XXI.J THE TOON OR THITKADO. 209 



South, Central, and Bengal districts, with purple-streaked 

 heart, but somewhat hard to work, owing to its tough 

 cross-grain. It is an extremely beautiful furniture 

 wood, and has fetched high prices in Europe, where it 

 has been exported from plantations in Malabar and 

 Kanara. It has also been recommended for parquet 

 work. Excellent sleepers have been made from it in 

 Mysore. 



PADOUK, OR ANDAMAN RED-WOOD, 



is the timber of Pterocarpus indicus, a tall leguminous 

 tree of Burmah and the Andaman Islands. The dark 

 red, close-grained heart-wood is hard, and slightly 

 aromatic, and works fairly well. It is reported to be 

 the most useful wood of the Andamans, and valuable 

 for furniture and other cabinet work, and is highly 

 recommended for railway- carriage work, resembling 

 Teak in some respects. It has fetched excellent prices 

 in Europe. 



P. santalinus, the Red Sanders Wood, is from an 

 allied tree of South India, and commonly employed for 

 dyeing. P. Marsupium should also be noted as a useful 

 and handsome timber of Southern and Central India. 



THE TOON OR THITKADO [Cedrela Toona). 



Of a less useful character, but still of considerable 

 value, is the Thitkado, the Toon of India [Cedrela 

 Toona), a kind of bastard Cedar, which yields timber 1 1 

 to 26 inches square, and 14 to 40 feet in length. 



The wood is of a pale red colour, clean and straight 

 in the grain, moderately hard, and not difficult to work ; 

 it is very fragrant and durable, and is often known as 

 Moulmein Cedar. It is not a true Cedar, in the 



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