238 FOREST TEEES. 



and fancy wood it is unrivalled, and no other 

 wood commands sucli a high price in the open 

 market. G^he annexed table gives the outturn 

 of sandal in Mysore with the revenue derived there- 

 from during the past five years. When matured 

 or dead, the sandal trees are collected depart- 

 mently, and conveyed to a number of conveni- 

 ently placed Depots or Kotis, where they are finally 

 dressed, sized, classified, weighed and stored, in 

 readiness for the annual auction sales which usually 

 take place during the two last months of the ealendtir 

 year, and are so arranged that buyers can travel 

 comfortably, and without much loss. of time, from 

 one Depot to the other, beginning at Sagar in the 

 north-west of the province and ending at Hunsur in 

 the south. There are at present eight Kotis, of 

 which Shimoga possesses three, Mysore two, and 

 the other districts one each. Further details will 

 be found in the annexed map showing the approxi- 

 mate distribution of Santalum alburn within the 

 territories of Mysore. 



The sandal thus disposed of, amounting to about 

 2,000 tons annually, finds its way mostly to Bombay, 

 and thence in varying quantities to China, France, 

 Germany, and a few other countries. A large 

 quantity is retained in India for pu.rposes of crema- 

 tion, for consumption in the fire temples of the 

 Parsis, for the extraction of oil, and for domestic and 

 temple functions. A much smaller quantity enters 

 into the local industries of carving and distilling. The 

 dead or fully matured root of the tree contains the 

 largest percentage of oil, and is preferably used for 

 the extraction of that valuable product. 



" By the Indian process only 2*5 per cent of 

 oil is obtained from the wood, " while the article is 

 badly coloured and always very impure ; " but the 

 powerful apparatus of Messrs, Schimmel' & Co. of 

 Jjeipzig affords as pmch as 5 per ceTit, " Pure sandal 



