IUJKMKSK VAKNISH TKKK 



MELANORRHCEA 

 USITATA 



LaoquerWare 



22 to 28 ioohea Apart, on \\ hi.-h 1 1..- Heeds are sown (10 Ib. per acre) in a groove 

 along the top, and covered by not more than 1 } Inchon of soil. Frequent watering* 

 are necessary during the first fortnight. <)n MM- 1mm /-.il, lucerne grown in the 

 above manner requires water every eighth .!.> n. tin- < .,1.1 Heason, every sixth 

 day in the hot weather, and of tenor if the soil Im Imhi. Water should also be 

 given cliirinu Im-nks in the monsoon. It requires liberal top-dressing at short 

 intervals. At least 5 tons of well-rotted farm-yard manure should be applied 

 every thir.l time the crop is out. 



The principal object of the ridge- and-furrow system is to keep the field clean, 

 since the furrows can easily be weeded each time the crop i cut by using an 

 ordinary bullock-hoe. A crop will be well established in six months, and should Crop, 

 last for years, yielding at least ten cuts per annum. In 1893-4 the best result* 

 obtained on the Poona Farm were as follows: outturn per acre, 31,816 Ib. ; 

 value per rupee, 126 Ib. ; cost of cultivation per acre, Ks. 85-3-8 ; value of pro- 

 duce per acre, Rs. 265-2-0. [(?/. Bontham, Rev. of Targioni-Tozzetti, in Journ. 

 Hort. Soc., 1855, ix., 139 ; De Candolle, Orig. Cult. Plants, 1884, 102 ; Burke, Primer 

 on Cult. Lucerne, in Meerut Press, 1891 ; Voelcker. Improv. 2nd. Agri., 1893, 

 193, 202, 240 ; Duthie and Fuller, Field and Garden Crops, iii., 61 ; Molliaon, 

 Agri. Ledg., 1893, No. 18 ; 1894, No. 5 ; Leather, Food Grains and Fodders, in 

 Agri. Ledg., 1903, No. 7, 156, 174 ; Smith, Lucerne, U.S. Dept. Agri. Farmer'* 

 Bull., 1896, No. 31 ; Morelond, Note on Cult. Lucerne, in Dept. Land Rec. and 

 Agri. U. Prov. Bull., 1897, No. 6 ; Cawnpore, Exper. Farm Repts. ; Journ. 

 Board Agri., Sept. 1897, iv., 218-21; June, 1899, vi., 39-44; 1901, vii., 485-8; 

 Mollison, Textbook Ind. Agri., 1901, 229-33.] 



MELANORRHCEA USITATA, tl'ttfl.. PL As. /tor., i., 9-12, 

 tt. 11, 12 ; Fl Br. Ind., ii., 25 ; Watt, Kew Bull, 1906, 137-47 ; also 

 Ind. Art at Delhi, 1903, 218-24 ; ANACARDIACE^E. A large deciduous 

 tree of the open forests of Manipur, Burma and Siam, rare in dry forests. 

 It is generally known as THE BURMESE VARNISH TREE, and by the following 

 vernacular names, thitsi , kheu, suthan, kiahong, etc. (See Semecarpus, 

 p. 981.) 



In addition to affording a useful TIMBER, it yields a natural VARNISH of 

 great interest and value, and one which may be characterised as having originated 

 several distinct industrial and art conceptions peculiar to the Burmese, Shans 

 and Siamese. In Maymyo the preparation of the crude black varnish may 

 be spoken of as the chief forest industry, but it is also largely extracted in the 

 Monghong State. In fact, wherever the tree abounds the varnish is collected. 

 In euch tracts it is rare to find a tree that has not been tapped. It is ox- 

 ported mainly from the Northern and Southern Forest Circles of Burma. To 

 obtain the varnish, V-shaped incisions, 9 inches long and 6 inches apart at the 

 base, are cut on the bark of the trees, the apex pointing down. The tongue 

 of bark within these scars is then slightly lifted up and a specially prepared 

 joint of bamboo driven in horizontally immediately below the apex of the 

 incision. The sap which exudes from the inner bark drains into the bamboo 

 receiver. This is emptied at the end of ten days, when the flow of varnish 

 is observed to become scanty. A second cut is made along each side of the 

 contained tongue of bark, which is also again raised up slightly and the 

 bamboo receiver placed more conveniently to the new scarification. After 

 this has yielded all the varnish that seems likely, a new incision is made 

 a little higher up. It would appear that young trees yield better than fully 

 formed ones. By the tapping process the trees become much distorted, 

 and it is no unusual occurrence to find some that manifest 50 to 60 suc- 

 cessive scarifications. One man, it has been estimated, can look after and 

 collect the varnish from 1,200 trees, provided they are not too much scat- 

 tered. He can scarify and collect from about 200 trees a day. The best 

 season for working is from July to October, and one man may collect from 

 146 to 182 Ib. in one season. In 1904-5, 38,622 vise, and in 1905-6, 36,382 

 viss, were collected under license and permit. \Cf. Ann. Rept. For. Admin., 

 1904-5, 65.] 



Thitsi is largely utilised in its liquid state as a natural varnish, and has the 

 great merit of preserving woodwork. Thickened by sawdust, cow-dung ashes, 

 or bone-ashes to a plastic condition, it is employed as a CEMENT and body 



779 



D.E.P., 

 v., 208-10. 

 Burmese 

 Varnish. 



Timber and 



fenfch. 



Method of 



Tapping. 



Daily Routine. 



Ion* 



: OOMM 

 Lacquer War*. 



