DAPHNE 



Nepal Paper 



SISSU-WOOD 



Propagation. 



Quality of 

 Timber. 



Growth Quick. 



Uses. 



Gun-carriages. 



Important. 



Wood-carving. 



Sleepers. 



D.E.P., 

 iii., 19-26. 

 Nepal 

 Paper. 



D.E.P., 

 iii., 202. 



tree with tea planters of Dehra Dun. The seed on germinating at once 

 makes a great length of root compared to its growth above ground, a cir- 

 cumstance that greatly minimises the chance of its being swept away 

 when spontaneous germination takes place within the sandy and stony 

 beds of rivers. 



Sissu coppices well and reproduces itself freely from suckers. Artificially 

 it is best grown from seed deposited in suitable positions, because transplantation 

 is sometimes difficult and the young trees have to be protected till fairly esta- 

 blished. It grows most luxuriantly on low-lying sandy tracts and has been 

 successfully raised on irrigated lands, e.g. at Changa Manga in the Pan jab, at 

 Shahdera near Lahore, etc. But it is reputed that the timber of trees raised 

 under irrigation is of poor quality and subject to serious damage by fungi. When 

 young the growth of aiasu is very quick ; it is said to attain 2 \ feet of girth in twelve 

 years, but as it gets older its growth gets slower. The full height of a tree is 

 about 60 feet or so, and in girth it is rarely more than 6 feet. It is very success- 

 fully grown in Sind, and is said to be the best hardwood of the Panjab. 



The wood is very durable, seasons well and does not warp or split. It is 

 highly esteemed for all purposes where strength and elasticity are required, as, 

 for example, agricultural implements, wheelwrights' work, frames of carriages, 

 boat-building, etc. At one time it was extensively employed for gun-carriages, 

 but owing to the limited supply of the timber it is now very little used for that 

 purpose. It is one of the finest timbers in India for furniture and wood-carving, 

 and is in regular demand all over the North of India. In Upper India the 

 shisham wood (M>. stssao) replaces very largely the rosewood (n. latifoiia) of 

 Western and Southern India. It attains its position of greatest importance 

 in the United Provinces, the Central Provinces and the Panjab, being re- 

 placed on the north by deodar and to the south by sal and rosewood. The 

 wood-carving of Saharanpur, Farakhabad, Lucknow and Nagpur and the 

 inlaid work of Chiniot, Hoshiarpur, Jallandhar and Mainpuri are largely on 

 shisham. In Rajputana also, this wood is to a considerable extent employed 

 by the wood-carvers, but for particulars of the methods of treatment and styles 

 of carving the reader should consult Indian Art at Delhi, 1903 (103, 108-9). 



Owing to the fact that the siasu very rarely grows straight, the timber is not of 

 much use for beams though it is in much demand for knees of boats. It has 

 been successfully tried for railway-sleepers, is an excellent fuel and makes very 

 good charcoal, but it is too expensive to be utilised for these purposes. The 

 wood is said to yield an empyreumatic medicinal oil, and the raspings of the 

 wood are officinal, being regarded as alterative. Near towns the tree is largely 

 lopped for fodder and the fallen leaves collected and valued as fuel by the sweet- 

 meat makers. 



DAPHNE, Linn. ; Fl Br. Ind., v., 193-4 ; Collett, Fl. Sim., 1902, 

 435 ; Gamble, Man. Ind. Timbs., 577 ; THYMELACE.E. 



There are two or three shrubs of economic value which belong to this genus : 

 1. D. cannabina, Wall., is the most important and may be spoken of as one of 

 the best Nepal Paper Plants. It occurs on the temperate Himalaya from 

 Chamba to Bhutan, at altitudes of 3,000 to 8,000 feet. It is the setburwa, 

 setburosa, satpura, dunkotah kaghuti, dhak chamboi, chamboi, barua, niggi, jeku, 

 etc. 2. D. involucrata, Wall., is the chota aryili and is met with in Sikkim, the 

 Khasia hills and Tenasserim, and in the countries where at all abundant it is used 

 similarly to t>. cannnbinn. 3. D. Mezereum, Linn., is not indigenous to India, but 

 is often mentioned by Indian medical writers and is perhaps imported and sold by 

 the drug dealers. 4. D. oleoides, Schreb., is a small plant met with in the Western 

 Himalaya from Garhwal to Afghanistan, It is best known by the following 

 names kutildl, kanthan, gandalun (gandalinu), laghune, pech, pirkai buta, 

 etc. The roots are boiled and given internally as a purgative ; the bark and 

 leaves are also said to be used medicinally ; the berries are reputed to in- 

 duce nausea, and according to Brandis, a spirit is distilled from them in the 

 Sutlej valley. It is just possible, therefore, that this may be the Mezereon of 

 Indian medical writers. It is commonly reported that camels will not eat it 

 and indeed that it is poisonous to them. 



5. Edgeworthia Gardner!, Meissn.,- Fl. Br. Ind., v., 195 is a closely allied plant to 

 the species of DapHne, and one which would seem to be an even more important 



486 



