THE HIMALAYAN CKDAR 



ige-roads, for wet-slides, bridges, hoops of sieves, etc. [Of, Buchanan- 

 Itt.ii. *Uti. Ace. Dinaj., 154 ; 2nd. For., ii., 87-8 ; vii., 49-50 ; x., 246, etc. ; 

 Iteac. Ace. Assam, 1841, 41; Pharmacog. Ind., i., 339; Greshoff, 

 Bull., Kolon. Mu. Amsterdam, 1896 ; Wiesner, Die JKohat. det Pflanzenr., 



7ft j ii.. -i I. 957.] 



CEDRUS LIBANI, llarrrl., var. Deodara, Hook., /. ; Fl. Br. 

 \ . ii>.? ; Ribbentrop, Deodar, in Ind. For., 1899, xxv., app. ; 

 . Man. Ind. Timbs., 710-6; Collett, FL Sim., 487; Brandis, Ind. 

 1906, 691 ; CONIFERS. The Himalayan Cedar, deodar, dedwdr, 

 krlu, keori, kelon, kilar, giam, paludar, nakhtar, etc. Dutt (Mat. 

 Iliml., 1900, 247, 296) gives it the Sanskrit name of devaddru. 

 \ \ rry large evergreen tree (often 250 feet) of the Western Himalaya, extend- 

 westwards to the mountains of Afghanistan and eastwards to the Dauli river 

 Kninaon ; most common at 6,000 to 8,000 feet, but in the more eastern section 

 i i-a it ascends to 10,000 feet in altitude. Said to have been introduced into 

 at Britain about 1831, and is now cultivated to a considerable extent both 

 Europe and America. The closely allied species, the Cedar of Lebanon 

 >!>.>r, was introduced, so Miller says (Oard. Diet., 1731), into the Physic 

 .nit -i i of Chelsea about 1683, but it is now believed that it was actually being 

 iwn in England a few years before that date ( 166270). According to Bentham 

 fotes on Targioni-Tozzetti, Journ. Hort. Soc., ix., 175), that cedar, although 

 Dparontly well known to the Ancients as a valuable tree, had never been 

 I\MI in Italy until carried from England to Pisa in 1787. 



The Deodar is usually though not always monoecious, and is roughly distinguish- 

 jle from the Lebanon and Atlas cedars by its drooping branches and longer 

 Though gregarious it rarely forms pure forests, being found with 

 lue pine, spruce, silver fir, oak, yew, poplar, horse-chestnut, etc. Gamble says 

 it good seed years come about once in four or five years, and in suitable 

 ilities, where the seeds can get through the grass, weeds and moss of the 

 face covering, natural reproduction is very prolific. Artificial propagation 

 is not difficult, deodar being easily grown in nurseries, and with care success- 

 ly transplanted. Young plants suffer from waterlogging, and it is therefore best 

 transplant them from April to May. Deoddr is probably at its best in good 

 lities when about 12 feet in girth, but it can reach a much greater size, trees of 

 t o 4 f> feet in girth, and 1 00 to 240 feet in height. It prefers a light soil and gneiss, 

 lite or even limestone sub-soil ; in the Himalaya it seeks the northern and 

 stern slopes, thus avoiding the rain, and in cultivation does not succeed either at 

 rjeeUng or on the Nilgiri hills, where there is too much clay and too much rain. 

 This is the chief TIMBER of Northern India. It is light yellowish-brown, 

 anted and moderately hard. When well seasoned its weight rarely exceeds 

 Ib. per cubic foot. It is very durable as well as immune from white ants, hence 

 i extensively used for railway sleepers. It is believed that the deodar timber of 

 buildings in Kashmir and Kanawar may be 600 to 800 years old. Ac- 

 jrdingly it is held in considerable esteem for bridge- work and house-building 

 iough its scent is by some regarded as too strong for interior fittings). It is 

 ither brittle, however, and does not take paint nor varnish freely. In wood- 

 especially that of the Panjab and Kashmir, deodar is of course pre- 

 linent. The Muhammadan and Sikh work are directly adapted to ", and the 

 racteristic feature of old Kashmir wood-work may be said to have been 

 bold and effective pinjra or lattice panellings made of this wood. Further 

 stails as well as illustrations of deodar-carving may be found in Indian Art at 

 elhi, 1903 (103 and seq.), and the reader should also consult Lawrence's Valley 

 Kashmir (1895, 79-80) for further interesting details. 



An OIL (kelon-ka-tel), which resembles crude turpentine, is obtained from the 

 Jod, and is used in veterinary practice. [Cf. Gildemeister and Hoffmann, Volatile 

 1900, 279.] It is also employed by the men who float deod*ir logs down 

 rivers, to coat the inflated skins by the help of which they pass the rapids. 

 In connection with the arrangements for the Delhi Durbar Exhibition, I observed 

 that certain metallic objects kept in a box of deodar wood were beautifully 

 varnished. On inquiry, I found this was due to the action of the oil. It would 

 seem probable that this property may prove of much value. It should certainly 

 be investigated. The aromatic wood (bhadra-kashtha) is employed in Native 



291 



CEDRU3 



LIBANI 

 Deodar 



DJE.R, 

 i., 236-7. 

 Himalayan 



C 



Habitat. 



cedar of 

 Lebanon. 



Cultivation. 



Transplantation. 



Timber. 



Weight. 



Durability. 



Wood-earring. 



Oil. 



Varnish. 



