Acacia.} LEG! 



Weight, 49 Ibe. per cubic foot. 

 P 3076. Sabathu, Punjab ....*. . 4U 



2. A. arabica, Willd. ; Hook. Fl. lud. ii. 293 ; Beddome t. 47 ; 

 Brandis 180. Mimosa arabica, Roxb. Fl. lud. ii. 557. Vern. Kikar, 

 Pb. ; Babbar, Sind ; Babul, babiir, Hind. ; Kanivelum, Tarn. ; ^MW^ 

 wtf/fo tuma, Tel. ; Gobli, karri/all, Kan. 



A moderate-sized or large tree, seldom leafless, with dark brown 

 rough bark. Sapwood large, whitish; heartwood pinkish white, turning 

 reddish brown on exposure, hard, mottled with dark streaks. Pores 

 moderate-sized, sometimes large, oval and subdivided. Medullary rays 

 fine and moderately broad, short, numerous, unequally distributed, con- 

 spicuous on a radial section. The wood consists of darker and lighter 

 coloured bands of an equal width. 



Cultivated or self-sown throughout the greater part of India, except in the most 

 humid tracts near the coast. Wild probably in Sind, Rajputana, Guzerat, and the 

 Northern Dekkan. 



IJrundis says : " In the Punjab it attains a girth of 2 feet in about 12 and 5 

 feet in about 30 years. In the forests of Lower and Middle Sind, the average growth 

 has been ascertained to be : 



At 35 years 4 feet girth, at 4 feet from the ground. 

 55 6 



At Jacobabad it has reached 50 to 60 feet high with a girth of 6 to 8 feet in less 

 than 30 years." These measurements would give from 2 to 5 rings per inch of radius, 

 which would indicate a quick rate of growth. In Minniken's Report on the 

 Delhi Bela plantation in 1878, the following data are recorded regarding kikar : 



Age. No. of tree. Meanrfrtb. Beg*, 



Compartment 1. Chandrawal . ' '7| 4 23'5 25'30 



3. Kudsia ... 6 4 13'5 25 



4. Jaffar Khan . .6 7 17 18to25 

 Chandrawal is probably on better soil than the others, as the rate of growth is 



2 rings per inch as against 2'2 and 2'8 in Nos. 3 and 4 respectively. 



Weight : Cunningham gives 541bs. ; Skinner, No. 3, 541bs. ; J. L. Stewart, 481bs. ; 

 our specimens give an average of 541bs. Cunningham's five Gwalior experiments with 

 bars 2 X 1" X 1" gave P = 875 ; Skinner gives 884. The wood is very durable if 

 well seasoned. It is used extensively for wheels, well curbs, sugar and oil presses, 

 rice-pounders, agricultural implements and tool handles. In Sind it is largely used 

 for boat-building, rafters^and for fuel ; also occasionally for railway sleepers. The gum, 

 which is similar to gum arable, is largely collected and used in native medicine, and 

 in dyeing and cloth printing. In Sind and Guzerat large quantities of lac are 

 collected on it. The bark is used for dyeing and tanning, and is a powerful astringent ; 

 a decoction of it may be used as a substitute for soap. The pods also, when unripe, 

 are astringent, and are used to make ink, and in Africa for tanning; they are given as 

 fodder to cattle, sheep and goats. 



It is largely cultivated in the Punjab and Sind, but it suffers much from frost. 

 It comes up well self-sown, coppices well, and may be grown from cuttings. It sends 

 down a very long taproot. 



Ibs. 



P 1198. Madhopur, Punjab 58 



P 890. Multan 49 



P 1379. Miani Forest, Sind 56 



P 440. Ajmere 



C 843. Amraoti, Berar 56 



D 1051. Salem, Madras 56 



No. 1. Salem Collection 50 



3, A. eburnea, Willd.; Hook. Fl. Ind. ii. 29.3 ; Beddome xcv.; Brandis 

 183. Mimosa eburnea, Koxb. Fl, Ind.ii, 558. Vern. Marmati, Dekkan. 



