146 CASHEW-NUT TREE. 



purposes. The wood is soft, and only used for firing. 

 Whether this tree would grow beyond the influence 

 of the sea-breeze, I know not, but it is worthy of 

 experiment; and I believe you have them in the 

 neighbourhood of Cuttack, which is a considerable 

 distance from the sea, but scarcely beyond the 

 influence of its breezes. There is a large plantation 

 of Pulang trees at Satparrah ; they were planted by 

 Mr. Wilkinson on account of Government on some 

 waste lands in that neighbourhood, and will, in a 

 few years more, yield a very handsome return on 

 the original outlay. 



" Anacardium occidentale, (cashew-nut,) called by 

 the natives NonJcar Ambo. Like the Pulang this tree 

 delights in a poor sandy soil, and is found growing 

 wild. I have been informed, that in some parts 

 of the Madras territories, where the trees abound, 

 many lives have been saved in times of famine, by 

 the people subsisting on the cashew-nut. Query, 

 might not the convicts be usefully employed in ex- 

 tending the cultivation of these trees on waste 

 land ? The plants would require no care when they 

 had once taken root, save a fence to protect them 

 from cattle, while young. The cultivation of the 

 cashew-nut is never likely to be effected by the 



