THE TAMAKIND TREE 



TAMARINDUS 



INOICA 



Tamarind 



The following statement classifies the foreign exports from India during 

 the past three years : 



Electric 

 Appliances. 



D.E.P., 



vi., pt. iii., 



404-9. 



Tamarind. 



Qualities. 



Seasons. 



Action of the 

 Leaves. 



Planting. 

 Sowing. 



Gum. 



Dye. 

 Oil. 



It will thus be seen that during the years 1903-6 the exports of shell-lac 

 have increased by 12'56 per cent, in quantity and by 2T63 per cent, in 

 value, while button-lac has correspondingly expanded by 22 '1 per cent, 

 in quantity and 14/75 per cent, in value. On the other hand, the traffic in 

 the raw material has, if anything, declined. Everything points to a con- 

 tinued expansion of the traffic in connection with the necessities of electric 

 appliances. 



TAMARINDUS INDICA, Linn. ; Fl. Br. Ind., ii., 273 ; Gamble, 

 Man. Ind. Timbs., 1902, 278-9 ; Prain, Beng. Plants, 1903, i., 444 ; Brandis, 

 Ind. Trees, 1906, 252-3 ; Hooper, Agri. Ledg., 1907, No. 2 ; LEGUMINOS^E. 

 The Tamarind Tree, amli, tintiri, tintul, koya, puli, chinta, jojo, chinch, neddi, 

 shenta, sitta, Jcarangi, hunase, magyi, etc. A large evergreen tree, culti- 

 vated in India and Burma as far north as the Jhelum, in the Central 

 Provinces, Central India, and many parts of Southern India ; it is also 

 found self-sown in waste and forest lands. Is said to be indigenous in 

 Africa. According to Dutt, it was known to the Arabs as Tamare-Hindi, 

 from which is derived Tamarind. 



Firminger (Man. Gard. Ind. (ed. Cameron), 254-5) speaks of three sorts (1) 

 the sour-fruited, (2) the sweetish fruited, and (3) the red-fruited. The last- 

 named has the pulp of a rose-red colour and is considered the best, being the 

 kind always employed, when obtainable, for preserving. It flowers in April and 

 May, and yields its fruit in the cold season. The Natives have an aversion to 

 sleeping under its shade because of the supposed acid exhalation from the leaves. 

 On this subject, Gamble writes me : " I can testify that the leaves of the tamarind 

 corrode the cloth of tents pitched under their shade. This happens in wet 

 weather. The leaves fall on the tents, and in a day or two the cloth is decom- 

 posed in holes." Regarding cultivation, Woodrow says : " This tree delights in 

 a deep alluvial soil, and in such a position forms one of the most handsome 

 landscape trees in this country ; but it will also grow on decayed trap soils where 

 few trees will thrive without free watering. For planting get a hole at least 

 3 feet deep and 3 feet wide prepared, fill to 6 inches above the surface with 

 good soil mixed with some old manure. Let the surface be raised at the sides, 

 so as to prevent water running off, and sow a few seeds at the beginning of the 

 rains, then protect them with some thorny branches, which should be afterwards 

 removed, the surface stirred, and the thorny branches replaced once in three 

 nionths." 



Properties and Uses. It yields a dirty GUM of no value, and according to Prebble, 

 old trees are sometimes seen to have a liquid exudation consisting of calcium oxalate 

 (Pharmacog. Ind., i., 533 ; Kanny Lall Dey, Indig. Drugs, Ind., 1896, 310). An 

 infusion of the leaves is believed to yield a red DYE and to impart a yellow shade 

 to cloth previously dyed with indigo (Atkinson). Leaves, flowers and fruits are 

 also employed as auxiliaries in dyeing, especially with safflower. An Oil. of an 



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