362 LX. VERBENACE^E. [Tectona. 



had for the most part been felled green. This supposition is confirmed by the 

 circumstance that a considerable portion of the timber formerly exported from 

 Kangoon consisted of large planks (Shinbyin) not sawn, but split from green 

 trees. It has even been asserted that the Teak trees in Burma are tapped for 

 oil, but this is not the case ; and the idea probably originated in the circum- 

 stance that wood-oil is largely obtained in Burma by the tapping of several 

 species of Dipterocarpus. It will, however, require direct experiments to 

 establish the fact that the wood of girdled trees contains less oil than the 

 wood of trees felled green. 



The great drawback of Teak is, that the centre of the heart is rarely sound, 

 but that a more or less irregular hollow, often surrounded by unsound wood, 

 runs along the axis of the tree. This peculiarity Teak has in common with 

 other Indian woods, but perhaps to a somewhat greater extent. The mischief 

 is probably mainly caused by the annual fires, which scorch and often burn the 

 bark of young trees, for it is well known that all such external injuries are 

 apt to induce decay in the heart of the tree. An additional cause in the case 

 of Teak may be the large mass of pith in the centre of young stems, and 

 particularly in coppice-shopts, which, as explained above, are the beginning of 

 most Teak trees in the natural forests of India. This supposition, however, 

 requires confirmation by further researches ; at present it is nothing but a sur- 

 mise which appears to have some probability. So much appears certain, that a 

 very rapid growth of the tree during its first few years in Teak plantations is 

 no matter for congratulation, for in such luxuriant shoots the pith is often \ in. 

 square or more, and it is often inhabited by insects, which bore through from 

 the outside, admitting air and foreign substances, and thus facilitate decay. 

 The comparative value of rapidly and slow grown Teak has not yet been deter- 

 mined in a satisfactory manner. It is well known that the rapidly-grown Oak 

 produced on' alluvial soil in South and Central Europe is for many purposes 

 considered equal, if not superior, in value to the slow-grown timber of Northern 

 France and Germany, or of England. It seems, however, to be a fact, estab- 

 lished by experience at the Bombay dockyard, that the fast-grown saplings of 

 the Malabar plantations are less valuable for oars than the slow-grown poles 

 produced in the coppice- woods of Severndroog and Colaba. 



The various uses of Teak are well known. In India, Teak is prized for 

 construction and shipbuilding beyond any other timber, though for certain 

 purposes other woods are preferred. In Europe it is used for railway-car- 

 riages, for the decks of ships, and the backing of ironclads ; and the demand for 

 this excellent timber has in no way been diminished by the circumstance that 

 iron has superseded timber for the building of ships generally. Eangoon and 

 Moulmein are at present the principal places whence Teak is exported, and the 

 following statement shows the quantities of Teak timber, in loads or tons of 50 

 cub. ft., brought to those two ports from the interior during the last five years 

 for which data are available : 



From British Forests. Foreign. Total. 



Tons. Tons. Tons. 



1867-68 33,104. 88,018. 121,122. 



1868-69, 52,258. 76,903. 129,161. 



1869-70, 39,843. 52,157. 92,000. 



1870-71, 57,086. 82,484. 139,570. 



1871-72, 52,125. 98,409. 150,534. 



The leaves of Teak are used as plates, to wrap up parcels, and for thatching ; 

 they contain a red dye. The wood rubbed with water on a stone to the consist- 

 ence of a thin paste, allays the pain and inflammation caused by handling the 

 black varnish (Thit-si) of Melanorhcea usitatissima. Flowers and the young 

 fruit are believed to be diuretic (Pharm. Ind. 164). 



