136 A MANUAL OF THE COtflFEKj:. 



The strength and durability of the timber of the Deodar has been 

 already adverted to.* In addition to these qualities, the grain is fine, 

 and bears a high polish; the wood is also delightfully fragrant, and 

 free from the attacks of insects. So highly is Deodar timber prized 

 by the inhabitants of the Himalayas, that "although having within 

 their reach every variety of tree and its timber, they select that of the 

 Deodar, and prefer it to aU others for the construction of their 

 houses, temples, and bridges. It is used not only as timber is 

 commonly used, under cover, but for the verandahs, and the roof, 

 as well ■ as the exterior frame-work of the roof. Their bridges are 

 wooden bridges, formed of Deodar timbers overlapping each other, 

 until they meet in the centre, the other ends being steadied by 

 being sunk into the bank, and kept down by a great weight. In 

 Cashmere, the Deodar is also employed for making the piers of the 

 bridges on which the arches' rest, as well as for building houses and 

 mosques.'' f 



The excellence of Deodar timber is proved beyond all doubt; but 

 the inaccessible situation of the forests, and the cost of transport, are 

 at present insuperable obstacles to its general use in this country. 

 Whether the trees, growing in Britain will yield timber as good as 

 that afforded by native trees, can only be determined by time, and 

 as yet, no trees of sufficient age and size exist in this country to 

 furnish any criterion of the quality the timber may prove to possess 

 in its maturity. It must be remembered also, that the Deodars in 

 Great Britain are growing under climatal conditions very different from 

 what they are on the Himalayas, where " for nearly half the year 

 they are enveloped in snow, and where from the middle of March 

 to the middle of June there is considerable dryness in most of the 

 situations; from the middle of June to the middle of September there 

 is a cloudy atmosphere, almost continual rain, and great moisture of 

 the climate ; in autumn there is fine clear weather," { These changes 

 in the seasons of the Himalayan regions are said to recur with tolerable 

 constancy year after year; whereas, in Britain, in no two consecutive 

 years are the seasons precisely alike ; often they are very different. But 

 while the extremes of temperature occurring in the Himalayan regions 

 enable the Deodar to bear all the vicissitudes of our climate, it cannot 

 be safely inferred that the timber of the trees growing in this country 

 will equal that of the native forests. 



The specific name Deodara or Devadara, is a native word indicative 

 of the connection of the tree with sacred objects and worship. It is 

 said to be derived from two Sanscrit words: deva, a deity, and dara t 

 wood. 



* See page 17. 



t Report of Dr. Eoyle to Her Majesty's Commissioners of Works* 



J Dr. Eoyle, idem. 



