MTSOiSE ANDOOOEG. 139 



the hills it attains a large size, but gradually becomes 

 smaller as it extends into the drier eastern region. 

 Bindiga is generally looked upon as a useful timber, 

 although in exposed and heavy works it is not dura- 

 ble. As a fuel and charcoal tree, it is one of the best in 

 the province. Sapwood predominating, yellow; heart- 

 wood small, purplish-brown, tough, elastic, and very 

 hard : but it warps and splits in seasoning, and 

 requires to be kept quite dry to last. Weight 

 62 — 65 lb. per cubic foot. The gum, which exudes 

 from the bark copiously, is used by calico-printers 

 to mix with certain dye stuffs and is commercially 

 the most important product of the tree. The green 

 leaves are rich in tannic acid and are employed by 

 the local chucklers to tan raw hides. 



This utiHty of the leaf deserves every encourage- 

 ment, as by a proper system of thinning the supply 

 of leaves from the State forests would practically 

 become inexhaustible. The three varieties of the 

 species enumerated by the " Flora of British India," 

 are mostly determinable from each other by the size, 

 iorm, and texture of the leaf. { 



Cultivation.— As regards size, it has been said 

 that the moist valleys skirting the "Western Grhats, 

 and mostly composed of a rich alluvial soil, afford 

 the best situation. But on the other hand the 

 smaller tree of the eastern maidan region, growing 

 in a poorer soil and sparingly watered, is superior 

 in quality, the wood being harder, the gum more 

 abundant, and the leaf richer in tannic acid. Although 

 not very productive from seed, the Dindiga ttrows 

 up numerous offsets and suckers which replace the 

 parent trunk. 

 278 Anogeissus acuminata, Wale. 



This species should be found on the northern 

 frontier. It is a large or small tree according to posi- 

 tion and variety, of which latter there are several. 



