96 FOREST TREES. 



plish-black. Reduced to a paste on a wet slab, the 

 coloured wood is used to smear the body during 

 ablutional and religious ceremonies ; and it is chiefly 

 on this account that it has become associated with 

 real sandalwood, Santalum album. "The wood is of a 

 fine red colour and beautifully streaked, very hard 

 and heavy, — Weight about 76 lb. per cubic foot, and 

 sufficiently heavy to sink in water — and takes a 

 fine polish ; it is much used and highly prized by 

 the natives for building purposes and for turnery in 

 Madras and the districts in which it grows ; it is also 

 largely exported from Madras as a dye wood, and 

 used as ballast ; it is a very small tree, not often 

 found over 3-| or 4 feet in girth and about 20 to 25 

 feet in height, the largest trees reach 4^ feet in girth 

 but are then much heart shaken or hollow. The lar- 

 gest tree in our plantations is five years old, and is 

 18 feet 5 inches high and 9 inches in girth. A bandy- 

 load of selected logs will sell for as much as 200 

 rupees, i. e., 20 logs at 10 rupees each ; the roots and 

 stumps used for dyeing purposes, sell at 6 to 9 rupees 

 the 1,000 lbs. The cattle during the dry season are 

 much fed upon the leaves of this 'tree, and young 

 saplings are often bodily cut down by thousands by 

 the cowherds. " Beddome. 



Red Sanders wood is not attacked by white ants, 

 and it is well known in Europe as an ingredient in 

 French polish. 



Cultivation-— Propagate from seed gathered in 

 June. The usual practice is to sow the entire pod, 

 containing one or two seeds, after steeping it for 24 

 hours in water ; it is then pressed firmly into the 

 soil edge-Avise, so that the wings are at right angles 

 to the surface. Treated in this way, all the fertile 

 seeds will germinate within 20 to 25 days. But seed- 

 lings are delicate during the first six months of their 

 existence, and over-watering during that period 

 would have the same disastrous result as giving no 



