SHADE-TREES 



ALBIZZIA 

 Jyree Tea 



M tin! i. 



United States 1,635 cwt., New Zealand 758 cwt., and the United King- 

 dom !>(>'.> cwt. Tin- Muturt! of the fibres cliissili.-.l as "Hemp" in th.-s<- 

 returns can be judged of only by the countries from whence derived. 

 Thus the Philippine Hemp may in all probability have been Manila Hemp : 

 the supply from that country was renewed in 1899-1900. Perhaps the 

 most striking feature of these imports of hemp is the decline in the supply 

 from tin- St raits, \\ hich in 1896-7 fell from 6,624 cwt., valued at Rs. 1,01,831, 

 t.. :t70 cwt., valued at Rs. 10,796, in 1905-6, and in 1906-7 nil 

 The EXPORTS from India are mainly, if not entirely, of " Sunn Hemp " Exports, 

 and other allied fibres, and thus quite distinct from the " Sisal Hemp " 

 here dealt with, so that the returns of exports need not be further con- 

 sidered. But it is believed that about 25 per cent, of the exports of Raw 

 Hemp from Bombay are at the present time Aloe (Agave) fibre. In 1906-7 

 Uombay exported 255,375 cwt. of Hemp, valued at Rs. 28,74,499. And a 

 striking feature of the exports of raw hemp is the fact that the Bengal section 

 appears to have given an indication of expansion, a consequence, doubtless, 

 of the Sylhet production of Sisal. In 1899-1900 Calcutta exported 63,433 

 cwt., valued at Rs. 4,66,503, in 1900-1 an expansion to double the 

 quantity and three times the value was recorded, viz. 128,634 cwt., valued 

 at Rs. 12,20,351, and in 1906-7 to 261,867 cwt., valued at Rs. 29,76,541. 



IVni/.il Tr.itll.- 

 Expanding. 



ALBIZZIA, Durazz. ; FL Br. Ind., ii., 298-302 ; Gamble, Man. D.E.P., 

 Ind. Timbs., 302-9 ; Cooke, FL Pros. Bomb., i., 452-5 ; Duthie, FL Upper U 165-6O. 

 Gang. Plain, i., 319-22 ; Brandis, Ind. Trees, 269-73 ; Prain, Journ. As. 

 Soc., Beng., Lxvi., pt. ii., 511-5; LEGUMINOS.E. 



There are in India 14 species of this genus, all trees except one. Lt.-Col. Botany. 

 D. Prain in his revision of the genus has added four species not hitherto 

 separately recognised and has removed much of the ambiguity that previously 

 prevailed. He has shown that Indian authors have been in error in thinking 

 that -i. Jniibriffftin is met with in India: he has restored A. inoiiin, Boiu., 

 to specific importance, and separated from .1. /.&/. (under the name 

 .4. . ii </<) an important East Himalayan form. Generically the species of 

 A iblxxia bear the vernacular names of airia, sirisha, sirin, turanji, chirugu, baghi, 

 vaghe, kokko, etc. A. /.->!*/. seems to be the true siria, a tree, according 

 to Sir Monier Williams, that is sacred to the Buddhists. The other species are 

 distinguished as the sweetly scented airia, the white airia, etc. 



They all afford GUM, more or less copiously, from wounds on the stem, and Gum. 

 though little is known for certain of the specific differences of these gums, that of 

 .4. .!< iniiiitii is reputed to be specially valued as a size in the manufacture of 

 Nepal paper. The barks of most species are astringent and used as DYES, 

 TANS and MEDICINES. That of A. J,ebbefc is employed in Madras to tan fishing 

 nets, and that of -!. ij/-<oj>/i {/// (kanta-airia) is utilised as a substitute for 

 .4. i< ,,,,,!, i,. in distillation, and those of A. Mtitmiata and A. prorera are said 

 to be fish poisons. The leaves of most species are regarded as useful FODDERS Fodder. 

 and in some instances the trees are specially grown on that account, but according 

 to Mr. Hartless the stipules and young leaves of .4. Mtljminta are poisonous to 

 cattle. The most curious discovery regarding the leaves of this genus may be 

 said however to be the determination made by me of the so-called JYKEE Tea, jyree Tea, 

 wliich consists of ordinary tea mixed with specially prepared leaves of A. <i>i-.i 

 (the lalai or unjei). \Cf. Journ. Agri.-Hort. Soc. 2nd., 1898, xi., 838-42 ; 1899, 

 982-3; Kew Bull., 1899, 82.] Mr. Chandra Bhushan Bhaduri, Officiating 

 Chemist to the Industrial Section, Indian Museum, analysed .4. mar<* leaves 

 (hand-picked from a sample of jyree tea) and found that they possessed no special 

 properties worthy of notice. [Cf. Ann. Kept. Ind. Mus., 1899-1900, 52 ; Pharm. 

 Journ. Gt. Brit., Dec. 16, 1905, 833.] 



The TIMBER of these trees varies greatly, being very soft in -4. Htipitiatn, hard Timber, 

 in A. mioi-itin(tmi, inriiiti and i rti ; sapwood large and white; the heart- 

 wood light to dark-brown, streaked, shining ; pores usually scanty and often 



45 



Dyes, Tans and 



Medicines. 



