SANTALUM 



ALBUM 



THE SANDAL-WOOD TREE 



Wood.Imported. 



Operations. 



Peculiar 

 Waters. 



Yield. 

 Observances. 



Qualities. 



Adulteration. 

 Price. 



Trade. 



Early Records. 



Amounts. 

 Mysore. 



Total Area. 



Grades. 



these forests was used largely, but latterly (owing to the low yield obtained from 

 the local wood) supplies have been imported from Bombay which are believed 

 to have been derived from Mysore and Malabar. The best wood for the perfume 

 trade is held to be that from the damper tracts of the latter it being assumed 

 that the proportion of oil present depends on both the dampness of soil and 

 climate of the country of production. 



The wood is first reduced to a powder, about 40 to 60 Ib. of which are 

 soaked in clean water for 48 hours, then placed in a copper still. The water, 

 carrying the oil evaporates and is condensed in the usual way, when, on cooling, 

 the oil floats on the surface and can be collected. It is then refined in various 

 ways filtered, or kept for a year until the sediment of impurities has settled 

 at the bottom, etc. It is believed that the water has an important function to 

 perform, since certain waters are superior to others. Kanauj is supposed to 

 soften the wood and facilitate the liberation of the oil, while that of Jaunpur 

 improves the quality of the oil. The Kanauj manufacturers, however, attribute 

 their success to their skill and not to any special property possessed by the water. 



It is said that the yield in Kanauj is about 2 to 3 seers of oil to one 

 maund of wood. The oil that comes off first from the still is the best 

 quality. The following rules are recognised by the manufacturers: (1) the 

 heat must be uniform ; (2) the receivers must be removed directly they are full ; 

 (3) cleanliness is essential. If the tinning of the interior of the still is worn out, 

 the oil gets greenish in colour from copper ; (4) all joints must be steam-proof. 

 There are various qualities of the oil that made at Kanauj is called mallea- 

 giri ; inferior kinds are katthia wala and jahazi. But the inferior oils are believed 

 not to be made at Kanaxij, and to be used by the traders for adulteration. The 

 annual outturn at Kanauj is about 100 maunds of the oil ; but the production 

 is said to be declining, the reason given being the increasing price of good wood, 

 which now fetches Rs. 30 to Rs. 35 a maund. The scarcity of fuel is given as 

 another reason of the decline, and the adulterations practised by the dealers as 

 a third reason. Ordinary quality of Kanauj oil sells at about Rs. 17 a seer 

 (== 2 Ib.). [Cf. Foster, E.I.C. Letters, 1617, v., 339 ; Gildemeister and Hoffmann, 

 Volatile Oils, 1900, 338-45; Pharmacog. Ind., iii., 232-4; Hare, Caspari and 

 Rusby, National Stand. Dispens., U.S.A., 1905, 1104-5; Hooper, Rept. Labor. 

 Ind. Mus., 1903-4, 27.] 



Trade. The sandal-wood of Mysore and Coorg has not only been 

 known from the most ancient times, but has ranked as the finest quality 

 for centuries. It is somewhat surprising, however, to read in Stein (Ancient 

 Khotan, 447, 452) of a comb found at the Kara-dong ruins (8th century) 

 said to be made of sandal-wood. If that determination be correct it 

 would point to an Indian trans-frontier traffic of a more varied and ex- 

 tensive kind than hitherto contemplated, as existing at that early period. 

 The Indian supply of the true sandal-wood is drawn from Southern and 

 Western India, and there is nothing to show that this was not always the 

 case. The earliest European writers on the modern traffic refer to the 

 sandal of Macassar, and a supply from there is still recognised in the markets 

 of the world. A third grade is designated West Indian, though it is in 

 reality procured from Venezuela. According to Gamble, the average 

 annual sales of Mysore amount to 1,841 tons ; Coorg, 102 tons ; Madras 

 Presidency, 75 tons ; and the Bombay sales a still smaller quantity or, say, 

 a total annual output of 2,000 tons, valued at 40,000. Speaking of Mysore, 

 Pigot (Mysore Sandal-wood, 1899) says the wood is found in a continuous 

 belt, about 240 miles long by 16 broad, running from the north-west to 

 the south-west of the province. A second and much smaller and less 

 important zone lies farther to the east. The total area of both belts is 

 about 5,450 square miles. This, therefore, is the chief sandal area of the 

 world, since Mysore produces about seven-eighths of the total annual 

 supply. Pigot classifies the grades and materials into some eighteen 

 sections, ranging in size from billets not less than 20 Ib. in weight (vilayat 

 fiudh), the finest grade, down to the sawdust obtained in sawing up the 



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