SANDALWOOD. 31 



ornaments, toys, fans, walking-sticks and for other orna- 

 mental purposes, also for burning the dead. A perfume 

 obtained from the wood is iu universal use in India and 

 China. Its medicinal virtues are trifling, it has a bitterish, 

 aromatic taste, and a degree of pungency which is not 

 unpleasant. Its powder is believed to possess sedative 

 and refrigerant properties, a mixture formed of cocoanut 

 water is used to allay thirst, and is prescribed iu fevers, 

 headache and bilious affections; externally it is used as 

 a cure for prickly heat by Europeans and to cool the 

 system, as an incense, it is in general use especially by 

 Mahomedans, and is burnt to perfume temples and dwell- 

 ing houses both in China and India. The "joss sticks," 

 BO generally used more especially by Mahomedans, and 

 designated by them as the te Ood buttee," consists of the 

 raspings worked into a paste with water and spread on 

 slender bamboo slips, are in every day use as a perfume and 

 to keep away noxious insects. The wood rasped on a rough 

 sandstone with water, and the resulting paste is used for 

 marking the forehead, it is greatly appreciated as a cosmetic 

 by all creeds and castes of people. The wood is in greafc 

 request for cremation purposes among high caste Hindoos 

 on account of its fragrance, a valuable oil is distilled from 

 the refuse chips and roots which is always in demand, and 

 generally used as a perfume and to adulterate the attar of 

 roses. The fragrance of the wood increases with the age o 

 the plant. The wood is usually cut into billets of fifteen, 

 twenty, or thirty inches in length, and is sold by weight; 

 the chips, cuttings, and roots form an article of commerce. 

 The Sandalwood tree is subject to heartshake, it is not fit 

 to cut under twenty years of age, the older it grows the more 

 valuable it becomes till maturity is obtained in about fifty- 

 years. The low caste natives are fond of chewing the bark 

 with their betel, in consequence of its pungency and do not 

 hesitate to strip the trees when they can, much to their 

 injury and eventual destruction, so much so that active 

 steps are necessary to put a stop to this pernicious prac- 

 tice. 



The price varies much, all depends on the China demand, 

 it varies from three to six annas a pound. 



