320 



IttiE TROFICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



(June i, ibbo, 



Regarded iu its social aspect, tea is a valuable actor. 

 The five-o'clock gatherings which have of late played so 

 important and refreshing a part in the whirl of the 

 fashionable da)' owe their origin wholly to the beguiling 

 (jualities of the fragrant cup. Some years ago it was 

 regarded as a beverage only fit for women, but its 

 fascinations now hold in thrall the warrior, the politician, 

 the man of law, and even him of physic, who sternly 

 forbids it to his patients. The hostess who makes it 

 strong, but never lets its strength deteriotate into 

 bitterness under the sinister influence of cosey or char- 

 potkri ; who gives her guests a " brew" of the leaf of 

 rarest flavour and finest growth ; is always sure of that 

 pleasant sprinkhng of the uascjline element at ber 

 " five o'clock.s," which serves to make them popular and 

 to prevent the conversation from becomming absorbed 

 iu such wholly famiuine topics as distinguished the 

 German " kalfee-klatsch" or other functions which are 

 attended solely by the ornamental sex. — Lcnis J' CoV 

 Tea Trade Circular. 



OIL OF SANDAL WOOD. 



BY E. M. HOLMES. F.L.S., 



Curtitor of the J[useu)ii of tJtt Pluirmaccuiiad Sockty.^ 



In the early part of the present year my attention 

 was directed to the subject of sandal wood by the 

 fact tliat there appeared in the druf^gists' wholesale 

 price lists an oil of sandal wood marked " AV. I.," 

 and offered at about one-third of the price of the 

 genuine oil. As the genus iio'iitalum is not represented 

 on the American continent it was evident that the 

 '*"\Vest Indian"' oil must be obtained from stmie other 

 plant. The results of inquiries made since then 

 appear to me to possess sufficient interest to be placed 

 on record in the columns of this .Tournal, and may 

 perhaps be prefaced with advantage by a short account 

 of the species which have hitherto furnished sandal 

 wood. 



The genus i^aittatciii comprises about twenty species, 

 distributed over Asia, Australia and Polynesia, although 

 others may probtbly yet be discovered iu New Cale- 

 donia and New (.Juinea, 



In aspect the trees of this genus bear some resemb- 

 lance to the Myrtacc;e, in having opposite, mostly 

 entire leaves, furnished with oil glands, and flowers 

 similarly arranged. Like the Eucalypti they have no 

 petals, but differ in the small number of stamens (four or 

 five) to each flower, and in having only three to five 

 seeds attached to a central placenta. 



All the species delight in dry, rocky localities, part- 

 icularly those of volcanic origin, degenerating in their 

 yield of oil 'when grown in moist situations. 



The most westerly species in ,Safifo.hrm allnnii^ 1,., 

 a native of India and the islands of ISumba and Timor 

 and other islands in the Eastern Archipelago. The 

 most easterly is >'^. infulan:, found iu the Marcjuesas 

 Island and Tahiti. The most nothern species, .S', 

 Freycinctianum, Gaud., is found in the Sandwich 

 Islands, and the most southerly, a. Cimnw^liaiiti, in 

 New Zealand. 



The special which have at different times furnished 

 the sandal- wood of commerce are as follows: — 



/}. ali'Viii, L. — This sp(?cies furnishes Kast Indian 

 eaudal wood anil probably also that known as INIacassar 

 sandal wood. A variety of 'V. nUnrii, the /i. murtifvlium 

 DC. which dilVers in" its more lanceolate leaves, and 

 occur.s on the mountains in the cast of Madras, is 

 also a source of a sandal wood oil, whicli possesses 

 comparatively little fragrance, 



The interesting account given of saudal wood in 

 ' Pharmacographia ' may be supplemeuted here by some 

 particulars given by Dr. Bidie concerning the distillation 

 of the oiliu India, and published in the I'harmacopioia 

 of India (p. IGl), from which the following quotation 



" It (the tree) is caretuily protected by Government, 

 and only the trees that have reached maturity, which 

 they do "iu from eighteen to twcuty-five years, are cut 

 down. The felling takes place in the end of the year, 

 and the trees are then stripped of their bark and 

 pouv«yed to various depots where they arc out iuto I 



billets, wich are carefully dressed and sorted according 

 to the quality of the wood. These billets form the 

 sandal wood of commerce, and are sold by weight at 

 an annual auction, native merchants congregating from 

 all parts of India to make purchases. The pieces that 

 are straight and have most heart wood, fetch 

 the highest price, as the fragrance for which they are 

 so much prized depends on the presence of an essential 

 oil, which is chiefly situated in the dark central wood 

 of the tree. The jNIysoro r^overnment has looi^ had 

 establishments for extracting the oil. which is sold 

 at the annual auctions along with the wood and chieHy 

 bought up for exportation to China and Arabia. It 

 is procured from the wood by distillation, the roots 

 yielding the largest quantity and the finest quality of 

 oil. The body of the still is a large globular clay pot, 

 with a circular mouth, and is about :J^ feet deep by 

 about 6 feet circumfereuce at the bilge. No capital 

 is used, but the mouth of the still, when used, is closed 

 with a clay lid, having a small hole in its centre, through 

 which a bent copper tube about 5A feet long is 

 passed for the escape of the vai)our. The lower 

 end of the tube is conveyed inside a copper receiver, 

 placed in a large porous vessel containing cold water, 

 ■When preparing the sandal for distillation the white 

 or sap wood is rejected, and the heart wood is cut into 

 small chips, of which about 2 inaund.s or 50 lb. are 

 put into the still. As much water is then ad<led as 

 will just cover the chips, and ^distillation is carried 

 on slowly for ten days nud nights, by which time the 

 whole of the oil is extracted. As the water from 

 time to time gets low in the still, fresh supplies are 

 added from the heated contents of the refrigerator. The 

 quantity of oil yielded by \vood of good quality is at 

 the rate of 10 oz. per n]aur.d, or 2-5 per cent. It 

 is transparent and of a pale yellow colour, and has 

 a resinous taste and sweet peculiar smell, which is 

 best appreciated by rubbing a few drops of the 

 oil on the warm hand. The specific gravity is about 

 0-0^0." 



Sa'iMnlu.m infuiarc. — A native of the I\[arquesas and 

 Society Islands. The wood of this species was observed 

 by Oapt.iin Cook, in his voyage round the world, to be 

 used by the natives of Tahiti under the name of Eai 

 or Eaiiii, for perfuming coconut oil. 



Suiitahnn Frei/cinftinnum, Gaud. — A native of the 

 Sandwich Islands. Together with its varieties, ellipt- 

 ici'Di and pnvicvhxtinn, and Savtalvni pyrKlariUin, A. 

 Gray, it furnished, for a number of years, the sandal 

 wooil of these islands. The natives distinguished only 

 two kinds of the wood, which they called hnn ktokto^ 

 or white, and LnnhiilaJin/o, or red. From 17!)0 to 18l'0 

 numerous vessels called at the Sandwich Islands for 

 sandal wood, and as much as -100,0(10 dollars were realized 

 from this trade iu one year by King Kamehameha. 

 The destruction of the trees was carried on in such 

 a reckUss manner that when Dr. Seemann visited Oahu 

 in l.stn. he saw only a few bushes not exceeding three 

 feet high, at a place called Ku.iohe, and only a few 

 isolated specimens were left of the magnificent groves 

 th.il formerly covered parts of the islands of Hawaii, 

 Mani, dahu .lud Kauai. An attempt was subsequently 

 made to sell the scented wood of Myoporv.m Sand- 

 irichcii'C, A. Grav, in order to revive the trade, but it 

 did not .succeed. 



S, Uvhtei, Seem.— The discovery of this saudal wood 

 tree iu the island of Eronianga in 18-S> diverted the 

 sandal trade to that island. The violent treatment 

 received by the natives from sandal wood collectors led 

 to ditlicultics which resulted in the death of the cele- 

 brated missionary, John 'WiUiams, iu 1830. This source 

 also became gradually worked out, although iu ISoO, 

 the wood was still so plentiful that one firm eui- 

 pftiyed sixty men to cut it iu the bush. On a .specimen 

 of >V. lloii'ui in the British Museum there is a note 

 in MctJillivray's hand-writing to the following etfeot :— 

 " I'lOiUices tile gieatir part of the sandal wood shipped 

 from Eromanga, and formerly also from the New 

 llilirides. Nearly extinct. Jlay, ISiJO."' Another 

 specimen dated February. IStiO, bears the remark, " Now 

 done." I'rom this it would aj"' ;ir that this source of 

 eandal " jld was csliaiisted oboui ..uL'. Spuciiucus of 5, 



