TRINCOMALI WOOD 



Alternative Names. Halmillilla in Ceylon : Petwoon in Bur- 

 mah (37). Katamanakku in Ceylon (12). 



Sources of Supply. South India, Ceylon and Burmah (37). 

 East Indies (131). 



Physical Characters, etc. Weight 48-65 Ib. per cu. ft. Hard- 

 ness Grade 3, very hard, compare Blackthorn. Smell and taste 

 none. Burns with a lively, crackling flame : embers glow in still 

 air : ash pure white. Solution with water or alcohol colourless. 



Grain. Very fine, dense and even. Surface lustrous, the 

 brightness being due to the ground tissue and the shining drops : 

 feels slightly damp even when really dry : does not soil easily. 

 Bark. "Thin" (37). 



Uses, etc. " Masula-boats, spear-handles : is considered a 

 valuable building timber in Ceylon. A large tree " (37). Fissile, 

 works very sweetly, finishes well, is of good appearance, splits 

 easily, straight and cleanly. I have not heard of this wood being 

 sold in England, but it is one that deserves attention from its 

 many excellent qualities. " Tough, elastic " (131). 



Authorities. Gamble (37), p. 52. Watt (127), vol. i. p. 448. 

 Balfour (7). Wiesner (131), i. 6. p. 108. 



Colour. Light to dark red, quite uniform : the heart-wood 

 well defined from the light yellow or brown sap-wood which is 

 about i inch wide. 



Anatomical Characters. Transverse section : 

 Pores. Visible clearly without lens : Medium, size 3 : variable : 

 evenly distributed, often in short, subdivided, radial lines con- 

 sisting of a large pore followed by others gradually decreasing 

 in size : 5-8 groups or 60-80 pores per sq. mm. : often containing 

 resin or gum. 



Rays. Scarcely visible : fine, size 5 : nearly straight : long 

 and not often tapering : uniform in breadth : very slightly 

 denser than the ground-tissue : very numerous, 7-12 per mm. 

 Rings. Apparently distinct, but cannot be located with the 

 lens (see below) : lightly undulating in contour : some variation 

 in shade from zone to zone. 



Soft-tissue. Abundant in concentric, interrupted lines almost 

 as fine as the rays : linking the pores which are also encircled 

 by soft-tissue of the same nature. 



Radial Section. The pores appear as fine scratches filled with 

 brown " Thyloses " (see p. xvii.) : the rays as minute, incon- 

 spicuous, brown flakes : the rings are indistinguishable : the 

 soft-tissue requires the lens and forms a net-work over the whole 

 surface in close parallel lines at right angles to the direction of 

 the pores. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays appear as 

 minute, very obscure, brown lines about 0*5 mm. high. 



17 c 



