BUCHANANIA 



LATIFOLIA BRUSH-MAKING MATERIALS 



Piyar 



culms and these are also employed for making tatties in the same way as the 

 khas-khas roots of Northern India. 



Agave Cantata, Roxb., and other species (see p. 33). 

 Bambusa, various species (see pp. 99-101). 

 Borassus flabellifer, Linn, (see p. 170). 

 Bristles, see Live Stock (Hogs) (p. 752). 

 Caryota urens, Linn, (see p. 286). 



Chloroxylon Swietenia, D.c. (backs of brushes) (see p. 294). 



D.E.P., Chrysopogon Gryllus, 7>/. The roots of this plant are said by Jackson, 



ii., 274. Hannan and others to be the Venetian whisk-fibre which in England and other 



countries is made into brushes of various kinds. The grass is abundant on the 



hills of North India, but except as a fodder plant it is apparently not known 



to be of any economic value. 



Cocos nucifera, Linn, (see p. 356). 



_ E p Corypha umbraculifera, Linn, (see p. 429). 



. * ' p ' Hair of bears, squirrels, camels, badgers, goats, polecats, sables, ichneumons, 



iv., IWo. etc., is used in the European brush industry, but no information is available 



as to the extent, if any, to which India contributes to the supply, or herself 

 utilises any of the hairs mentioned. 



Ischaemum angustlfolium, Hack, (see p. 694). 



D.E.P., Pandanus odoratissimus, Linn., /. , the Screw-pine the keura, ketgi, kenda, 



vi., pt. l., talum, mugali, etc. A common and much-branched plant frequently grown on 

 5-6. account of the fragrance of its flowers, but is wild on the coasts of South India, 



Burma and the Andaman Islands. The leaves contain a strong fibre used 

 for cordage and for spinning into coarse yarn. The roots are used in basket 

 and brush-making (Perfumery, see p. 821). [Cf. Forster, PZ. Esc., 1786, 38-41 ; 

 Rept. 2nd. Hemp Drugs Comm., 1894, i., 156 ; Marco Polo, Travels, ii., 250 ; 

 Ain^i-Akbari (Jarrett, transl.), ii., 126 ; etc.] 

 Phoenix sylvestris, Roxb. (see pp. 115, 884-5). 

 Saccharum arundinaceum, Retz. (see p. 930). 

 Sorghum vulgare, Pers. the Italian whisk (see p. 1031). 

 Tamarix, spp., see Baskets (p. 116). 

 Vetiveria zizanioides (see p. 11 06). 



D.E.P., BUCHANANIA LATIFOLIA, Roxb., Hart. Beng., 1814, 32; 



L, 544-5. jj. Lanzan, Spreng., in Schroder Journ., 1801, v., 4; Cooke, Fl. Pres. 

 Bomb., i., 275; Fl. Br. Ind., ii., 23; Gamble, Man. Ind. Timbs., 216; 

 Pharmacog. 2nd., i., 394 ; Agri. Ledg., 1899, No. 12 ; 1900, No. 9 ; Duthie, 

 Fl. Upper Gang. Plain, i., 185 ; Brandis, Ind Trees, 205 ; ANACARDIACE.E. 

 The piyar, chironji, pial or peal, chirauli, paira, tarum, char-Jca-gond, 

 mowda, nusJcul, lonepho, etc., etc. A middle-sized tree, leafless only for a 

 short time, met with in the dry forests throughout India and Burma, 

 ascending in the Sub-Himalayan tract to 3,000 feet, and frequently 

 associated with the sal, the mahua and the dhdk. 



Gum. A pellucid GtJM (peal or pial) which exudes from wounds in the stem is more 



than half soluble in water. It is said to resemble Bassora gum, to have adhesive 

 properties like inferior gum arabic, and to be suitable for dressing textiles. As 

 a consequence of inquiries organised by the Reporter on Economic Products 

 it was found that in many provinces the gum is not collected, while it is 

 reported from Jhansi (U. Prov. ) as used in printing cloth, from Berar as employed 

 in dyeing, and from the Central Provinces as sold mixed with dhawra gum 

 (Anogeissiis inti/oHn) to the banias. On some samples sent to the Imperial 

 Institute, London, the Director reported that the gum was not entirely soluble, 

 but when mixed with twice its weight of water, about 10 per cent, formed a 

 gelatinous mass ; the sample examined, moreover, contained a large quantity of 

 extraneous matter. The brokers reported that if it were carefully collected and 

 a regular supply ensured, it might fetch 20s. per cwt. on the London market, 

 and be employed for cheap manufacturing purposes. [Cf. Agri. Ledg., 1900, No. 

 Varnish. 9, 92.] The bark and the fruits furnish a natural VABNISH. The kernels yield 



OiL a sweet and wholesome OIL (chironji), but owing to their being much prized as a 



Nuts. sweetmeat when cooked, the oil is seldom expressed. The kernels, which have 



a flavour something between that of the pistachio and the almond, are eaten by 



188 



