372 THE SANDAL WOOD OP THE SOUTH-SEA ISLANDS. 



Indian one. Thus two kinds have been described as inhabiting the Sand- 

 wich Islands (S. Freycinetiaum and S. pauiculanum), and are not met with 

 elsewhere, and to my own certain knowledge, the sandal-wood trees of Feejee, 

 Aneiteum, and the Isle of Pines, constitute three distinct species, which I 

 believe are yet undescribed, rendering it probable that there are several 

 other kinds in the South Sea Islands quite as distinct, but yet to be 

 botanically described. It must be borne in mind, that samples of the 

 wood alone are not sufficient to enable one to decide specific differences ; 

 for this purpose it is necessary to examine the leaves, flowers, fruit, &c. 



The sandal-wood tree is not found on all the islands of the Pacifie, its 

 head quarters would ajmear to be among those of the south-western portion, 

 including New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands, New Hebrides, Espirito 

 Santo, and some others. In the Feejee Islands, which have produced 

 several thousand tons within the last thirty years, the tree has become 

 very scarce. For instance, at Ovaiati, all the natives and white residents 

 whom I spoke to on this subject, agreed that it was no longer to be found 

 there, so that I considered myself fortunate in one day stumbling on a 

 small sandal wood sapling, growing in the interior of that island, which 

 still more fortunately was in a condition to furnish flowering specimens for 

 my collection. Precisely the same thing happened at Aneiteum, where the 

 only growing sandal-wood tree I ever saw during numerous excursions, was 

 one so small as not to have been deemed worth cutting down. 



And at the Isle of Pines so exhausted had the supply of sandal wood 

 become, that the natives had actually taken to grubbing up the roots of 

 trees cut down in the earlier days of the trade, and all my efforts to obtain 

 a section of the wood might have been ineffectual had not accident led 

 me to the tree which furnished me with a specimen. Even then, owing 

 to its increased value, I had difficulty in obtaining permission to cut it 

 down, owing to the absence of the chief, to whom it was requisite to 

 make suitable compensation. It is only the central portion of the tree 

 which produces the scented yellow wood, constituting the sandal wood of 

 commerce. The trunk and larger branches cut into lengths of from three 

 to six feet, and the whole of the bark and outer white wood is removed 

 with the axe, an operation technically called cleaning. 



Thus, a log a foot in diameter is reduced to a billet, only from four to 

 six inches thick. The quality of the wood depends on the quantity of oil 

 contained in it, as indicated by the smell when freshly cut or burned. The 

 old trees produce the best, and in them, that part of the wood near the 

 root is the most prized. From want of data, I have no means of estimat- 

 ing the amount of capital sunk in the sandal wood trade ; the profits, how- 

 ever, I have reason to believe, are sometimes enormous. But while this 

 trade is a lucrative one, the risks are very great, both to lives and property 

 embarked in it. Probably about twenty-five small vessels connected with 

 Sydney, are engaged in the sandal wood trade, with which is combined the 

 collection of tortoiseshell, cocoa-nut oil, beche-de-mer, yams, pigs, &c. It is 

 also the means of introducing among the islands, large quantities of what 



