Ainshe ; Crawfurd ; .111. E. J. R.; Macgillivray's Voyage, i. p.97 ; Bombay Forest Reports ; Report of Madras Fore,sts ; Poole, St. of Comm.