SANTALACE.E. 221 



short ; segineuts 4, triani^ular, sharp, spreadiug, fleshy, straw colored, chaugiug 

 to purple ; stameus 4, opposite the segments of the perianth ; filaments sliort, 

 inserted on tlie mouth of tlie perianth, alternating with the erect lobes; 

 anthers short, 2-celled ; style tliread-like ; stigma small, .'i-4-lobed, on a level 

 with the antliers. Fruit tlie size of a pea, bearing a sort of crown, which is 

 the remains of the perianth, nearly black, nut hard and bony, with 3 ridges 

 extending lialf way down from tlie top. 



There are. eight species, tliree of which, besides tlie S. album, yield an oil 

 and perfume, but of an inferior quality to that of the S. album. 



2. S. myrtifolium, East Indies. 



3. S. yasi, Fiji Islands. 



4. S. Freycinetianum, Sandwich Islands, 



Geography. — The geographical range is tropical and subtropical, in Asia, 

 Malaysia, and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Farther India and China pro- 

 duce most of the w^ood that reaches England and America. 



Etymology. — Santalum, the generic name, is the Latinized form of the 

 Persian name, said to come from the Sanskrit chandana, sandal, the tree. 

 The word chand signifies "shine," hence the shining 

 tree. Album, the specific name, is the Latin for white. 

 iSandal-ivood, the popular name, signifies "shining wood," 

 due to the light color of the sap-wood. 



History. — This tree is a native of the East Indies, 

 and is highly prized ou account of its fragrance. The 

 use of sandal-wood dates as far back at least as the fifth 

 century b. c, for the wood is mentioned under its San- 

 skrit name "chandana" in the Nlrukta, the earliest 

 extant Vedic commentary. It is still extensively used 

 in India and China, wherever Buddhism prevails, being Santalum Ai-Briw 

 employed in funeral rites and religious ceremonies ; (Sandal-wood Tree), 

 comparatively poor people often spend as much as fiftv 



rupees on sandal-wood for a single cremation. Until the middle of the eigh- 

 teenth century India was the only source of sandal-wood. When it became 

 known to the western or European nations we have no means of knowing; 

 mo.'^t likely the wood was introduced into commerce very early, increasing 

 as the means of conveyance improved. The discovery of sandalwood in the 

 islands of the Pacific led to a considerable trade of a somewhat piratical 

 nature, resulting in difficulties with the natives, often ending in bloodshed, 

 the celebrated missionary John Williams, amongst others, having fallen a 

 victim to an indiscriminate retaliation l)y the natives on white men visiting 

 the islands. The loss of life in this trade was at one time even greater than 

 in that of whaling, with which it ranked as one of the most adventurous 

 of callings About the year 1810 as much as four hundred thon.sind dollars 

 is said to have boon received annually for .>^andal-wood by Kaniehameha, King 

 of Hawaii. The trees con.se(|iiently have become almost extinct in all the well- 

 known islands, except New Caledonia, where the wood is now cultivated. 



/^reparation. — The tree is projiagated by seeds, which must be placed 

 wh(;re they are intended to grow, since the seedlings will not bear trans- 

 jdantation, ])robably on account of deriving their nourishment parasiti- 

 cally by means of tuberous swellings attached to the roots of other i>lants 

 The trees are cut down when between eighteen and twenty-five years old, 

 when thev have attained their maturitv, the trunks l)eing about one foot 



