476 



DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



stipules. Flowers large, axillary, and solitary, or in racemes. 

 Calyx tubular. Petals and stamens 5 each, the latter dis- 

 tinct or united in bundles. Fruit leathery, 3-valved, contain- 

 ing a winged seed. 



This family consists of about 50 species, natives of India, 

 Java, and the Malayan Islands, where they form the largest 

 trees of the forest. They contain a resinous secretion. 



Sumatra Camphor (Dryohalanops Camphora). A native of 

 Sumatra and Borneo, the juice of which becomes crystallized 

 in fissures in the interior, and to obtain it the tree has to be 

 cut down ; the quantity yielded by each tree is often not more 

 than a few ounces, and on that account it is very high-priced. 

 It is less volatile than the Chinese Camphor, but is more 

 valued by the Chinese and Japanese. In Sumatra it is used 

 for embalming the bodies of deceased rajahs, and the large 

 quantity required for this purpose helps to keep up the 

 price. 



Gum Animi, Indian Copal ( Vateiia Indica and V. Mala- 

 barica). Tall, smooth-barked trees, natives of Ceylon and 

 Malabar. They yield a gum resin, which is used in this 

 country as a varnish, and in India is made into candles that 

 have a fragrant smell when burning ; it is also burnt for 

 incense. 



Sal Wood {Shorea rohusta). A native of India, stretching 

 from the Bengal provinces to the foot of the Himalayas. It 

 attains the height of 100 feet. The wood is hard and tough, 

 and is used for shipbuilding and other purposes where strength 

 and toughness are required. It yields a resin known as 

 Dammar (a common name for gum resins throughout India 

 and the Malayan Islands), and an oil is obtained from its 

 seeds. 



Wood Oil. This is obtained from several species of 

 Dipterocarpus. 



D. turhinatus. A large tree, native of Chittagong, attain- 

 ing the height of 200 feet, with a girth of 10 feet. It yields 

 a large quantity of oil, which is obtained by cutting large 

 holes in the tree, when fire is applied, which causes the oil to 



