SANDAL 231 



its wood, which has long been used in India in religious ceremonies. 

 It was known in Europe in the eleventh century, and has been used 

 medicinally since the middle of the fifteenth century. 



The yellow sandal wood tree is a Government monopoly in Mysore, 

 whence nearly all the sandal wood of commerce is obtained. The 

 tree is plentiful, but must be grown slowly in arid situations upon 

 poor and stony soil to yield the largest proportion of oil. The tree 

 is uprooted and roughly deprived of its bark and part of the sapwood. 

 It is then taken to certain depots (of which there are nine in Mysore) 

 where the trunks are sawn into lengths of about a metre and trimmed, 

 and the roots are freed from bark. The logs are sent either direct 

 to London or by native craft to Bombay or other ports on the west 

 coast of India, whence they are exported to London. Periodical 

 auctions of the wood are held in Mysore, where also a certain amount 

 of oil is distilled. 



Description. Sandal wood logs are about a metre in length and 

 up to 15 or 20 cm. in diameter, consisting of the heartwood only of 

 the tree. This is yellowish or pale reddish in colour, hard, heavy, 

 and dense, but easily split. The transverse section shows alternating 

 lighter and darker zones ; the medullary rays, which are very fine 

 and close together, are visible under a lens ; the vessels are mostly 

 solitary, being only occasionally arranged in small radial groups. 



The wood has a slightly bitter taste, but strong, very fragrant 

 odour. 



In the yellow sandal wood the formation of heartwood is due to 

 the production of a volatile oil, not, as in the case of guaiacum or red 

 sandal wood, of a resin, or, as in the case of logwood, of a mixture 

 of resin, tannin, and colouring matter. The volatile oil is found in 

 all the elements of the wood ; it is not secreted by or contained in any 

 particular cells or glands. 



The student should observe 



(a) The pale colour, 



(b) The characteristic odour and taste, 



(c) The vessels usually single. 



Constituents. The only important constituent of the wood is 

 the volatile oil (sp. gr. 0-973 to 0-985 ; O.R.'- 13 to - 21), of which 

 it yields from 2 to 5 per cent. The chief constituent of the oil is the 

 alcohol santalol, C 15 H 26 0, (probably a mixture of a- and T /3-santalols), 

 of which it contains over 90 per cent. 



Uses. The wood is used as a source of the volatile oil, and technic- 

 ally for the manufacture of various articles. Sandal wood oil is a 

 stimulant and disinfectant of the whole genito-urinary tract. 



Varieties. West Indian Sandal wood, Amyris balsamifera, Linne 

 (N.O. Burseracece) ; vessels in radial groups ; sp. gr. of volatile oil 



