N. 0. SIMARUBE^. 293 



" The Bosiuellia serrata (Salai) gumresin enquiry is now approaching a 

 definite conclusion. During the year samples of the oil and rosin, products 

 of steam distillation, were forwarded for valuation to the Imperial Institute, 

 London. The report on these has been received and is to the effect that the 

 oil closely resembles American Turpentine Oil except as regards smell and is 

 of excellent quality and will readily command a market, the rosin on the 

 other hand is of poor quality, the defects being low saponification value and 

 bad odour. Another experiment is now being carried out under the solvent 

 process. The quality of the gum and resin produced by this process appears 

 to be far superior to that produced by steam distillation and samples are 

 therefore being forwarded to the Imperial Institute for a further report. 



As regards the prospects of an industry arising from the tapping of 

 Boswellia it cannot be said that these are at present very hopeful, the chief 

 obstacles being the relatively small amount of resin exuded and consequently 

 the high cost of the crude product. Reports from the local forest officers also 

 indicate that tapping may permanently damage the trees so that investiga- 

 tion on this point, viz., whether the trees are damaged by tapping, as well as 

 the best of methods of tapping to obtain the maximum yield is to be under- 

 taken during the coming working season." Annual Report of the Board of 

 Scientific advice for India, 1914-15 pp. 128-129. 



253. — Garuga pinnata, Roxb. h. f. b. l, i. 528 ; 

 Roxb. 370. 



Vevn> : — Kurak (Bomb.); Kusimba also kakad (Concan) ; 

 Garuga or gam goo (Tel.) ; Joom (B.) 



Habitat : — Throughout India. 



A large, deciduous tree. Bark lin. thick, soft red inside, 

 grey or brown outside, exfoliating in large irregularly shaped 

 scales. Wood variable : sapwood white, large ; heartwood 

 reddish brown, moderately hard, even-grained. Pores large, not 

 numerous, often subdivided, sometimes filled with resin. Medul- 

 lary rays short, moderately broad, on a radial section, visible 

 as narrow horizontal plates, and giving a pretty silvergrain 

 (Gamble). Young shoots and inflorescence grey pubescent. 

 Leaves imparipinnate, crowded near the ends of the branches. 

 Leaflets 0-9 pair, opposite or nearly so ; lanceolate, or ovate- 

 lanceolate, crenate. Flowers j^ellow, or pale-yellow, in axillary 

 panicles, several at the end of branches. Calyx campanulate, 

 10-ribbed, 5-cleft, lined by a thin disk, with a crenate margin, 

 on the edges of which the 5 petals and 10 stamens are 



