184.- 



COAJBRETACE^. 



[ Terwinalia. 



ment cannot be considered as good as if the sleeper had been from large trees and with- 

 out sapwood. In 1876, 720 sleepers were cut in the Sukna forests, Darjeeling, and laid 

 down on the Northern Bengal State Railway, the result of the experiment will be very 

 useful. The wood splits, however, very much, unless thoroughly seasoned. The wood 

 is an excellent fuel and makes good charcoal. The bark is used for tanning and for 

 dyeing black, and the ashes of the bark give a kind of lime which is eaten by the 

 natives with betel leaf. The " tasar " silkworm (Anthercea Paphia) feeds on its leaves, 

 and lac is occasionally gathered from its branches. It gives a brown gum. 



ibs. 



Terminalia alata, Roth., is synonymous with T, tomentosa, W. and A. ; but the 

 wood sent under this name from the Andarnans (B 522, 46 Ibs.) is evidently, judging 

 from its structure, a different species. Wood brown, with dark purple streaks, very 

 hard, smooth. Annual rings doubtful. Pores small, uniformly distributed. Medul- 

 lary rays short, prominent,-moderatel}' broad and fine, joined by numerous, very fine, 

 white, transverse lines. Medullary rays distinctly visible on a radial section as long 

 shining plates. The wood of this specimen differs from that of T. tomentosa, chiefly 

 by the transverse bars and the small pores. 



8. T. Arjuna, Beddome t. 28; Hook. Fl. iDd.ii. 447; Brandis 224. 

 T. crenulata, Roth. ; Kurz i. 458. Pentaptera Arjuna and glabra, 

 Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 438, 440. Vern. Anjan, arjun, arjuna, anjani, arjan, 

 jamla, koha^foiva, kahui Hind. ; Arjun, Ben<r. ; Hanjal, Cuttack; Vella 

 marda, vella matti, vella maruthu, Tarn. ; Arjun, anjan, sadura, Mar. ; 

 Maddi, billi matti, Mysore ; 'Yermaddi, erra maddi, tella madu> Tel. ; 

 Kah^l, Baigas ; Mangi, koha, Gondi ; Toukkyan, Burm. 



A large deciduous tree. Bark J inch thick, smooth, pinkish grey, 

 the old layers peeling off in thin flakes. Sapwood reddish white; 

 heartwood brown, variegated with darker coloured streaks, very hard. 

 Annual rings doubtful. Pores moderate-sized and large, sometimes 

 very large, uniformly distributed, more numerous and larger than in 

 T. tomentosa, often subdivided into 2 to 4 compartments, each pore sur- 

 rounded by a ring of soft tissue. Numerous thin, wavy, concentric 

 lines, which frequently anastomose. Medullary rays very fine, very 

 numerous. Pores prominent on a longitudinal section. 



Sub-Himalayan tract (not common), Oudh, Bengal, Burma, Central and South 

 India. 



Weight, Skinner's experiments, Nos. 123, 103, give 48 and 54 Ibs. ; the Central 

 Provinces List 47 Ibs. ; while the average of our sjuriiniMis is 57 Ibs. Skinner 

 P = 806 and 820. The wood is apt U> split in seasoning and is n<>t easy to work. It 



