410 LAURUS. 
It gushes out in such quantities, that several quarts may be obtained by a single 
incision."* 
Nearly allied to the same natural family are the genera Tectona and Vitex, 
the latter of which embraces several species of deciduous shrubs and trees, 
natives of the south of Europe, India, China, and of North America. The only 
hardy kind is the Vitex agnus-castus, indigenous to Sicily. The teak-tree, 
(Tectona grandis,) which is justly called the "oak of the east," abounds in the 
vast forests of Java, Ceylon, Malabar, Coromandel, &c, more especially in the 
Birman and Pegu empires. Its timber is considered superior to all others for 
ship-building. It is easily wrought, and at the same time is both strong and dura- 
ble. This tree, Mr. Royle informs us, has been planted as far north as Saha- 
runpore, in India, in about the same latitude as the northern parts of Old Califor- 
nia, and of the Canary Islands ; where, from their mountainous character, it is 
highly probable it might be cultivated with success. 
* See Nuttall's North American Sylva, p. 89. 
