SCHLEICHERA 

 TRIJUOA 



Lac Tree 



Oil. 



THE GOSTUS OK KUT PEKFUME 



D.E.P., 

 vi., pt. ii., 

 480-3. 

 Costus. 



cent, of a brownish -yellow OIL, which is employed medicinally, also as a burning- 

 oil and in the preparation of umbrella varnish. Efforts have been made to utilise 

 the tallow in India, but the labour and expense involved in extraction are said 

 to be far in excess of the value of the product. In the Annual Report (1901-2) 

 of the Industrial Section, Indian Museum, mention is made of a sample of 

 kernels obtained from Kangra Valley which contained 63-6 of fat. Gamble says 

 " experiments have been made by Babu Birbal at Dehra Dun and the wax was 

 Cakes. extracted and made into cakes, but the process was tedious and the result not 



very satisfactory, so that the culture of the tree for wax is not recommended." 

 Further details regarding the manufacture, chemistry and trade in vegetable 

 Dye. tallow will be found in The Agricultural Ledger. The leaves afford a black DYE 



Timber. about which little is known. The WOOD is white and moderately hard. It is 



made into bedsteads, tables, toys, and has been suggested as suitable for printing- 

 blocks. [Cf. Braunt, Pract. Treat, on Anim. and Veg. Fats, 1888, 321 ; Andes, 

 Veg. Fats and Oils, 1897, 201-2 ; Kew Bull, 1897, 10, 54 ; 1899, 216-9 ; Thorpe, 

 Diet. Appl. Chem., 1900, iii., 31 ; Wright and Mitchell, Oils, Fats, etc., 1903, 502, 

 531 ; Hooper, Rept. Labor. 2nd. Mus., 1903-4, 26 ; Hosie, Prov. of Ssu'ch'uan, 

 1904, No. 5, 30, 46, etc.] 



SAUSSUREA LAPPA, C. B. Clarke; Fl, Br. Ind., iii., 376; 

 COMPOSITE. The Costus, kut, pachak, post-khai, rusta, ouplate, kostum, 

 changala, sepuddy, etc. A tall, stout herb, indigenous to the moist, open 

 slopes surrounding the valley of Kashmir, at an elevation of 8,000 to 9,000 

 feet, and found also in parts of the basins of the Chenab and Jhelum, at 

 10,000 to 13,000 feet. 



Costus root has been held in high repute as a medicine from remote times, 

 but its origin was for long obscure and was erroneously referred to Costus speeiasnft. 

 As with many other articles of merchandise, it came to be spoken of as obtained 

 from regions that were only emporia, not localities of production. Thus Garcia 

 de Orta (1563, Coll., xvii.) states that it grows in the region between Bengal, 

 Delhi and Cambay, and comes also from Chitore, whence it is brought to Cambay 

 and Ahmadabad and exported to Europe and parts of Africa. The roots are 

 actually dug up in large quantities in Kashmir, cut into small pieces and sent to 

 Calcutta and Bombay, whence the drug is exported chiefly to China and the Red 

 Sea. In Kashmir its collection is a State monopoly. Lawrence (Valley of 

 Kashmir, 1895, 77) says : " Every year a large amount of the roots of the sn*- 

 mttrfo, f,appa. is demanded by the State, and the villagers are obliged to bring a 

 certain weight, for which they receive Us. 4 per kJiarwdr from the State. The 

 root, which is known as chob-i-kot, is exported to India, and at present the mono- 

 poly in chob-i-kot is farmed out to a contractor for Re. 45,000 per annum." 



In addition to its medicinal properties it is a valuable perfume and largely 

 used in China as an incense. Is also said to be a good hairwash, having 

 the reputation of turning grey hair black. In Kashmir it is much employed 

 by shawl-merchants to protect their fabrics from moths and other insects. The 

 absence of this particular perfume was for some time made the test for 

 imitation shawls. [Cf. Clusius, Hist. Exot. PL, 1605, 204-6 ; Pharmacog. Ind. r 

 ii., 296-303; iii., 165, app. ; Henry, Econ. Sot. China, 1893, 19; Rept. Ind. 

 Hemp Drugs Comm., 1894, iii., 94 ; Ann. Rept. Ind. Mus. (Indust. Sec.), 1894-5, 

 33 ; Dutt, Mat. Med. Hind., 1900, 180-1.] 



SCHLEICHERA TRIJUGA, Willd. ; Fl Br. Ind., i., 681; 

 Gamble, Man. Ind. Timbs., 1902, 194-5 ; Brandis, Ind. Trees, 1906, 

 189-90 ; SAPINDACE.E. The Lac Tree, Kosumba, or Ceylon' Oak, kosum, 

 gausam, gosham, pusku, roatanga, paka, pdvd, pulachi, sagdi, chendala, 

 kassumar, kusumb, gyo, etc. A large deciduous tree, in the " dry chiefly 

 deciduous forests in the greater part of India, Burma and Ceylon, but 

 apparently absent from Bengal and Assam " (Gamble). Recent in- 

 vestigations have shown, however, that the tree does occur in Bengal 

 (especially Chota Nagpur), though not in Assam. 



Oil. The most valuable product of this tree is the OIL yielded by the seeds, which 



is used for culinary and lighting purposes, also as a hair-oil and in Native medicine. 



980 



Kashmir. 



State Demands. 



Perfume. 



Medicine. 



Protection from 

 Moth. 



D.E.P., 



vi., pt. ii., 

 487-8. 

 Lac Tree 



Kuswrib. 



