Edible Products. 



30 



[July, 1909. 



drying it over a fire. The oven is a long, 

 brick-and-mud structure, the roof of 

 which is either zinc sheeting, or a thin 

 mortar trough, like a long pot-tile. I 

 saw the latter kind of oven at a village 

 named Bimbli, and I hope the accom- 

 panying diagram may explain what it is 

 like. As soon as the zinc sheet or mortar 

 trough is sufficiently hot, a cloth is laid 

 on it and the fruit spread thereon. The 

 object of the cloth is to absorb the 

 moisture, but it is not always used. 

 After the fruit is dried, the stalks are 

 cut off, and the produce is then ready 

 for the market. The fruit is not col- 

 lected till the covering is a white-yellow 

 colour and the seeds nearly black, 



CROSS SECTION. 



IN 



iKEEVATlON. 



Cardamom is a produce which finds a 

 ready sale locally, and during the cold 

 months of the year, a class of people 

 called " Beris," come across from South 

 Canara and buy up large quantities of 

 it. The Hindus pickle the tender green 

 fruit, while in the dry stage it is much 

 used in their confectionery. In Coorg, 

 it would appear that the Forest Depart- 

 ment leases out certain plots of forest 

 land for cardamom cultivation for 

 periods of 14 to 21 years, and in this 

 way realizes an annual revenue of 

 Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 3,000, and if the Mysore 

 Forest Department will do likewise, 

 instead of playing at Cardamom culti- 

 vation by departmental agency, as io is 

 now doing, it too might realise similar 

 amouuts, instead of insignificant frac- 

 tions of those figures. Cardamom culti- 

 vation should, I think, be left to private 

 enterprise, as in the case of coffee, and I 

 am sure that the planting community of 

 Mysore is quite as enterprising as that 

 anywhere outside the State. 



" Hanals " and "Kools" in forests 

 which are not reserved are sold by the 

 Revenue Department by auction, and 

 fetch Rs. 30 and upward per acre. The 

 laud, of course, then becomes thepriva+e 

 " holding " of the highest bidder, and he 

 has thereafter to pay an annual asses- 

 ment of Re. 1-1-0 per acre. I do not 

 know what objection there would be to 

 following the same procedure in the 

 Ghat State Forests which are at present 

 practically unworkable for timber for 

 want of roads. But I leave the matter 

 there. 



Saklaspur, Mysore State, 

 13th August, 1908. 



TIMBERS. 



A PHILIPPINE SUBSTITUTE FOR 

 LIGNUM VIT^E. 



(From the Bureau of Forestry, Bulletin 

 No. 0, Manila, Philippine Islands-) 



One of the most valuable woods in the 

 world is Lignum vitae {Guajacum offi- 

 cinale, L.) The greater part of the 

 market supply is obtained from the 

 West Indian islands. During recent 

 years, heavy and indiscriminate cuttiug 

 has so depleted the forests of this tree 

 that manufacturers are at present 

 seriously engaged in the search for a 

 suitable substitute. 



There are many excellent hardwoods 

 in the Philippine Islands, but only one 

 species possesses the qualities necessary 



to allow of its use in place of Lignum 

 vitse ; that is, Mancono (Xanthosiemon 

 verdugonianus, Naves). This wood, it is 

 believed, can be used to advantage in 

 the manufacture of a number of articles 

 made at the present time exclusively 

 from Lignum vitaa. 



In order that the similarity of struc- 

 ture of these woods may be more clearly 

 understood, a short description and a 

 comparison of the two species follows : — 

 Lignum vitje (Guajacum Officinale, L.). 



The heartwood of Lignum vitae is 

 greenish brown, and the sapwood a 

 bright yellowish colour. It is very 

 heavy and hard, with a specific gravity, 

 when air-dry, of from 117 to 1-39. The 

 grain is fine, and the wood fibres small 



