S/torea. ] 



DIPTEKOCARPE.E. 



37 



The following is a summary of Mr. Clifford's remarks about sal in his Memoran- 

 dum on the Timber of Bengal : 



The inherent qualities of sal render it a very difficult wood to season ; it warps 

 and splits in drying, and even when thoroughly seasoned, it absorbs moisture with 

 avidity in wet weather, increasing l-24th in bulk, and correspondingly in weight. 

 1 hiving the process of seasoning it dries with great rapidity on the surface, while 

 beneath it remains as wet as when first cut, and evaporation goes on afterwards with 

 extreme slowness. The effect of this peculiarity is to cover the surface all over with 

 superficial fiaws from unequal shrinkage. With proper precautions, however, it can 

 be made to dry slowly, and under these circumstances it has been found by numerous 

 experiments that the ratio of drying is f of an inch annually all round the piece of 

 wood. Sal, when once thoroughly seasoned, stands almost without a rival, as a 

 timber, for strength, elasticity and durability, which qualities it retains without being 

 sensibly alleeled, for an immense length of time. 



Numerous varieties of sal timber are supposed to exist. Mr. Clifford, in the 

 pamphlet above quoted, saj's : " There are two descriptions of sal brought to Calcutta ; 

 they are known as ' Morung ' and ' Durbhunga;' one from tlie forests to the east of 

 the Coosi, the other from the forests to the west. The Morung sal is the best ; it is 



