INDIA, BURMA, AND ANDAMAN ISLANDS 1(57 



as well as for tar and pitch, is obtained from the trunk. 

 Chir pine is often palmed off as deodar on the unwary, 

 but the latter possesses no resin ducts. Its durability is 

 shown by its having existed for hundreds of years in some 

 of the mosques and in old bridges. 

 Weight 37 to 45 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



Indian Ebony (Dlospyros ebenaster), a tree of medium 

 height and seldom more than 8 to 12 inches in diameter, 

 is found in great profusion in Bengal, Coromandel, and 

 Ceylon. It is the chief ebony-yielding tree, and the only 

 one giving a black wood without other markings, although 

 occasionally it is striated with lighter markings. The rings 

 are scarcely recognisable, and it takes a high polish. The 

 sap wood, which is of a dingy grey colour, is a good deal 

 used for door frames. The heartwood is made into furni- 

 ture, and also for the axles of carts, for which it is admir- 

 ably fitted by its extreme hardness, toughness, and strength. 

 Besides being used for ornamental furniture it is also used 

 for ceilings, wood carving, etc., and in Europe for turnery, 

 cabinet work, keys of pianos, and rulers. It comes into the 

 market generally as logs, and is sold by the ton. 



Weight often exceeding 70 Ibs. per cubic foot. 



Palmyra Palm (Borassns flabelliformis) grows in India, 

 Burma, and Ceylon, and is the only timber growing in the 

 Jaffna district, of about 400 square miles in area, in the 

 north of Ceylon. The tree grows to a height of about 

 60 ft., perfectly straight and of uniform diameter almost 

 perfectly circular from 10 to 14 inches a few feet above 

 the ground ; the wood is very dark. Although consisting 

 largely of pith, it is sufficiently strong to stand driving 

 as piles in bridge-work, and was used for this purpose 

 many years ago by Mr. H. Byrne, M.I.C.E., instead 



