ON THE PRODUCTS OP THE PEA FAMILY. 271 



lected by making incisions in the stem, when the resin flows freely in a 

 fluid state, but quickly hardens, becoming very brittle, and of a deep 

 red colour. It is very astringent, and is used for tannin, as also in medi- 

 cine. We receive it packed in wooden boxes of from one to three cwts. 

 each, chiefly from Bombay or Tellicherry. Kino is met with in commerce 

 procured from other sources than that of the Pterocarpus, as, for instance, 

 from Butea frondosa, before mentioned, and in New South Wales, from 

 the Eucalyptus resinifera. The tree furnishes a valuable timber, said to 

 be little inferior to Teak, and is employed for building purposes in India. 

 The Red Sanders wood of commerce, sometimes called Ruby wood, is the 

 produce of Pterocarpus santalinus, Lin. fil. It is of a very dark red with 

 black veins, susceptible of a high polish, and so dense as to sink in water. 

 Its chief use is for the extraction of its dye, as a colouring agent in 

 medicine, and occasionally for ornamental work, or for turning. It yields 

 a kind of resin or dragon's blood. The Indians use the powdered wood 

 in medicine in various complaints. Our supplies come chiefly from Cal- 

 cutta, in logs perforated at one end as if for attaching a rope, and worn 

 from apparently being dragged on the ground. The wood of Pterocarpus 

 erinaceus, Lam., called African rosewood, is of a remarkably dark and 

 beautiful colour, well adapted for choice cabinet work, as it takes a high 

 polish. This tree grows plentifully on the Gambia, where a resin is ob- 

 tained from it called Kino, somewhat resembling that from P. marsupium, 

 though, perhaps, not of so deep a colour, or bright a fracture. The wood 

 called Andaman Red wood is furnished by P. dalbergioides, Roxb. It some- 

 what resembles mahogany, but of a coarser grain ; the root being the most 

 beautiful part on account of its variegated and curled appearance. May 

 this not be the same tree that furnishes the Amboyna wood, or Kiabooca 

 of commerce ? The beautiful curls and knots in this wood at once 

 stamp it as a burr or root ; it is obtained from the Islands of Ceram, Borneo, 

 and the East Indies. By some it has been referred to Pterospermum Indicum, 

 by others to Pterocarpus draco, L. This latter assertion seems the most pro- 

 bable ; indeed, there can be very little doubt that it is produced by a spe- 

 cies of Pterocarpus, but of which it is impossible to say. Can any reader 

 of the Technologist enlighten us ? The heart of the wood of Macherium 

 Schomburgkii, known in British Guiana by the native appellation of 

 " Itikiribourraballi," or Tiger wood, on account of its mottled appear- 

 ance, is used in cabinet-work and is a very beautiful wood. 



From the seeds of Pongamia glabra, Vent., an oil is expressed used in 

 India for external application in cutaneous diseases, and likewise for burn- 

 ing in lamps, as well as in veterinary practice. The leaves are eaten by 

 cattle, and the wood is employed for various purposes ; it is light, and 

 possesses no beauty for ornamental work. The stem of Lonchocarpus 

 nicou, De., is employed by the natives of British Guiana for poisoning fish ; 

 they beat it into a coarse fibre, from which an infusion is made ; this is 

 then thrown into the water where the fish abound : they soon become 

 intoxicated from the effects of the poison, and float on the surface, from 



