MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 



Western Peninsulas, and in Chittagong. Three years ago I met with a plant 

 of this species at Mulleachevad about 4 miles from the shores of Eadi, and 

 lately another at Majgaum, a village about 17 miles inland. Its characters 

 correspond exactly with those given in the Flora of British India. Roxburgh 

 in his 'Flora of India states that the fruit of tlri.s 8] i I id, 1 ' - * 



the specimens examined by me, the fruits were sometimes t'.v. 

 Graham nor Dalzell and Gibson make mention of this species. It flowers in 

 May, and bears fruit at the end of the rains. The flowers appear, as in many 

 other Leguminosce, while some of the dry fruits are still upon the plant. The 

 wood is of too small a size to be of any extended economic use ; it is strong, 

 hard, close-grained and slightly ^elastic ; the annual rings are not distinctly 

 marked. The cattle are very fond of the leaves, so that the lower branches 

 within their reach are often naked and bare. 



Dr. Watt, in his " Dictionary of Economic Products of India," gives, on the 

 authority of Kunth, the following properties of this plant :■ — " The roots 

 powdered absorb alcohol, and a spoonful of the powder in a tumbler of water is 

 said to be sufficient to destroy in loss than half an hour the effects of alcohol 

 even in cases bordering on delirium tremens. The wood is soft, beautifully 

 silvery white, close and straight grained." I have not had any opportunity 

 to verify the use of the root, but the hard wood found even in small branches 

 is neither soft nor silvery white, on the contrary it is very hard and dark brown, 

 with darker longitudinal veins resembling very closely that of the sissoo. 



This plant brings the total number of indigenous species of the important 

 genus Dalbergia to 10, out of which 4 are trees: D. sissoo, D. latifolia, 

 D. lamceolaria, and D. paniculata, all of them being valuable timber trees, 

 the first two yielding the blackwood of Bombay. One, a shrub, D. spinosa: 

 5 climbers, D. sympathetica, D. notubilis, I), conferti folia, D. Stocksii, and D, 

 monosperma. It would be seen that D. spinosa forms a connecting link between 

 the trees and the climbers. 



Specimens of leaves, flowers, fruits, and wood of J), spinosa are forwarded 

 for the Society's herbarium. 



D G. DALGADO. 



Sawantwady, June, 1891. 



V.— THE DESTRUCTION OF LIFE BY WOLVES IN THE HOSHANGA- 

 BAD AND NARSINGHPUR DISTRICTS. 



In the Supplement to the Central Provinces Gazette, 6th June, 1891, Colonel 

 K. C. E. Ward, CLE., Commissioner of the Nerbudda Division, while 

 forwarding Mr. Playfair's Memorandum on wolf-killing operations in that 

 district, to the Chief Commissioner, Central Provinces, reports as follows:— 



In consequence of the depredations which wolves were committing in this 

 Division, Mr. Playfair's services' were placed at my disposal in your No. 778-41, 



