1841.] the Pundeelah River. 517 



on the animal kingdom, we must be slow to deny its power on the less 

 perfectly organized vegetable, and hence we must regard this practice 

 as not the mere result of ignorance or prejudice ; but must class it 

 in the catalogue of facts to be investigated. With teak, however, it 

 is remarkable that no period of the moon is observed, being cut 

 without reference to any such time, as they allege that the oil contained 

 in it, is protection sufficient against the common casualties to which 

 other timber is subject. 



At Teroo, the teak is barked, squared, and dried. From the beginning 

 of the rains until February it is floated down in rafts, and landed princi- 

 pally at Madhapore, although still a certain quantity passes on to Eaja- 

 mundry and Masulipatam. The raft consists of three tiers of wood 

 placed across each other, and firmly bound together with ropes of the 

 liber of the Bauhinia parvijlora and JButea superba. They are con- 

 ducted by persons of the bearer caste, and usually take six or eight days 

 to reach their destination to Madhapore from Eeroo, although sometimes 

 the voyage is accomplished in a couple of days. The timbers are 

 there classed according to their size : — 



1st. — The Mowhoont, twenty-four to thirty feet in a length, with 

 breadth and depth of eighteen inches. A log like this requires a bandy 

 (hackery) with from six to eight bullocks for its conveyance. 



2nd. — Doolkahoont. This also is a large timber ; but shorter than 

 the preceding, and not so thick. 



3rd. — Danpet. Common wood for beams and deals. 

 4th. — Sarmundum. A smaller timber than the last, used for the 

 same purposes. 



All other kinds are classed under Dunta for the larger, and Kurry 

 for the smaller. The carts for conveying the wood are strong and 

 well built ; their axle trees are of the wood of the Conocarpus latifolia, 

 and the wheels solid and without spokes of the Pentaptera tomentosa. 

 Considering the variety of soils they have to traverse before reaching 

 their destination, they are well adapted for their object ; they take fifty 

 days to reach Hyderabad, and it was stated to me, on what I consider 

 tolerable authority, that the price for conveying sixty square feet of teak 

 from Madhapore to Hyderabad, was not much under five rupees ! From 

 eight hundred to a thousand carts are annually despatched with teak 



from Madhapore ; the Brinjarries convey the smaller kinds. 



3 T 



