104 SPURIOUS SANDx\L WOOD. 



Oahu, (Sandwich Islands,) in December, 1829. 

 Two large pieces of the Naiho, deprived of the 

 sap, were collected for me, and had been placed 

 in the yard of a mercantile gentleman previously 

 to my taking them on board. At this time there 

 was some sandal-wood, of small size, weighing 

 in the yard, to be sent on board an American 

 ship about to sail for Canton. The supercargo, 

 who was superintending the weighing, seeing 

 these pieces, mistook them for sandal-wood ; 

 and, anxious to secure two such large pieces 

 among the small kind which he had purchased, 

 placed them in the scales, and they were sent 

 on board with the rest, the person engaged in 

 weighing being also ignorant of the difference. 

 This circumstance was not discovered until some 

 time after the ship had sailed : engaged in other 

 pursuits, I had for some time forgotten my 

 wood ; but on inquiring for it, its disappearance 

 was accounted for, after some time, by the cause 

 just related. I was informed that a cargo of this 

 wood was taken by an American ship to Canton ; 

 and, on its arrival there, it was only considered 

 fit for firewood. 



The name of a " spurious sandal-wood" is a 

 source of alarm to those who, engaged in pur- 

 chasing sandal-wood, are not able to judge of 



