286. FOREST TEEES. 



State of tte air, are factors wliicli render the species 

 almost polymorpliic in character. 



Wood soft and useless. Weight about 35— 4U ib. 

 per cubic foot. The liber affords a fairly strong 

 war— fibre— and the outer bark is medicinal. Ele- 

 phants are supposed to be fond of the leaves, and 

 cattle eat them also when grass is not available. 

 Mr. Graham Anderson speaks highly of the. tree as 

 a shade for coffee. The following are his words :— 

 " This tree, with its long, dark green, glossy leaves, 

 may be said to be one of the finest for shade pur- 

 poses, in the forests of Mysore." 



Cultivation. — Propagate from seed and cuttings, 

 seedlings being preferred to obtain strong, shapely 

 growth. In general detail, the treatment required 

 is the same as for all the hardy figs. 



554 Ficus pumila, Ltott. 

 Fig-King. Fie. PI. 158. 



A climbing shrub with shortly petiolate, ovate, 

 to ovate-elHp tic leaves of different sizes, and large 

 pear-shaped fruit the size of a table fig. There is 

 a good specimen in the show-nursery of Messrs. 

 Munisami and Sons, the Bangalore florists, 



555 Ficus asperrima, Roxb. Kan. Gargatti, Gerguttee, 



Khargas- 



Fig.— Wight Ic. t. 633, 

 The sand paper tree. Not uncommon in the 

 upper parts of the Malnad, but not indigenous to the 

 maidan. A small or medium sized evergreen tree, 

 with all the young parts, especially the leaves, very 

 scabrous. Leaves crowded at the ends of the 

 branches, ovate to obovate or elliptic, average blade 

 2 J X 5 in., exceedingly rough, used for polishing 

 wood and steel. Fruit pedimculate, scabrous-hisped, 

 globular, the size of a small gooseberry, yellow or 

 purple when ripe, with yellow spots. Wood soft 

 and useless. Leaves commonly used., in Shimogai 



